(CNN) – It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … Jigglypuff?
Some Pokémon-themed planes are starting to appear in the skies in Japan.
Solaseed Airlines, a local airline based on the Japanese island of Kyushu, debuted a Pokémon-painted plane on December 19. The first flight was from Miyazaki City to Tokyo Haneda Airport.
The plane is part of a tourism partnership between The Pokémon Company (which owns and licenses the characters) and various regions of Japan. Miyazaki, on Kyushu’s east coast, is the eighth prefecture to join the partnership.
Exeggutor’s signature colors are part of the onboard design.
Credit to Solaseed Air
Each prefecture is assigned its own Pokémon. Miyazaki’s is Exeggutor, chosen because it resembles the phoenix palm tree native to the area, while the northern island of Hokkaido has the Alolan Vulpix (suitable for cold weather, which suits the snowy prefecture) and Fukushima is represented by pink-colored Chansey , which has healing powers.
And it’s not just the exterior of the plane that characterizes Exeggutor. On board the seats have Exeggutor headrests and some passengers have special Exeggutor swag such as pens and stickers.
For those who don’t have air travel in their plans, there are also Exeggutor-themed buses in Miyazaki City, Miyakonojo and Nobeoka, all in Miyazaki province. The special aircraft and buses will run at least until the end of 2021.
Color schemes painted with popular characters are a fun tradition in the aviation industry. Jake, Finn and Princess Bubblegum from the hit TV show “Adventure Time” have appeared on Cartoon Network branded planes on Thai Smile, a regional airline in Thailand.
CNN’s Junko Ogura has reported.
