27/02/2026
Happy Pokémon Day 2026!
Today marks not only Pokémon day, but it's also the 30th Anniversary of the Pokémon franchise.
This date marks the anniversary of the original release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan in 1996, on the Nintendo GameBoy. (Red & Blue in the UK/EU/US game regions)
There will be plenty of announcements from the Pokémon company throughout the day, including a Live Stream at 2pm (UK time) featuring announcements and updates related to the franchise.
If you have a Nintendo Switch, then you may wish to check out Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which are launching today on the Nintendo eShop.
These are remakes of the original games, and one of the best ways to experience some of the best Pokémon games, especially if you're new to the first games, and have only played the more recent titles.
But, what has all of this got to do with Faceless Monkey? Well, ever since I can remember, Pokémon has always been a huge part of the shop's history, as I bought and traded some of my very first Pokémon cards when Luke Pocock had the shop down at Pool Market in the early 2000's, and I've had fond memories of buying and trading cards ever since.
I remember trading some of the original holographic cards in years later for... not a huge amount, but they went to the right place, as I'd had some great deals from those days, including some Japanese Neo Set binders, which I enjoyed having in my collection.
Indeed, one of those Japanese Neo Set binders came full-circle as I traded it back into Faceless Monkey in 2023 to Becca when she was running the shop, in addition to some other cards, including a holo Venusaur card from the Expedition set. I was grateful to receive a Pikachu on the Ball sealed promo card from Becca, which I still have, and it was through many great positive trades and interactions at the shop which got me back into properly collecting Pokémon cards again, with my favourite still being Venusaur.
Over the past couple of years, even though the shops inventory of Videogames, Toys, Comics and Graphic Novels has grown a lot - I'm still working on reducing the stock levels - it's Pokémon which has remained a staple of the business, particularly with single Pokémon cards being one of the most popular items stocked.
While every day looks different, I'll always have boxes of Pokémon cards ready to browse at a moment's notice, even if you see me just get to the shop at the market, and it doesn't appear open, if I'm there, and if you're looking for Pokémon cards, I'm always happy to get the Pokémon card boxes out.
Upon opening at around 12pm, the "Pokémon Tables" are set up, where you'll see at least two full card boxes featuring cards from £1 and upwards, an area where I sort cards, pricing them up throughout the day, and a selection of assorted Pokémon goods including packs of themed sleeves at £4 each, pin badges from £3 and upwards, some vintage "Pocket Monster" pins, marbles, deck boxes and much more.
Pokémon Mystery Tins are also available, as these have been a long-standing part of the shop stock, and still only priced at £10 per tin. Inside each mini-tin, there are now 33 cards, consisting of 10 X Common, 10 X Uncommon, 3 X Trainer, 5 X Reverse Holo, 4 X Holo and 1 X "V" Pokémon cards. All of the cards in the current tins are all from the Mega Evolutions set, aside from the V card which is from a discontinued set.
Mystery Tins can be a great alternative to sealed packs, as while there's unlikely to be any very rare cards in the tins, you do get a reasonable amount of cards, and you know what kind of cards you're getting, but not which ones exactly, so there's still that element of surprise.
From today, until Saturday there will be discounts and deals on many Pokémon products, there will also be a complete set of all 9 Eeveelution plushes in the cabinet, next to the tables. They are all official Pokémon Centre plushes, in excellent condition with most of the plushes typically retailing for £15 each. The set of all 9 will be available for £111 (just under £12.50 per plush) or £14 per plush is there's enough demand to sell individually.
To anyone who has stopped by the shop to chat, or to buy or sell item, thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you all at the shop soon.
There will surely be more posts to follow in the future, as I have plans to make room for all of the Pokémon stock, while lessening the amount of Videogames, Consoles, Toys and Comics to a more manageable and sensible amount.
Shop opening times are now 12pm - 4:45pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Closed Sunday and Monday.
Anyway, for now have an excellent Pokémon Day 2026! Stop by and share your favourite memories of Pokémon, or just come down to browse some cards. There's new stock in as of yesterday (see last photo) including the Mega Charizard EX 028 Promo Card at just £33 with discount, from tomorrow through to Saturday only.
All the best,
Sam