Pikachu to Mewtwo: The Noses Behind TOMY's 2016 Anniversary Plush

When TOMY released its Pokémon 20th Anniversary collection throughout 2016, most of the conversation among Australian fans focused on the monthly drop schedule and the mythical Pokémon rotating through the lineup. A quieter detail, however, was hiding in plain sight on every figure: the nose. Across the twelve sculpted releases, the nose shape shifted depending on species, and collectors who lined up at Big W aisles in Sydney or queued at specialty toy stores in Melbourne began to notice that Mewtwo's pointed muzzle bore little resemblance to Pikachu's tiny black triangle.

The anniversary plush was never advertised as a sculptor's showcase. It was positioned as a nostalgic celebration of two decades of Pokémon, with a standard 20cm format and mass-market pricing that made it accessible to casual buyers and serious completists alike. Yet the consistency of the line allowed for an unintended comparison: place a Celebi next to a Darkrai on a shelf in Brisbane, and the anatomical differences between the species become impossible to ignore, even in soft form.

Sculpted Muzzles and the Anniversary Lineup

The 2016 TOMY range ran on a remarkably tight design template. Every monthly release used the same fabric weight, the same embroidered eye style, and roughly the same body proportions, which meant that any deviation from the norm read loud and clear. Designers in TOMY's Tokyo office approached each mythical Pokémon and legendary bird with a simple question: what shape best represents the creature's actual face?

For most Kanto and Johto species, the answer was a small embroidered triangle or oval in contrasting thread. For creatures with beaks, manes, or elongated muzzles, the answer required extra stitching, sometimes a raised fabric panel, and occasionally a contrasting patch of felt. The result was a collection where the nose became one of the clearest markers of species identity, and where each new monthly reveal gave fans a new facial feature to dissect on collector forums from Perth to Hobart.

Pokémon Nose Type Material Technique Visual Effect
Pikachu Tiny black triangle Embroidered flat Minimal, childlike
Mewtwo Pointed ridge Raised felt panel Stern, elongated
Eevee Small black dot Single stitch Rounded, soft
Darkrai Subtle indent Tonal embroidery Shadowy, recessed
Celebi Triangular leaf-like shape Embroidered outline Mythical, leafy
Mew Tiny pink triangle Embroidered flat Playful, small

Pointed Snouts and the Legendary Lineage

Mewtwo's plush stands out as the most architecturally ambitious figure in the entire 2016 run. Rather than settling for an embroidered triangle, TOMY gave it a protruding muzzle panel stitched in pale lavender, with the eyes set further apart than on any other release. The result reads as serious, almost severe, which suits the character's brooding presence in the original film and its recurring role on Australian weekend cartoon reruns.

Darkrai, covered in more detail over at the Darkrai collection page, followed a different path entirely. Its face features a recessed nose area using darker tonal thread that blends into the surrounding black plush, creating the illusion of depth without actually adding any raised material. Collectors in Adelaide's few specialty hobby shops noted that this subtler technique made the figure harder to photograph, but more rewarding to study under direct light.

Round Noses and Small Plush Faces

At the opposite end of the spectrum sit the figures with the most minimal noses. Pikachu's classic black triangle is the design that anchored the whole anniversary range, repeated faithfully on every variant and reissue. Eevee's single embroidered dot is almost negligible at a distance, but becomes a focal point when the plush is photographed for display purposes.

These simpler designs are not a shortcut. They are a deliberate choice to preserve the wide-eyed, approachable aesthetic that defined the original 1996 character art. A heavier nose treatment on Pikachu would have aged the figure, pushing it toward realism rather than nostalgia. Australian collectors who grew up watching the Indigo League on Saturday morning SBS broadcasts often cite this restraint as the reason the Pikachu plush still feels timeless, decades after the character's debut.

Mythical Anatomy and the Celebi Release

Celebi, the March 2016 release, posed a unique design challenge. As a Time Travel Pokémon with a leafy head and minimal facial features in official artwork, TOMY's designers leaned into a triangular nose shape that mimics the leaves framing its face. The stitching follows the curve of the upper head rather than sitting horizontally, giving the plush an almost botanical appearance.

Collectors interested in the full design rationale can read more about the March 2016 Celebi release and how the time travel themes influenced the sculpting choices. The piece explains how the soft toy team used green and cream thread combinations to suggest foliage without resorting to plastic attachments or felt appliqués that might have looked clumsy on such a small figure.

Australian Collector Communities and Retail Realities

Australian collectors faced a particular set of conditions in 2016. Big W and Target Australia stocked most of the standard releases, but mythical variants often sold out within hours of hitting shelves in major metropolitan areas. Sydney collectors learned to ring multiple inner-west and northern beaches stores on release mornings, while Melbourne fans relied on the Chadstone and Highpoint toy aisles, where staff occasionally held back one or two units for regular customers.

Brisbane's collector scene was smaller but no less dedicated, with groups coordinating purchases through Facebook pages and occasionally swapping duplicates at meet-ups in West End. The lack of an official Pokémon Center store in Australia meant that local fans relied heavily on these mass-market chains, and the consistency of the TOMY plush lineup across all retailers made it easier to spot counterfeits. Any nose that looked too sharp, too round, or stitched in the wrong colour was usually a sign of a knockoff.

Perth and Hobart collectors had to contend with shipping delays, often receiving their monthly figures two to three weeks after Sydney and Melbourne. This regional lag occasionally turned local Facebook trading groups into small marketplaces, where sealed plush changed hands at modest premiums to compensate for the wait. Australian Geographic stores and independent toy shops in regional centres also occasionally carried leftover stock long after the city releases had sold through.

Preservation Habits for Serious Collectors

Because the nose is one of the smallest features on each plush, it is also the first area to show wear. Embroidery can loosen, felt panels can flatten, and contrasting thread can fade under direct sunlight. Serious Australian collectors often rotate their displays every few months, keeping the figures in glass cabinets away from the harsh afternoon light that streams through east-facing windows in suburban homes. For collectors who notice loose stitching, archival-grade polyester thread in matching colours is the standard repair material. Hobby shops in Sydney's Rocks district and Melbourne's CBD stock small selections, though many collectors now source materials online for better colour matches. The privacy-policy page on the TOMY collections site outlines how customer data is handled for those ordering replacement parts or signed display boxes directly from the manufacturer.

A few habits can help new collectors get the most out of the 2016 TOMY range and its varied nose designs.