Reading the Gaps in TOMY’s 2016 Mythical Pokémon Plush Line
TOMY’s Pokémon 20th Anniversary Collection was designed as a year-long celebration rather than a single, complete Pokédex project. Its monthly launches gave fans a steady stream of limited-edition products, including plush figures, Clip ’n’ Carry Poké Balls, Pikachu items, and specialty releases tied to particular retailers.
That format makes the mythical Pokémon plush series especially interesting to collectors. The lineup represented many important event Pokémon, yet it did not include every creature officially classified as mythical. The omissions were noticeable because mythical Pokémon are relatively few in number compared with the full Pokémon roster.
There is no widely published TOMY statement giving one definitive reason for every exclusion. The strongest explanation comes from examining the collection’s release schedule, character popularity, product practicality, and the retail conditions surrounding the anniversary campaign.
The Plush Series Was Curated, Not Comprehensive
A complete mythical Pokémon roster would have required more than a dozen characters from several generations. Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Hoopa, and Volcanion all had strong claims to anniversary representation. Other mythical Pokémon, including Deoxys, Phione, and Diancie, were less consistently associated with the core plush rollout.
This difference matters because the collection was a commemorative assortment, not an attempt to manufacture every mythical Pokémon in one year. TOMY had to create a recognizable sequence that could be promoted month by month. A curated selection allowed the company to preserve a clear anniversary identity while keeping the range commercially manageable.
The same principle appears in the wider product program. The complete Poké Ball list shows how character selection varied by product type rather than following one universal checklist. A Pokémon could appear in a figure or accessory line without receiving a plush release.
Recognition Likely Shaped Character Selection
Mew was an obvious centerpiece because it has been a symbol of mystery and rarity since the original games. Celebi and Jirachi also carried strong nostalgic value, while Arceus had an unusually important role in Pokémon mythology. These characters were easy to connect with the idea of a twentieth-anniversary celebration.
Other choices had similar advantages. Darkrai, Shaymin, Victini, and Meloetta were familiar to fans who followed the animated series, films, event distributions, and trading card releases. Their designs were also visually distinct enough to work as small plush toys. A collector could identify them quickly, even when the product was displayed without extensive packaging information.
An omitted character may have been popular among dedicated fans but still lacked the broad recognition needed for a mass-market launch. Phione is a good example: it is a legitimate mythical Pokémon, yet its role and relationship to Manaphy are less immediately understood. Deoxys was famous, but its alien, angular forms created a different design challenge from the softer, more traditionally plush-friendly characters.
Product Design Put Limits On The Roster
Plush manufacturing favors silhouettes that remain appealing and recognizable after being simplified into fabric, stuffing, embroidered features, and a limited number of sewn components. Large wings, thin appendages, complex armor, multiple forms, or unusual body proportions can increase production difficulty and cost.
This does not mean an awkward design could never become a plush. Pokémon merchandise has often handled challenging characters successfully. However, a tightly scheduled anniversary series would have rewarded designs that could move efficiently through concept approval, tooling, sampling, safety review, and mass production.
Diancie, for example, has a distinctive gemstone motif and a detailed dress-like appearance. Deoxys has several forms and a comparatively unusual body structure. Phione can be confused with or visually compared to Manaphy. These factors may have made them less attractive choices for a compact, coordinated plush assortment, even if they remained valuable to specialist collectors.
A Monthly Schedule Required Careful Pacing
The 2016 program depended on regular releases throughout the year. That schedule gave each featured Pokémon a moment of attention, but it also placed a fixed limit on how many plush designs could receive marketing space. Too many similar characters could weaken the impact of individual launches, while too many obscure characters might reduce general retail demand.
Spacing also helped the collection tell a recognizable story. Early releases could establish the anniversary theme with legendary and mythical favorites, while later products could highlight newer generations or characters associated with current promotional activity. The result was a sequence built around timing and variety rather than strict alphabetical or generational coverage.
