Time’s almost up for the second Mythical Pokémon in this year’s monthly celebration of two decades of pocket monsters. As collector fever begins to ramp up, we say goodbye to the toys of Pokémon #251.
I was wandering around Toys’R’Us the other day, as you do, and noticed a small swarm of toy collectors circling the Pokémon sections of the store. They’d wander about the aisle the Pokémon toys share with Transformers, out to the Pokémon toy island in the main aisle and back. I believe they were looking for these:
The collectors are getting hungry for what Tomy and The Pokémon Company have cooked up for the game’s 20th anniversary. Each month in 2016 a different Mythical Pokémon gets a lovely plush toy, a clip-on Pokéball minifigure and a special Pokémon Trading Card bundle.
Though not Mythical, Pikachu serves as ambassador to the greats. He counted as January’s character, and will be available year round in various forms. February was Mew. I missed out on Mew. I shall not miss out again. Celebi has shown me the way, even though I missed the March 24 deadline to get one in the game.
The grass/psychic Mythical is represented adorably in both plush and plastic, as one would expect. Its green hue evokes springtime and rebirth. It’s the perfect March.
Tomy and The Pokémon Company will be driving collectors insane all year long, thanks to the monthly releases (with no concrete plans to re-release) and either Toys’R’Us or GameStop exclusivity, depending on the month. Next month’s Jirachi will be at Toys’R’Us. Darkrai hits GameStop in May. Limited runs plus exclusivity plus monthly releases equals grown men and women wandering store shelves with a hungry look in their eyes.
If you want to catch them all (at least the ones remaining) you can keep track of the releases at the official website.