Those postcards and the sticker books are really cool. Love the art style. Can’t imagine the rabbit hole the sticker books turned into initially…Glad you are able to post them all, document, and hopefully help out the next person looking to collect!
2 Likes
I haven’t been concentrating on the hasbro coins themself that much but the coins inside the cases instead as plain coins have had the same fate of sitting in a box but the coins in cases have been another great way to display them, so i don’t have any thorough list outside the ones i have which are french and spanish ones. One small piece of information i have is that the greek coins most likely don’t exist as i saw a greek case but the coins inside it were just english so that language probably can be ignored. Regarding the research and finding the coins muk is easier to identify as it has the word “poison” in the front of the coin which differs when the language changes but i think with scyther you rely on the backside with other than german and french coins :x at least coins like muk can be used to identify the different languages for research purposes, but the search for scyther can be tough as i don’t think people list the back of these very often 
And the poker cards, i was under impression that all cards exist in all red, green, blue and yellow decks but does your research say otherwise? I thought that there just were few (perhaps 3?) different deck formations for each colour but all cards exist in all colours. The toyota netz deck i think only exists in one of the green deck formations but scyther isn’t included in that. But about the gold/silver decks, i don’t know how the letter logic works but i’ve never seen any grimer or muk with letters, here’s a photo that i borrowed from @Typhlosion_Collector instagram where the differences can be seen. I don’t have a psa account but it could help to check the pop report if the different variants could be found listed there
4 Likes
Yes, I am confident not all cards exist in all decks. You can see some of them documented here: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_playing_cards
I can see some of them have a couple of variations (with letters), but the gold and silver decks dont have those documented so I need to manually check them.
And about the coins - can you take a photo of the back of the italian and Spanish coins if you have them opened (I have no idea if the boxes come sealed or not). I have not seen either, but if I know what to look for, I will find them 
2 Likes
I checked some listings of venusaur decks and it indeed looks like you are right (not that i anyway should doubt your research 
), only the numbers 1-10 in those decks seem to change and the green deck jack of hearts always is pinsir, good bit of information to learn!
I’ll add the photos of hasbro battling coins here tomorrow!
1 Like
I did have some time and started with the coins. Looks like the 4 main European languages all have different versions:
German
French
Italian
Spanish
I have also found Dutch and Greek, which sadly both have English backs.
Dutch
Greek
The only suspect left is Portuguese, but at least from what I can see, this product was not released there (at least not localised).
So in total, 4 new items to the database (the 4 euro coins) and possibly Gold/Silver Poker deck cards (if the letter variation exists for Scyther. A good day, thanks @joponnes !
P.S. And with a bunch more digging, I managed to find a Korean release with the strange “Always stay near you” back lol. Sadly, those are extremely rare (only found 5 coins total), so for now no more information on released species can be collected.
5 Likes
Day 
Ladies and gentlemen, prepare your card binders! After three weeks of exploring some cool, but, let’s be honest, rather awkward sizes and shapes, we’ve finally reached the sweet spot where TCG lovers and obscure-item enjoyers collide - the Non-TCG Cards section, starting with English!
Here we have one of my favorites in the entire category - the Burger King series. 
These were released in 1999 as part of a Burger King promotion in the US. A couple of variations were produced - the more common perforated version, where nine cards were connected on a 3×3 sheet, and the flat-edge version, where individual cards were packed in black plastic seals. Uncut sheets are still relatively easy to find if you’re a fan of these. 
Later, the perforated sheets were also released in Canada (French 
+ English 
) and Germany (German 
). These versions were quite popular as well and were printed in fairly large quantities, so a bunch of them are still around. But did you know there’s actually a fifth official release? 
It turns out that a small batch of the Canadian cards received the special individual treatment and were printed as flat-edge cards in plastic seals. These are very hard to come by - and for quite some time, they weren’t even officially confirmed. After all, anyone could just trim the perforations off a regular card and claim they had a super-rare version, right? 
Wrong! 
You see, someone at the printing facility unintentionally made sure that wouldn’t work by making a tiny typo. 
