Vol. 1, Issue 34 - Miles's Pokemon Figure Collection
This week we share a collection from a figure collector called Miles, the latest Pokémon news, and more from the Johto Times mailbag!
A warm welcome to issue 34 of the Johto Times! This week we are sharing an impressive collection of Pokémon figures by a fan called Miles. He kindly told us about why he started his hobby and which ones mean the most to him. We also have more from our mailbag, as well as the latest Pokémon news.
Before we begin today’s issue, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who joined us for our first livestream on Twitch! I had a fantastic time opening up the latest Pokémon TCG set: Scarlet & Violet 151, and meeting many of you there. For anyone who missed it, a video can be viewed on our Twitch channel.
In an effort to push the newsletter and our Twitch streams to a wider audience, we are testing the waters with a Discord server, which you are welcome to join to stay in the loop with live events and future issues of the Johto Times newsletter!
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News
Last week the Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic, a premium product that was announced back in February, was made available for pre-order on the Pokémon Center website. Despite a $399.99/£399.99 price tag, the product sold out immediately. The set will contain three decks of sixty cards, featuring classics from the early era of the franchise. The set will also include six additional cards: Lugia EX, Ho-Oh EX, Suicune EX, Sun Seed, Scorching Charcoal, and Drops in the Ocean. One final card was also announced for the set, featuring Mr. Mime. It was originally part of the Vending Machine series and never released outside of Japan.
While the product remains out of stock at the time of writing, we hope that it will be readily available on release in mid-November 2023.
Source: Pokémon
Last week, we shared news on a collaboration between Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum, which began today, and runs until Sunday, January 7th 2024. Thanks to Serebii.net, we now know that the museum will showcase several Pokémon events. These will include artwork inspired by Vincent van Gogh with a Pokémon twist, video activities, online learning material to teach children about the connections between Van Gogh and Japan, and a Pokémon Adventure activity where visitors can learn about the inspiration of the artworks. A special promo card featuring Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat will be available to attendees, with themed merchandise which can be purchased. Merchandise will also be available on the Pokémon Center UK website!
Sources: Serebii.net, Pokémon UK
Feature: Miles's Pokemon Figure Collection
We are happy to be highlighting an impressive collection of figures by Miles J. Readers might remember him from our How emulation is making Pokémon accessible for fans feature back in April 2023. We were happy to invite Miles back to share his story on collecting, along with some photographs.
Hello! I’m Miles; I’m an American Pokémon collector. My collection is primarily figures, which is my main focus. I also collect plushies and cards when I find one particularly interesting, and I even have a few keychains in my collection.
I started collecting roughly around the age of 6 or 8, when I found an old Pikachu in the dirt of my backyard. It turned out to be my cousin’s when he was younger, and he had forgotten all about Pikachu. This would kickstart both my love for Pokémon and my love for figure collecting. While my cousin had moved on from Pokémon, his Pokémon items had been stored away and passed down to me. While a lot of them had been lost in many moves, Pikachu is one of the few items that have stuck close to me.
I started to collect figures in specific because they were the smallest (aside from cards) and easiest for me to collect. I was also a child when I started and thought of them as more toys to play with. It is my dream to collect one of every Pokémon - and that is my way of becoming a Pokémon Master! With my parents’ help, I would pick out a Pokémon figure or a few online for them to order. Other times, when visiting my grandmother at her job at Kmart, she would let me pick out some figures. I grew a collection quickly, one that I would often play with. Many of these figures aren’t in the best condition because of that, but they are still loved and adored. As I grew up with my own source of income, I swapped to buying from sites such as Mercari, From Japan, or Ebay.
With a collection as large as this, we felt it was probably a good thing that Miles mostly collects small figures! We asked Miles to tell us about his collection in greater detail, and about which companies created them.
I own a variety of figures, spanning from generation one to generation eight (hoping to get some generation nine figures soon!). I have recently completed generation one, all 151 Pokémon in my collection! Overall, however, I roughly have around 700 (counting my duplicates) and I am roughly 50% complete with my Pokédex. These figures are from various brands, such as TOMY, Jakks Pacific, B. China, and more. They also vary in size, being mini figures to larger figures (like McDonald’s toys). Some cannot stand on their own, since they were made not to, and have a place in a tin box until I figure out how to display them. One or two figures even feature the shiny version of the Pokémon, such as my shiny Darkrai figure.
