Widely distributed, free of charge, and omnipresent in noughties Japan. For years, Pokémon Scoop was hot stuff. Yet despite this, the onetime periodical has sunk into such obscurity that online mentions of it are rarer than an eh, Daisuki Magikarp. To borrow a popular term: We might even consider Scoop lost media.
So, what was Pokémon Scoop? A Daisuki Club publication printed twice or thrice yearly, Scoop (ポケモンスクープ) was effectively a Pokémon-themed pocket infozine. Each issue counted no more than thirty-ish, 40 pages tops, and these easily digestible mini-mags were given out readily at PokeCenters, in-life events such as Festa (see here and here) and even at McDonalds. Invariably jam-packed with eye-catching information on the latest developments in the world of Pokémon, Scoop covered franchise pillars such as the video games, films, anime, manga, and TCG, but also gave updates about PokeCenters, the Daisuki Club, and in-life events. On top of that, it included puzzles to solve, contests to participate in, and giveaways to enter for rare and exclusive Pokémon merchandise.
Furthermore, goodies would occasionally be enclosed with the magazine, notably:
– A CD filled with Daisuki Club minigames (Winter 2004);
– The jumbo Shadow Lugia TCG card (Summer 2005 Festa);
– Pokémon Channel and Pokémon Pinball e-Cards (Summer 2003);
– Pokémon Colosseum e-Cards, to wit Collector Hidehiko and Cool Trainer Yufu (Summer 2003) and Hunter Bit (Winter 2004).
Deeper into its lifetime, Scoop‘s form factor became more experimental. The Spring 2006 edition, for instance, was released as a CD-ROM with yet unknown contents. The Summer 2007 issue measuring ~26x21cm was notably larger than the standard ~22x15cm dimensions of prior booklets. And on one occasion, Scoop was printed as a ~39x28cm double-size tabloid that defies easy digitisation (Spring 2008). Altogether, Pokémon Scoop‘s reign lasted from 2002 (issue #1) to sometime around 2012, by which time it had well and truly been overtaken by the blistering pace of the information age and devolved into no more than ~13x11cm micro-booklets (Unova Book 2010, McDonalds 2010, McDonalds New Year 2010/11).
To summarise, in its heyday, Scoop was a pocket-sized paper bundle of joy. Nowadays, to us archivists, it is a splendid window into the Pokeverse of ages past.
Now that you’ve had a crash-course introduction to Pokémon Scoop, you might be wondering, where can I read these little gems? Well, you couldn’t. Although Scoop issues come up occasionally on Japanese auction site Mercari, no digital archive existed. Until now.
With the combined efforts purchasing frenzy of myself (PokemonHistorian), ICanSnake, and Coconut LaCroix, the majority of Scoop’s issues are now available in full on the internet for the first time, right here on PokémonHistorian. Enjoy!
POKÉMON SCOOP ISSUES
Press hyperlink to read.
2002 Kyogre & Groudon – NEW!
Winter 2003 (Ash & Pikachu cover) – UNAVAILABLE
Summer 2003
Autumn 2003
Winter 2004
Summer Festa 2004 (6/19/2004) [Wayback]
Summer 2004 (07/17/2004) with Daisuki Club bonus disc
Winter 2005 (12/10/2004)
Summer 2005 (06/25/2005)
Summer Extra 2005 (06/25/2005)
Autumn 2005
Winter 2006 (11/25/2006)
Spring 2006 (CD-ROM) – ACQUIRED
Summer 2006
Summer 2007
Spring 2008 (Pokémon Ranger cover) – ACQUIRED
Summer 2008
Summer 2009
McDonalds 2010
Unova Book 2010
McDonalds New Year 2010/11
Known publication dates given in parentheses.
Special thanks to ICanSnake for providing scans of the following issues: Summer 2004 Festa, Summer 2004, Winter 2005, Summer 2005, Winter 2006, Unova Book 2010.
Special thanks to Coconut LaCroix for providing scans of the following issues: Summer 2003, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2005, Summer 2007.
Issues 2002 Kyogre & Groudon, Winter 2004, Summer Extra 2005, Summer 2008, McDonalds 2010, McDonalds New Year 2010/11 from PokemonHistorian‘s collection.
Summer 2009 via the blog of pokemonemperorenvoy.
Due to file size magazine covers may load in slowly – tap or press an (un)loaded image to browse the corresponding flipbook pdf.
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