As you can see in the photo, the flat-edge Canadian cards (the first card in the second row) have the Canadian translations for weight and height swapped. This mistake appears only on the authentic flat-edge cards and is not present on the much more common perforated versions.
So, if you ever come across one and aren’t sure whether it’s the real deal, check the typo!
99 Burger King (English, Flat)
99 Burger King (English, Perforated)
99 Burger King (Canadian, Flat)
99 Burger King (Canadian, Perforated)
99 Burger King (German, Perforated)
A collection with its roots firmly planted in Europe 
- the Lamincards!
These transparent plastic cards were printed by Ediabas and distributed in the four main European Pokémon languages - German , French , Italian 
, and Spanish 
. They feature text on both the front and back, and they’re veeeeeery easy to scratch. Good thing I’m not obsessed with the condition of my non-TCG collection, haha.
A year later, another version was released (the green one), but this time it stayed in Italy, the country where they were manufactured, and was never translated into other languages.
A little while after that, an English 
variation appeared. It was intended to test the US and Northern European markets, but for some reason, it was produced in a smaller, squarer shape and called “Lamincard Square”. These English ones are by far the hardest to find of the bunch, so I’m pretty happy that I finally managed to find one for sale just a couple of weeks ago! 
06 Ediabas Lamincard Square
05 Ediabas Lamincard Rainbow (German)
05 Ediabas Lamincard Rainbow (French)
06 Ediabas Lamincard Series 1 (Italian)
05 Ediabas Lamincard Rainbow (Italian)
05 Ediabas Lamincard Rainbow (Spanish)
Now we have a more random selection!
The two versions of the Dunkin Boomer cards are some of the oldest European non-TCG Pokémon items on the market. 
Yes, we were a little behind the Japan/US Pokémania! Then we have some food promotions, like the Danone and KFC cards, which are always a fun novelty to come across.
A little-known fact is that the (very) mass-produced Sandilyon Card-o-Stickers actually have two versions - just like the Burger King cards from earlier - a perforated-edge version from 2×2 sheets, and a flat-edge version that came in blisters. Sadly, there’s no reliable way to tell whether a flat-edge card is genuinely factory-produced or simply trimmed by hand. The only clue we have is the presence of four tiny bumps, one in the middle of each side. 
Lastly, we have two more cards in English, but with Spanish roots: the Cromo Card and the Navarrete Pop-Up Card. I’ve been thinking about getting a second Pop-Up Card to display alongside my figures rather than keeping it safely tucked away in the binder. After all, some cards deserve to be seen! 
99 Dunkin Boomer Series 1
00 Dunkin Boomer Series 2
00 Danone Stadium
00 Sandylion Blister (Flat)
00 Sandylion Sheet (Perforated)
98 KFC
99 Cromos Santizo Editores (Spanish)
00 Navarrete Pop Up Card (Peruvian)
And lastly, these aren’t exactly cards, but they’re bigger than the traditional mini stickers we covered last week and fit perfectly in a regular pocket binder.
We have the very popular Merlin stickers, which had several series released, including some featuring scenes from the actual anime. The holo ones have a few really cool (but expensive) variations. Actually, quite a few of them! Besides the regular prism pattern, there are also Cracked Ice, Snowflake, Glitter, Pixel, and Matrix holo patterns - with each one becoming exponentially harder to find than the previous. 
Anyway, on the right of the main photo, we have the Peruvian 
Navarrete stickers (from their licensed days, which unfortunately didn’t last very long). And finally, at the bottom, there are some Argentinian releases. The one in the middle, called “Pokémon Dossiers” is one of the very few items in my collection whose legality I’m still not sure about. It comes from that interesting period around 2005 - 2008, when licensing in South America became… let’s say, optional.
For now, though, it’s a gift that I really like, so it’s staying safely in the binder until I manage to get to the bottom of its story. 
99 Merlin Series 1
99 Merlin Series 1 (Prism)
00 Navarrete Pokémon Series 2 (Peruvian)
00 Merlin Series 2
02 Merlin Johto League Series 5
99 Navarrete Pokémon Series 1 (Peruvian)
03 Master Quest (Argentinian Spanish)
08 Pokémon Dossiers (Argentinian Spanish)
05 Ultra Figus Pokémon Oro (Argentinian Spanish)
9 Likes
I just looked at my species collection and sighed
5 Likes
The holo patterns on those Merlin stickers are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Truly special!
