TPC: Pokémon Squishmallow
Image: The Pokémon Company

[Update: Mon 9th Jan, 2023 21:00 GMT]

Squishmallows makers JazWares responded to this story, with a spokesperson confirming the following to Polygon:

"Squishmallows x Pokémon are not being recalled, they simply set a bit too early. Fans can expect to see them roll out soon for purchase. This happens sometimes — stock goes out on the floor a bit early and systems have not yet caught up."

There is still no official confirmation of when these will be released to the public.

[Original: Fri 6th Jan, 2023 18:30 GMT]

Over the past week, shoppers have been heading into Walmart in the US only to discover, to their surprise, that Pokémon Squishmallows — which were previously only being sold on the Pokémon Center website — available to buy on the shop floor. Of course, they're already sold out online, so anyone who wants one of these squishy Pikachus or Gengars is out of luck — unless they get lucky at a Walmart, apparently.

Here are some of the individual reports of Pokémallow sightings:

These bad boys are only $15-17, much less than the $30 they cost on the official Pokémon site. The Pokémon Center is hoping to restock the Squishmallows by Spring 2023, so it's surprising to see these out in the wild already.

Some are reporting that the Walmart Pokémon Squishmallows are actually lower quality, hence the lower price:

This does appear to be the case, if you compare the two versions:

TPC: Pokémon Squishmallow
Image: Walmart/TPC/KellyToy

It turns out that this whole debacle might have been an oopsie on the part of Walmart, as multiple people have witnessed them being recalled, and others have said that the Pokémon Squishmallows did not yet have SKUs on the payment system, meaning that they weren't intended to be sold yet.

One Reddit commenter states that the release date for these Squishmallows is the 9th January 2023, and although there aren't any other sources that we can find to corroborate that, fans appear to have accepted that as gospel.

If you're in the States, it may be worth checking your local Walmart, but otherwise, we'll all just have to sit tight until the 9th January. Or later. Or never. Who knows.