We’ve seen our fair share of Pikachu plushies over the years (it’s only one of the most recognisable faces in media ever, after all), but few have been quite as lifelike as this.
Yesterday, Wow! Stuff and RealFX unveiled their latest creation: the Pikachu Puppetronic. As that name suggests, this is a puppet with a traditional hand-controlled design, combined with a fair amount of electronics for even more movement and expression.
We’re talking dual-motion ears, blinking eyes, light-up cheeks, a moving mouth, and sensors all over its head, body and neck, so it can react to your touch. Throw in “over 120 sounds and actions”, and this is probably as close as you can come to having ol’ anime Pika in your home.
Naturally, it doesn’t come cheap. The first wave of pre-orders went up on the Pokémon Center UK website yesterday for £89.99 and almost immediately sold out. Admittedly, there may have been a rush on these thanks to the inclusion of a special “First Edition” badge and certificate to up the FOMO, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see folks clamouring for these for a while yet.
It’s all very sweet, but there’s a bit of us that finds the puppet a little… freaky. There’s something about the blinking eyes, the vacant expression, and the promise that it can move on its own that pushes things closer to the uncanny valley than we’d like. A cute plushie, we can deal with, but one that might open its mouth and blurt out a “Pika Pi” in the middle of the night? *gulp*
The puppetronic is expected to ship in mid-spring 2026, so keep an eye out for restocks in the coming months, if this looks up your street.
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