3 Likes
That language setting isn’t actually surprising (well besides that always stay near you one 
), i have to start looking for german and italian cases as it would be really cool to have all five variants side by side, really pity that greece and netherlands only got the cases with their language since that really doesn’t make the cut without matching coins even if those cases too would be so cool to display. Also i think the odds are that letter variants for those poker cards aren’t relevant in your case but anyway something that should be checked just in case! But since the coin back photos aren’t needed anymore i’m just continuing to comment your posts
I didn’t realise chipicao stickers were bulgarian and the origin of your collection, that’s super fun to hear! i only have one of those so far so getting the rest definitely raises in the priority list after hearing that, i love it when certain items have personal stories like that and they easily make them more special for me too
The yoga holograms are another super interesting one and i’m extremely thankful for giving me a helping hand with all the variants, but i didn’t realise the rounded corners were done manually i assume there was some sort of machine the workers used instead of having scissors in hand, but i anyway find that idea in my head amusing
And those green back kakumen retsuden menko cards are the bane of my existence i bought the green back menko muk during the times when jpnan didn’t send anything in europe via regular post so i got it shipped through sea mail and of course it never got delivered, the green backs feel like a lot more rare at least for muk since i’ve only seen the red back muk menkos after that except one green back muk on ebay that’s in so rough condition that i’ve so far refused to buy it
Gb cards are another ones that i’ve really started to appreciate only after messaging with you, my only issue with them is that they are so tiny that placing them in a regular binder leaves so much empty space that it looks a bit off, having multiple in one binder slot limits that but i also don’t want to constantly be adjusting them inside a sleeve when they slip and overlap each others when the binder page moves a little i also don’t want to move them in my pog binder so having two in one binder slot feels like the sweet spot even if the empty space still is a bit overwhelming
Japanese stickers are a real special category imo and it was one of the first non tcg entities that i went harder on! Amada ones i have to appreciate a lot, there’s even some artworks that i think are unique and that is a real gem of a feature when thinking all the products just using the same stock art. Sapporo ichiban stickers also are somewhat special in my mind, even if in a bit questionable way, as they taught me the importance of fomo at some point i felt like jp mercari was absolutely filled with the latest releases of them and i got what i could back then but after that it has been a lot more dry so if i hadn’t been active buying them back then i would be missing a bunch of items that i haven’t seen being listed after those times another one worth highlighting is the meiji metallic sticker as it really is a beautiful one! For some reason meiji products feel really special for me and these metallic stickers are some of the last meiji products i should be missing so really hoping i bump into them one day
No suggestions of new variants this time, you are doing your research too throughly
2 Likes
I guess now I know what these are called (and that they are from Argentina). I’m still missing a Seviper from this set.
Although I hadn’t commented yet, I love all the updates, pictures, and information thus far. I’ve also learned some small things about my own non-TCG items already, so keep it up.
Greetz,
Quuador
4 Likes
Day
There’s no way we can talk about standard non-TCG cards without mentioning Pokémon Topps! They were popular back in ’99, and they’re still going strong today. I’d even go as far as saying that Topps cards are one of the main gateways for TCG collectors looking to expand into the world of non-TCG. 
There are plenty of people who have researched Topps much more than me, so if you notice anything here that’s incorrect, incomplete, or missing, please let me know! I’d love your help in making the Topps section of my binder as accurate and complete as possible. 
(Un)Luckily, Scyther wasn’t released until Topps Series 3, which means I don’t have to worry about the never-ending list of tiny logo, trademark, color, and foil variations found in Series 1 and 2. I do love those subtle differences, but with Topps being as mainstream as it is, they can come with a steep price tag while also being a little too common compared to the obscure stuff I tend to appreciate. 
That doesn’t mean I won’t collect them, but for now I’ve decided not to focus on most of the Rainbow variations from the third series, and I’m definitely ignoring the Spectra, Sparkle, and Tekno versions of Topps Chrome. For now, at least. 
