#98: Pokemon - Mimikyu and Poke Ball

Like much of the rest of the internet, I've been a fan of Mimikyu since it was first revealed over a year ago. Since this toy was released, I've waffled between definitely wanting to buy it, to not wanting to spend 10 bucks for basically a minifigure, to finally just buying it anyway. It's just a little unarticulated Mimikyu, with a Poke ball that opens and can clip on to your belt. It seems way overpriced for what you're getting. It would feel like a better value if Mimikyu was released in a two pack with another Pokemon. Which is probably what will end up happening now that I've bought this version. But hey, now I have a little toy Mimikyu, and that's the important thing here.

#76: S.H. Figuarts Pokemon - Team Rocket

Released alongside Ash is everyone's favorite duo of ne'er do wells, Team Rocket. Jessie and James (and Meowth!) are sold as a set. They look good and are well articulated, and have a couple alternate pieces. They each have an alternate screaming/alarmed face, as well as fists or open hands. Jessie gets an extra pointing hand while James gets the best extra hand: one holding a rose. James and his roses is one of those weird affectations that I really love, so I'm glad it got made into action figure form. There's also a stand, which I presume is for Jessie. With her outrageous anime hair, she can stand unassisted, but it does leave her with a pronounced lean. Meowth, like Pikachu, isn't particularly articulated. But he does get an alternate face with a stunned expression.

#75: S.H. Figuarts Pokemon - Ash and Pikachu

In honor of new ghost types showing up in Pokemon Go today, here's everybody's favorite kind of terrible Pokemon trainer, Ash Ketchum. In Figuarts form, he looks just like you remember from the original cartoon. The most important accessory in this set is Pikachu. It's got a couple points of articulation, and there's a plastic stand that can be used to help Pikachu sit on Ash's shoulder. Ash has a couple swappable right hands: a fist, a pointing hand, and one holding a Pokeball. His hat is removable, sort of. If you take it off, there's not a proper top of his head underneath, it's more so you can have Pikachu posing with the hat or whatever. There is an alternate hat-less head, however. There are definitely cheaper Ash figures out there, but this one is his classic look, has cool accessories, and is super posable.

#52: Pokemon - Bulbasaur vs Pikachu

While the two pack with Squirtle and Charmander was pretty easy to find, it took me a while to find the two pack with Bulbasaur and Pikachu. Pikachu, being Pikachu, is included in various two packs, but Bulbasaur is only in this one. Of course I wanted all three of the original starters so I waited to get this Pikachu. Like all the other figures in this line, these Pokemon are small plastic figures with no articulation. Bulbasaur is taking things easy, and is posed in a crouch, while Pikachu is ready for action, posed in mid-stride. There is a three pack of the middle evolutions of the starters, and they are sold separately in their final forms.

#38: Pokemon - Squirtle vs Charmander

Somewhat surprisingly, this is the first time I've had Pokemon toys to post about here. Thanks to Go and Sun/Moon, as well as my ongoing attempts to catch 'em all in Pokemon Shuffle, Pokemon has been taking up more headspace than usual lately. There are these two packs of little non-articulated Pokemon, so I went with two of the original starters, Squirtle and Charmander. The original starters are some of the most iconic Pokemon, and I usually pick the water type starter, so I chose this set first. Both Squirtle and Charmander have a small hole on the bottom of their body, as if for a stand. There are no stands included, but they don't need them anyway.