A Kingston tattoo parlour is helping ensure Pokémon superfans can catch and keep them all forever by inking them with images of the pocket monsters for charity.
Old London Road tattooist Marie Terry came up with the idea to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original Nintendo game and raise money for animal charities.
Gaming lovers can get tattooed with their favourite character for a minimum donation of £60.
All the money raised will be split between the K9 Partners Dog Sanctuary and Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
Old London Road manager Ren O’Grady said: “Marie has always been a fan of Pokémon and, with the recent release of Pokémon Go and the fact that it is the 20th anniversary of the series this year, we thought this might be a great way of doing this.
"Both our chosen charities are no-kill animal rescues and I adopted my own dog from K9 Partners last year.”
Miss O’Grady added that the parlour is offering tattoos featuring Pokémon from all generations of the game, meaning there are more than 700 to choose from.
She said: “We currently have over 20 people booked in for the tattoos and we are receiving more interest every day.”
Rebecca Harrington is among eager Pokémon fans and got a purple Espeon tattooed on her thigh.
The 19-year-old, who is off to study politics at Oxford Brookes University next month, said it was the charity initiative that inspired her tattoo.
It was Miss Harrington’s fifth inking.
She said: “I have been a fan of Pokémon since I was 10 years old.
"I got the tattoo partly because of the charity drive – I don’t think I would have thought about it otherwise.
“But I am also a huge animal lover.
"All of my tattoos and piercings were done at Old London Road, it’s great that the parlour has decided to do this for such a good cause.
“My boyfriend is going to get an Umbreon, which is a night version of Espeon, tattooed on him soon too.”
Visit teamilbreyanimalservices.webs.com, celiahammond.org and oldlondonroad.co.uk for more information.
- Got a story? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6318 or email rachael.burford@newsquest.co.uk
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