I did pick up both the regular and foil Series 3 Scythers, as well as the special clear card from Series 3 and the regular Topps Chrome.
I’ve also branched out into the translated series. A bit illogically, Scyther is part of Series 2 rather than Series 3 in the international sets. These were released in French , Italian , Argentinian Spanish 
, and Brazilian Portuguese 
. All of them have a foil version, but the Italian one is the only one that’s readily available and cheap enough for me to pull the trigger on. 
00 Topps Series 3
00 Topps Series 3 (Foil)
00 Topps Chrome
00 Topps Series 3 (Clear)
00 Topps Series 2 (French)
00 Topps Series 2 (Italian)
00 Topps Series 2 (Argentinian Spanish)
00 Topps Series 2 (Brazilian Portuguese)
But Scyther also made cameo appearances on a few other cards! 
First, we have two of the Series 3 Animation cards - “Tracey Gets Bugged” and “A Way Off Day Off.” There are no Chrome versions of these, but I did manage to pick up both the regular and the foil, along with all four international releases and, once again, the Italian foil. 
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 3
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 3 (Silver Foil)
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 2 (Italian, Foil)
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 2 (French)
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 2 (Italian)
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 2 (Argentinian Spanish)
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 3
00 Tracey Gets Bugged - Topps Series 3 (Silver Foil)
00 A Way Off Day Off - Topps Series 2 (Italian, Foil)
00 A Way Off Day Off - Topps Series 2 (French)
00 A Way Off Day Off - Topps Series 2 (Italian)
00 A Way Off Day Off - Topps Series 2 (Argentinian Spanish)
*The Brazilian cards are missing from the photo
And another couple of cameos can be found in The First Movie 
set - “The Battle Renewed” and “The Ultimate Match.” The latter actually features two Scythers battling each other, which is pretty badass! 
Sadly, this set doesn’t have any international prints, but it makes up for that with a whole bunch of other variations. First, there are the Blue Logo (first edition) and Black Logo (later editions) versions, based on the logo printed on the back. Each of those then splits into three more variants - non-holo, silver holo, and rainbow holo, giving us a total of six versions per card.
One particularly cool detail is the foil pattern. The Blue Logo foils have the smooth foil pattern used on all the previous Topps cards, while both Black Logo foil versions use a Sandpaper pattern, with tiny bumps covering the entire front of the card.
Recently, another collector helped me discover that there is actually a rare seventh version of this set - Black Logo cards that use the Blue Logo’s smooth foil pattern instead of the Sandpaper one found on the regular Black Logo cards.
These are considered errors and are believed to have been printed shortly before the switch from the Blue Logo to the Black Logo, presumably somewhere in Europe. Finding out about these was definitely a nice surprise!
99 Battle Renewed - Topps The 1st Movie (Blue Logo)
99 Battle Renewed - Topps The 1st Movie (Black Logo)
99 Battle Renewed - Topps The 1st Movie (Smooth Silver, Blue Logo)
99 Battle Renewed - Topps The 1st Movie (Sandpaper Silver, Black Logo)
99 Battle Renewed - Topps The 1st Movie (Smooth Rainbow, Blue Logo)
99 Ultimate Match - Topps The 1st Movie (Blue Logo)
99 Ultimate Match - Topps The 1st Movie (Black Logo)
99 Ultimate Match - Topps The 1st Movie (Smooth Silver, Blue Logo)
99 Ultimate Match - Topps The 1st Movie (Sandpaper Silver, Black Logo)
99 Ultimate Match - Topps The 1st Movie (Smooth Rainbow, Blue Logo)
8 Likes
Day
Time for some more Japanese :jpnan: non-TCG card magic! Some of these are iconic, while others are seriously obscure. Let’s dive in! 
Bandai Cardass cards, released back in September 1996, were among the very first Pokémon products ever to hit the shelves. The first two series, despite being labeled Part 1 and Part 2, were actually released in parallel. And personally, I think the Scyther with the green background looks way more at home than the red one! 
A little later, in 1997, Bandai released a continuation - Cardass Prism Part 3 and Part 4. These introduced new artwork featuring Pokémon in some wonderfully funny poses. Until recently, those artworks were believed to have been created by the legendary Ken Sugimori, but that has since been debunked. There’s a great thread on E4 covering the whole story!
