The 1999 Tropical Mega Battle Bilingual Exeggutor
Jan 19, 2018 14:53:59 GMT -6
smpratte, PokeConnect, and 26 more like this
Post by raichuforyou on Jan 19, 2018 14:53:59 GMT -6
A Guide To: The 1999 Tropical Mega Battle Bilingual Exeggutor
By: Raichuforyou
By: Raichuforyou
A bit of an enigma in the Pokemon card collecting scene, the bilingual Exeggutor given out at the 1999 Tropical Mega Battle (TMB) is one of the most elusive cards ever released by Media Factory. I recently came into possession of one and because this card is so overlooked, I wanted to detail a few things about it for the community. I had a hard time finding information about it and most of the info I did find was from a long time ago. Oftentimes the threads and sources I found were based merely on speculation or hearsay. Therefore, in this guide I want to discuss the circumstances of this card’s release, how to identify the TMB version, and provide a side by side comparison of the TMB version and the Trainer’s Magazine Volume 3 version. Most of this is not new or groundbreaking but it is a compilation of the facts about this extremely rare promo from the heyday of Pokemon.
The Road To Hawaii: Distribution
So what was the Tropical Mega Battle and how did players earn the original bilingual Exeggutor? The Tropical Mega Battle was a series of 9 regional events in Japan during the summer of 1999. These events were intended for younger players (ages 11-14) to battle it out for a chance to play in the finals. The finals were to be held in Hawaii (August 24-27) at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Players from the all over the world would come together for one exclusive tournament. In the USA, the top 12 ranking players in the DCI point system (the American ranking system) got an invite to Hawaii. Japanese players earned an invite by qualifying at one of the regional events.
- Speculation Time!: Because each of the 9 Japanese regional tournaments yielded 3 trophy cards, it would make sense that 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place players at each event received an invite to the TMB finals. That would mean 27 japanese players got an invite to Hawaii. Based on reported attendance, not all of the Japanese players were able to attend.
(No.2 TMB Trophy Card)
The bilingual Exeggutor was given to each participant of the Hawaii finals at the award ceremony on the last day of the event. Because so few were legitimately distributed it is important to collectors to know exactly how many are out there. Pinpointing an exact number would be exciting, however, it may not be possible due to translation issues, lack of internet and overall bad documentation at the time, and loss of records when the game transferred from WOTC to the Pokemon Company. At best we can say less than 50 copies of this card were distributed.
- Speculation Time!: Another number that came up in my research was 36. Due to the scarcity of this card I would not be surprised if distribution was this low. Because the TMB in 2000 had about 42 participants I would assume the first event in 1999 had slightly fewer.
(Image from 2000 Tropical Mega Battle)
Multiple Personalities
If you are familiar with early Japanese promos you know that many of them received reprints for alternate forms of distribution. I believe this is because they knew how difficult it was to obtain some of them in the first place. So, in true Media Factory fashion, the bilingual Exeggutor was reprinted and released as an insert in Trainer’s Magazine Volume 3 later that year in October. This version featured a glossy finish which seems to be the biggest difference between the two releases. The TMB version was printed without this glossy finish. This is most visible in the middle image below.
(Middle: Surface image provided by @hersheycardcollector TMB version left; Trainer Magazine version right)
The other major difference between the TMB version and the Trainer’s Magazine Vol.3 version is the level of saturation in the colors. While the Vol.3 version features deeply saturated colors, the TMB version looks washed out and faded. Where the Vol.3 version may have dark grey in certain places the TMB version will have a lighter grey (almost white sometimes). The same is true of the brown, tan, and green colors in the card. The color difference is also evident in the Energy symbols and set symbol. Overall the TMB version looks a bit lighter than your average Japanese card from that era. The top and bottom images above illustrate the difference in colors and saturation.
One other key difference to note is the text. The text on the TMB version appears more faint and looks almost as if it were written with pencil. The Trainer Mag version has a more saturated black text. This is most apparent in the text at the very bottom border of the card.
Exeggutor Used Confusion!
