Pokemon Pokopia sold 2.2 million copies within its first week. You'd think Nintendo would have official Ditto-themed accessories ready to go. Somehow, that has not happened.
The official Pokopia merchandise gap on Switch 2 has been striking. No Nintendo-branded thumb grips, no first-party joystick covers sporting Ditto's signature pink-purple face. The closest thing to official product is a Hori accessory line that, so far, shows no signs of releasing outside Japan.
How third-party sellers moved faster than Nintendo
With the official accessory shelf sitting empty, third-party brands rushed in. The grips making the rounds right now are sold under names like DIELLY and are listed on Amazon for $9.88, while the same product appears across AliExpress from sellers like Aarntai Store for as little as £3.28. Here's the thing: these aren't licensed products. The branding calls them "Versatile Elves" grips, which is about as legally careful a name as you can imagine for something that is clearly Ditto with a face on it.
The set covers both Joy-Con 2 thumbsticks, the D-pad, and the XYBA buttons. Each grip is made from glitter-infused silicone with embossed faces, and the pack includes double-sided adhesive dots for the button covers. That last detail is actually unusual compared to established brands like KontrolFreek, where grips are designed to stay put through friction alone.
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These grips are not officially licensed by Nintendo or The Pokemon Company. The "Versatile Elves" branding is a deliberate workaround to avoid trademark issues.
What works, what doesn't, and the quality ceiling you hit at this price
Comfort-wise, the grips hold up well during extended play. Precise movements in Pokopia, including block-punching mechanics, stayed responsive with the grips on. They stayed attached through regular play sessions without slipping, which is the baseline requirement for any thumbstick cover.
The downside is surface durability. The glittery silicone scratches and marks easily, picking up scuffs from ordinary finger contact. KontrolFreek's rubbery surface resists that kind of cosmetic wear far better. At under $10, that tradeoff is expected, but it does raise questions about how the grips will look after a few months of daily use.
The bulk of the button covers is also worth noting. With the XYBA caps on, reaching the minus and plus buttons requires a bit more deliberate finger movement. For Pokopia specifically, that's a minor inconvenience since those buttons see limited use during normal gameplay.
The bigger picture: Nintendo's Switch 2 accessory gap
Pokemon Pokopia is one of the biggest Switch 2 launch titles by any measure. Produced by Kanako Murata at Game Freak, with the studio working outside its usual comfort zone for the project. Given that scale, the absence of first-party themed accessories is a real miss.
Hori's Japan-exclusive Pokopia and Ditto-themed Switch 2 line proves the demand is there. Nintendo's own accessory catalog, at least in the US and UK, has leaned toward Gengar and Mimikyu designs rather than anything tied directly to Pokopia. That leaves fans choosing between waiting indefinitely for official products or settling for unlicensed alternatives that get the aesthetic right but cut corners on build quality.
The unofficial grips land as a genuinely fun, low-stakes way to theme your Switch 2 for Pokopia sessions. For anyone who wants the look without the wait, they deliver. For anyone hoping official Nintendo-quality materials will eventually show up, the Hori Japan line is the closest thing on the horizon. Keep an eye on the latest gaming news for updates on whether those Hori accessories make it to Western markets. Make sure to check out more:
