Meiji, Ivysaur, and the Metal Tokens of Pokemon’s Boom Years

Meiji Ivysaur Pokemon Battle Token (SP45)

A Metal Token from Japan’s Pokemon Boom

This circular silver-toned metal token was produced by Meiji — one of Japan’s largest confectionery companies — under official Nintendo license. The face is embossed with a relief image of Ivysaur, with the code “SP45” stamped above the figure and the Japanese text “Fushigisou” (the character’s Japanese name) below it. What “SP” stands for is not formally documented; the number 45 appears to be a serial code within a larger collection, since Ivysaur’s National Pokedex number is 002, meaning the 45 reflects the series’ own internal numbering rather than the character’s Pokedex order. The reverse side’s markings, if any, are not visible from available documentation. The seller’s listing refers to this as a “Battle Token,” though the original Japanese product name and series title have not been confirmed from current sources.

Meiji’s Pokemon goods from this period were typically bundled with chocolate and snack products. Whether this specific token was packaged with candy has not been confirmed, but it belongs clearly to that era of Japanese confectionery-linked collectibles, most likely manufactured somewhere between the late 1990s and early 2000s — a period that coincides with the peak of the first-generation Pokemon boom in Japan.

Ivysaur and the First-Generation Starter Line

Ivysaur is National Pokedex entry #002, known in Japanese as Fushigisou — a compound name built around the Japanese word for “strange” or “mysterious.” A dual Grass/Poison type, it is the evolved form of Bulbasaur (#001) and evolves further into Venusaur (#003), placing it at the center of one of the three original starter lines from Pokemon Red and Green. Those Game Boy titles, developed jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, launched the franchise in Japan in February 1996 and set off what grew into one of the largest entertainment franchises in the world.

The most distinctive visual feature of Ivysaur’s evolutionary line is the plant growing from its back. Where Bulbasaur carries a small bulb, Ivysaur bears a large unopened bud — and that bud is clearly rendered in the raised relief on this token. The English name combines “ivy,” the climbing plant, with “-saurus,” meaning lizard or reptile. Ivysaur also appeared in the original Pokemon anime as one of Ash’s team members, giving it strong recognition across the first-generation fanbase worldwide.

Shokugan Culture and What Metal Meant to Collectors

Japan’s shokugan tradition — collectibles packaged with food — produced an enormous range of goods during the 1990s across dozens of franchises. Meiji occupied a specific niche in that ecosystem, releasing Pokemon-themed items during the franchise’s peak years alongside companies like Bandai, Glico, and Calbee. Metal tokens like this one stood apart from the paper stickers and resin cards that dominated the market at the time. The weight and durability of metal were immediately perceptible, and for collectors in the late 1990s, a metal piece represented a clear step up within a crowded field of goods. That same durability is part of why metal items from this period often survive in better condition than printed counterparts after nearly three decades.

The SP45 code points to this token being part of a wider series, which draws the attention of collectors who approach these items as sets — though the full scope of that series is not confirmed from available documentation. The Japanese-text inscription “Fushigisou” on the face marks this as a product made for the domestic Japanese market. Many Pokemon goods from Meiji’s late-1990s output were never officially distributed outside Japan, and among international collectors that origin has long given first-generation goods of this kind a distinct identity of their own.