I even have some of the trainers in my collections. Some as Nendoroids, World Scale figures, and finger puppets. While I haven’t bought any yet, I have a dream of purchasing a Kotobukiya brand figure and Figma! There are some other oddities, such as rolling stamp figures (or normal stamp figures), a Dedenne whistle, etc. All have a home in my collection, and the more odd they are, the more I tend to like them.
Collecting an entire Pokémon generation of figures is mighty impressive! Out of all the figures Miles owns, we were curious if there were any that were rare or meant a great deal to him.
There are many figures that I would consider special, and one that I will highlight (since I have already highlighted my most special) would be my World Scale Wallace. Wallace has always been a special character to me, as I remember him being the Champion more than Steven. While Steven’s popularity skyrocketed, Wallace was oftentimes forgotten as a Hoenn Champion as well. Given he was a big part of Emerald, and my childhood as a result, he found a special place in my heart. When Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire came out, it only reminded me of how special he was to me. When his World Scale figure came out, I had to get it immediately. With Wallace in my collection, I decided to myself: I’m going to collect as many trainers as I can, too!
With a collection this massive, it’s been quite hard to tell which is my most special (aside from the one that started it all), the rarest, or one of my favorites. If I had to choose one (or two), I would choose the two TOMY Umbreons that I have. They’re the same exact figure, old enough to have that CGTSJ mark on their sides. These two figures have been in my collection since I was a child, and the only way I can tell them apart is that one of them has a head that occasionally pops off of its body. These two would go further than my figure collection, onward to my games. In SoulSilver, I would have two Umbreon on my team. These two Umbreon would score a victory against a hacker in middle school, who would give me my very own shiny Umbreon.
While it was admittedly hacked, it solidified a vision that one of my Umbreon figures was shiny. While I never had the courage to paint over the figure, I did name it after my new shiny friend: Lune. The other was named Kage and went into retirement from my team when Pokémon X and Y came out. To this day, my main team has one Umbreon to commemorate them both since they are incredibly special and loved by me. My imagination as a child was very creative for these two, and I still have a few pieces of art featuring one (or both) of them from ten years ago!
Finally, we asked Miles to give us a closing statement and leave a message to anyone who is thinking of making a collection of their own.
It’s never too late to start collecting! You don’t have to have a grand big history with collecting as I do, or have started as a child. Figure collecting can start at any age, and it doesn’t have to be as big as mine. If you just wish to collect a specific Pokémon, then chase your dreams and go as far as you’d like! I encourage anyone of any age to become a Pokémon trainer in their own way through figures, whether it’s collecting as many figures of different Pokémon as they can or their favorites. Your collection doesn’t even have to be figures; it can be cards, plushies, etc. The joys of collecting come in many forms and should be cherished all the same. When it comes to collecting (or anything), your happiness comes first and foremost.
We were blown away by the impressive number of figures that Miles has, and we thank him for taking the time to share his collection. We wish him luck on his journey to obtaining a figure of every Pokémon. You can even keep track of his progress on a website called Pokédex Tracker, which is kept up-to-date with the figures he has.
Mailbag
Want to be a part of our newsletter? You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fanart, short stories, your cherished memories, photographs of your collection, and anything else you think you want us to see. This week we have another great question by Johto Times mailbag regular Tristan!
What Pokémon has surprised you most? (Could be a game or movie)
Tristan S, North Carolina
Tristan, it’s always a pleasure to hear from you; thanks once again for your question! I would say the Pokémon video game that surprised me the most was Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Up until 2020 when I first played it, I had no idea that a Pokémon game could have such a fantastic story, filled with emotion and characters that I actually cared about. It opened up a whole new chapter for the Pokémon series, and now I am eagerly anticipating future Mystery Dungeon games.
Moving house must be a nightmare for him 😂