The next step was to build on that concept with Bandai Sealdass cards. These once again featured holofoil, but also added a little extra surprise: mini stickers hidden under the main artwork. 
Meanwhile, another major name in the history of non-TCG Pokémon cards was starting its own portfolio. Topsun released their Poké Monsters cards in three main versions - Blue Text on the back (the first edition), Green Text on the back, and the infamous No-Number Error, where the Pokédex number is missing from the name box on the card. 
96 Bandai Part 1
96 Bandai Part 2
97 Bandai Prism Part 3&4
97 Bandai Sealdass
97 Topsun (Blue Back)
97 Topsun (Green Back)
97 Topsun (Missing Number Error)
Now, for some of the less popular cards!
The Zukan / Pokédex series ran for at least a couple of years around the middle of the 2010s and produced multiple variations of most Pokémon up to Gen 3. Scyther, in particular, has four different versions, which mainly differ in their numbering (68/78) and text design. Only the newest iteration features a different background, making it much easier to recognise at a glance. 
Moving down to the bottom row, among the more miscellaneous cards, the two most notable are the Banpresto Shiritori card and the Meiji Get! card. The Banpresto Shiritori card was actually a prize from an art competition rather than something that was commercially sold, making it a particularly interesting piece. 
The Meiji Get! card, on the other hand, is believed to have two variations, although not every Pokémon has been confirmed to exist in both versions. There’s the regular rounded-corner version, like the one pictured here, and a sharp-corner 
version, which is believed to be the first edition. Because the cards are quite thick and rigid, the sharp corners weren’t considered particularly safe for children. Later print runs therefore switched to rounded corners. 
04 Zukan Fire Red & Leaf Green
04 Zukan Sky Splitting Special Box
05 Zukan Part 1
05 Zukan Part 2
98 Amada Kaku Menko
00 Banpresto Shiritori
97 Meiji Get! (Rounded)
97 Tomy Mini Trainer File 2
And last but not least, just like with the English category, we have some stickers that look close enough to actual cards to deserve a spot here.
The first two on the top row - the Ramune pair - have always felt like proper cards to me, especially with all the text and stats they include for each Pokémon. 
Then we have the Marumiya stickers on the second row. While the holo version is pretty straightforward, the other two are actually the peeled and unpeeled versions of the exact same sticker. It took me weeks to figure that one out, lol.
And finally, the last row is filled with different editions of the Bandai Pokémon Kids cards. The original prints from this series deserve a dedicated post of their own, so I won’t bother you with too many details here. Just know that these things are a pain in the butt 
to collect!
07 Ramune Diamond & Pearl Neo
06 Ramune Advanced Generation
99 Nissui Battle Seal Series 1
07 Nissui Evolution Stickers Diamond & Pearl
19 Marumiya Holo
05 Marumiya Get! Seal (Unpeeled)
05 Marumiya Get! Seal (Peeled)
96 Bandai Pokemon Kids 1
04 Bandai Pokémon Kids Fire Red & Leaf Green Series 2
09 Bandai Pokémon Kids Diamond & Pearl National Pokedex Series 4
06 Bandai Pokémon Kids Reprint Series 5
9 Likes
Can you share more about the Pokemon Kids non reprint cards being a pain to collect? I have some myself and see them available online. Is it the cost, availability outside the US or something else?
3 Likes
Yes, I will be going through all the variations tomorrow, just have one other post prepared for today, to continue on the theme of yesterday . But I really love collecting them! My goal is to get all 14 Scyther, it’s just incredibly tedious, even using Japanese auctions (and if you only do it through eBay and in the US, it would take years).
6 Likes
I’m continuing my random rambling 
About those stamps, i love the sheets (and really all sheets where my boys are at least presented, they are after all naturally the main character even when they share the item with dozens of other pokemon) but i did also think about getting another set of stamps for binder too, i was thinking i could help other species collectors with loose stamps in the process but after all i didn’t have heart to perforate the sheets so i scrapped the idea the single stamps also felt always too pricy for what they were especially when comparing to how much the full sheets did cost, but they do look great as singles even if they have a bit of the same issue than gb cards of too much empty binder space behind small flat item. Scyther did get multiple great arts for stamps tho!