Older forum posts on E4 (at the time UPCCC) show that the TMB version remained a total mystery in collecting circles until over a dozen years after its initial release. Speculation had been tossed around about how the two versions differed and what if anything made the TMB version unique. Many people had come to believe that the TMB version had different text on the bottom border. An image from one of the Japanese CDs was cited as evidence of this:
Too bad the writings are not readable cause of its quality.
I remember a fake auction listed (on yahoo?) at I guess 700$ trying to sell the normal magazine one as the TMB one. You were able to see the "Vol.3" at the bottom...
It made sense that the TMB version would not contain the phrase “Trainer’s Magazine Vol. 3”. Some speculated that it should contain a phrase referencing the TMB or Hawaii.
I'd love it if some of these would make appearances because I feel like it's almost forgotten since it was reprinted!
Eventually that was proven to be false as a competitor from the 1999 TMB chimed in on the conversation. Username djcantu2 was able to clarify once and for all:
(Medal distributed in 2000 Tropical Mega Battle)
References & Resources
Chat Logs Containing TMB References:
Aug 3, 2000
46. Why do 15+ people not get to go to the Tropical Mega Battle?
I don't know which ones are missing from the original sets. This is an event set up to interface with Creatures Inc form Japan. And they only want kids ages 11-14 to participate.
153. How can you get to the tropical Mega trainer battle? Can you win any contests?
Only by invitation.
155. If the Tropical Mega Battle for 2000 is next month, then what is going to happen to the folks who win the East Coast STS?
Ummm, they are really cool?
160. Who would get invited to the tropical Mega battle?
Top 12 rated dci players ages 11-14.
26. Any info on the Tropical Mega Battle?
Sure, its August 26-27th. The Tropical Mega Battle is a showcase event for a small number of children +/- 50 to play in sealed and constructed deck tournaments. The tournaments will only use cards from Base Set and Jungle. Media Factory of Japan will produce the event. Children from Japan, United States, Canada, Latin America and Asia will be invited to participate. 42 Players representing 9 countries will attend this event. The top 12 ranking of the DCI age 11-14 category in the US were invited.
88. How do you get invited if you’re in Canada for the Tropical Mega Battle?
The 2 Canadian children have already been invited.
{Thurs. Aug 24, 2000 - Weekly Pokemon TCG Q&A}Pokémon Online Help
Offered every Thursday 3-5 PST in the TCG Forum of the Wizards.Community chat site!
Featuring Master_Trainers Mike and Pat from Customer Service
191. Why is the ages only 11-14 for the tropical mega battle?
Master Trainer Mike: The Tropical Mega Battle is primarily a pr event for Creatures and the Japanese market and most Japanese players are that age. It is their event and they make the rules.
200. Why was the qualifier for the tropical mega battle in Canada only in Calgary? Do you expect all the other Canadians to drive to Calgary?
Master Trainer Mike: As stated, the Mega Battle is basically a small PR event NOT a major tournament, they will run it as they choose.
{Thurs. Aug 31, 2000 - Weekly Pokemon TCG Q&A}Pokémon Online Help
Offered every Thursday 3-5 PST in the TCG Forum of the Wizards.Community chat site!
Featuring Master_Trainers Mike and Pat from Customer Service
Master Trainer Mike: Hi gang! Master Trainer Pat is out today so it’s just me (so understand if it goes a bit slower). DMT Mike and I were in Hawaii for the Tropical Mega Battle this last weekend and I wanted to share some information about it with you.
The first day, the players were formed into 8 groups that went around to the 8 cities and played as teams for point totals. Some cities had trivia contests, another had name that Pokémon from its flavor text, one city had the players digging for Monster Balls with points in them on the beach of Waikiki. DMT Mike and I played in the Vermilion City Gym where we used Lightning/Colorless Pokémon and took on all Challengers. I ended up with the best record at 5 wins, 2 losses, while DTM Mike went 4 and 3. In the open play tournaments (still only allowed to use Base or Jungle Pokémon cards), everyone I saw played Haymakers with at least 25 Trainer Cards except for 1 Raindance Deck.
