Hey, I see you’ve found the PokemonHistorian Shogakukan Pokémon Stamp Database. Nice one!
So what is all this? In brief, these pages grew out of a desire to better understand the thematic context surrounding the 2003 digital event Pokémon known as “Stamp” Absol and “Stamp” Pichu. In turn, these enigmatic assemblies of bits and bytes were top prizes in so-called physical “stamp campaigns”, or real-world mini collectathons whereby individuals amass postage stamps to complete small pre-printed albums, or “stock books”. Japanese publisher Shogakukan put together several Pokémon-themed stamp campaigns around the turn of the century, which proved quite effective at tickling the well-mapped Gotta catch ’em all! neurons of the Pokéfan’s brain.
The 2003 Absol and Pichu event distributions, then, hadn’t existed in a vacuum. From a cursory exploration of the Japanese Pokémon stamp landscape, I knew that major Shogakukan initiatives had taken place in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 hosted by a series of children’s magazines called “Grade Specific Learning Magazines” (GSLM). At first, it all seemed nice and tidy. But the more I searched, the more I unearthed: Year of the Tiger sheets, Wonderland Magazine sheets, Hey You Pikachu sheets, Pokémon Movie sheets, Kabuki theatre sheets… Before long, I sat on image folders filled with colourful stamp sheets of all stripes and dimensions. And so I figured – if I was going to make sense of it all, I might as well invite you to join me down this crazy rabbit hole.
That’s all fine and dandy, but why are we even talking about this? Great question. In essence, Shogakukan’s Pokémon stamps were a quintessential part of Japanese turn of the millennium Pokéculture, shaping childhoods as much as the manga, anime, games, or TCG did. But don’t just take my word for it. We only need to look at the runaway Member Card Trainer IDs to know that hundreds of thousands of young Pokéfans participated with fervor. Or examine the YouTube comment section to Shogakukan’s Original and Blue Campaign TV commercials to be struck by a wave of stampy nostalgia (here and here).
Then, of course, there is the preservationist aspect. At the time of writing in December 2025, there is not yet a comprehensive Pokémon stamp image database,1The pages by American Instagramming collector nostalgia_provider come closest, who documented some of his personal Pokéstamp collection here. much less a series of articles that actively attempt to establish a working chronology and place Shogakukan’s various stamp campaigns in their proper historical context. This project aims to do just that.
This database can be roughly subdivided into two sections. First is the GSLM Pokémon stamp overview. Numbering eight major campaigns spanning 1997 to 2006, their products – stamp sheets, stock books, collection posters and participation prizes – were generally enjoyed, cherished and kept as mementos. As such, information on them although fragmented is readily available to the dedicated detective. (The one exception is the 2006 Diamond & Pearl revival campaign, whose corresponding GSLM issues are rare, and Sinnoh-oriented stamp sheets are seemingly MIA altogether.) Each campaign page on this website – Original, Blue, Complete and so on – offers a comprehensive description of the campaign’s ins-and-outs as well as plentiful (audio)visual materials, not least images of the stamp sheets themselves.
Second are the miscellany pages. Long before it became customary to mark milestones with Pokémon TCG promos, there were stamps for every occasion. To observe video game releases such as Pokémon Pinball, Hey You Pikachu and Mystery Dungeon. To celebrate the debut of multiple Pokémon movies. To commemorate in-life events or herald the New Year. Numerous such auxiliary and ancillary stamp sheets were available in GSLM and other Shogakukan publications such as CoroCoro Monthly, Pokémon Wonderland and Televi-Kun, given out as freebies at World Hobby Fair and Pokémon Festa, or gifted as appearance or loyalty bonuses. In a bid to structure the chaos inherent in dozens of random sheets, I’ve grouped them by generation – Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh – and within those categories, chronologically. Here, too, pictures are plentiful.
Finally, as is true for all content on this website, any and all Pokémon stamp information was independently researched, gathered and collated – including audiovisual materials. Which, incidentally, took an incredible amount of work. (Friendly reminder that copypasta equals plagiarism, Bulbapedia! Cite your sources!)
Shogakukan Pokémon Stamp Series, Table of Contents
– Introduction to PokeStamps & GSLM
– Original Campaign (1997)
– Blue Campaign (1997-98)
– Complete Campaign (1998)
– Colosseum Campaign (1998-99)
– Intermezzo: Gold & Silver Pre-Sheets (1999)
– Gold & Silver Campaign (2000-01)
– Ruby & Sapphire Campaign (2003)
– Contest & Gym Leader (2003)
– Diamond & Pearl Campaign (2006)
– Miscellany: Kanto
– Miscellany: Johto
– Miscellany: Hoenn
– Miscellany: Sinnoh
Questions, suggestions or corrections? Reach out to us!
Special thanks to ICanSnake.
- Harvest Moon 3 (2001) - March 5, 2020
- Pokémon Trading Card Game 2 (2001) - February 5, 2020
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories (2002) - January 5, 2020