Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Pokémon has teamed up with all 12 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams this year for a massive crossover event: the "Pokémon Baseball Festival 2026." Throughout the entire NPB season, Pikachus decked out in all 12 team uniforms, alongside special guest stars, will be hitting up stadiums across Japan to perform and amp up the crowd.
Recently, Japanese celebrity Ryogo Matsumaru dropped a bombshell on his X (formerly Twitter), sharing photos of the "Poké Ball" baseball he used for the first pitch at the Yomiuri Giants' Pokémon Festival in Tokyo Dome back in early April. The post instantly went viral, with countless netizens absolutely losing it and begging for an official release of this special edition baseball.
Matsumaru was the special guest pitcher at the Yomiuri Giants' Pokémon Festival at Tokyo Dome on April 3rd. He wasn't alone, though; Hikaru Takahashi and Abareru-kun also made appearances. All three are hosts of the TV show "Pokémon to Doko Iku!?" and were invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
But here's the kicker: the balls they threw weren't just any old baseballs. These were custom-made, Poké Ball-shaped versions! They were limited-edition items crafted specifically for the event, even sporting the team's emblem from that day. Matsumaru couldn't resist sharing snaps of the ball on X, gushing:
"The ball used for the Pokémon x 12 Teams first pitch was a Poké Ball! It's seriously amazing, everyone has to see it... so cool...!!"
The internet absolutely exploded after that post. Comments poured in, almost unanimously screaming for a commercial release: "Please, make it merchandise! Even if it's limited edition, just sell it at the stadium!" "This is collector-level stuff, I hope they open pre-orders!" "So that's what it looks like, it's adorable, I want one!" "Both Pokémon fans and baseball fans would go wild for this!"
While Pokémon and the various teams *do* offer a range of collaborative merch—think towels, jerseys, keychains, and cheer lights—this specific "baseball" isn't currently for sale. When asked about the highly-talked-about Poké Ball baseball, The Pokémon Company responded: "This was a special design created as part of the game's performance. There are currently no plans for commercial sale. However, the Pokémon Baseball Festival 2026 will continue throughout the entire season, so please stay tuned for more updates."
So for now, it looks like this Poké Ball baseball remains an "ultra-rare, non-commercial item" exclusively for special guest pitchers. But given the insane buzz and if the demand keeps skyrocketing, a future commercial release... well, it might not be entirely out of the question!
