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Zukan figures are some of the prettiest you can buy. Zukan figures are sold from Gashapon machines in Japan. They are scaled to the 1/40 size of the Pokémon they are based on (although in some cases, the 1/50 size because the figure would be too large to fit in the capsule). Each Pokémon has a zukan, minus Onix, Steelix, and about 95% of the fifth generation so far.
With each generation or series, the base color changes. The original G / S / C series has a dark green base, the R / S / E series has brown bases, the special release R / S / E has black bases, the D / P series has dark blue bases, and finally, the B / W series has a bright purple color for the base. From time to time they will also create zukan diorama, which is basically a nature scene created to look like a home or a natural scene to suit certain Pokémon. They also released the movie Zukan. They’ve made one for every Pokémon movie, and each one comes with a clear little Ash figure. In 2004, they created the first lottery zukan, Wailord. It is literally the size of a whale! Only 1000 were made, it is 14 “long and quite heavy. This is a very rare figure, sought after by almost all zukan collectors and Wailord collectors. Recently, they have released Ho-Oh & Lugia lottery figures. Again, only 1000 were made. They are beautiful figures. They are painted with great care and the details are fantastic. Each one comes with a clear plastic holder, so they are perfect for display!
Another breakthrough in the zukan world happened very recently, and that is that Entei, Raikou, and Suicune are the first to have a brilliant version of themselves turned into a zukan. They are in the same pose as the original regular color shoots, but the bright versions have a bright red base. The base really makes the figures stand out. Well that covers the basics of the different types of zukan. I hope you learned something by reading this, but keep in mind that finding an older zukan (e.g. original evolution line, Pidgeot line, Dragonite line, Charizard line, etc.) is very, VERY difficult, and you will have to hand out a large amount of money to get them. But don’t be intimidated! Start small. Buy one or two at a time, or maybe one of the newer sets. If you’re serious about collecting, keep an eye out for the ones in the previous series and maybe even consider buying the lottery figures. Good luck and happy collecting!