Why Some Mythical Pokémon Were Missing From TOMY’s 2016 Line
The TOMY Pokémon 20th Anniversary Collection was built as a celebratory retail programme, not as a complete catalogue of every Mythical Pokémon. Its releases were spread across 2016, with plush figures, Clip ’n’ Carry Poké Balls, figures and retailer-specific products appearing at different times.
That distinction matters when discussing Celebi and Mew. Celebi is a Generation II Mythical Pokémon, while Mew belongs to Generation I. Both are strongly associated with the early Pokémon games, so collectors naturally expected them to receive prominent anniversary treatment.
A missing figure from one shop, country or product format does not necessarily mean the character was excluded from the whole campaign. Australian fans, for example, could encounter a different assortment at Target, Kmart, Big W or a specialist hobby retailer than collectors browsing US or UK listings.
The most convincing explanation is a mixture of calendar planning, licensing, manufacturing limits and retailer demand. The 20th anniversary range had to feel broad and exciting while remaining practical to produce, ship and sell across multiple markets.
The Anniversary Range Was Selective By Design
The 2016 programme focused on a rotating selection of Mythical Pokémon rather than promising a definitive set. A monthly release schedule created regular news for fans and gave retailers repeated reasons to refresh displays. That strategy favoured a manageable sequence of characters over an encyclopaedic checklist.
TOMY also had to balance different product categories. A plush figure requires a different design process from a poseable figure, a Poké Ball accessory or a small collectible. Some Pokémon translate easily into a soft toy, while others need a particular pose, colour treatment or accessory to look appealing on a shelf.
This helps explain why an anniversary range can include several unusual or later-generation characters while leaving an apparently obvious favourite less visible. The selection was likely judged by a combination of anniversary relevance, visual appeal, manufacturing cost and the needs of individual retailers.
Mew And Celebi Are Often Mixed Up
Mew is the original Mythical Pokémon from Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow-era mythology, making it a Generation I character. Celebi arrived with Pokémon Gold and Silver and is therefore the better example of a Generation II Mythical Pokémon. Calling both “Gen 2 mythicals” creates a factual problem before the product discussion even begins.
Their reputations also developed differently. Mew was the secret Pokémon that helped define early event culture, while Celebi became closely tied to the Johto era, time travel and Pokémon 4Ever. Both have strong collector appeal, but their commercial identity is not identical.
A claim that TOMY “skipped” them may refer to a specific plush wave, a local shop’s stock or a list of products that was incomplete. Fans comparing photographs, retailer pages and archived announcements can easily mistake a regional gap for a global omission.
Collectors investigating the Jirachi release can use the Jirachi collection page as an example of how individual character pages preserve a more precise record than a brief shop listing. The details of format, timing and presentation matter when deciding whether a Pokémon was truly absent.
Monthly Releases Created Practical Limits
A year-long anniversary campaign sounds generous, but twelve months impose a strict ceiling. Each month needed a product that could be designed, approved, manufactured and distributed on schedule. Adding every popular Mythical Pokémon could have weakened the impact of the calendar or forced several releases into crowded periods.
Production capacity was another consideration. Plush toys need fabric selection, embroidery, filling, safety testing, packaging and freight planning. A character with a distinctive silhouette may require a new pattern rather than a minor variation on an existing design. Those decisions become more significant when the same campaign is distributed internationally.
Retailers also prefer a clear assortment. Too many similar products can leave stores with slow-moving stock, especially after the anniversary excitement fades. A curated range gives buyers a stronger story to present and allows prominent characters to anchor displays without competing with an oversized number of near-simultaneous releases.
