The historic shoe company Fila and the people behind the beloved Pokemon franchise have announced that they will be teaming up to give the people of South Korea a brand new reason to “catch ‘em all.”
According to an update on Fila’s website, they will soon be collaborating with the people behind the legendary game series to offer fans a brand new shoe line inspired by several fan-favorite monsters from the first generation of the games. A pair of these new sneakers will run customers in South Korea 52,000 Won ($48.36)
Light up soles velcro straps and other features
The pocket monster inspired Court Deluxe trainers come in clean white and incorporate one of five different monsters from the series.
Based off of the picture on Fila’s website we know that customers can choose between the three starters of the original Red/Blue version of the game; Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle as well as series mascot Pikachu and another fan-favorite character, Jigglypuff.
While most people think of children’s shoes when they see soles that light up, the Fila sneakers will be available in adult sizes. The new series of shoes also ditches the traditional shoelace in favor of simple to use, stylish velcro straps.
An unusual lack of Pokemon
While you might expect the Pokemon the Fila shoes are inspired by to be plastered all over them in these designs; there is a curious lack of the actual characters in all but one pair of shoes.
Only the Pikachu pair will actually feature the Pokemon it’s based on. The other shoes simply incorporate a splash of pastel color matching the Pokemon it represents along with a symbol for its elemental type. For instance, the Squirtle shoes feature bright pastel blue on the back of the shoe as well as a symbol for water. Each shoe does include a Pokeball on the tongue of the sneaker.
The shoes will be released riding a wave of renewed popularity in the series thanks to games like "Pokemon GO" on mobile devices, "Pokemon Sun/Moon on the Nintendo 3DS," and the upcoming unnamed Pokemon game for Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, Fila has yet to announce when the shoes will be coming out. And, while they are already garnering international attention, the company has made no announcement on whether or not the new sneakers will be making their way to the US market.
With that being said, it's not unusual for shoe companies to test out new designs in smaller markets before distributing them in the US.
Pokemon is the best-selling media franchise in history, and a large part of that revenue comes from the US market. So, if the shoes do get released stateside they will have a huge built-in market of fans. But, for the time-being, die-hard sneakerheads and Pokemon fans alike will have to either travel or hope that the shoes come out in their area.
