Pokémon & Beats Announce A Partnership We Didn't Know We Needed
Earlier in 2026, Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Japanese company announced the tenth generation of its games for 2027, in addition to several partnerships with brands like Uniqlo, Secretlab, Build-a-Bear, Target, and more. Now, Pokémon has revealed a partnership with Beats to release a unique Beats Pill speaker design with Pikachu and Mimikyu — a Pikachu-wannabe monster — stylized on the product. This marks the first time the Japanese company and Beats have partnered. "Pokémon Trainers are some of the most passionate in the world, and we saw an opportunity to channel that energy into something fun, unexpected, and created especially for fans," said Chris Thorne, Beats CMO. "This collaboration unites two brands rooted in culture, giving fans a new way to express their love of Pokémon through sound."
Interestingly enough, during Tim Cook's final moments as Apple CEO, he walked around Apple Park, with the Pokémon Company's president Tsunekazu Ishihara, Apple's new CEO John Ternus, and someone dressed in a Pikachu costume. At that moment, it wasn't clear why the two companies met, but it's possible that this could have helped to organize this Beats partnership in addition to discussions around gaming.
Over the years, Pokémon has dipped its toes into the smartphone ecosystem with several games like "Pokémon Sleep," "Pokémon Shuffle," "Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket," and, most importantly, "Pokémon Go" in a partnership with Niantic. Besides this important contribution to the App Store growth in 2016 and push into augmented reality (AR), the Japanese company continued to focus on its big releases to Nintendo consoles.
What is the Pokémon x Beats speaker?
This special edition of the 2024 Beats Pill features Pikachu and Mimikyu on the speaker's grille, with the front and back of the product featuring Pikachu's yellow color with a grayscale representing the Pokémon Mimikyu character. To celebrate this partnership, Beats is including a charm, which features a Poké Ball and the Beats' "b" logo with lightning bolts, which is the signature symbol for Pikachu. There's also a polishing cloth with a happier Pikachu and a cuter Mimikyu, in addition to a Poké Ball and Beats' "b" logo.
Even the box of this product is something that collectors will want to keep for the upcoming 30 years. The front of it depicts a worried Pikachu, with one of its ears being able to stand up, while the back features a grayed Mimikyu, as its ear also pops out from the top of the box.
Besides the special design, Beats says this portable Bluetooth speaker's sound "packs an electric punch," pun intended. As previously reviewed by BGR, the Beats Pill speaker features powerful sound with loud bass, but customers can enjoy this product better by combining at least two speakers together into Stereo Mode. By using the USB-C port, the product can stream high-res lossless audio, while wireless pairing the Beats Pill brings Amplify Mode or Stereo Mode. This speaker offers up to 24 hours of battery life and an IP67 rating for dust- and water-resistance. This special Pokémon x Beats edition becomes available October 15 for $149.99 at Apple in the U.S., the U.K., and China.