I NEED IT SO BADDD once i got card completion im chasing the fuck outta that@akugames There's also a full art Turtonator!
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The Best Art In The Pokemon TCG
- Thread starter Yung Dramps
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I actually teared up man holy fuck
I actually teared up man holy fuck
The Unova set-which like Pokemon 151 will include all the gen 5 pokemon- reveal was today and of course we got some nice new artwork to go with it like unrestrained autumn fun tepig
or this pretty samurott at the sunset coastline
But the insane thing to me is the confirmation that every Unova Pokemon will get an Illustration rare
or this pretty samurott at the sunset coastline
But the insane thing to me is the confirmation that every Unova Pokemon will get an Illustration rare
Vanillish gang taking another common W
The colors are exquisite. The faint red smoke is exquisite, and blends perfectly with the holofoil effect. The shading on the Wobbuffet is exquisite. Incredible card.
no comment
Akira Egawa's art is always stunning, but I especially like how she draws fire.
Extremely bored, just decided to go through each (English) set and pick my favorite art...by which I mean Part 1, because there's a lot of sets. This takes through the entire WotC era.
Base Set:
Dragonair. I'm a total sucker for auroras, especially when I was younger. It's just a very pretty card and it's a shame it didn't get the holo treatment. Especially in the context of Base Set where a lot of holos are just stock pose (sometimes even stock art) on an abstract background.
Jungle:
Exeggutor. There's a certain shared aesthetic of forest/jungle scenes in the set and I like all of them, but I just adore the mood found in this sunset beach scene with Exeggutor just chilling.
Fossil:
Mr. Fuji. A trainer this time. Truth be told, a lot of the Fossil set's art doesn't do a lot for me; but I just really love Fuji being so happy around all these Pokemon he's presumably caring for. Everyone's so cute here, especially the Lickitung. There's also added novelty of Fuji getting artwork at all.
Team Rocket:
Dark Primeape. In contrast, this set is FULL of great artwork it was hard to pick one. But I settled on Dark Primeape because damn look at that pose, the landscape it's in, the shadows? Incredible dreary mood.
Gym Heroes:
Secret Mission. "Hey what if we had a scene of Surge In A Fucking War doing reconnaissance" "And is the Raichu looking through binoculars too?" "Yeah"
Like it's great, love it. Also, honestly, another set where it's easy to just grab a trainer. There's a lot of artwork here that's just stock sugimori art on an abstract background, or a photo. Strangely there's also a LOT of original sugimori art in this set, for both trainers and Pokemon. Sticks out a bit, wonder what the art pipeline was like at this time?
Gym Challenge:
Koga's Tangela. I was going to pick Erika's Clefairy lost in the sauce amid the flowers but I completely forgot about this Tangela just like...either messing with Jynx's hair or actively braiding it for her. It's such a silly idea.
Neo Genesis:
Chikorita. This art's coming to Pocket which got me thinking about it again. I feel so nostalgic looking at this one, and I love the colors....also, as a kid, seeing this in a beckett magazine, my mind just kept thinking Chikorita was like either on another planet or looking up at one? So that's a little added charm of my childhood.
Neo Discovery:
Kabutops. Showing the holo & non-holo versions since it helsp get the effect across. It's coming to f*cking get you through the water. Great posing and good use of the holo effect; I might have even had this one as a kid
Neo Revelation:
Shining Gyarados. Saw this one in a magazine first because good lord was I never seeing it in real life. And it's gorgeous just from scans! Also it goes for like $700 on the second hand market, which...I mean as far as these things go I get it. It was stupidly rare at the time, much less years later, even before adding in the speculator market.
Neo Destiny
Dark Wigglytuff. I'm crying
Expedition:
Blastoise. I like Blastoise, but I feel he's kind of hard to make consistently look like...cool. He's an awkward Pokemon to pose. But this! This is great, it's a unique angle, looks cool and looks menacing. The holo effect adds this extra mist quality to it. Kinda funny this is in the same set as a Feraligatr that does the same thing.
Aquapolis:
Houndoom. Specifically the non-holo version since it lets the background really stand out. Very eerie!
Skyridge:
Ursaring. Lots of good art but as soon as I saw this one I stopped looking. His content face, the relaxed pose, the great set piece of a hot spring. It's wonderful. If I had one of those "national dex" collections, this would be my Ursaring card.
Dragonair. I'm a total sucker for auroras, especially when I was younger. It's just a very pretty card and it's a shame it didn't get the holo treatment. Especially in the context of Base Set where a lot of holos are just stock pose (sometimes even stock art) on an abstract background.
Jungle:
Exeggutor. There's a certain shared aesthetic of forest/jungle scenes in the set and I like all of them, but I just adore the mood found in this sunset beach scene with Exeggutor just chilling.
Fossil:
Mr. Fuji. A trainer this time. Truth be told, a lot of the Fossil set's art doesn't do a lot for me; but I just really love Fuji being so happy around all these Pokemon he's presumably caring for. Everyone's so cute here, especially the Lickitung. There's also added novelty of Fuji getting artwork at all.
