Taking a look at some of the Pokémon toys I saw at Toy Fair with the ‘Ash hat’ Pikachu plush and the Throw ‘n’ Pop Poké Ball!

Thanks to TOMY for the cool samples to review in this video and I’m soooo sorry for the cringe-worthy intro song!

Based on the Kawada Nanoblock sets, the LOZ Pokémon starters arrive at DOOM Towers just in time for the release Pokémon Sun and Moon!

I picked these up for around £15 (£5 each) off Amazon UK so you should be able to find them easily and cheaply.

Check out the full review below!

Deck Maniacs are the UK’s best value Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon TCG subscription box service and they were kind enough to send me a sample!

Head on over to the Deck Maniacs website to check out their subscription boxes starting from just £29.99 for over £40 of value!

Use the coupon code DOOM15 to receive 15% off your order and let them know that Sharp-O sent you! ;)

This Clip ‘n’ Carry Poké Ball was kindly provided by the fine folks over at TOMY and it’s totally not Charmander! The slick white and transparent window box design carries over from the many other releases and looks great.

Included is an Attack Tag that serves no real purpose other than to confirm Gogoat’s type. I’ve never gotten the reason for including these.

The Premier Ball is one of the MANY varieties of Poké Ball in the Pokémon world, this one being a commemorative Ball issued when you buy 10x Poké Balls. It has no special features and has the same basic catch rate as a regular Poké Ball. In the game, it’s a brilliant white and red colour scheme but, unfortunately, TOMY fell short in the plastic counterpart. The “white” is actually a dull off-white/grey that looks rather dingy. The Clip ‘n’ Carry functionality works just as well as other releases and can clip onto the Belt TOMY has previously released.

Releasing Gogoat from his Premier Ball, I’m instantly smitten. I really dig the Gogoat design and he’s really fun in 3D. In the game, he’s one of the few Pokémon in X & Y that you can ride around on. It’s a solid little toy.

Overall, another fun Pokéball release from TOMY and I recommend it, purely for the roleplay fun you can have.

Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s been a while since a Pokémon line has produced an articulated figure of a Trainer but Tomy seems to be remedying that with the introduction of a brand new subline. “Ash + Pikachu” equals a fairly cool little release. They’re packed in a similar window box to every other Pokémon figure pack in the XY line.

Ash Ketchum, primary protagonist of the Pokémon anime for going on… 18 YEARS (wow, I feel old now…) appears in his latest costume for the show which debuted with the XY anime. He’s been through a fair few looks over the… 18 years… but this looks pretty sharp! The figure conveys the clean lines and sharp colours of this outfit very nicely. Even the face printing is crisp!

The Ash figure has 13 points of articulation, which is a lot lower than I’m used to and even lower than Bandai’s Power Rangers figures but for some reason, I don’t hate it here. I LOVE to pose figures and take pictures so a lack of points means a lack of dynamic posing options but I think the reason I don’t mind it here is that you rarely see the Pokémon cast not standing up with both feet firmly on the floor. Would I like a waist swivel, ankle tilts and maybe some alternate hands? Sure, but for the constraints of the price point, I’m not unhappy with the articulation.

Pikachu, awesome yellow mascot that he is, accompanies his partner in this set and is slightly smaller than other versions meaning it is more in scale with Ash than other Pokémon figures which is a cause for concern really but the scale issues entirely depend on what scale of Pokémon figure you get so your mileage may vary.

Accessories-wise, all Ash is rocking is a backpack and nothing else and while I lament the lack of a Pokéball, the backpack is a nice addition. It’s made of a softer plastic and the straps can be unclipped to allow you to more easily add it to the figure too. There’s a hole near the shoulder strap to allow Pikachu to rest on Ash’s shoulder, with some careful balance.

One cool thing about the packaging that I didn’t notice until later was that the backing card is a diorama of Lumiose City, an iconic location for the XY games and show. It’s a nice little addition and adds a little more playability.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with this figure. It’s not doing anything new or special but I’ve seen similar figures from a similar RRP of £9.99 be far more disappointing and I hope to see more Pokémon trainers get releases down the road!

After that we move onto the Next Generation movies. In this episode we cover Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact. We also talked about the GS Ball from Pokemon. Remember that thing?! Biggest let down of my childhood!

This is time is an assortment of role-play items and being a grown man, they’re not exactly designed with me in mind so I enlisted the help of my little sister, our resident toy-reviewer-in-training, to help!

First item is another Charmander Clip ‘N’ Carry Poké Ball. I reviewed this last time but Aimee thought it was pretty cool and couldn’t wait to crack it open and add it to the rest. She also liked the other figures in this assortment, especially Gogoat. The assorted Clip ‘N’ Carry Poké Balls retail for around £12.99 and include one Pokémon.

