Pikachu’s Night at the Museum: Jumbo Pokemon Card Comes to the Natural History Museum

The Pokemon TCG world is once again abuzz with news about a new and exclusive Pikachu Pokemon promo soon to be available at the Natural History Museum in London from January 26-April 18, 2026.

During this time, the oversized “Pikachu at the Museum” promo card will be given out as a gift to those who make a purchase at the Pokémon pop up shop located at the Cranbourne Boutique in the museum. This pop up shop will act as an exhibit itself, following a Pokecology theme to celebrate a recently released Pokemon ecology guidebook. Artworks will also be on display at the exhibit as well as additional merchandise for sale celebrating a shared love for nature between the museum and Pokémon.

Pikachu at the Museum promo card

While distinctly different from the last headlining museum giveaway, the “Pikachu at the Museum” promo card can’t help but call to mind the Van Gogh Pikachu craze that shook the internet and the secondary card market – as well as causing a buying frenzy at the Van Gogh Museum itself – years ago in 2023.

The exclusive promo card features Pikachu with an Aerodactyl fossil behind it – a nod to the original Pokemon video games that did actually have a museum players could visit in-game. While stylistically less unique than the Grey Felt Hat Pikachu which was released during the Van Gogh Museum collaboration, “Pikachu a the Museum” will still likely fetch a solid amount of money as supplies seem relatively limited. Indeed, tickets to attend the Pokemon pop up shop at the museum are already sold out, and no doubt this card will be hotly sought after at the select UK retailers it is given out at.

However, the Pokémon Company does seem to be anticipating the craze ahead of time this go around by making the Pikachu Museum Promo Card a jumbo one – a card size that will appeal slightly less to collectors who generally prefer standard-sized cards.

Pokemon Natural History Museum pop up shop features Pokemon merchandise

The Pikachu card isn’t the only incentive to visit the sold out Pokemon pop up shop in the Museum, however. A variety of additional Pokemon merchandise will be available at the boutique, online via the Natural History Museum and the official Pokemon Center online store, as well as via select retailers in the UK. In the words of the Pokemon Company International “This exclusive collection includes artwork, stationery, clothing, pins, bags, posters, and plush” which can be seen via the image below.

Photo credit: Pokemon Company International

Each of these items looks really cool, with my favorite being the fossil Pokemon-themed poster that’s meant to emulate “classic naturalist books and scientific illustrations that fill the Museum’s archives” according to the official press release.

“Pokécology” celebrates a gorgeous Pokemon guide book

This “Pokecology” themed exhibit is meant to celebrate the soon to be released in English Pokécology: An Illustrated Guide to Pokémon Ecology book (which you can preorder from my partners at Amazon for release-day delivery on April 21, 2206). The theme of this book is actually pretty cool – bringing the world of Pokemon to life in the way real ecologists would. Indeed, the Book itself was written by “Yoshinari Yonehara, and illustrator, Chihiro Kinoshita, [who] both hold doctorate degrees and have studied animal behavior and ecology” according to the Pokemon Company’s news release about the book (which is already a best-seller in Japan).

In line with this theme, the Natural History Museum hints at an artwork display that will accompany the more commercial-focused pop up shop – something that any Pokemon fan can enjoy. While hardened Pokemon TCG fans will be most excited about the stuff, younger fans will be excited to dive into the real world history that inspired Pokemon!