A statue maker, not a game studio, is behind Gengar’s newest official appearance.
At PokémonXP 2026 in San Francisco, Sideshow pulled the curtain back on a new Gengar Diorama, the newest entry in its expanding range of premium Pokémon collectibles. The piece takes the familiar hallmarks of the Ghost/Poison-type (the rounded body, the spiky outline, the red eyes and that giant grin) and reworks them into a far more elaborate display item. It carries an official licence, and it was shown off at the event next to a brand-new Mewtwo statue.
There is one snag. Sideshow has not shared a price, dimensions, a preorder date or a release window. For anyone hoping to be first in line, the only option at the moment is to RSVP with Sideshow for availability notifications.
Why Gengar, and why now
Describing Gengar as a fan favorite barely covers it. In the official 2020 Pokémon of the Year vote, the Generation 1 creature landed 10th overall with 60,214 votes and came second among Kanto Pokémon, trailing only Charizard. Its mischievous character, combined with a look you can identify from the far side of a room, has kept it among the franchise’s most visible Ghost-types across the games, the anime, the TCG and collectibles such as this one.
The timing is no accident either. This is the 30th anniversary, and Pokémon has been loading up the calendar all year long.
Just last week the 30th Celebration line of the Pokémon TCG finally arrived, delivering close to 200 new cards filled with anniversary-themed designs, returning classics and some ambitious fresh artwork. Among them are 30 distinct Pikachu cards, 30 cards in the nostalgia-driven Classic Collection and new rarities created specifically for the anniversary.
The cards are just one part of the picture. Pokémon Day in February officially introduced Pokémon Winds & Waves, the next major mainline RPG entries, which arrive exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. Fans have also received news on Pokémon Champions and Pokémon Pokopia, the comeback of Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness via Nintendo’s classic-game services, plus the recently revealed Pokémon: Wild Card film due next year.
A design Pokémon rarely alters
What gives the diorama its appeal is how seldom Gengar changes at all. Its standard look has remained strikingly stable since it first appeared in 1996. On the rare occasions Pokémon does rework the design, it goes all in: Mega Gengar, introduced in the Pokémon X and Y era, adds a more sinister edge with stretched features and a third eye, while Gigantamax Gengar transforms the Pokémon into an ominous, partly submerged mouth that is said to open onto the afterlife.
Today’s Pokédex lists the standard, Mega and Gigantamax designs as its three major forms. The Sideshow piece is not a new canonical form in any sense. Still, it is one more fresh reading of a design Pokémon has mostly left untouched for three decades, and it is safe to expect it to sell fast the moment it appears on Sideshow’s website.