Whats up folks?! Hope everyone is doing well here today!
I thought to myself that since were looking to expand articles and guides here that it might be worthwhile to include a short little guide detailing Plush releases, brands, and all things in between so that it might better suit anyone looking to buy some of these cool and cute goods from either the US market or japan. Im going to try to break this down into different categories here, so try to follow along with me here as I give to you this write up! Lets start first with A brief definition…
What exactly are pokemon plush?
Well this is easy to answer. Pokemon plush are basically exactly as it sounds: plush toys made to resemble that of a specific pokemon, or even trainers within the franchise. These toys are made from various different materials and fabrics and over the years they have become extremely popular in demand as a collectible and keepsake if you will of ones favorite characters. Since pokemons inception way way back, plush have been a staple in goods created for sale within the brand, and they dont look like theyre going away anytime soon.
So what types of plush exist among the pokemon franchise?
So this question here is tough to answer being that so many different types are out there and are even spread across various brands. But lets try to break this down in simpler terms by first grouping them based on release. Many companies over the years have got their hands on the licensing rights to make pokemon goods, but your main company’s in charge of plush typically have been limited to these below:
- pokemon center
- tomy
- hasbro (business partners with Tomy and produced most of the early pokemon goods for the US/international branches)
- banpresto
- jakks pacific
- jazwares
- wct (wicked cool toys, which is now owned by jazwares).
- san-ei trading
This seems like a lot of companies but trust me, its easy to sort through and figure out whats what. Essentially most plush on the market today that youll see will more than likely be something that comes through Pokemon Center itself, but these off shoot brands tend to have small pieces that they play in certain releases. For example, most remember plush like this correct?
Well this here is a hasbro release. Its easy to tell based on the time period, tags, and info given on any given plush. That being said, when you run down the list of plush i provided youll see that each brand plays a role in what theyve produced over the years, and for a little fun activity (so im not doing all the work here) try searching the brands listed and “pokemon plush” after it to see what i mean!
Now going back to releases and how this all ties in: Pokemon Center is in charge of your main lines while the others pick up the pieces for lesser releases. For example, heres some of the lines PC has produced over the years just to show an example of whats out there:
- Pokedolls: chibi style plush where the pokemon is made to look like a “doll”. This idea of course comes from the gen 1/2 era of things where the “clefairy doll” first popped up in game in Saffron city. Soon after in gen 2 was when these came to be, and of course in gen 2 you could “decorate” your room with dolls that your mother would buy with your money when you instruct her to save it for you.
- PokePlush: these are just standard versions of pokemon in plush form. Unlike chibis, these come in various different sizes and are meant to look exactly like the pokemon in question.
- Sitting Cuties(international release name)/Pokemon Fits (japans release name): similar to pokeplush, these here are plush made to look like the pokemon in question but also are much smaller in size while holding a very fair and reasonable pricepoint. These have become the new and most popular line in recent days, slowly pushing out the likes of pokedolls in popularity (but thats up for debate of course since i have no proven metrics for that aside from what i see).
- Poncho Pikachu Pokeplush: These here mostly have a bigger following in japan, but we have seen a lot release on the international side as well. Theyre badically just a standard pikachu plush featured with a poncho of another pokemon, and they make for a super nice little display piece overall.
So with this here you can see that theres a ton of different items across the many years pokemon has been around (and even more smaller produced lines i didnt mention) but most can be traced back by seeking out the brand, and then who produced it.
So I see theres all these brands and different releases, but how do I figure out whats what among the plush I see?
This is probably the most common question among anyone entering plush for the first time. Though dont worry, its actually really simple to figure out.
Think about how you look at cards and figure out where theyre from. Whenever im looking to figure out where a card is from, my first step is to usually find the set number markings on the bottom, followed by the pokemons name and then search it in google to find results. Well plush are exactly the same in this sense. Each plush will always have two types of tags: the hangtag (the one that hangs from a part of the pokemon like the ear or hand) and then the tushtag (the one thats sewn into the fabric and cannot be removed unless with a blade or scissors). On each of these will hold very pivotal information in helping you ti figure out what exactly you own. Id always recommend looking from brand first, then year and then anything else such as pokemon itself. With that alone you should be able to source everything you need to find what exactly it is, and from there you can go deeper and even find other released in the same time period as well. Its really just a game of becoming a researcher at the ned of the day, and thats part of the fun of this collectible and franchise after all.
Do I have to worry about fakes out there and are they easy to spot?
Yes and not always. The sad reality is, everything in pokemon is subjected to have fakes around because whenever people see money to be made, everyone wants a piece of the pie. Ages ago when i first entered plush collecting i bought a few fakes and they were damn near impossible to notice even when i had them in hand, so it really takes a seasoned eye to figure this kind of thing out. Id recommend startijg with first noticing a few things like stitching, fabric and tags. Note the quality of what youre about to buy or looking at as well. Does it seem real? Can you compare it to another of its kind and do they look identical? Small blemishes are always ok like uneven eyes or different amount of filling inside, but if theres major differences between 2 plush if the same kind, something is up. I recommend always buying from trustworthy sellers like Pokemon Center itself, retail stores, or online sellers with good resources and reputations. A red flag is usually sellers from china on ebay with very large feedback counts, as a lot of those items tend to come from bootleg factories overseas. The more you research and look at these items though the better youll become at spotting fakes, so give it time and eventually youll be able to sort through the likes of anywhere and figure out whats real or not.
Wow, thanks Dizzle! This was helpful! What plush do you think I should look into!?
- you’re welcome
and 2) thats up to you and part of the beauty of plush/merch collecting. Not everyone will be as psychotic as I am and chase every single gen 2 starter plush that exists or every dedenne plush, so that journey is all up to your tastes and what you end up liking the most. Some people may prefer the look of pokedolls while other may enjoy the small nature of sitting cuties. Its really all up to you at the end of the day, so I recommend that you maybe take some time to research whats out there by browsing online and then go towards ones that just make you happy. For me I like a little of everything, so im all over the place in that sense. Theres always something to love the more you explore, so go at it and see what you can find 
Anyways i just wanted to cover some basics there for anyone looking into this kind of stuff, and of course i could go on for hours about this topic but I think this is a healthy stopping point. Hope this helps anyone looking into these kinds of merch and if you ever have any questions feel free to ping me and i can try to help Happy collecting!
