Some Pokémon fun to share with your real-world Meowth, Litten, or Sprigatito.
“Pokémon” is short for “Pocket Monster,” but there are more than a few Pokémon species that aren’t exactly monstrous in appearance or attitude. Sure, they may still be fantastical fictional creatures, but there are definitely Pokémon that look like they’d make fine pets here in the real world. For example, what cat lover wouldn’t be thrilled to welcome Litten, Sprigatito, or Meowth to their home?
And while those three Pokémon species themselves will have to stay in the realms of anime and video games, there is a way to have them play with your feline family, thanks to Japanese pet supply company Necoichi.
The first part of Necoichi’s name comes from neko, the Japanese word for “cat,” and cats are indeed the focus of their product lineup. Through a partnership with the Pokémon franchise, they’re now offering a line of themed cat toys and accessories featuring cute artwork of the above-mentioned Pocket Monster trio.
Starting things off is the Baribari Bowl (3,938 yen [US$24]), a scratch pad with a bowl-like sloping inside and an enticingly rough surface for your kitty to run its claws across.
You’ll probably want to set this down somewhere where it won’t be in your walking path across the room, as Necoichi cautions that during testing once cats went inside the Baribari Bowl, they were very reluctant to come out anytime soon.
On the other hand, the Cat Tunnel (2,728 yen) is actually designed as something for your cat to pass through, though, again, there’s really no way to instill a sense of urgency in it if it suddenly decides it wants to hang out in the middle for a while on its odyssey to the other end.
▼ There’s a hole at the midpoint so your pet can stick its head out and see what’s been going on since it went in.
Alternatively, you pet could spend its leisure time crawling into, out of, and all around Nekoichi’s Pokémon Cat Play Cube (2,178 yen).
The Pokémon fun doesn’t necessarily have to stop when playtime is over, either, as Necoichi has themed food and water bowls too (ranging in price from 2,508 to 3,278 yen).
The water bowls come with graduated markings on the inside for if you need to be precise in the quantity of fluids you’re providing your pet, and the food bowls come in two different varieties, the “regular” design seen here…
…or these stylish, ease-to-reach diagonal versions, which Necoichi calls “Nyayame,” a pun on the word naname (“diagonal” and nya (Japanese’s version of “meow”).
▼ Japan loves cats and Japan loves puns, so Japan really, really loves cat puns.
Note that while Meowth, Litten, and Sprigatito are represented as a trio on the scratching bowl, tube, and cube, the food and water bowls feature only Litten or Sprigatito individually, with Meowth nowhere to be found, though perhaps that’s because as the most human-like cat Pokémon, Meowth prefers to dine using the same tableware that people do.
The entire lineup is available through the Necoichi online store here.
Source: Necoichi, Digital PR Platform
Top image: Digital PR Platform
Insert images: Digital PR Platform, Necoichi (1, 2, 3)
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[ Read in Japanese ]