I’m somewhat jealous about how many post cards scyther has gotten as it’s an awesome form of collectables, in addition to the navarrete ones my slime boys almost only got jpnanese ones where they can barely be recognised like the ones with figure displays or where’s waldo type post cards with full gen 1 on each, or the one with only 1/3 of gen 1 but gengar being the big main character on it and raising the price tag in unreasonable amounts 
at least i got the 20th anniversary post card with jpnanese fossil booster pack art so that’s something
Your non-tcg card section also has so many cool ones! For example the bk cards for some reason are something that i furiously love (at least partly because grimer and muk share a sheet so they make really nice display backgrounds), but also the canadian clean edge grimer is my longest ongoing saved search that hasn’t been yet fulfilled so seeing them feels a bit bittersweet at the same time i’m seriously questioning at this point if the whole set even exists as clean edge variants. The dunkin boomer cards are also fun because when i bought my series 2 grimer i received a crimped error one which was already nice, but shortly after that when i went through my a bit forgotten pokemon stashes from my childhood i happened to find a dunkin boomer muk that also was a crimped error one! That did feel like destiny from other ones in that category, i really hope you’ll get the merlin holo scyther stickers as that’s again variant game at its best. And i’m encouraging you to get a second copy of that navarrete pop up card as that’s indeed something that yells to be displayed! Some copies also are mentioned on ebay as argentinian versions but i haven’t noticed any differences so don’t know if there’s anything relevant there
And now you’ve also covered my favourite category, topps 
as i have a special bond to topps chrome variants i hope i can one day look at your collection too and see the different chrome holos there side by side, but i do see the point of their popularity escalating lately which makes that a tiny bit more difficult 
i could ramble about topps forever but i’m trying to keep it short, very happy for you that you got so many cool movie set cards, like you mentioned the two scyther fighting each others is a super cool one but i also love the feisty scyther going head to head with charizard the only slime cameo i got in topps cards is a tiny one in the back of the card so these are awesome compared to that
And from your latest post, i would have hoped you’d cover how nissui cards were distributed as being released in sausage boxes is for sure one of the most unique products that has held anything pokemon related
4 Likes
I am always happy to see another @joponnes comment! If I get a second pop-up card, you should get a second set of stamps and punch out the slimes, haha!
And Topps prices are astronomical for Scyther. Like in the 10s of 1000s for the holo set. If I ever dare to invest a sum like that, I would much prefer it to be in the Portuguese Jungle 1st ed Scyther pair (spoiler alert!), but It’s just too much of a price jump to even consider it at the moment lol
And even tho I did not mention the Sausage boxes, trust me when I say it, I do use this example a lot in real life. If anything, the 2 funniest things I tell friends who want to know more about my hobby are:
- I do collect 30-year-old stickers from sausage packs.
- A good friend of mine spent the last decade collecting Grimer and Muk.
With that context, a few cool cards of the mighty Scyther actually dont look too crazy to chase! 
3 Likes
Day
We’re continuing yesterday’s Japanese madness with even more Asian cards from miscellaneous series! :jpnan: If you’re into cameos, variations, stickers, and all sorts of obscure gems, keep scrolling! 
Topsun may not have been as big as Bandai when it came to the personalized Pokémon card series, but they more than made up for it with their anime/cameo cards.
The VS series debuted in 1998, with each Pokémon appearing on a card while battling a random opponent. Scyther has 3 appearances: the #123 Scyther card itself, plus appearances as an opponent to Spinarak and Haunter. I was incredibly excited when I found this out, because Haunter is one of my top 3 favorite Pokémon (alongside Scyther and Aerodactyl). In fact, this was one of the very first non-TCG items I decided to buy when I was transitioning from the TCG, simply because it featured two of my favorites on the same card! 
What makes these cards even cooler is that each of the three belongs to a different series, and yet each series has its own variation.
