Company: Tomy / Hasbro
Year: 1999+
Size: +/- 10cm
Main distribution: Worldwide
Pokémon Reversible Pokéball plush is a range of plush that can be changed from a Pokémon to a Pokéball and back by flipping the plush inside out (with the exception of Togepi who changes to an Egg instead of a Pokéball). They are made by Tomy and released in various waves.
There are many of these plush out there and I could not find a full list. In the West, Hasbro also released these, and Jakks Pacific made their own version of these for Pokémon Black and White. I will list the ones I have / had here.
Pikachu (Victory pose)
This little Pikachu stands in the victory pose and holds up his hand doing the peace sign, and his other hand is on his back. He is made from a cheap feeling fabric, with his face printed on and has felt details like fingers, feet, and brown stripes glued on. His tail is also made from felt.
(This is my childhood Pikachu plush, and I didn’t like he was “stuck” in this pose, so I carefully got his finger lose. Over time, the rest of the glue also dried out and pieces are getting loose).
Along his bottom is a yellow zipper, which reveals the ‘gimmick’ of this plush range. It has a metal rectangular zipper dangler.
By opening the plush up with the zipper, the Pokéball is revealed. The trick is to turn the plush inside out and stuffing the Pokémon in the Pokéball. The zip is double sided, so can be zipped up from the other side again.
The Pokéball is made from a more shimmery fabric, and feels smoother. This is a nice contrast and reflects the hard plastic / metal ball to the more fluffy monster as in the show. The button is made from felt and glued on. The zipper has the Pokémon’s colour, so there is a yellow zipper on the white Pokéball.
The tush tag is on the Pokéball side. It has the classic Tomy logo with “MADE IN CHINA” on it. The other side reads “© Nintendo · CREATURES · GAMEFREAK · TVTOKYO · SHO-PRO · JR KIKAKU”.
Snorlax
Snorlax is in his typical laying pose, supported by his arms. He is made from a cheap feeling fabric, with his face printed on and has nails made from felt. He is dark bluem with quite a yellow belly.
Along his back is a dark blue zipper, which reveals the ‘gimmick’ of this plush range. It has a metal rectangular zipper dangler.
The Pokéball is made from a more shimmery fabric, and feels smoother. This is a nice contrast and reflects the hard plastic / metal ball to the more fluffy monster as in the show. The button is made from felt and glued on. The zipper has the Pokémon’s colour, so there is a dark blue zipper on the white Pokéball.
The tush tag is on the Pokéball side. It has the classic Tomy logo with “MADE IN CHINA” on it. The other side reads “© Nintendo · CR · GF · TX · SP · JK”. The tag is slightly smaller than Pikachu’s, making me believe it’s a later release. It also has a second tush tag with the CE logo on it.
Manaphy
Release: 2007
Barcode: 5011666081499
Manaphy was released in 2007 by Tomy Yujin Europe with the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl line. Others in this wave are Pikachu, Chimchar, Piplup, Turtwig and Munchlax. The tag states they are “limited edition”, and simply calls them “Plush Collection”.
TYE also released a wave with Pikachu, Torchic, Mudkip, Treecko and Azurill.
Manaphy is made from a cheap feeling fabric, with its face and details stickered on.
Along the top of its head is a light blue zipper, which reveals the ‘gimmick’ of this plush range. It has a fabric dangler attached to the zip.
By opening the plush up with the zipper, the Pokéball is revealed. The trick is to turn the plush inside out and stuffing the Pokémon in the Pokéball. The zip is double sided, so can be zipped up from the other side again.
Manaphy is quite an odd choice for these, as the Pokéball is only stuffed in its head, whereas the other designs are more round and are using the full body.
The Pokéball is made from a more shimmery fabric, and feels smoother. This is a nice contrast and reflects the hard plastic / metal ball to the more fluffy monster as in the show. The button is made from felt and glued on. The zipper has the Pokémon’s colour, so there is a light blue zipper on the white Pokéball.
The tush tag is on the Pokéball side. It reads “Tomy UK ltd, Totton, Hants, SO40 3SA, England ©2007 Pokémon / Nintendo” followed by the TYE logo and “Made in China / Fabriqué en China”. The back has the CE logo and 3+ age rating.
The hang tag is a folded booklet, and shows the rest of the range on the inside.
These types of plush scream nostalgia to me. The gimmick is quite clever too and feels very fitting for Pokémon.
The Pikachu is mine from my childhood, and one of the first Pokémon plush I owned. I played a lot with it, “catching” it in the Pokéball and moving it around. I didn’t like its pose as a child, and spend hours carefully “freeing” his finger. Only later did I realise it was doing its classic pose that was so popular at the time.
Over time the glue has dried out, so it was bound to happen eventually I guess. Its stripes on the back as well as the Pokéball button are coming loose too. It doesn’t help that turning it inside out, cramming it inside, bents the bits and makes the glue crack too. I’m very careful with it now, as it’s one of my childhood pieces and I try to preserve him. I bought him with my pocket money at the local ‘Intertoys’ at the time, so I’m guessing it’s a Hasbro release, although the tag looks the same as the Japanese releases.
Snorlax I got later in a lot. I wasn’t going to keep him, but we had this rule in the house that if Snorlax was on the door it was “blocking your way” and was acting as a “do not disturb sign”, and this one looked a bit better than my Play-by-Play one. I also liked how it resembled Japanese Pokémon Red’s sprite.
So I’ve kept him all this time. Maybe I’ll let him go one day, but he can stay for now.
Manaphy I bought when the local “Bart Smit” went under. I bought all their remaining Pokémon stuff for cheap, to add to my own collection and to sell some on. I got nothing with Manaphy, so he can go. I sold Manaphy to a local collector.
Although these plush are so nostalgic, I do find them quite cheap feeling. The glued on felt is also a minus point, especially as the glue has dried up now and is letting go. I’m not going to collect these, the only one I know for sure I’m keeping is my old Pikachu. But if I get any more I will catalogue them here first.
If you like vintage Pokémon merchandise, these are very nostalgic. They are also not too expensive, so quite easy to collect, although it’s hard to tell exactly how many of these do exist.
If you like something of higher quality, you might want to give these a miss. They were cheaply made, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s hard to find them in good condition with all their felt bits.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own the same plushies? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!