The second day final tournament was a constructed one where each player was given 90 cards from Basic and Jungle and had 1 hour to build a 40-card deck to play with. They were given as much basic energy as they wanted as well. Here is the list of what they were given:
Grass 1 Caterpie, 3 Weedle, 2 Kakuna, 1 Beedrill, 3 Nidoran <male>, 1 Nidorino, 1 Koffing, 1 Oddish, 1 Paras, Fire 3 Charmander, 1 Charmeleon, 1 Charizard, 1 Growlithe, 3 Ponyta, 2 Rapidash
Water 3 Squirtle, 1 Wartortle, 2 Poliwag, 2 Seel, 2 Dewgong Lightning 3 Pikachu, 1 Raichu, 2 Magnemite, 2 Voltorb, 1 Electrode, 1 Jolteon Psychic 3 Abra, 2 Kadabra, 2 Drowzee, 1 Jynx, 1 Mr. Mime
Fighting 3 Diglett, 2 Dugtrio, 1 Onix, 3 Mankey 2 Primeape, 1 Rhyhorn colorless 1 Rattata, 1 Doduo, 1 Meowth, 2 Eevee 1 DCE trainers 1 oak, 1 bill, 1 trader, 1 energy removal, 1 energy retrieval, 2 switch, 1 computer search, 1 pokedex, 1 pluspower, 1 defender, 2 gusts of wind, 1 super potion, 2 potion, 1 full heal, 1 pokeball
When we watched the tournament every energy type was pretty evenly chosen except for grass (only 5 players chose to use Grass in their decks). The overall winner of the Tropical Mega Battle was Jason Klaczynski of Chicago. He played well and won it all on a successful coin flip for his Quick Attack with his Eevee. His opponent only had 1 Pokémon out (no bench) and needed 40 HP to be knocked out. Jason played his 1 Pluspower and went for it all and got the coin flip he needed.
Now for some other news. Next years Pokémon League starts in January and will have 8 seasons in it like this year’s. Players that earn their badges quickly will have more extra activities they can do (no more TM's though) and can even slowly work on points for the following season.
The official date and location for the upcoming East Coast STS is November 18th at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ.
127. Who did they pick to go to the Mega Tropical Battle?
Master Trainer Mike: 12 kids ages 11-14 from the States, 12 from Japan, 2 from various other countries.
130. Do you know what the Japanese metagame is like?
Master Trainer Mike: We learned some of it in Hawaii. It seems to be a game played by a much younger and less aggressively competitive crowd.
137. How did they pick people to go to the TMB?
Master Trainer Mike: Different for each country some held tournaments, we sent the top 12 DCI ranked players in that age group.
Thurs. Aug 3, 2000 - Weekly Pokemon TCG Q&A
Pokémon Online Help
Offered every Thursday 3-5 PST in the TCG Forum of the Wizards.Community chat site!
Featuring Master_Trainers Mike and Pat from Customer Service
“Many people have asked how do you get invited to the Tropical Mega Battle. Simple, the top 12 ranked players between the ages of 10-14 will receive an invitation. This event is happening specifically to interface with Japanese players that are being sent over with Creatures Inc. It is a smaller event and thus will not have qualifiers for it.”
Source Material:
1999 Player Report
Pokemon Card Resource (PCR)
Thread "Tropical mega battle 1999-2001" Feb 17, 2012
Thread "1999 Tropical Mega Battle. Some Things I Found" Aug 15, 2012
Thread "Early Tournament Participation Cards" Mar 23, 2012
Thread "Some Early Japanese Pokemon Trophy Card Research" Jan 26, 2014
Thread "WotC Chat Logs from Feb 2000 to Nov 2000 - Q&A w/ Employees" Jun 26, 2017
Thanks to hapycakeoven scratchdesk djcantu2 linkdu83 @hersheycardcollector and cbd1235 for their contributions to the community. They're research greatly aided me in writing this article.
