I've been playing Pokemon for 26 years, but this Razer collab doesn't make me want to catch 'em all

I love myself some licensed gaming partnerships, especially ones that take the often mundane and boring all-black gaming PCs out there and turn them into bits of merch I'd proudly have sitting amongst the rest of my collection.

Not only do I love a good collab, but I've also been playing Pokemon ever since Pokemon Blue launched here in the UK in 1999, and my mum still has the Amazon order to prove it. You could assume then that I'd be the exact kind of person this brand-new Razer Pokemon Collection was designed for, but nothing about it makes me want to open my wallet and collect all of these new gaming peripherals.

Where to order the Razer Pokemon Collection

• Razer BlackWidow V4 X Pokemon Edition: $169.99 at Razer
• Razer Kraken V4 X Pokemon Edition: $99.99 at Razer
• Razer Cobra Pokemon Edition: $59.99 at Razer
• Razer Gigantus V2 M Pokemon Edition: $29.99 at Razer

Available from July 17, this Pokemon Collection is comprised of some pre-existing Razer tech but with a Pokémon-themed aesthetic.

The entire set is made up of a Razer BlackWidow V4 X keyboard, a Razer Kraken V4 X headset, a Razer Cobra mouse, and a Razer Gigantus V2 medium-sized mouse pad, all decked out in designs featuring the iconic Pikachu and the first three starters, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, from the original games.

Razer BlackWidow V4 X Pokemon Edition | $169.99 at Razer
The Razer BlackWidow V4 X is an RGB mechanical keyboard with 6 macro keys, multi-function roller, and secondary media keys, Razer Chroma support, and now it's decked out with a Pokemon-themed board as part of this new collection.

UK: £169.99 at Razer

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Razer Kraken V4 X Pokemon Edition | $99.99 at Razer
The Razer Kraken V4 X is a wired gaming headset that sports not just a yellow and black Pikachu-style colorway as part of this collection, but it's also equipped with Razer's iconic TriForce 40 mm audio drivers and a retractable HyperClear cardioid microphone.

UK: £59.99 at Razer

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Razer Cobra Pokemon Edition | $59.99 at Razer
The Razer Cobra is a lightweight wired gaming mouse equipped with the brand's Gen 3 optical mouse switches, Razer Chroma Support, and a yellow and black colorway with Pokemon pattern printed left and right buttons to match the rest of the collection.

You can also grab the Razer Gigantus V2 M, which is draped in that same Pokemon pattern but on a 14.18-inch by 10.84-inch high-density rubber foam mouse mat.

Razer Gigantus V2 M Pokemon Edition | $29.99 at Razer

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Similar to the Razer Kuromi Collection, there's no new bits of tech on offer here, just new designs, but I can't help but feel that the licensing was a bit wasted. For example, the Razer Deathadder Essential, as part of the Kuromi collab, wasn't the best gaming mouse in the world, but it was hard not to love with the pink RGB-light up skull. The pattern on the Razer Cobra mouse that's made up of the Pokemon's disembodied heads is cute, but the rest of the mouse feels a lot more boring in comparison, with there instead being just a typical RGB-lit Razer logo when the use of a Pokeball or Pikachu's face would have been more fitting.

This Pokemon Collection isn't technically new, and has already been available in Asia, it's just finally launching in the US, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for the first time. I just can't help but wish we got the Razer Gengar set instead.

Any time I catch a glimpse of any item from the Razer x Gengar collection, I get goosebumps. I'm not even a particularly big fan of Gengar, but it's hard not to love the glossy dark purple Razer Kraken V3 X headset with its glowing silhouettes and the Pokémon's iconic spikey ears sitting on the headband. Even the keyboard, which sees the Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro, one of the best gaming keyboards our team's ever tested, draped in that stunning dark purple colorway, feels more thoughtful in its design than the entirety of this Pokemon Collection.

At least if one previously Asia-exclusive collab can make its way to the US and UK, there's no saying the Gengar one couldn't too. In the meantime, this Pokemon Collection just doesn't spark the interest of this almost life-long Pokemon fan.

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