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Japan’s new Pikachu Pokémon donuts are super popular, crazy cute, and totally tasty

Casey Baseel Nov 16, 2019
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But really, the Pikachu Tail should be called the “Pikachu Butt.”

Being the huge Pokémon fans that we are, we burst out of bed on the morning of November 15. No, not because it was the first day we could play the new Pokémon Sword and Shield games, but because it was the first day we could eat Japan’s new Pokémon donuts!

Yes, the popular Mister Donut chain is once again teaming up with the beloved video game/anime franchise, this time bringing us not one, not two, but three different delicious expressions of Pokémon passion: the Pikachu Donut, the Pikachu Tail, and the Pon de Ring Poké Ball.

Now, as a country with an unbridled love for both sweet foods and cute characters, we realized demand would be intense. However, we also figured that with the donuts coming out on a weekday, young Pokémon fans would be in school, and grown-up ones would be in the office. But we’re lucky enough to have jobs where “going out to eat Pikachu donuts” isn’t ditching work, but the purest form of devotion to our professional mission, so we rolled up to our local Mister Donut branch at 10:30, just 30 minutes after it opened and hours before we expected the after-school-and-work crowds to appear…

…only to find a massive line. After 30 minutes of waiting as the people in front of us beamed in triumph as they secured their donuts, the staff informed us that they’d sold out of their day’s supply of both Pikachu types. So we started pounding the pavement, searching other Mister Donut branches in a real-life Pokémon hunt. Location number two was sold out as well, but the third branch was just pulling its batch from the oven, and we got to try all three!

First up, the Pikachu Donut (259 yen [US$2.40]) is largely unchanged from the one Mister Donut temporarily sold last year, because you don’t tamper with pika-perfection. A banana chocolate-coated cake donut with M&M-like chocolate eyes, a whipped cream filling, and the adorable aura of the most famous Pokémon of all is a combination that needs no further embellishments.

Next we moved on to the Pikachu Tail (180 yen), but if you’ll forgive us for being pedantic and/or posterior-fixated, it really should be called the “Pikachu Butt” (or maybe the “Pikachu Tush,” if you want to keep the name as cute as the Pocket Monster’s backside), because the tail part is a non-edible decoration, and the only part you don’t eat.

Whatever it’s called, though, this is a French crueller donut, once again with a banana chocolate coating and custard inside. A mix of sweet, buttery flavors with just a hint of fruity tang, this is so good that it’d be worth eating even without the Pikachu theming.

Last, but not least, we come to the Pon de Ring Poké Ball (180 yen). The connected-sphere Pon de Ring donuts are a mainstay of the Mister Donut menu, but the Poké Ball version is an extra-special variant, with one half covered in strawberry chocolate, the other in white chocolate, and small strips of dark chocolate connecting them.

▼ Because when was the last time someone complained about having too much chocolate?

While we were there, we also got to check out the special dishware that’s being offered to celebrate the Mister Donut/Pokémon tie-up.

While you can’t purchase the cups and plates on their own, there are several different combo packs (detailed here) that get you your choice of one of the four items along with a selection of donuts or drinks.

▼ We opted for the plate with close-ups of Pikachu and the three Sword and Shield starters.

However, at this point we realized that six donuts makes for a very poorly balanced breakfast. We mean, that’s all food, with no drinks! So to correct that, we also ordered one each of the three starter Pokémon tapioca bubble sodas: Muscat grape Grookey, lychee Sobble, and peach Scorbunny (637 yen each), all of which were doubly tasty with their specially flavored boba balls.

Seeing as how we went one for three finding the donuts on a Friday morning, if you’re looking to catch all these Pokémon on a weekend, you’ll probably need to get to Mister Donut before the branch opens its doors for the day. On the plus side, none of the locations we went to had sold out of the tapioca drinks, so at least you won’t be thirsty if getting your Pikachu donut fix requires some legwork.

Related Mister Donut location finder
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