Pokémon’s Sold-Out Water-type TCG Figure Collection Gets Official Re-Release
Image by Charlotte DavisPokémon is officially bringing back its sold-out Water-type TCG figure collection, giving collectors another chance to pick up the card-inspired figures.
Originally released as a China-exclusive product as part of the ongoing “Dream Painting” series, the collection is now making its way to Japan as the “Pokémon Card Game Card Illustration Figure Collection: Waterside Pokémon”.
The Dream Painting series originally launched in China in November 2025 with a collection based largely around artwork from Pokémon Card 151, before that first lineup was adapted for Japan as the inaugural “Card Illustration Figure Collection” in March 2026.
The “Water Ecology” collection followed in China on April 24, 2026, shifting the theme toward Pokémon found around rivers, oceans and other aquatic environments while retaining the unusual combination of a figure, matching card and display stand.
With the original Chinese Water-type collection now sold out barring small amounts of stock that are available from 3rd party resellers, the arrival of an official Japanese version is particularly welcome for collectors who missed the first run.
The Japanese collection contains 12 regular figures and one secret design, with Squirtle, Poliwag, Slowbro, Shellder, Goldeen, Starmie, Corphish, Luvdisc, Golisopod, Cramorant, Wugtrio and Palafin forming the currently revealed lineup.
Each miniature recreates the composition and individual style of its source Pokémon TCG illustration rather than simply using a standard character pose, helping the figures retain much of the personality that made the original cards stand out.
The source artwork comes from cards released across Star Birth, Time Gazer, Violet ex, Scarlet ex, Snow Hazard, Wild Force, Battle Partners, Pokémon Card 151, Raging Surf and Crimson Haze, giving the collection a much wider range of visual styles than the first 151-focused series.
Every blind box contains one randomly selected figure, its corresponding Japanese-language Pokémon card and a display base with an integrated frame that allows the card and miniature to be presented together.
This differs slightly from the original Chinese release, which also included two five-card Brilliant Illusions booster packs.
Based on the original Chinese collection, it is fairly certain that a Wailord figure based on an Illustration Rare card is the elusive secret figure, appearing at odds of around one in every 143 boxes.
The wider rollout of this set of figures follows the same pattern as the original Dream Painting collection, which began as a China-exclusive product before receiving its Japanese version several months later.
China has already moved on to a third Dream Painting release, with the “Eevee & Evolutions Collection” launching on August 7 and turning card artwork featuring Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon into a new set of figures.
That collection includes nine regular designs and a secret sleeping Eevee based on the SVP 173 illustration, with each blind box once again pairing the randomly selected figure with its corresponding card and an additional Pokémon TCG booster pack.
A fourth Dream Painting collection is already on the way for Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, this time focusing entirely on Pikachu and recreating 13 of the different Pikachu illustrations created for the Chinese 30th Anniversary Celebration expansion.
Image by Charlotte DavisThe upcoming set consists of 12 regular Pikachu figures and one secret design, with each blind box including the matching foil card and a six-card 30th Anniversary Celebration booster pack when it launches in China this September.
Pokémon China is also expanding the same card-art concept with a separate 30th Anniversary Celebration Charizard Figure Gift Box, which recreates Mitsuhiro Arita’s classic Charizard artwork as a larger figure displayed alongside an oversized version of the card.
Image by Charlotte DavisAlthough that Charizard release is not part of the numbered Dream Painting blind-box series, it continues the growing approach of transforming some of the Pokémon TCG’s most recognizable illustrations into physical collectibles rather than creating unrelated character sculpts.
The “Pokémon Card Game Card Illustration Figure Collection: Waterside Pokémon” is priced at ¥1,800 (approx. $11 USD / £8 GBP) per blind box and will be sold through Pokémon Center Online in Japan from August 27, 2026.
There is still no sign of an English-language version of any of the Dream Painting collections, however, leaving collectors in the US, UK, and other English-speaking markets dependent on imports for the time being.
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