The #93 Haunter vs Scyther card was first printed in the original Series 1, back when the company was still called Topsun. It was later reprinted in Series 2/3, after the company was rebranded to Toppu at the end of 1998. The difference is tiny, but can be spotted in the small green logo on the back (トップサン vs トップ). 
Meanwhile, the #123 Scyther vs Electabuzz card was also printed in Series 3 (featuring the shorter Toppu logo), but then was reprinted in Series 4, when the cards received their stats-filled backs, making them look much more complete.
The third card, #167 Spinarak vs Scyther, was only printed in Series 4, meaning it only exists with the stats-filled back. But the Johto cards in this series have another niche variation - the disc behind the text on the front can be either gray or black, depending on whether it was a first or later print (supposedly, or it may be another totally random reason)! 
Three Scyther appearances, three different series, and three different variations. Gotta love non-TCG!
98 Topsun VS Scyther Series 4 (Stats Back)
98 Topsun VS Scyther Series 3 (Green Back)
98 Topsun VS Haunter Series 1 (Topsun Back)
98 Topsun VS Haunter Series 2/3 (Top Back)
98 Topsun VS Spinarak Series 4 (Gray Disc)
98 Topsun VS Spinarak Series 4 (Black Disc)
05 Top Seika 3D Series 7, Gen 2
97 Tomy Scratch Series 2
Bandai couldn’t let themselves fall behind and managed to keep up with the amazing Topsun artwork by countering with their own Anime series.
Some of these cards feature scenes taken directly from the anime, while others are styled to look like that. The artwork feels a bit more random than Topsun’s, but I still really like the vibe! 
99 Bulbasaur vs Scyther - Bandai Anime
98 Electabuzz & Scyther - Bandai Anime
99 Jessie - Bandai Anime
00 Cyndaquil & Scyther - Bandai Anime
99 Gather Around! - Bandai Anime
99 Tracey & Scyther - Bandai Anime
And we close this subcategory with some Japanese stickers and other obscurities from all around Asia. 🏯
A notable mention here has to be the big Stadium sticker made of cloth (!) and the square green sticker, which I’ve only ever seen once. It has a 2010 trademark, and the listing mentioned that it was a Pokémon Center promotion, but I’ve never managed to find any more information about it. I bought it as part of a bundle of 8 and even tried hunting down the other 7 Pokémon one by one, in the hope of finding another listing and more information, but no luck. If anyone knows anything about this sticker, please let me know!
Another series that’s becoming surprisingly popular (at least around me) is the Choki Choki cards. The larger ones are from Indonesia, and I originally bought a big bundle hoping to score the 2 Scyther artworks (which I managed to do!). Since then, I’ve sent quite a few of these off to collectors all over the world. 
But when I found out there was also a Thai version, I was really surprised to see that they’re much smaller. And unfortunately, not all of the artworks were released in the Thai version - including the blue Scyther. 
99 Pokemon Stadium Cloth Stickers
10 ?? Black & White Stickers
24 Choki Choki Chocolate Medallion V1 (Indonesian)
24 Choki Choki Chocolate Medallion V2 (Indonesian)
25 Choki Choki Chocolate Medallion V1 (Thai)
19 B-Side Label
26 Pokemon Center 30th Anniversary #Glad I met you!
25 Blokees Classic Version-L Card (Chinese)
9 Likes
Day
Almost a full month into this adventure, it’s time for the final Non-TCG day. We’ve gone through all kinds of figures, badges and keychains, stickers, chips, coins, and cards. The common theme throughout has been “variation” - the favorite thing of every Non-TCG collector. And what better way to finish this half of the collection than with the single item that has the most variations of any Scyther (and most other species)? 
But what is it?
The Ga-Olé Discs had 8 versions each. The Chinese 151 coins had 10. The Kyodo Metal figures had between 9 and 14 colors, and the Bandai Keshi figures had 11 to 14 versions. Pokémon Kraks, the absolute epitome of variation collecting, had 14 different colors as well.
For some strange reason, they all seem to cap out at 14.
All but one!
The Bandai Kids cards can have up to 16 (!) different versions of the same card. Yes, you read that right - 16!!!
