Pokemon fans can deck their social media profiles out with select gym leaders and rivals, thanks to a promotional campaign by the Pokémon Center Japan’s official Twitter account. It commemorated the release of the Pokemon gym leaders and trainers mascot plush line, a series of dolls based on characters from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
The avatar release was based on raising the number of followers for the Pokémon Center account. Once the target number was reached, the account uploaded a set of Pokemon avatars for everyone.
祝！アイコンプレゼント全達成！
みんなの協力のおかげで、すべてのアイコンが出揃ったよ。
応援ありがとう！ビート・マリィ・ヤロー・ルリナ・サイトウ・オニオン・マクワ・メロン・カブ・キバナ・ダンデのアイコンをSNSで使って楽しんでね！
アイコンの利用規約https://t.co/Lgzia4nJwA https://t.co/4Yx8I6XqH1 pic.twitter.com/CZpB06oMJq
— ポケモンセンター公式 (@pokemoncenterPR) February 8, 2022
In total, there are eleven Pokemon avatars to use. They’re based on chibi versions of Galar League trainers and gym leaders Bede, Marnie, Milo, Nessa, Allister, Bea, Gordie, Melony, Raihan, Kabu, and Champion Dande. The icons feature the Japanese names of the trainers.
Missing from the slate of Pokemon avatars are Ballonlea Fairy Badge leader Opal and Spikemuth Dark Badge leader Piers. The two are also absent from the line of plush dolls, though no reason was given for their exclusion. Some of the Galar League gym leaders are exclusive to different versions of the game. For example, Pokemon Sword owners encounter Bea, while Shield owners encounter Allister. Gordie and Melony are also version-exclusive, between Sword and Shield, respectively. Nessa, Kabu, Raihan, Marnie, Milo, and Dande are found in both versions of the game.
As for the Pokemon Trainers Mascot dolls the avatars are based on, the Sword and Shield trainers and gym leaders are available from the Japanese Pokemon Center online store for about 1,650 Yen each (about $15 USD).
Pokémon Sword and Shield are available on the Nintendo Switch. The latest Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends Arceus, released to massive sales in its first week.
