The Poké Ball It has been used for decades to capture, transport and allow Pokémon to rest. Now, for the first time, humans will be able to sleep inside. And Pokémon Sleep has teamed up with the Japanese hospitality company Not a Hotel to build a Poké Ball habitable on a human scale in Hokkaido, Japan. The structure replicates the franchise’s recognizable red and white sphere and will serve as accommodation for a lounging experience linked to the app.

The initiative thus plays with one of the most universal codes of Pokémon: what in its fictional universe functions as a refuge for creatures passes into the physical world and acquires sufficient dimensions to house a person.

For now, the companies have only shown the exterior of the structure. The interior design and full details of the experience remain under wraps and will be revealed on September 15. Nor has its exact location been communicated other than that it is located somewhere in Hokkaido.

The project is directly related to Pokémon Sleep, the application launched around rest and sleeping habits. The game records the user’s rest hours and incorporates them into a dynamic featuring different Pokémon and their particular ways of sleeping.

The Poké Ball giant takes that proposal from the screen to the physical world. Instead of simply using Pokémon iconography to decorate a conventional room, the collaboration transforms one of its most recognizable objects into the very space where the experience takes place.

The choice of Not a Hotel also connects with that approach. The Japanese company develops accommodations and residences with a strong commitment to design and architecture and, on this occasion, uses the shape of the house itself. Poké Ball as structure.
The sphere has also been installed in the heart of Hokkaido’s nature, establishing a contrast between an object associated with the digital and entertainment universe and the Japanese landscape.

Despite being accommodation, it will not be possible to reserve a night conventionally. The project will work through a limited campaign in which certain participants will be selected to enjoy the experience.
The restriction introduces exclusivity as part of the activation itself. Rather than considering itself as a new permanent hotel business, the Poké Ball It works as a physical extension of Pokémon Sleep designed to generate buzz around the brand and offer a small number of fans the chance to experience one of the franchise’s most recognizable elements firsthand.

Mystery is also part of the strategy. Until next September 15, it will not be known how the interior of a structure has been resolved whose exterior appearance is immediately recognizable even without resorting to large brand elements.

The initiative also expands the way in which Pokémon is bringing its universe to physical spaces and experiences in Japan. This summer, the Pokémon With You Foundation and the Ishikawa prefecture inaugurated an airport themed to the franchise, with a giant Pikachu and more than a hundred flying Pokémon distributed throughout the terminal.