Just when you think The Pokemon Company must be running out of new plushie ideas after three decades, it pulls something truly special out of the bag. Today, that something is a plush modeled after the Meowth hot air balloon Team Rocket used as their preferred mode of transport in the beginnings of the Pokemon anime.

The Pokemon Company knows all too well that, while continually introducing the series to new generations of young fans is of the utmost importance, there's money to be made from capitalizing on the nostalgia we grown-up Pokemon fans feel. Those of us who were there from the start. That's exactly who this hot air balloon plush is for.

Team Rocket's Meowth Balloon Might Be Pokemon's Best Plush Yet

Jazwares

Revealed by Jazwares, the toy company responsible for making a lot of Pokemon's plushes - including its Squishmallows - the Meowth balloon plush is more or less a replica of the balloon from the show. It even has a little Meowth sitting in the basket, and it comes in a fancy Team Rocket-branded box.

There is some bad news, and it's not the price. We don't actually know that part yet, so there could be even more bad news to come. The bad news we know for sure, though, is that this plush is going to be very hard to get, at least if you don't plan on attending San Diego Comic-Con.

The Meowth Balloon Plush Is A San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive

Jazwares

Unfortunately, Jazwares has confirmed this unique new plush will be exclusively available to Pokemon fans visiting its booth during this year's SDCC, which begins on July 23. I'm assuming the number available will also be incredibly limited, and presumably available on a first-come, first-served basis, so even if you do make it to SDCC, there's no guarantee you'll be leaving with a Team Rocket Meowth balloon plush.

There is an outside chance that even though the plush is being advertised as a convention exclusive, it will still be available elsewhere. Funko, for example, releases Pops that are convention exclusives at SDCC and other major cons. However, most of those Pops are typically available through Funko's website at the same time they're being sold on the show floor.

With only a couple more weeks to go until one of the biggest cons on the convention calendar, what exactly will be available to those in attendance, merch-wise, is starting to become clearer. Jazwares will have the Meowth balloon plush, and while Funko's full slate hasn't yet been revealed, TheGamer did exclusively reveal some of the One Piece Pops and Loungefly merch that will be available during SDCC this year.

Pokémon Like Follow Followed TV-Y7 Animation Adventure Anime Fantasy Release Date 1997 - 2023 Network TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC Directors Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano Writers Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku Franchise(s) Pokemon

Cast

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  • Rica Matsumoto Satoshi (voice)
  • Ikue Otani Pikachu (voice)
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