A timeline of every TOMY Pokémon 20th anniversary plush release

The 20th anniversary of Pokémon in 2016 was celebrated worldwide, and TOMY's plush lineup became one of the most collected tie-ins of the year. For Australian fans, the staggered release schedule brought months of anticipation, with new figures landing at different retailers throughout the calendar. Each monthly drop carried its own marketing angle, and missing one often meant paying a premium on the secondary market.

From January through December, the collection introduced mythical creatures, multiple Pikachu variants, and specialty items that often sold out within hours of appearing on local shelves. Below is a month-by-month look at how the plush range unfolded, with notes on where Australian collectors had the best chance of securing each piece, and which releases still shape the second-hand market today.

The early months: kicking off the anniversary

TOMY launched its 20th anniversary celebration in January 2016 with the first wave of plush. The Japanese toy maker partnered with The Pokémon Company to release a set centred around Mew, the mythical creature long associated with the franchise's origins. In Australia, these early plush arrived through specialty importers and select department stores rather than mass-market chains, making them a genuine prize for collectors willing to queue before opening hours.

Sydney's Broadway and Melbourne's Chadstone shopping precincts both hosted retailers that stocked the initial run, though quantities were small. Australian Consumer Law protections gave buyers confidence that any defects would be addressed, but the limited stock meant most serious fans relied on online pre-orders through local hobby shops. The Mew plush became an instant benchmark for the rest of the year, setting expectations for build quality and packaging that subsequent releases would be measured against.

The novelty of the anniversary release also revived interest in older TOMY Pokémon plush from earlier generations. Australian collectors who had picked up the original late-1990s pieces found renewed enthusiasm, with mint-condition vintage items suddenly attracting attention on local auction platforms. Brisbane and Perth hobby stores both reported increased foot traffic from nostalgic adults in their thirties and forties, a demographic that helped sustain demand even when newer plush sold out within hours of release.

Spring rollouts and the mythical wave

By April, the rollout shifted focus to other mythical Pokémon, with Shaymin and Jirachi plush entering the rotation. These releases coincided with the Australian autumn school holidays, a period when families traditionally browse toy aisles at retailers like Kmart, Big W, and Target Australia. The timing was deliberate, capturing both the collector niche and the casual gift-buying crowd in one push.

A short comparison helps frame how the year unfolded.

Month Notable release Retail focus
January Mew plush Specialty stores
March Pikachu (Original Cap) Mass market
June Eevee evolutions Department stores
September Mewtwo anniversary Specialty outlets
November Holiday Pikachu set General retail

Australian collectors noted that the June Eevee family releases were among the easier plush to secure, partly because Target Australia ran extended promotions during the post-Boxing Day winter clearance that bled into the new financial year. Conversely, the September Mewtwo anniversary plush was notoriously difficult to find locally, with most copies ending up through private sellers on Australian eBay storefronts at marked-up prices.

Pikachu across the calendar

Pikachu variants were threaded through almost every month of the campaign, giving collectors multiple reasons to revisit stores. The Original Cap Pikachu, a tribute to Ash's first companion design from the late 1990s, appeared in March and quickly became a staple of Australian collections. Later, the Hoenn Cap and Sinnoh Cap versions followed, each arriving in limited batches.

A handful of these Pikachu plush were bundled with small accessories, which made them appealing to families shopping during Australian school holiday periods. Brisbane collectors in particular reported strong availability at suburban Westfield centres, where toy aisles tended to be restocked mid-week. The Holiday Pikachu, released in November, came with a festive scarf that referenced northern hemisphere imagery, an unusual choice that nonetheless appealed to Australian buyers decorating their homes for the southern summer Christmas.

Each cap variant referenced a specific region from the animated series, which gave Australian fans a way to organise their collections thematically. The Hoenn Cap Pikachu lined up with the release of the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire remakes in late 2014, making it feel like a delayed companion piece for many collectors. For fans tracking the entire Pikachu sub-set, the complete character list provides a useful cross-reference of which plush and which Poké Ball designs were released in the same window.

Clip 'n' Carry Poké Balls and companion pieces

Alongside the plush, TOMY released its Clip 'n' Carry Poké Ball range throughout the anniversary year. These miniature replica balls, designed to attach to bags and keyrings, were sold separately from the plush but shared the same monthly release cadence. In Australia, they turned up at newsagents and toy specialists with surprising regularity, partly because their lower price point made them easier to stock in volume.

Collectors often paired specific Poké Balls with their matching Pokémon plush, creating display sets that fetched strong prices on the secondary market. Local hobby forums noted that Melbourne-based sellers on platforms like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace occasionally offered matched pairs sourced from Japanese imports, though postage costs and GST obligations sometimes made cross-border purchases less attractive.

The distribution of Clip 'n' Carry balls varied considerably across the year. Early releases shipped in display boxes of twenty-four, while later waves switched to smaller six-pack formats aimed at gift buyers. Australian convenience stores, particularly those attached to petrol stations along the Hume Highway and other regional routes, occasionally stocked the six-packs during school holiday travel periods, an unexpected retail channel that broadened the range's reach beyond traditional toy outlets.

Key points Australian buyers kept in mind during the campaign:

Closing months and the aftermarket

November and December rounded out the anniversary with the Holiday Pikachu set and a final celebratory bundle. Australian retailers cleared remaining stock aggressively during the post-Christmas sales, which meant late entrants to collecting could sometimes find overlooked plush at discounted prices. However, the most coveted pieces, particularly the early Mew and the September Mewtwo, remained rare and commanded premium valuations.

The privacy practices of major collecting databases have become increasingly important for Australian enthusiasts logging their inventory online, especially as state-based data handling regulations evolve. Looking back, the TOMY 20th anniversary plush range stands as a careful study in staggered product marketing, one that rewarded patient Australian collectors who tracked monthly drops and built relationships with local specialty retailers.

From a regulatory standpoint, the resale of these plush in Australia sits in a relatively clear position. Items purchased through authorised retailers come with standard consumer guarantees, while private sales fall under different rules. The combination of a strong secondary market and well-documented release history means that even items bought years after the original campaign can be authenticated with reasonable confidence, provided packaging and tags remain intact.

For those revisiting the lineup today, several details stand out: