The London Pokemon Center is so popular fans have started a petition to make it permanent

The London Pokemon Center pop up shop in Shepherd's Bush, Westfield is so popular, a Pokemon fan petition to make it a permanent fixture or open an online UK store has surfaced on Change.org.

Since the petition was started a week ago, it already has over 2,500 signatures. The store has already had to limit the number of purchases per customer due to high demand and the sheer number of customers visiting the Center since it opened earlier this month.

The shop, which is only set to remain open until November 15, 2019, has seen an impressive number of visitors since its rather crowded opening, with tweets still coming from customers stating that they've been waiting in four hour long queues for their chance to get all that exclusive London Pokemon Center merch.

The official Pokemon UK Twitter account posted an FAQ detailing how the shop has been experiencing "unprecedented demand and queues should be expected." The store stated that due to the high demand, some products may sell out before the end of the day. "We receive daily deliveries and endeavour to replenish stock as quickly as possible," the FAQ says, "However, due to unprecedented demand, some products may sell out before the end of the day."

Shortly after it opened, customers were limited to just six purchases to ensure everyone could have the chance to grab some merch. A lot of the excitement surrounding the store is also down to the Pokemon Sword and Shield demo that fans are able to try out. The Center is reportedly giving customers wristbands with time slots to try out the demo during their visit.

UK Pokefans have been hoping for some Pokemon goodness this side of the pond for a long time. While the pop-up shop is still set to run until November, I would love to see an online store open sometime in future. Given the success of the shop, an online store is sure to do just as well. For now, though, we'll just have to keep on hoping.

Be sure to check out our latest Pokemon Sword and Shield preview or you can watch the video below:

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.