Pokémon x adidas: Gotta Catch ’Em All… Including the Sneakers
Pokémon x adidas: Gotta Catch ’Em All… Including the Sneakers
Apparently catching Pokémon wasn’t expensive enough.
Pokémon and adidas Originals have officially teamed up for a major collaboration celebrating Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, combining one of the biggest entertainment franchises on the planet with one of the most recognizable names in sneakers and streetwear. The collection includes sneakers, jackets, jerseys, hoodies and kids’ apparel, with characters including Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar, Mewtwo and Rayquaza getting the adidas treatment.
And yes, some of these shoes look exactly as wild as you’re imagining.
Pikachu Has Entered the Sneaker Game
The collection takes classic adidas silhouettes and redesigns them around individual Pokémon.
One of the loudest pairs is a Pikachu-inspired high-top, featuring bright yellow materials and oversized Pikachu graphics. Then there’s a Charizard Superstar, which goes considerably further: orange, scale-inspired material and removable wings.
Yes. Wings.
We have officially reached the point where Charizard has sneaker accessories.
Gengar gets a purple adidas model inspired by the Ghost-type Pokémon, while other characters including Mewtwo and Rayquaza appear throughout the larger collection.
They Didn't Forget the Classics
If walking around with Charizard wings attached to your feet feels a little aggressive for your Tuesday morning grocery run, adidas also brought Pokémon to more familiar silhouettes.
The U.S. collection includes Pokémon versions of the Samba OG, Superstar II, Handball Spezial and Adistar Control 5, among others. Adult pricing on adidas' U.S. site currently includes Pokémon Sambas and Superstar IIs around $110, Handball Spezials around $120, and Adistar Control 5s around $130, depending on the model.
In other words, you can represent Pokémon without looking like you're five minutes away from challenging somebody to a gym battle.
Although, if somebody steps on your brand-new white Pokémon Sambas, a battle may still occur.
Then There Are the Jackets...
The collaboration isn't just about footwear.
Pokémon and adidas also created apparel including jerseys, tracksuits, hoodies and some particularly noticeable Pokémon jackets featuring Pikachu, Gengar and Charizard. Some adult jackets are listed at $280 on adidas' U.S. site.
At $280, that Charizard better know Flamethrower.
Better yet, he needs to know how to pay Klarna.
It's Nostalgia, but It's Also Smart Business
Behind the fun designs is a collaboration that makes plenty of business sense.
Pokémon is celebrating three decades as a franchise in 2026, meaning many of the children who originally played the games or watched the animated series are now adults with jobs, disposable income and an alarming willingness to spend money on things featuring Pikachu.
Adidas gets access to that enormous multigenerational fanbase. Pokémon gets another way to move beyond games and entertainment into fashion and lifestyle.
And millennials get another opportunity to explain to their significant other why $180 Charizard shoes are actually a responsible financial decision.
Everybody wins.
Sort of.
This Isn't Their First Battle Together
Pokémon and adidas have worked together before, including a collaboration in 2020, but the 30th-anniversary project is considerably broader, with numerous footwear models and apparel pieces spanning adult and children's sizing.
That larger lineup also makes one thing clear: this isn't simply Pokémon artwork slapped onto a random sneaker. Many of the standout models incorporate the characters into the actual materials, colors and construction of the shoes.
Whether that produces a genuinely great sneaker or something you'd only wear to Comic-Con depends entirely on the pair—and probably your confidence level.
Gotta Catch ’Em All?
The Pokémon x adidas collection is available through adidas and participating retailers, with the broader U.S. rollout taking place around September 22, 2026.
Shop the Pokémon x adidas collection
Thirty years after Pokémon taught an entire generation to "catch 'em all," they've found a dangerous new target:
Our closets.
And if you see a grown man walking through the mall wearing fuzzy Pikachu shoes, a Charizard jacket and a Gengar jersey, don't judge him.
He's not having a midlife crisis.
He's evolving.
