Pokemon Tomy, rarity ranking

The collection of Pokemon figures released by Tomy in the first generation (Kanto) is undoubtedly the most iconic, desired and valued by collectors around the world. Not only because of their age, but also because they were the first physical figures ever produced of the characters of the famous franchise.

The challenge of completing the original collection

Achieving the goal of “Gotta catch ’em all” is a complex task for any serious collector. Although many of these figures were mass produced, others are much harder to find, and their value on the second hand market has increased significantly. In our checklist you can see all the pieces in this collection.

• Pokemon Tomy (1st generación)
• Tomy – (1997)

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Which figures are the scarcest?

The main problem is the lack of official data on production figures per figure. To circumvent this limitation, I propose an alternative methodology: to analyze how many times each figure has been reissued and in what packaging formats it appeared.

The logic is simple:

If a figure has been distributed in many types of packaging and by several brands, it is probably more common. On the contrary, if it only appeared in one or two formats, it may be considered rarer.

Distributors and international versions

Although the figures were originally developed by Tomy in Japan, they were also distributed in other countries by licensed brands such as Hasbro or Auldey. The mold of the figure was the same, but the packaging and distribution varied according to the market.

This allows us to study the frequency of appearance of each figure in the different formats and thus establish an indicative scoring system to evaluate its rarity.

Types of packaging and rarity scoring

Below, I detail the different types of packaging in which figures from the original Pokémon collection were distributed by Tomy and other licensed brands, along with the score I assign to each based on their frequency and current availability.

🟢 Tomy Moncolle (including Tomy and Auldey) – 3 points

This was the first type of packaging in which the figures were marketed. It is the classic blister with cardboard that we all recognize. It is one of the most common formats, especially in Japan and Asia, and it is still relatively easy to find images or copies in good condition in the second hand market.

🔵 Tomy Box Set — 1 point

These are boxes that include several figures in a single pack, many of which were not previously released in the individual Moncolle format. These boxes were sold only in Japan and are considerably harder to find today, and therefore receive a low score, indicating their rarity.

⚫️ Tomy Black Series — 0 points

This line was released several years after the previous ones, as a reissue of the original collection. Each figure was sold individually in black packaging, and is the only line that covered all 151 Pokémon completely.

I have not included it in the score because, as all figures are equally represented, it does not provide useful information on comparative rarity.

🟡 Hasbro (1st edition) – 3 points

After acquiring the license for the West, Hasbro released its first big wave of Pokemon figures in the late 1990s. These figures hit practically every toy store in Europe and America. It is one of the most common formats, and for that reason I also assign 3 points to it.

🟠 Hasbro (other editions) – 1 point

After that first major distribution, Hasbro released a few other packs with revamped packaging designs. These are notably rarer and much harder to locate today, both in vintage stores and second hand markets. Because of their scarcity, they receive only 1 point.

Result

Following this scoring logic and taking into account all the packagings of which I have been able to find images, this would be the ranking of the rarest figures:

(1 point):

These are the rarest pieces of the whole collection, I have only been able to find them in the Tomy Box Sets sold exclusively in Japan:

(2 points):

Although less rare than the previous ones, as they were sold all over the world, these figures can also be considered quite rare:

(3 points):

these figures are somewhat infrequent.

The other figures in the collection already have a higher score and can be considered common.

Special mention:

In this list I have not included the Trainers, but if there is one figure in this collection that, in my opinion, deserves the title of “the rarest”, it is undoubtedly Nurse Joy. This figure was sold exclusively in Japan during the first wave and was never reissued. The trainers, in fact, were never part of the “Black Series” or any subsequent reissue. For all these reasons, I consider the real Holy Grail of Tomy’s Pokemon figure collection to be this piece:

Conclusion

Although we cannot access exact production figures, this scoring system based on reissues and packaging diversity provides a solid basis for analyzing the actual rarity of each figure.

This work is in constant development, and any help, image or correction from other collectors will be more than welcome.

Together we can build the ultimate Pokemon Tomy figure collection database!