Beats Pikachu Pill speaker revives the Pill with Pikachu styling

Beats started with a tease. On the Monday of launch week, it posted a six-second clip of yellow and purple electric sparks over a shadowy Beats Pill, ending on a Poké Ball and the Beats “b” logo with an X between them. The caption, “Time to catch something new,” played on the old Pokémon slogan.

The next day, Beats and The Pokémon Company International made it official. The Pokémon x Beats Pill went on sale on Thursday, October 15, as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary celebrations.

Fans had a hint even earlier. A week before the teaser, a Facebook user shared a photo of a bright yellow Pikachu Pill that appeared to be sitting in a Target shopping cart, though that picture was never confirmed as the real product.

The changes are all on the outside. The speaker body and grille are gray, which matches the grayscale Mimikyu printed on the front. Pikachu sits next to it in full yellow, with raised electric sparks fanning out across the grille.

For the first time, Beats ships a Pill with charms. The box includes custom charms shaped like a Poké Ball, the Beats “b” logo and Pikachu’s lightning bolts, plus a removable lanyard, Beats x Pokémon stickers and specially designed packaging.

Beats marketing chief Chris Thorne said the company saw a chance to turn the energy of Pokémon Trainers into something fun and unexpected that was made with fans in mind.

One early reviewer liked the look but had two quibbles. The raised sparks might chip or wear down if you take the speaker to the beach often, and there was only one colorway. A yellow Pikachu Pill and a gray Mimikyu Pill sold separately would have made a cute stereo pair.

Under the paint, this is the Beats Pill that Beats brought back in 2024. That means:

• up to 24 hours of playback on a charge
• an IP67 rating, so it is sealed against dust and can survive a dunk in water
• lossless audio when you plug a phone or laptop into its USB-C port
• the ability to charge your phone from the same USB-C port in a pinch
• Amplify Mode or Stereo Mode, which link two Pills wirelessly so they play together

The sound leans toward deep bass, as you would expect from Beats, but the newer tweeter gives it clearer highs than older Beats gear. Reviewers have found it loud for its size, especially when two are paired.

It pairs easily with both iPhone and Android phones. There is no “Hey Siri” voice assistant, though, and linking two speakers is done by holding buttons rather than through an app.

The Pokémon x Beats Pill costs $149.99 in the US, the same list price as other Beats Pill colors. That is a real premium right now: the plain Pill was selling for $129 at Target and Amazon when the Pokémon edition was revealed.

Availability was tight. Beats limited sales to three countries:

• the United States, through Apple’s website and Target online and in some stores
• the United Kingdom, through Apple’s website and Argos online and in some stores
• China, through Apple’s website and the Douyin app

Canada was not on the list, so Canadian fans would have had to rely on resellers. Beats did not give a UK price in the details we have seen. Within days, reviewers were noting that it could be tricky to find, and some videos were already describing it as sold out.

If you want the best-sounding portable speaker for the money and do not care about the art, the regular Pill at its discounted price does the same job for less. Nothing about the sound, battery or toughness changes.

If you are a collector, or you are buying a gift for a Pokémon-loving kid, the charms, packaging and limited run are the whole point. Just be careful with listings well above $149.99, since resellers tend to mark up limited editions quickly.

This is not the only anniversary tie-in either. In August, Pokémon teamed up with Polaroid on limited-edition instant cameras with Pikachu, Sylveon and Poké Ball designs, starting at $99.99.