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Welcome to a new installment of Nintendojo Toy Box, dear readers! When Pokémon arrived in 1998 and became a massive hit, toy and nicknack manufacturers responded with a maelstrom of Pokémon-themed items. It’s not all that different today, but at the time, the various Pokémon novelties were a real treat. The Pokémon Trading Card Game was probably the biggest offshoot of the video game and anime, but there were a number of other goods bearing a variety of Pocket Monsters that became popular, including shampoos, cereal (made by Kelloggs), clothing, and candy, just to name a very few.
Tomy was one of the earliest companies to begin manufacturing Pokémon toys and merchandise, and this three-piece set of office supplies is an example of that. Released around 1999 and featuring a Pikachu calculator (he’s an electric mouse, after all!), a Bulbasaur pencil sharpener, and a Jigglypuff tape dispenser, the items are as accurately representative as they are functional. Well, mostly functional; Pikachu could be a real pain to flip open! This three-piece set isn’t the only time the supplies did the rounds, as they’ve been featured in a variety of other sets made by Tomy (including one with a Poliwhirl measuring tape).
I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s the oddball video game collectibles that really capture my attention. Office supplies seem like such a strange match for the Pokémon license, yet at the same time form a wonderful combination. Nintendo Power was often the best source for some of the wackier collectibles; I still have my rollup Nintendo calculator, for instance, and at one point they were offering soundtrack CDs cut to silhouette the heads of characters like Yoshi and Diddy Kong! Toy Box is really intended to cover anything and everything video game memorabilia related, so look forward to more oddities like these as we go forward!
Jigglypuff Tape Dispenser
Bulbasaur Pencil Sharpener
Pikachu Calculator
