Just wanted to bring up a discussion on whether it is plausible that all Tropical Winds given out at the Summer Challenge Road, in Osaka, on July 10 and 11, 1999 (Challenge Road Summer & Battle Road Autumn 1999 - Pokumon) were distributed through the mail.
The list below, copied from @HumanForScale 's Pokumon page, shows the location of all 7 events where the tropical wind was distributed.
- Kansai conference: Asia & Pacific Trade Center (ATC), Osaka on July 10 and 11, 1999.
- Kyūshū conference: West Japan General Exhibition Center, Fukuoka on July 18, 1999.
- Chūgoku conference: Hiroshima Sun Plaza, Hiroshima on July 23, 1999.
- Tōhoku conference: Sunfesta, Sendai on July 26, 1999.
- Chūbu conference: Nagoya Trade & Industry Center, Nagoya on July 30, 1999.
- Kantō conference: Tokyo International Exhibition Center, Tokyo on August 3 and 4, 1999.
- Hokkaidō conference: AXES Sapporo, Sapporo on August 10, 1999.
I was lucky enough to receive this document alongside a Tropical Wind I recently purchased (see image below). The document explains that this specific player was mailed the Tropical Wind on July 28th. This player participated in the Osaka Summer Challenge Road on July 10,11th 1999.
The way the card was originally distributed as is shown below.
It was previously thought that only the 10 extra Tropical Wind’s distributed in the Trainers Mag Vol 3, 99 presents campaign (once again referenced wonderfully in the Pokumon article) were shipped through the mail. Thus sustaining the classic damage to the corners similar to the Masaki promos.
Just completing a quick search of recently sold or available copies of Tropical Winds that are specifically from the Osaka event, I found this listing Tropical Wind #1 which does seem to show wear in the corners.
As well as this listing that describes the card having damage due to the way it was recieved back in 1999, Tropical Wind #2
My Thoughts
Perhaps all Tropical Winds given out before July 28th (date on the letter above), were shipped to the participants who earned them. This might explain why a truly mint copy is so difficult to find, as potentially 256 copies may have been shipped causing corner damage.
This doesn’t prove much but it looks like the event on the 30th likely had the tropical winds in person. The card is signed by Fake Dr Ooyama on the date of the 5th tournament in Nagoya. (Tropical Wind #3)
It would be cool to know if any other collectors here have a copy with corner damage similar to what i have described here. If you know the location the card was obtained from, that would be even better!
