I’m usually wary of sneakers with a character on them. Nine times out of ten you’re wearing a billboard after a month. This adidas Superstar “Pikachu” is different, and it comes down to one choice: the print is done entirely in black line work, without a spot of yellow on the shoe itself.
The upper is white leather with an all-over print of Pikachu in thin black contour lines — different poses, broken up with little lightning bolts. Because there’s no fill colour, from a few metres away it reads as a graphic pattern rather than a cartoon. The three stripes are black, the heel too. The shell toe and midsole are cream instead of white, which warms the whole shoe up and softens the contrast with the black lines. “PIKACHU” is printed small in gold on the side. The laces are the one place it gets loud: the full character heads are printed on them. That’s the single part that really shouts, and it’s also the one part you can swap out in two minutes. Smart, that. No pink this time, which is a shame for me personally, but I’m not going to talk it into a shoe where it isn’t.
Easy to wear, less easy to keep clean
Would I wear it? Yes, and that surprises me. The Superstar is a shoe you put on without thinking: low, flat, wide enough to walk in all day. White with black goes under almost anything you already own. The print makes it interesting enough not to be boring, but it doesn’t force the rest of your outfit into anything. A straight jeans, a grey jumper, done. What I’d keep in mind: white leather Superstars only hold their colour if you keep up with them, and a line print on white shows dirt sooner than a dark shoe does. A wipe with a cloth now and then is all it takes — not an objection, just something to know before you buy.
When it dropped and what it costs
The Superstar “Pikachu” is part of the collection adidas built for Pokémon’s thirtieth anniversary, which dropped as a whole on 22 September 2026 — a broad release through adidas and selected shops, no raffle. On Solezilla.com there are fourteen active listings from twelve shops, and most of the regular retailers are still sitting right at retail: Asphaltgold, Schrittmacher, Foot District, Footshop and Newcop all around €119–€120 in euros. The floor is Offspring at about €111, the ceiling Farfetch near €208. For pounds there’s one listing, Solestop at £140; in dollars, Shoe Palace at $110 and Stadium Goods US at $128, and that $110 matches the US retail.
The Hypescore reads 29, still in the INERT band — quiet, which fits a wide release you can buy at retail a week and a half later. Compare the shops by size and price on the Superstar “Pikachu” (KI2857) page, see the rest on the adidas Superstar page, and check what else adidas put out this run. Wearable, or am I the only one here? Grail or Bail — let me know below.