Hard work and tough sports are the themes of these newly installed Pokéfuta.

Osaka and Tokyo have a bit of a rivalry, stretching back to being competing centers of political and economic power in the late Sengoku period. So Pokémon fans in Osaka were no doubt feeling pretty jealous as Tokyo got not one, not two, but three sets of Pokémon manhole covers (or Pokéfuta, as they’re called in Japanese) while Osaka still had none.

But Osaka’s long, dark, Pokéfuta-less days are finally over, as this month it’s officially joining the Pokémon manhole cover club with five designs that pay homage to the local community.

Generally Pokéfuta are placed in parts of Japan that are a little off the beaten path, to give a boost to the town’s spirits and tourism. Because of that, the five new covers will be found in the Osaka Prefecture town of Higashiosaka, Osaka City’s neighbor to the east.

The Pokéfuta were unveiled at Higashiosaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium, site of Japan’s national high school rugby championships, and Electric-type Yamper and Steel/Electric-type Togedemaru can be seen playing with a rugby ball on the field on their cover, which is installed inside Higashiosaka Chuo Park, not far from the stadium.

Right outside one of the stadium entrances is another Electric-type, Legendary Pokémon Raikou.

By this point, you might be starting to notice a theme. In addition to rugby, Higashiosaka is famous for its numerous factories and manufacturing centers, and so all of its Pokéfuta feature Electric or Steel-type species, with the remaining covers graced by Magnemite and Magneton (both Electric/Steel)…

…Klink and Klang (both Steel)…

…and Electabuzz and Mawile (Electric and Steel/Fairy, respectively).

▼ The new Pokéfuta’s locations within Osaka Prefecture (the Yamper/ Togedemaru and Raikou covers are already in place, with the rest scheduled to be installed later this month)

Higashiosaka is less than half an hour from Osaka City’s downtown, making it easy for residents of or visitors to the larger of the two towns to hop on over and check out the new covers. Exact locations can be found here on the Pokéfuta official website, and now Osaka can start wondering when it’ll get its own life-size Gundam.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Pokéfuta official website
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