Commercial Factors That Shaped The Range
- A fixed monthly calendar limited the number of major plush launches
- Retailers selected different products for their available shelf space
- Character popularity had to be balanced against manufacturing costs
- International freight and packaging increased the risk of a large assortment
- Exclusive items could be used to create excitement without expanding every range
Retailer Exclusives Made The Collection Look Uneven
Retail exclusivity is one of the main reasons collectors can reach different conclusions about the same 20th Anniversary Collection. One chain might receive a plush, another might stock a Clip ’n’ Carry Poké Ball, and a third might promote a special figure or bundle. The overall campaign could therefore be extensive while an individual shop appeared to have only a few characters.
Australia adds another layer to this issue. Products arriving through local distributors had to account for shipping distances, GST, seasonal retail planning and the comparatively smaller market size than the United States. A product visible in Sydney or Melbourne might not appear in every Kmart, Big W or Target store, while specialist retailers could receive different quantities.
Australian buying habits also affect how the collection is remembered. Families often encounter toys during school-holiday shopping or around Christmas, while adult collectors may rely on comic shops, online sellers and convention communities. A character missing from a high-street shelf could still have existed through a limited channel.
Fan sites helped connect these scattered sightings. Contemporary community reporting often filled gaps between official announcements and local stock information, as shown by this discussion of fan sites and collection news.
Licensing And Character Priorities
An anniversary campaign involving Pokémon required coordinated approvals for artwork, branding, packaging and distribution. The collection’s official Nintendo licensing gave it credibility, but licensing does not mean every character automatically receives a product. Each proposed item still needs to fit the approved range, production timetable and market plan.
The anniversary also celebrated the wider history of the franchise rather than a single game generation. That encouraged TOMY to spread attention across the full Pokémon timeline. Characters such as Jirachi, Deoxys, Darkrai, Shaymin or Victini could represent different eras and offer fresh visual variety to collectors who already owned earlier Mew merchandise.
Mew’s recognisability may even have worked against the need for a special slot in a particular format. A company can treat a character as a headline icon in advertising while reserving monthly product space for less frequently produced Pokémon. Celebi, meanwhile, may have faced the ordinary commercial challenge of competing with newer designs that were receiving current promotional attention.
The result is better understood as portfolio management than as a judgement about which Pokémon mattered most. The range communicated the anniversary through a mixture of nostalgia, novelty and retail practicality.
What Collectors Should Check Before Calling It A Snub
The strongest way to evaluate an apparent omission is to separate the product type, country and release period. A plush checklist cannot be used to prove that a character was absent from figures or accessories. Likewise, an Australian store archive cannot establish the complete international assortment.
The official collection archive gives a broader view of the campaign’s purpose and product families. It also helps distinguish a character page, a release announcement and a retailer-exclusive item rather than treating all references as interchangeable. The TOMY collection archive is useful for that wider context.
Collectors should also compare packaging photographs, distributor records and dated fan reports. Marketplace listings can be misleading because sellers combine regional versions, use incorrect generation labels or describe planned products as though they were widely released. A careful record is especially valuable for limited-edition toys whose retail pages disappear quickly.
Evidence Worth Comparing
- The character’s generation and official Mythical status
- The product format, such as plush, figure or Poké Ball
- The intended country and retailer
- The announced month compared with actual shop availability
- Packaging, catalogue scans and dated collector photographs
| Question | What It Can Reveal |
|---|---|
| Was the Pokémon absent from one shop? | It may have been a retailer-exclusive or limited local shipment |
| Was it absent from one product category? | The character may have appeared in another format |
| Was it missing from Australian shelves? | Distribution, freight or market size may explain the gap |
| Was it missing from the complete international programme? | This would indicate a genuine range-planning decision |
| Is the character labelled correctly? | Mew is Generation I; Celebi is Generation II |
The TOMY 20th Anniversary line therefore did not need to reject Celebi or Mew in order to leave collectors disappointed. Its release calendar was selective, its retail distribution was uneven and its products were shaped by manufacturing and licensing realities. Mew’s Generation I status also needs correcting, while Celebi’s apparent absence should be tested against the full international record rather than a single Australian shelf or checklist.