Nendoroid Pokemon Trainer Red: Champion Ver. Posable Figure review

We take a look at the latest Nendoroid Pokemon set, which features a well-loved character from the very beginning of the franchise and three iconic pocket monsters.

If you’re a Pokemon fan of a certain age, you’re no doubt enjoying the wave of nostalgia that is washing over the franchise right now. The timing is perfect for it thanks to the brand’s 20th anniversary and the rampant success of Pokemon GO putting the original 151 back in the spotlight again, and it feels like everything old is new, or at least revitalized, again.

That feeling has carried over to a number of different products, including the latest Nendoroid figure set. If you’ve never seen the line before, Nedoroid figures are highly detailed, hand-painted collectibles done in chibi or SD style, distributed by the Good Smile Company in Japan. There have been Nendoroid Pokemon figures before, but the Nendoroid Pokemon Trainer Red: Champion Version is the most elaborate set to date.

As the name suggests, the main figure is Red, known to Pokemon fans from the original Game Boy titles. He’s accompanied by the stage 2 evolutions of the three starter Pokemon from those days, namely Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise.

As you can see in the image above, this Nendoroid Pokemon set does require some assembly. Not only does Red come with multiple arms and accessories to go with two different faces, but the Pokemon all have some parts that need to be put together as well.

One thing you’ll notice when doing so is that the parts fit very snugly, and once they’re in, feel sturdy enough to pose without having to worry about them falling out. The lone exception was Red’s backback, which gave us some trouble.

Red also comes with an extra face that makes him appear to be yelling, and several extra arms and hands. One of the hands can be used to have him hold either a Great Ball or Ultra Ball.

Charizard needs to have his wings attached, and Venusaur has his flower to plug into his back. Blastoise is ready to go as is unless you wan to insert the optional water blast effects into his cannons. The fire and plant pieces for Charizard and Venusaur are strictly for effect.

All three Pokemon stand on their own, though we had some balance issues with Blastoise. Red’s feet are too small to hold him up, but the figure comes with a stand that plugs into his back (or backpack, if you put that on him) and allows for nearly unlimited flexibility when it comes to his posing.

Perhaps the nicest thing about this particular set is how substantial the Pokemon figures are all on their own. Even if you don’t like Red — and that’s hard to imagine, considering how undeniably cute he is — the Pokemon are really solid, with excellent paint applications and enough charm that fans will ask you where you got them.

The Nendoroid Pokemon Trainer Red: Champion Ver. Posable Figure isn’t cheap at a suggested $99.99, but it certainly makes a great talking point as a centerpiece of any Pokemon collection, and as noted above, its timing couldn’t be better. You can find it for sale now at Pokemon Center.

Disclosure: FanSided was provided with a complementary Nendoroid Pokemon Trainer Red: Champion Ver. Posable Figure for the purposes of this review.