>>48977547What's interesting to me about pokemania was that it's one of the only times I can think of where popularity completely outpaced marketing. Western companies were blindsided by it and scrambled to put out merch and promotions. It seems unthinkable now, but I remember a time when I was desperate for pokemon toys. KFC was one of the first places to actually put out some merch. I loved this silly little keychain because it was the only pokemon I had at one point and I was super excited to get this weird little bootleg charmander plush.