Nintendo Store's Back-to-School Range Has Pipe Pencil Holders and Zelda Bomb Pouches

Six Franchises, One Very Specific Pencil Holder

Every August, the backpack industry gets its moment. This year, Nintendo Europe is making a play for those returning students, or at least for the parents and older fans willing to spend £17.99 on a cylindrical polyester resin pipe to hold their pens. As reported by Nintendo Life, the Nintendo Store Europe has launched a back-to-school merchandise range through its Pop-Up Store, organized around six of the company’s biggest series: Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Kirby, and Splatoon.

The range mixes genuinely practical gear like pencil cases, backpacks, and notebooks with items that are more, let’s say, aspirational. A Triforce Clear Pouch, for instance, is described as looking cool while being “thoroughly impractical for holding almost anything you might need at school.” The Tears of the Kingdom Bomb Flower Pouch, made from vinyl chloride resin, does not fit books, pencils, or an iPad. It is, however, very handsome.

The Super Mario Lineup Leads With Peach

The Super Mario section offers the most variety. According to Nintendo Life, highlights include the Peach Multi Pouch (described as “kind of a posh pencil case”), the Power-Up Pencil Case, and the Peach Cap, which the outlet calls “impressively, classily understated.” Standard school fare like A4 folders, notepads, sticky notes, and keychains round out the section.

But the item that caught Nintendo Life’s attention is the Pipe Pencil Holder, a green warp-pipe-shaped desk accessory priced at £17.99. The outlet notes that 18 quid feels steep for what it is, while also admitting their desk suddenly looked incomplete without one. That is a very specific kind of want.

Other Super Mario prices to know: the Power-Up Sticky Notes run £7.99, the Power-Up Pencil Case is £12.99, the Peach Cap sits at £19.99, and the Diddy Kong Banana Bunch Drinks Bottle comes in at £20.99.

Zelda Goes Premium, Animal Crossing Goes Subtle

The Legend of Zelda section offers two backpack options. There is a standard Hylian Crest backpack at £29.99 and a “Premium” green Link backpack at £49.99. Nintendo Life makes its preference clear: go green. The Zelda Pencil Case at £12.99 gets a nod for practicality, with a notable green interior. A Triforce Travel Tumbler runs £29.99 for the hydration-minded Hyrule fan.

Animal Crossing takes a quieter approach compared to the louder primary colors elsewhere in the range. The items lean into soft pastels and understated design. The Animal Crossing Laptop Sleeve at £24.99 features “Dōbutsu no Mori” text, the Japanese name for the franchise, which Nintendo Life suggests will earn knowing nods from fans and blank stares from everyone else. The range also includes an Animal Crossing: New Horizons Green Insulated Food Canister at £24.99, which the outlet cheekily points out is good for post-school cookies if nothing else.

Pikmin Paperclips and the Rest

Nintendo Life teased Pikmin paperclips among the items in that section, which is exactly the kind of low-key delightful product that makes Nintendo merchandise what it is. The full range also extends into Kirby and Splatoon, rounding out a fairly thorough sweep of Nintendo’s catalog for fans heading back into classrooms.

For European shoppers, the range is available now through the Nintendo Store’s Pop-Up section. Whether you need a backpack that announces your Zelda allegiance across a cafeteria, or just a green pen holder shaped like a warp pipe, the timing is about right before September arrives.