You may have seen these small Japanese cards without ever realizing just how special they are. They came inside the boxes of the Bandai Pokémon Kids finger puppets that we covered a while back. While the figures were obviously the main attraction, the cards themselves became collectible items as well. About half of each card - essentially the entire back - was used as advertising and featured a checklist showing every figure included in that particular release. 
A total of 13 Generation I card series were released - Bandai Pokémon Kids 1-5,
Bandai New Pokémon Kids 1-5 and Bandai Pokémon Kids Reprint 1-3. Most, if not all, of the original 151 Pokémon received cards from all 13 releases, giving them 13 different variations right off the bat. But now we get to the special sauce - the variations that push these cards beyond that mysterious 14-version ceiling.
There are three additional versions, each special for a different reason.
The Trademark Variation 
Around February 1997, shortly after the release of Bandai Pokémon Kids 3, the copyright/trademark text used on the cards was changed. The original text read:
“© 1995 Nintendo / Creatures inc / GAME FREAK inc”
It was replaced with:
“© Nintendo . CREATURE . GAMEFREAK . TV TOKYO . SHO-PRO . JR KIKAKU”
Later printings of Pokémon Kids 3 used the new trademark text (as did all subsequent sets in the series). That means every Pokémon appearing in Pokémon Kids 3 has two different card variations - one with the old copyright and one with the new one.
The Lottery Variation 
In 1998, Bandai started a lottery promotion where collectors had the chance to win a special binder designed to store their Pokémon Kids collection. A limited number of cards were printed with a special “Lottery Guidelines” back. Unfortunately, this variation wasn’t produced for every Pokémon - only a select few received the special lottery version.
The 2018 Reissue 
Finally, in 2018, Bandai celebrated reaching 300 million Pokémon Kids figures sold by releasing reissues of some of the original figures. The Pokémon included in the reissue were selected through a public vote. And, thankfully for collectors, the figures came with cards as well. Sadly, my guy was not selected for this particular series, which leaves us with a total of 15 available Scyther cards - a new record! 
I am leaving a photo of my checklist that you can use if you want to start this adventure! And with that, we officially wrap up our Non-TCG half of the collection! Time for some TCG!
96 Bandai Pokemon Kids 1
96 Bandai Pokemon Kids 2
97 Bandai Pokemon Kids 3
97 Bandai Pokemon Kids 4
97 Bandai Pokemon Kids 5
97 Bandai New Pokemon Kids 1
97 Bandai New Pokemon Kids 2
98 Bandai New Pokemon Kids 3
98 Bandai New Pokemon Kids 4
98 Bandai New Pokemon Kids 5
98 Bandai Pokemon Kids Reprint 1
99 Bandai Pokemon Kids Reprint 2
00 Bandai Pokemon Kids Reprint 3
98 Bandai Pokemon Kids (Lottery)
8 Likes
Dang you weren’t kidding about all the variations for these!
2 Likes
The single stamps might be a goal at some point in future, it’s difficult to say never when my non tcg route has seen so many widenings during all these years and damn, didn’t realise topps chrome prices are now that level of crazy 
far are the days of series 2 sparkle and tekno ones being some dozens of dollars, and even the prices of the time i had the long hunt for my sparkle muk. Also, i’m glad if i can give perspective and understanding in benefit of your collection it could indeed be a pile of goo instead of badass blade hand bug!
About the rest of your non tcg ones (been an incredible thread to follow so far with all the variaty and information!) really happy for you that scyther also got so great looking topsun vs cards, the unique art on them is incredible and they are currently the only cards in addition to some tcg and topps ones that i’m planning to add as doubles in my display at some point, always fun to see your special boy beating the crap out of some other pokemon! B-side labels are another fun one and i know a lot of people have queationed their official status because of their personal looks, love the goofy looks
And yeah, those kids mini cards are a whole another level of collecting on the other hand it’s a bit questionable to put them next to each others in the binder when the backside differences can’t even be seen, but on the other hand that weird part of me really enjoys just putting similar cards next to each others.
Like said it has been really enjoyable to see and read all this about your collection and learn a good bunch of stuff in the process! Hopefully we’ll see more updates of your additions even after this daily project of yours
3 Likes