If you’re a fan of Ash Ketchum and his friends, you might want to get a Pokemon hat.

A great many Pokemon hats, caps, and other headgear have been produced over the years. Some are better than others, but you have a lot of choices available out there.

We’ve found ten cool and interesting Pokemon hats which we think you’ll like and should wear the next time you watch the Pokemon anime

About the Pokemon Franchise

New Pokemon 2023 series promo from the official Japanese YouTube channel - Nintendo/ Creatures/ Game Freak/ TV Tokyo/ ShoPro/ JR Kikaku/ Pokémon

Video game designer Satoshi Tajiri is generally credited as the creator of Pokemon. Since 1996, Pokemon (a.k.a. Pocket Monsters) has entertained millions of all ages with its video games, trading card games, manga books, anime shows, movies, and more. 

Some elements of the anime are based upon the many Nintendo video games — the various Pokemon Regions, for example. However, Ash himself only appears in the anime. 

Between 1997 and 2022, there were 25 seasons of the anime series. You could also divide up the seasons by region and/ or generation. As of 2023, there have been only nine regions (and the original series covered generations 1 and 2).

A 26th season of Pokemon (featuring new people who are NOT Ash) started in April 2023.

Pokemon Hat List

  1. Pikachu Kigurumi Costume Hat
  2. Pikachu 3D Cap (JapanLA)
  3. Magikarp Kigurumi Cap
  4. Original Series Ash Ketchum Cap
  5. Slowpoke/ Yadon Kigurumi Cap
  6. Squirtle Beanie
  7. Gengar Kigurumi Cap
  8. Ash Ketchum XY Cap
  9. Pikachu Hat with Moving Ears
  10. Team Rocket

Note: This article contains links to our partner, ZenPlus. It also contains links to JapanLA, and Amazon affiliates.

Best Pokemon Hats

1. Pikachu Kigurumi Costume Hat

Pikachu (Pokemon) kigurumi hat at ZenPlus

We’ll start with the most famous Pokemon of them all, Pikachu. 

This fuzzy hat is designed to wrap around your entire head (except for your face). It has a chin strap to help hold it in place. It is one of several kigurumi-style Pokemon costume hats that ZenPlus sells. 

People outside of Japan often associate the Japanese word kigurumi with a type of hooded, full-body pajamas. Occasionally, kigurumi may also describe the doll-like, full-body masked cosplay costumes that you sometimes see at anime conventions. 

However, in this case, the term actually just means “costumed character.”

Buy a Pikachu Kigurumi Costume Hat at ZenPlus.

2. Pikachu 3D Cap

Pikachu cap at JapanLA

JapanLA offers this baseball cap with Pikachu’s face. A pair of ears stick up from the top of the cap.

JapanLA is a Los Angeles-based anime and Japanese pop culture store. If you’re in the L.A. area, you can visit JapanLA at its La Brea shop location. However, the store is only open for a few hours on Saturdays.  For the rest of us, the shop offers international shipping.

Buy a Pikachu 3D Cap at JapanLA.

3. Magikarp Kigurumi Cap

Magikarp kigurumi hat at ZenPlus

If you want to know what it’s like to be swallowed by a plushie, try this kigurumi cap.

The cap features the seemingly useless water-type Pokemon, Magikarp. Magikarp is notorious for being a very weak Pokemon. And in Pokemon Go, it takes 400 candies to get it to evolve. But when it does evolve, it becomes the powerful Gyarados. 

(This refers to an old legend where a carp which manages the impossible task of jumping over a waterfall becomes a dragon.) 

Buy a Magikarp Kigurumi Cap at ZenPlus.

4. Original Series Ash Ketchum Cap

Original series Ash Ketchum hat at Amazon

This cap is a replica of Ash Ketchum’s first cap from the original Pokemon anime series. The first 1997 season is sometimes also called Indigo League to distinguish it from the franchise as a whole. It’s in this season that we first meet Ash, Misty, Brock, Team Rocket, Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, etc.  (Note: If you live in Japan, you probably know the main characters as Satoshi, Kasumi, and Takeshi.)

According to the first season episode Primeape Goes Bananas, Ash’s cap is an official Pokemon League Expo cap. He won it in a contest by mailing in “about a million” postcards.

