Pikachu, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are back on your breakfast table. After a 25-year absence, Pokemon Pop-Tarts are making a return, and yes, they are exactly as good as the nostalgia in your brain is telling you they should be.
Target has announced a wide-ranging collaboration with The Pokemon Company to mark Pokemon's 30th anniversary, covering more than 100 exclusive items. The Pop-Tarts are the headline act, and for anyone who grew up eating the originals during the Pokemon 2000 era, that is not a small thing.
From the Pokemon 2000 movie to your 2026 toaster
Here's the thing about the original run: Kellogg's first released Pokemon-branded Pop-Tarts in the early 2000s as a tie-in for the Pokemon 2000 movie. There were a handful of limited releases tied to other promotions after that, but nothing sustained. The product quietly disappeared, and for two and a half decades, it existed only as a memory and the occasional eBay listing.
The new version comes in a frosted vanilla cupcake flavor, with sprinkles chosen to reflect the color palettes of the three featured Pokemon. The 12-pack will retail for $4, which is a genuinely reasonable price for what is essentially a piece of Pokemon history.
What the Target collection actually includes
The Pop-Tarts are getting the most attention, but the full Target x Pokemon collection covers a lot of ground. The 100-plus item lineup includes Pokemon clothing, kickballs, fragrances, detangling hair brushes, and water bottles, all exclusive to Target.
The rollout is split into two waves:
- Wave 1 (including the Pop-Tarts): Available in Target stores on May 2, online on May 3
- Wave 2: Goes on sale June 6
Pokemon merchandise at this scale tends to move fast. If something in the collection catches your eye, the first day of availability is realistically your best window before shelves thin out.
The full catalog is listed on Target's website, with details on which items fall into which wave. Worth checking before May 2 so you know exactly what you're going in for.
Why this lands differently than a standard collab
Thirty years is a long time for any franchise to stay relevant, and The Pokemon Company has been deliberate about how it marks the milestone. This is not a generic licensed product drop. Anchoring the collection around the original starter trio and tying it to a product that fans remember from childhood is a considered move.
For context, Pokemon Champions, the new free-to-play fighting game, launched on Nintendo Switch on April 8. The franchise is active on multiple fronts right now, and a nostalgia-forward retail push at one of the US's biggest retailers fits that momentum. For more on what's happening across the gaming world right now, check out our gaming news.
The lowdown for anyone who wants to be first in line
May 2 is the date. Target stores, $4 for a 12-pack of frosted vanilla cupcake Pop-Tarts with Pikachu, Charmander, and Bulbasaur on the box. If you want to browse the rest of the collection ahead of time, Target has the full item list up now.
The second wave on June 6 will expand the lineup further, so this is not a one-day event. But the Pop-Tarts specifically are the kind of thing that will likely move fast on launch day, and you'll want to plan accordingly. For more gaming culture coverage and what's next in the Pokemon world, browse the latest guides and features.