A missing Pokémon therefore should not automatically be read as a rejection of its importance. It may simply have lost a place in a crowded calendar to a character with stronger current visibility, simpler production requirements, or a better fit with the rest of that month’s merchandise.
Retail Distribution Changed What Fans Could Find
Availability was another factor in how collectors experienced the collection. Some TOMY Pokémon 20th Anniversary products were associated with particular retailers, which meant that a character’s visibility could depend on location, store partnerships, and regional stock. The guide to retailer-exclusive anniversary items helps explain why the campaign cannot be judged only by what appeared in one shop.
Retail exclusivity may also have influenced which products received investment. A plush intended for broad distribution needed dependable demand across many markets. A smaller specialty item could serve a narrower audience, but the same approach might not have been suitable for a recurring monthly plush range.
For collectors, this creates an important distinction between “never released” and “not part of the core plush series.” A Pokémon could be absent from the principal plush schedule while still appearing in another TOMY product, promotional display, or licensed item. Checking packaging, retailer records, and contemporaneous announcements is more reliable than assuming that every anniversary product followed one master lineup.
What The Omissions Reveal About The Collection
The gaps show that the anniversary range balanced fan service with the realities of licensed toy production. Nintendo’s official licensing gave the collection a clear connection to Pokémon, but licensing approval did not require TOMY to release every eligible character. Each product still had to meet commercial, manufacturing, and scheduling requirements.
The omissions also highlight how different audiences define completeness. A casual fan might consider a lineup successful if it includes Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and several film favorites. A dedicated collector may regard the absence of Diancie, Deoxys, or Phione as a significant hole. Both views can be reasonable because they measure the range against different expectations.
The following comparison separates likely practical advantages from the reasons certain characters may have been harder to prioritize. These are informed interpretations rather than confirmed internal explanations from TOMY.
| Pokémon or group | Strengths for a 2016 plush release | Possible reason for limited or absent representation |
|---|---|---|
| Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi | Strong nostalgia, broad recognition, simple silhouettes | Few obvious disadvantages |
| Manaphy, Darkrai, and Shaymin | Film visibility, distinctive colors, established fan interest | Competition within a crowded mythical lineup |
| Arceus and Victini | Strong anniversary value and recognizable identities | Larger or more detailed shapes could raise production demands |
| Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, and Hoopa | Clear links to newer generations and promotional media | Needed careful scheduling to balance older and newer favorites |
| Deoxys | High recognition and memorable science-fiction design | Multiple forms and angular construction complicate a plush format |
| Phione and Diancie | Official mythical status and dedicated fan appeal | Lower general recognition or more specialized visual details |
| Volcanion | Current-generation relevance in 2016 | Release timing may have affected its place in the main rollout |
A Practical Way To Collect The Missing Pieces
Collectors examining the 20th Anniversary Collection should treat the plush series as one layer of a larger campaign. Product names, hangtags, retailer listings, catalog photography, and release-month announcements can reveal whether an omitted Pokémon was genuinely unavailable or simply represented in another category.
Useful collecting habits include:
- Separate the core monthly plush releases from figures, accessories, and retailer exclusives.
- Compare official packaging with fan-maintained checklists before labeling an item missing.
- Record regional differences, since retailer availability could vary by country and chain.
- Look for character appearances outside the plush range before assuming a complete exclusion.
- Preserve release dates and original retail information alongside photographs of each item.
This approach makes the collection easier to understand and protects against a common mistake: treating a carefully edited anniversary assortment as though it were intended to be a complete mythical Pokémon catalog.
The missing characters remain part of the story because their absence exposes the choices behind the range. TOMY had to translate a huge, evolving fictional world into a finite set of licensed toys released on a strict calendar. The resulting plush series celebrated the most marketable and recognizable mythical Pokémon of the moment, while leaving room for other characters to appear in future products or different formats.
Explore the surviving release records, compare regional availability, and document the pieces in your collection to build a clearer picture of what TOMY’s 2016 celebration included—and what it deliberately left outside the plush lineup.