Pokémon Center Launches Early Access Program

If you’ve ever tried to buy something from the Pokémon Center on release day, you know how it usually goes. You add the item to your cart, start checking out, and by the time you’ve entered your shipping info, it’s gone. The Pokémon Center has now introduced an Early Access program designed to give selected customers a chance to purchase popular items before they’re more widely available.

The way it works is straightforward, though getting in isn’t guaranteed. Customers who are subscribed to the Pokémon Center newsletter and meet unspecified criteria may be selected to receive an email with a unique invitation link. That link gives early access to one or more items before they go on sale to the general public. If you’re not selected, you won’t receive an email, but that doesn’t rule you out from future rounds. The program is currently limited to customers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

There are some important things to know. Each invitation link is unique, single-use, and non-transferable. Sharing it or trying to game the system by creating multiple subscriptions can get your invitation voided. You’ll need to log in or register a Pokémon Center account using the same email address the invitation was sent to, and it’s recommended to use only one device and browser for the whole process. The invitation email will include an expiration date, and items are available while supplies last, so sitting on it isn’t a great idea.

As for what items are included, the Pokémon Center isn’t saying. Any item, including preorder items, can be part of the program. Given how quickly things tend to sell out on the Pokémon Center, this seems like a smart move to reduce the frustration of trying to buy popular merchandise on launch day. Whether it actually helps or just shifts the frustration to people who don’t get selected remains to be seen.

The Pokémon franchise continues to stay busy on the gaming side as well. We recently reviewed Pokémon Pokopia and Pokémon Legends: Z-A, so if you’re looking for something Pokémon-related that doesn’t involve refreshing a checkout page, those are worth checking out.