I Sampled Krispy Kreme’s Rare Pokémon Doughnuts, and One Surprised Me!

Yesterday, I shared my disappointment over how Krispy Kreme’s Pokémon 30th anniversary doughnut promotion seemed to sell out before it even kicked off. The pre-order system was quickly overwhelmed by eager fans, and the website didn’t provide clear details about the availability of the doughnuts beyond that initial phase. However, when I woke up this morning, I discovered there were still a few doughnuts left. I hurriedly placed an order and made my way to my local Krispy Kreme to pick them up.

When I arrived, the store wasn’t too crowded. I overheard one customer having a rather animated discussion with an employee about the absence of “hot ‘n ready” glazed doughnuts (they were out of stock). An older woman was there with her preteen grandson, clearly on a mission for a Pokémon doughnut, and I heard her enthusiastically request an extra “poke – ee – ball” doughnut. The preteen pointed out to me that, despite Squirtle being sold out, there was a fresh batch of blue doughnuts just past the counter. The employee behind the counter looked a bit overwhelmed by the promotion; right after we walked in, a flurry of preorders printed out, and she accidentally spilled coffee on her hand while filling my order. Here’s hoping she’s okay and that the day isn’t too hectic for her.

It seemed like we snagged some of the last doughnuts available, as the website switched back to “Sold Out” just half an hour after we left. We managed to walk away with a “Pokémon Dozen” and a limited edition “Dots Cup Combo” for $29.95. I also grabbed a pumpkin spice coffee, starting my annual tradition of reminding myself that I’m not a fan of pumpkin spice a bit earlier this year.

I drove the doughnuts over to Zack’s place, and along with our partners, we sampled each flavor. The Pokémon dozen includes one each of Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Jigglypuff, and Pikachu doughnuts, plus a bonus second doughnut of one of those five (we got an extra Jigglypuff instead of the expected second Pikachu), two Poké Ball doughnuts, and four regular glazed doughnuts. The “Dots Cup” is a sturdy plastic cup featuring a Pokémon (we got Pikachu) filled with ten doughnut holes that are coated in a shiny gold glaze.

Here are Zack’s and my thoughts on each doughnut, along with some pictures comparing what was advertised to what we received. I’ll give Krispy Kreme credit; the photos accurately represented the doughnuts, though I can see the quality potentially declining as the promotion continues.

Original glazed & tossed in gold dusting

Reb: We can just call these doughnut holes, right? I know you don’t want anyone saying “Pokémon holes,” but it’s fine.

Zack: They were golden. I prefer Dunkin’s munchkins. The cup was cool, though.

Sprinkles, vanilla flavored icing, and chocolate icing drizzle

Reb: This generic doughnut was so unremarkable it might as well not have been in the box. Just give me two more glazed ones. Sprinkles are a non-feature.

Zack: Doughnut with sprinkles. Tasty. Good.

With strawberry flavored buttercreme

Reb: I can’t explain it, but if this had been a filled doughnut with the same ingredients, I might have liked it more.

Zack: Good, but you need to like strawberry.

Cotton-candy-flavored buttercreme

Reb: Nothing about Pokémon Squirtle screams cotton candy to me, but hey, it was fine.

Zack: Edible, but a bit too sweet for breakfast.

Caramel iced with chocolate marshmallow–flavored filling

Reb: We split this among four people, and Zack got all the filling. I couldn’t even tell the icing was caramel; it just tasted like doughnut.

Zack: Chocolate-filled doughnuts are fine. This one was okay, but I wouldn’t want to eat it again.

Vanilla-flavored icing

Reb: I actually kind of liked this one, though I can’t explain why. I spent several minutes guessing what flavor it was supposed to be before realizing it was just vanilla.

Zack: Not really sure what this was meant to taste like beyond warm sugar. Eh.

With lemon-flavored kreme[sic]

Reb: The filling was like a lemon cream cheese? This is the only doughnut from this special batch I’d go out of my way to buy on its own. Genuinely pretty good.

Zack: I hate Pikachu. The Elmo of Pokémon. But this is a damn fine doughnut. I’d order it again.

Reb: It’s a glazed doughnut, man. What more do you want?

Zack: Weirdly, this is like the second-best one of the bunch. Turns out a glazed doughnut is still awesome. If it ain’t broke…

Overall, my verdict is this: don’t spend $30 on doughnuts. Just head to your local doughnut shop and spend about ten bucks to get a big box of the good stuff instead of shelling out cash for air and sugar.

But hey, at least I got this cool Pikachu cup!