Now is where things get a little giddy for me personally. Growing up, I wish there was something as simple and awesome as the Clip ‘N’ Carry Poké Ball Belt. It’s such an obvious thing to produce but I don’t think this idea was implemented until Tomy was making the Black and White toys. Regardless, both Aimee and I had an immense amount of fun with this, even if I couldn’t wear it. Aimee was running around, shouting attacks and calling out her Pokémon. The two Pokémon included in this set are an adorable Pikachu and Noivern, one of the Pokémon from the new games, and you get both a regular Poké Ball and an Ultra Ball. These two, as well as the Balls from the two Charmander sets mean we can carry four Poké Balls at once! I was pretty surprised to see that the belt had alloted space for the traditional maximum of six Poké Balls. This amazing set retails for around £18.99 and is a must have for any would-be Pokémon trainer!

Lastly, we come to the Pokémon Trainer Gloves! Styled after Ash Ketchum’s signature gloves, they feature motion activated sound. Funny story, the package containing these samples was left outside my door so my awesome neighbours noticed and kept it with them until I got home. They told me they were kinda scared of the strange whooshing noises coming from the box! I find it strange that these don’t have a pull-tab that activates the electronics when you open the packaging. I could easily see many of these losing their battery power in stores because of the lack of that feature. Despite my issues with the packgaging, the gloves fit both Aimee and myself quite comfortably and we had a great time trying to figure out the best way to throw a Poké Ball and have the sounds activate. This role-play set retails for around £14.99

Overall, me and Aimee had lots of fun with these role-play items, from the perspective of both a Pokémon veteran and a relative newcomer. Aimee loved everything, especially the belt but for me, I don’t think the Trainer Gloves give you as much bang for your buck but are still a fun addition to line. The Pokémon XY toy line is available in most good toy retailers and is also available from Tomy’s website!

Pokémon is huge. There’s no two ways about it, it was huge 15 years ago and its still huge now. It’s a game of friendship, striving for greatness and becoming the very best like no one ever was. Recent events involving certain animal rights groups aside, this place has always been wholesome, welcoming and ultimately non-threatening. Or has it? Did you ever read a Pokédex entry and think it seemed a little off? Did you ever look at one of these creatures and think “How did you come to be?”

Well, my children, that’s what we’re here to do today as we look at the SCARIEST Pokémon to ever be discovered! To put you in the mood, play this little melody in the background. That’s right, the original Lavender Town music. Purported to have caused a rash of child suicides in the early days of the franchise, it is a shocking reminder that not only can your Pokémon not escape death, neither can you…

We’ll start with something from the first generation, the cute little bone-chucker, Cubone. Some of you might not be old enough to remember this but the tale of this poor little orphan is harrowing, especially in context of the Red/Blue games.

It pines for the mother it will never see again. Seeing a likeness of its mother in the full moon, it cries. The stains on the skull it wears are from its tears. It wears its mother’s skull, never revealing its true face.

In the course of the game, you come across a ghost that is revealed to be a Marowak murdered by Team Rocket. A truly horrible thought when you think about it but you’re not likely to read too deeply into it at a young age, you’re just trying to get to Cinnabar Island to use the Missingno cheat. Little orphan Cubone, you will always have a home in our hearts. And our storage boxes.

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I have arachnophobia but that doesn’t apply to this little cutie. Galvantula is one of my favourite of Gen5, and one of my favourite Electric types but its modus operandi is very sinister.

They employ an electrically charged web to trap their prey. While it is immobilized by shock, they leisurely consume it.

You think you were scared of spiders before, how about one that throws LIGHTNING? How about if it’s 2ft tall and 30lbs? Yeah, it’s pretty big and it will devour you. But despite how sinister and horrifying the motives of this creature, I can’t help but love his fuzzy design and over all cuteness and that, dear readers, is frightening.

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Here’s another cutie that can kill you (I’m starting to see a pattern with these Pokémon) Litwick is an adorable little sentient candle THAT WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL! It’s true! You look at him and make all the noise you’re supposed to, namely “D’awwww!” but take a look at it’s Pokédex entry.

Litwick appear to be helping to guide the way of people by illuminating areas that are darkened, but in reality they are actually leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon, and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads.

He tricks you into following him and slowly saps your soul! Geez, all this fire and brimstone from such an adorable little object. And that’s another thing, he’s like a little poltergeist thing, possessing an inanimate object and all. Weird. Cute, but weird.

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Gengar is arguably the most well known Ghost Pokémon. Namely because he looks like a ghostly version of Clefairy. Now if these Ghosts are indeed the souls of other dead Pokemon, can the same be applied to humans? When we die, are we also able to become Ghost Pokémon? The truth may surprise you…

These Pokémon arose from the spirits of people interred in graves in past ages. Each retains memories of its former life. Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.

Hoo-boy, Yamask‘s entry is a doozy. Human spirits becoming Pokémon, fine, I can let that slide but having them retain their memories? Having a little mask based on their face and crying at what they have lost and what they have ultimately become? Christ, this is some existential nightmare fuel, right here! It doesn’t help that these appear in an area rife with Cofagrigus, Yamask’s evolved form is known for trapping people inside itself and mummifying them. It’s a vicious cycle: Humans die, become Yamask, evolve into Cofagrigus and then consume more humans.

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So what do you think, folks? Are these entries spine-tingling or lacking bite? What are your favourite Pokédex entries, creepy or not. Let us know in the comments below!

I take a look at Bandai’s current Pokemon figurine collection!