A brand new and absolutely darling new Appletun plushie has been announced by Pokemon Center Japan. This baby is a life-sized one, which means plenty of surface area to cuddle and you can pretend that you're hugging the real thing. Pokeshopper News posted plenty of pictures both on their official Twitter page and on their official website:

The news was so big that the Pokeshopper website experienced slow downs due to site traffic spiking. While no price or released date has been revealed yet, I'm sure plenty of us will stop at nothing to get this cute apple pie dragon into our homes and on our laps where it belongs.

If you want more merch, these Pokemon patterned face masks are sure to scratch that itch. And in other recent news, the official Pokemon Twitter account announced that the franchise will hold some sort of "celebration" in 2021 to mark the series' 25 year anniversary.

According to Nintendo's recent financial results, Pokemon Sword and Shield are now the third best selling Pokemon games of all time. The pair have now sold 18.22 million copies in just nine months and sit just behind Gold and Silver in the lifetime sales chart. And if you’re one of those buyers, reading up on our guide on how to train Pokemon EVs and breed perfect IVs for competitive play is a great way to learn how to strengthen your team.

From Nintendo's nine-month earnings report, it was revealed that Sword and Shield has sold more than 16 million copies since its November release, becoming the biggest highlight in an already strong fiscal year for the company. The latest NPD data, the latest installment in the long running series has the highest launch month dollar sales in Pokemon franchise history. And for the month of November, Sword was the third best selling game, the double pack including both titles ranking at fourth place, and Shield being in fifth place. However, if you combined those sales then total it would bring them to the number two spot.

Pokemon Sword and Shield released for Nintendo Switch on November 15th, 2019. Meanwhile check out our in-depth review for the game here, in which the News Editor states that “Sword and Shield are a lot of fun, even if the series is experiencing growing pains with the transition to home consoles.” You can purchase Sword here and Shield here.