Each year, for the Pokémon World Championships, the Pokémon Center releases a line of exclusive merchandise for the series that is only available on-site. For 2025, the Pokémon merchandise team went all out with three different themes: SoCal, Varsity, and Rockabilly.
The SoCal and Varsity themes are a little blended together, as both themes have items featuring the iconic Pokémon in their varsity jackets. It’s a bit hard to differentiate the two, but the two themes have a ton of merch scattered throughout the Pokémon Center — and I mean a lot.
As you enter the store, you’ll find plushes, tote bags, puzzles, shirts, the whole shebang, and even more on top of that lining the walls and on displays. The exclusive Pikachu, Fennekin, and Machamp plushes in their letterman jackets along with Jigglypuff with their huge pink ribbon are scattered across multiple shelves. They literally fly off the shelves as workers scramble to restock them, and, I mean, look at them! How could you not grab one? However, even after all of that, our favorite pieces among the SoCal and Varsity lines have to be the baseball jersey and duffle bag.
The Rockabilly line was located a little deeper in the Pokémon Center, and takes a sharp turn away from the bright and happy theme into a darker and cooler tone. Prominent items include a sick Arcanine denim jacket and a black hat featuring Pikachu in biker gear, but you can also grab lanyards, pins, and keychains with Pikachu, Arcanine, and Squawkabilly.
There’s a large selection of exclusive items amid more general Pokémon merchandise. The Sweetheart Diner line has finally gone international and is available at the Pokémon Center. (You can purchase these on the official Pokémon Center website, as long as they’re still in stock.)
Attending media and content creators were given a first look at the whole process — lining up, taking photo-op opportunities, seeing the grand entrance, and, getting the chance to shop. Our experience was swift and a little overwhelming, as the venue is huge and there is an almost overwhelming amount of merch, but registered shoppers might have a vastly different experience.
Attendees have reported lengthy queues (both at the entrance and at the register), crowded displays, and item shortages for some highly sought-after items. To make matters worse, scalpers are ditto’d among the shoppers and are looking to purchase items that have the highest resale value — with products already appearing on resale sites at exorbitant prices. For instance, as of this writing, we spotted the exclusive Jigglypuff plush (which typically sells for $25) listed at $65 on eBay.
As the shopping experience has devolved into a food fight at the diner during the lunch rush, previous shoppers have started sharing their survival guides packed full of tips in an effort to assist attendees.
The 2025 Pokémon World Championship Series merchandise is only available on-site at the Anaheim Convention Center for those who have registered, but the Sweetheart Diner merch is available now (both on-site and online), while supplies last.
