If you haven't yet seen the work that custom skateboard artist Bear Walker has been doing with Pokémon, prepare to have your mind blown. Series 2 of the Pokémon Center × Bear Walker skateboard collection goes on sale today and you're going to want to act fast.
Series 2 includes 5 new designs: Umbreon, Toxtricity, Rayquaza, Togepi, and Mew. Each board is handcrafted in Bear Walker's signature style. Because these boards are handmade, no 2 will be exactly alike.
Bear made his first skateboard for his senior design project at Clemson University. His process evolved over time as he developed his signature style: tapeless boards.
RELATED: Say I Do With These Official Pokémon Wedding Rings Featuring Eevee
Rather than using grip tape, Bear cuts the grip directly into the boards themselves. Using a unique pattern, he's figured out how to create tread where it's needed without compromising his designs with tape. The result is an incredible 29-inch skateboard that's as much a work of art as it is a great ride.
While the Series 1 set contained 5 of the most classic and beloved Pokémon — Pikachu, Charizard, Gengar Gyarados, and Mewtwo — Series 2 has a unique mix of new favorites, iconic monsters, and legendaries to choose from.
TheGamer received one of the Series 2 boards this week and we can say with confidence that pictures don't do them justice. There's an incredible level of detail that shows how refined Bear's process is while also showing a tremendous amount of love for each Pokémon.
We received Umbreon for review and the design is spot-on for the Dark-type Eeveelution. The spiky grip pattern serves as the background for Umbreon, but even across the grip, there are carved-in details such as a patch of grass and clouds in the night sky. There's a cool gradient in the purple color around the moon at the top of the board to represent the light emanating from it. All across the board are specks of white like distant stars. It's one of my favorite details because it's what makes this board unique among all the other Umbreon boards created for the series.
The design of Umbreon perfectly captures the night cat's mysterious personality. There's a subtle red shading in the eyes, but otherwise, Umbreon has a natural wood color. The crescent moon at the top is similarly natural-tone, but the shadow part has a rough, slightly grippy texture to it.
The trucks and wheels are Hyberium, Bear's own brand of premium slide wheels. Each wheel is also printed with the Pokémon Center's logo. On the back of the board, both Bear Walker's and the Pokémon Center's logos are stenciled onto the natural wood. The board comes with a letter of authenticity signed by Bear Walker himself.
The skateboard collection is yet another example of the kind of high-quality merch available on the Pokémon Center website, but having something unique and handcrafted like this really special. Series 1 sold out at the Pokémon Center in under 24 hours, so you don't want to wait to order yours.
Check out the video below for an unboxing of the board and a ton of Pokémon Center products from the Halloween 2020 collection.
The Bear Walker x Pokemon Center skateboard collection is available now for $249.99 each on the Pokemon Center website.