[Update: Mon 9th Jan, 2023 21:00 GMT]
The makers of Squishmallows JazWares responded to this story, with the spokesperson confirming the following to Polygon:
“Squishmallows x Pokémon are not being recalled, they were simply preordered a bit early. Fans can expect to see them launch for purchase soon. This happens sometimes — out of stock early on floors and systems not yet available. catch up. “
There is still no official confirmation on when these will be released to the public.
[Original: Fri 6th Jan, 2023 18:30 GMT]
Over the past week, shoppers have been heading to Walmart in the United States only to discover that, to their surprise, Pokémon Squishmallow — which was previously only sold on the Pokémon Center website — is available for purchase on the store floor. Of course, they’ve sold out online, so anyone who wants one of these squishy Pikachu or Gengar is out of luck—unless they get lucky at Walmart, obviously.
Here are some personal reports of Pokémallow sightings:
These bad boys only cost $15-17, much less than the $30 they cost on the official Pokémon site. Pokémon Center is hoping to add Squishmallows in spring 2023so it’s surprising to see these things popping up out in the wild.
Some reports that Squishmallows Pokémon Walmart is actually lower quality, hence the lower price:
This seems correct, if you compare the two versions:
It turns out that this entire failure could be Walmart’s fault, as many people have witnessed their recall, and others have said that Pokémon Squishmallows has no SKU on the payment system, which means they are not intended to be sold.
One Reddit commenter said that the release date of these Squishmallows is January 9, 2023, and although we can’t find any other sources to corroborate it, fans seem to have accepted it as gospel.
If you’re in the US, it might be worth checking out your local Walmart, but if not, we’ll all have to wait until January 9. Or after. Or never. Who knows.
