The much-anticipated crossover between Pokémon and the Natural History Museum in London begins today. I was lucky enough to be one of the few who got to check out the crossover pop-up store early. And I'm happy to report that, unlike Pokemon's infamous Van Gogh Museum event, everything went very civil and, as far as I know, no one came to their senses, kept their composure, and lost their job.
That probably has a lot to do with the extra thought that went into this unique crossover after what happened last time. The pop-up is hidden within the museum itself and requires a pre-booked slot to visit. There's also a limit of five items per customer, and the trading cards you receive with each purchase are oversized to deter scalpers, but it doesn't seem to be working as well as The Pokemon Company had hoped.
Within a few hours of writing this, the Pokemon Natural History Museum pop-up will be open to the public. If you're booking a trip between now and the residency ends on April 19, 2026, are planning to snag a spot despite high demand, or just want to know what you're missing, we've listed everything you can see and purchase in the pop-up store below.
A little training before admission
Before you enter the store, there's a pretty amazing display right outside full of Pokemon. It features trainers riding Charizard and Dragonite, a large Torterra covered in small Pokémon models, Onix, Drillbur, and others burrowing underground. I spent 20 minutes admiring it and I'm pretty sure I didn't find all the Pokemon.
What follows is a neat tour, with museum-style displays lining the walls filled with facts about Pokémon along with unique illustrations. Naturally, there's information about how Pokémon sleep, focusing on Snorlax, as well as illustrations detailing how the Pokémon moves on land, in the air, and in the water.
Eevee wakes up first
Once you get to the store itself, after getting your education on the Pokemon Natural History Museum style, the first section is dedicated to Eevee. Apparently, Pokemon wants to extend the Year of Eevee to 2025 due to its popularity. Plus, Pokemon with eight evolution options feels like a good fit for natural history team building.
Eevee's multiple evolutions are a theme that Pokemon has used for Natural History Museum merchandise. This slogan (not a generic term for Eeveelutions) can be found on several items, accompanied by an image of a rather imposing-looking Eevee surrounded by eight evolved forms.
Gengar, Pikachu, and Eevee take center stage in the new Secretlab collection of Pokemon.
Gengar used to “sit” on my bank account. It was really effective!
I have a red t-shirt, a blue tote bag, and a purple crossbody bag.They all have the same design. Smaller items containing only Eevee include: Purple lanyard, blue travel card holder, mug, notebook, keychain, magnet, pencil. There is also Eevee art print and metal insulated flask containing all Eeveelutions.
Pokemon x Natural History Museum's Core Collection
If you're not an Eevee fan and just want some merchandise to let everyone know you were there, the next section is for you. A variety of exclusive items commemorating the crossover rather than specific Pokémon are also waiting.
The t-shirts in this section all feature a Pokemon x Natural History Museum image. Pikachu is up front, along with Butterfree, Aerodactyl, and Tropius (more on those specific Pokemon a little later). There is a navy blue option with a full-color logo, a children's t-shirt in the same white color, and a toned-down blue and white version..
You can also find the same Pokemon x Natural History Museum emblem. Water bottle suitable for backpack, lanyard, mug, laptop, thermal flask, t-shirt. This section also includes: Annotated tote bag with Pikachu design, set of 12 postcards featuring various exclusive artwork, art prints and enamel pinsBoth feature designs similar to those on the t-shirt.
The highlight of this section (aside from the cards, don't worry, we're getting right into that) is the only plush thing in the pop-up. Another plush outing for Pikachu, but a rather unique one. It has an electric 'mon' that extends the side of a sumptuous natural history museum.. It costs £35, but that's probably what Pokemon plush collectors were hoping for.
Don't leaf out yet. Now it's grass season.
Before entering the jungle section of the pop-up, here are the characters that appear on the wall: Some of the A3 prints available for purchase. Key artwork from the crossover, annotated Pikachu from the tote bag, Ivysaurus, and more are available as options, all of which can be seen in the images below.
Ivysaur is featured prominently in the following sections of the store: Grass-type Pokémon come with t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, pencils, and keychains.. Bulbasaur's evolution is as follows. In addition to being selected for the backpack mission, Big Tree Bell also has its own patch and water bottle..
Next is the promised return of Tropius. Since the Grass/Flying type is effectively a dinosaur, its prominent role makes much more sense in this collaboration than Eevee. Tropius fans attending the pop-up can choose between a hoodie, tote bag, and notebook..
The final two items in the green section of the store are: Vileplume keychain and pin set featuring all the flower Pokemon in this part of the pop-up.; Vileplume, Ivysaur, Tropius and Victreebel. You'll also find some really cool Ancient Species Pokemon merchandise hidden between this and the last section. Insulated flasks, prints and notebooks – prehistoric Pokemon like Kabutops and Omanyte are incorporated into the designs.
Last water break and free stuff
Just before you get to the payment queue, there's one last small section dedicated to Water-type Pokemon, and it features some of my favorite designs in the entire store. A sweatshirt with a pelifer flying over the sea and a Pikachu holding it in its mouth.. Pelipper also appears in the accompanying water-type art print..
Lastly, free content. Available to all customers Pokemon Ecology Booklet It's filled with things you'd see in a real Pokemon museum. There are also quizzes and puzzles inside, and space on the back to write down what you've learned.
Of course, there are also the customary promo cards that are usually attached to crossovers like this. Pikachu from the Museum Card It's extra large and features a Pikachu and Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum skeletons inside a natural history museum. If you are unable to visit the pop-up, you can purchase the card from other retailers across the UK.
Depending on availability when you visit, here's everything you'll find at the Pokemon Natural History Museum pop-up. If you have a reserved spot, enjoy it and be sure to check out the rest of what the museum has to offer while you're there. It's truly an amazing place and admission is free.
- release date
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1997 – 2023
- network
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TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- move
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Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Oga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Heuser Biyane, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
- author
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Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ohashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shoji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku
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Rika Matsumoto
Satoshi (voice)
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Ikue Otani
Pikachu (voice)
