Steiff Just Turned Pikachu Into a 350 Euro Heirloom, and the Number 1,996 Is Doing All the Talking

• The Reveal Nobody Needed Explained
• Why 1,996 Is the Whole Point
• What You Are Actually Buying
• The Munich Raffle for Number 0025
• Where and When to Get One

Steiff has spent the past several weeks running a countdown on its own website for a Pokémon it has not officially named, and it did not really need to. The clue the company posted, a single reference to Pokédex entry No 0025, gave away the answer the moment anyone who grew up with a Game Boy read it. Pikachu is getting the Steiff treatment, and it arrives on July 24, 2026, as a 21 centimeter mohair figure priced at 350 euros, limited to exactly 1,996 pieces worldwide.

There is something almost funny about how understated Steiff’s own announcement reads next to the object itself. A company that built its name on nineteenth century teddy bears is now selling an electric rodent from a Japanese video game franchise, and the press language treats the whole thing with the same formal, craftsmanship first tone it would use for a limited run Christmas bear. That tonal mismatch is, in its own way, exactly why the object works as a collectible. It is Pikachu rendered as though he were a century old family heirloom rather than a toy aisle plush, and the price tag makes sure nobody mistakes it for the latter.

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The number sitting at the center of this release is not a supply chain coincidence. Steiff has been explicit that the edition size, 1,996 pieces, is a deliberate nod to 1996, the year Pokémon first launched in Japan and began the slow climb toward becoming one of the most recognizable entertainment franchises on the planet. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of that debut, and Steiff built the entire collectible around commemorating it rather than simply riding the character’s popularity.

 

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That framing matters because it changes what the object is supposed to represent. This is not positioned as a toy tied to a current game or show. It is positioned as a monument to a specific moment in pop culture history, built using techniques Steiff has used for its most serious collector releases for well over a century. The company’s own materials repeat the phrase collector’s item, not a toy, language it typically reserves for pieces meant to be handled carefully, displayed, and passed down rather than played with.

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Strip away the anniversary framing and the object itself is a fairly detailed piece of craftsmanship. The figure stands 21 centimeters tall and is made entirely from what Steiff describes as its finest yellow mohair, the same premium material the company has used on its most prized bears for generations. It carries the gold plated version of Steiff’s Button in Ear trademark, a detail that matters more to serious collectors than it might sound, since Steiff has used variations of that button since the early twentieth century as a mark of authenticity, and a gold plated version specifically signals a higher tier collector release rather than a standard production run.

Each of the 1,996 figures will carry its own edition number, and Steiff has confirmed that the first 350 numbered pieces will be reserved for an early access window running exclusively through Steiff’s own website and physical stores starting July 24. The allocation of which buyers receive numbers below 350 will be randomized rather than assigned on a first come basis. The remaining pieces enter general retail distribution through selected partners starting August 3, roughly ten days after the initial Steiff exclusive window opens.

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Steiff built one additional layer onto this release that goes well beyond a typical collectible drop. A single figure, carrying edition number 0025, a direct reference to Pikachu’s Pokédex number, will be given away through an in person event at the Steiff Store in Munich on the morning of July 24. Interested entrants had to email Steiff by July 21 with their name and date of birth, and thirty were selected at random to receive a personal invitation and identification number by July 22.

Those selected need to show up at the Munich store between 9 and 10 in the morning on release day, show valid photo identification matching their invitation, and purchase a standard edition figure at the full 350 euro retail price. Buying that figure earns a raffle ticket, and only after a drawing at 10 a.m. does one of those thirty participants get to exchange their purchased figure for the specially numbered 0025 edition. It is an elaborate system for giving away one figure, but it matches the procedural seriousness Steiff has applied to the entire release, complete with identification checks, ticket draws, and formal published terms. Participation is restricted to adults eighteen and older, with one purchase permitted per entrant.

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The early access window opens July 24, 2026, exclusively through Steiff’s own online store and its physical retail locations, covering the first 350 numbered pieces out of the full 1,996 piece run. Buyers hoping for a specific low number should not expect to control the outcome, since allocation within that early batch is randomized rather than ordered by purchase time.

For anyone outside that early window, the wider retail rollout begins August 3, 2026, through selected retail partners, expanding availability beyond Steiff’s own direct channels. Pricing across both windows sits at the same recommended retail price of 350 euros, with Steiff’s standard regional shipping fees applied depending on delivery location.