Luckily, you don’t have to go to that extreme, as many Amazon affiliates offer versions of the cap. 

Buy an Original Series Ash Ketchum Cap at Amazon.

5. Slowpoke/ Yadon Kigurumi Cap

Slowpoke/ Yadon kigurumi hat at ZenPlus

ZenPlus uses the original Japanese name for this Pokemon, Yadon. But English-speaking Pokemon trainers know it as Slowpoke.

This kigurumi hat is similar to the Pikachu and Magikarp hats mentioned earlier, except it features Slowpoke’s goofy, smiling face.

Buy a Slowpoke/ Yadon Kigurumi Cap at ZenPlus.

6. Squirtle Beanie

Squirtle (Pokemon) beanie at Amazon

Amazon affiliate Bioworld offers this acrylic, embroidered beanie featuring the water-type Pokemon, Squirtle.  The little turtle Pokemon is one of the first generation starters.

If you don’t like Squirtle, Bioworld also offers similar beanie hats, including ones for EeveeCharmander, Pikachu, and Charizard.

Buy a Squirtle Beanie at Amazon.

7. Gengar Kigurumi Cap

Gengar (Pokemon) kigurumi hat at ZenPlus

This kigurumi cap features the shadowy ghost/ poison-type Pokemon, Gengar.   Like with the other kigurumi hats that we’ve seen, this one covers the whole head except for your face. It also has a chin strap. 

Gengar is sticking out its tongue, which looks kind of like a bill.

Buy a Gengar Kigurumi Cap at ZenPlus.

8. Ash Ketchum XY Cap

Ash Ketchum (Pokemon XY) cap at Amazon

This is a copy of the cap Ash wore during Pokemon the Series: XY.  It’s a nice-looking cap for everyday use, or you could add it to an Ash Ketchum cosplay.

The 2013 series featured new companions Clemont, Bonnie, and especially Serena in the Kalos Region (i.e., Pokemon France). If you want a full description of the series and where to watch it, check out this article

Buy an Ash Ketchum XY Cap at Amazon.

9. Pikachu Hat with Moving Ears

Pikachu hat (Pokemon) with moving ears at ZenPlus

Strangely enough, ZenPlus doesn’t call this a Pikachu or even a Pokemon hat. But I know a Pikachu when I see one, and other websites call it a Pikachu hat. And yes, the ears do move.

This one is similar to the Pokemon kigurumi hats, except it doesn’t have the chin strap. Without the chin strap, it doesn’t cover the whole head. 

Instead, this hat has a couple of things hanging down, similar to a Laplander-style hat (but not really). You can’t see them in the photo, but the dangling parts have paws on them. When you squeeze the paws, Pikachu’s ears move up or down.

Buy a Pikachu Hat with Moving Ears at ZenPlus.

10. Team Rocket

Team Rocket (Pokemon) hat at Amazon

“Prepare for trouble! And make it double!” If you can remember the rest of Team Rocket’s motto, you might be interested in this cap featuring Jessie, James, and Meowth. (That’s right!)

These three may have been incompetent, but they were amusingly bad, with a million (mostly crossdressing) disguises and schemes. 

As the Pokemon anime franchise moved from region to region, other villains took over from the trio. But let’s be honest, these fools are easily the most memorable of Ash’s antagonists, even if they ended up “blasting off again” every single time. 

Buy a Team Rocket hat at Amazon.

Conclusion: Other Pokemon Hat Options

Ash Ketchum/ Satoshi (Pokemon) hat and cosplay outfit at ZenPlus

In 2022, I wrote about the Pokemon merch options available at ZenPlus. At the time, the options included a version of Ash Ketchum’s hat. It was similar to the one listed at #4 above. Unfortunately, that item is no longer available at ZenPlus.

However, you can get a complete Satoshi cosplay outfit from ZenPlus, which includes a cap. It’s a child-sized costume based on the outfit that he wore during Pokemon: Black & White.

ZenPlus also offers plushies of Pokemon wearing hats. For some reason, there’s something cute about Pokemon wearing hats.

I hope this article encourages you to think about buying a Pokemon hat.

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