Some Examples of Pocket Monsters GB Pocket Card Gashapon products.
GB Pocket Cards (GBポケットカード ポケモン) Also known by "Bros Card"(ブロスカード), "N64 Card"(N64カード) and "Kyodo Mini Cards" were a brand of Gashapon miniature Trading Cards and products released in Japan between 1997 and 2006. These products were produced by Kyodo in collaboration with Game Freak and Nintendo, under the Pocket Monsters franchise. Each GB Pocket Card Gashapon capsule included an instruction slip, as well as either a booster box containing around 24 miniature trading cards or a miniature plastic Gameboy toy that could hold the cards.
Trading Cards[]
The GB Pocket Card line of Gashapon toys revolved around trading cards as its main component. GB Pocket Cards are widely considered to be the equivalent of Bandai's Carddass brand of vending trading cards in the Gashapon world. So far, there are approximately eight Pokemon-themed GB Pocket Card sets that have been discovered, although the last set found being Diamond and Pearl lends to the theory that there were many more sets released in between. In addition to Pokemon, there were also other GB Pocket Card sets that feature different IPs, such as Banjo Kazooie. These sets cover a broad range of Pokemon generations and media, including the Kanto and Johto regions, the Pokemon TV anime, and Pocket Monsters Stadium, to name a few.
The first GB Pocket Card set that featured the first 151 Pokemon are commonly known as "Bros Cards." This set came with a miniature Gameboy toy accessory in which the cards could be stored. The second, third, and fourth sets, released alongside the Gameboy Pocket in Japan instead came with a Gameboy Pocket model of the Card Toy Accessory. These sets were released under the name "GB Pocket Card." Following, the fifth and sixth sets were released in conjunction with Pocket Monsters Stadium on N64 in Japan, and these sets came with a miniature N64 toy accessory. They were also known as "N64 Cards." The seventh set of cards was once again released under the name "GB Pocket Cards," featuring the Johto Region and including miniature Gameboy Pocket accessories.
Each GB Pocket Card Set came with different designs on the Booster Box and the cards themselves. The box contained both common non-holo and rare holographic variations of each card. These cards measure 23 mm wide and 23 mm tall and are made with a thin but sturdy cardstock.
Card Game[]
Instructions for how to play the game on the backs of the Anime Best Scene Collection Set cards
In addition to their unique designs, each GB Pocket Card set also featured a simple card game that could be played between two opponents using the back of the cards. The rules for each mini-game can be found on the back of the slips that came with each Gashapon capsule, and the winner would take home the opponent's cards that were in play. While the card mini-games were not initially designed to be backwards compatible with other sets, some members of the GB Pocket Card Collectors community have developed a game that combines all the different Pocket Monster branded sets.
Plastic Toys[]
Examples of the various different Miniature Game Console toys Kyodo produced for GB Pocket Cards.
Diagram showing how GB Pocket Cards were Inserted into the miniature plastic Gameboy toy.
Kyodo In addition to the GB Pocket Cards, Kyodo also produced multiple versions of the plastic toy accessories that could hold the cards. These included a miniature Gameboy, miniature Gameboy Pocket, miniature Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and miniature N64 System, among others.
Card Sets and Toy Variations[]
Ongoing research[]
(Disclaimer) Much of the information on this wiki is part of ongoing efforts to find more facts and history of the GB Pocket Cards Gashapon toy brands. Considering this, some information here may be inaccurate, incomplete, or missing.
'Punch-out' Sheets found for one of the GB Pocket Card sets
Various GB Pocket Card 'punch-out' sheets have been found and it is unclear if these sheets were available as vending products to consumers, were early prototypes, or if they were examples of the factory or retail process before the product was packaged into the Gashapon capsules.
Some of these 'punch-out' sheets include holographic BG Pocket Cards with no printing on the backs and plastic Transparent versions.