Team Rocket:
Dark Primeape. In contrast, this set is FULL of great artwork it was hard to pick one. But I settled on Dark Primeape because damn look at that pose, the landscape it's in, the shadows? Incredible dreary mood.
Gym Heroes:
Secret Mission. "Hey what if we had a scene of Surge In A Fucking War doing reconnaissance" "And is the Raichu looking through binoculars too?" "Yeah"
Like it's great, love it. Also, honestly, another set where it's easy to just grab a trainer. There's a lot of artwork here that's just stock sugimori art on an abstract background, or a photo. Strangely there's also a LOT of original sugimori art in this set, for both trainers and Pokemon. Sticks out a bit, wonder what the art pipeline was like at this time?
Gym Challenge:
Koga's Tangela. I was going to pick Erika's Clefairy lost in the sauce amid the flowers but I completely forgot about this Tangela just like...either messing with Jynx's hair or actively braiding it for her. It's such a silly idea.
Neo Genesis:
Chikorita. This art's coming to Pocket which got me thinking about it again. I feel so nostalgic looking at this one, and I love the colors....also, as a kid, seeing this in a beckett magazine, my mind just kept thinking Chikorita was like either on another planet or looking up at one? So that's a little added charm of my childhood.
Neo Discovery:
Kabutops. Showing the holo & non-holo versions since it helsp get the effect across. It's coming to f*cking get you through the water. Great posing and good use of the holo effect; I might have even had this one as a kid
Neo Revelation:
Shining Gyarados. Saw this one in a magazine first because good lord was I never seeing it in real life. And it's gorgeous just from scans! Also it goes for like $700 on the second hand market, which...I mean as far as these things go I get it. It was stupidly rare at the time, much less years later, even before adding in the speculator market.
Neo Destiny
Dark Wigglytuff. I'm crying
Expedition:
Blastoise. I like Blastoise, but I feel he's kind of hard to make consistently look like...cool. He's an awkward Pokemon to pose. But this! This is great, it's a unique angle, looks cool and looks menacing. The holo effect adds this extra mist quality to it. Kinda funny this is in the same set as a Feraligatr that does the same thing.
Aquapolis:
Houndoom. Specifically the non-holo version since it lets the background really stand out. Very eerie!
Skyridge:
Ursaring. Lots of good art but as soon as I saw this one I stopped looking. His content face, the relaxed pose, the great set piece of a hot spring. It's wonderful. If I had one of those "national dex" collections, this would be my Ursaring card.
Strangely enough, the photo in the background here shows a part of Poland, using German spelling for the place names. You clearly see Białystok above Surge's head, Lódz above Raichu, and Warszaw between them. The Narew river is also marked. I can't make out the word written in all caps behind Surge's head, a bigger font than the place names, but the red arrows signal some movement from Belarus. What kind of war was Surge fighting, exactly?
Secret Mission. "Hey what if we had a scene of Surge In A Fucking War doing reconnaissance" "And is the Raichu looking through binoculars too?" "Yeah"
I've always assumed it's DEUT[SCHLA]N[D].
There is also Bug river beneath the DE and possibly [Brest-Li]towsk near Surge's ear.
I love this idea. As such, I am shamelessly stealing it.
I feel there's something very charming about the 3d model in this one. The light rays are simple but I think they work very well.
Those are some crazy colors. I like how the wind looks, too.
I like the sense of depth this one gives, with some of the smog in front of the camera.
The pendulum being shown in many positions at once is such a cool effect. It doesn't follow the path of a normal pendulum, either, implying that something odd is going on.
Aww. Cute little guy.
I just think the tornado looks pretty. Early cards had some curious ways of portraying Energy - in this case, silver orbs.
Espeon looks very pretty here, and the water looks almost ethereal.
This card makes Ho-oh look vivid and mystical, two things it 100% is.
Awwwwwwwwwww.
I had no idea Weezing could look this majestic. I will say that the proportions are a bit confusing.
There's quite a bit of texture to this Steelix, which I'm a fan of. I also like the blue coloration here.
Looks like I'm starting and ending with Starmie. A bit of odd proportioning here too but I think it actually elevates it. The glow looks really nice and I like the ring of crystals.
That Jungle Persian and TR Hypno were actually very close to being picked for me; I recall the holo Hypno in partciular meshing well with the vibe it's trying to get across.
I was going to just post part 2 some other time but i just went on a roll looking through sets, so here's my picks for the Gen 3 era
Ruby & Sapphire:
Marshtomp. He’s just so happy rolling around in the mud. It’s infectious
Sandstorm:
Duskull. This set leans into the namesake pretty hard, with a lot of cards featuring Pokemon in a desert landscape including ones you wouldn’t normally expect like Linoone speeding through the sanddunes, Delcatty lounging around, Lotad melting in the dried out lake. So of course I chose the one of an eerie Duskull looming around in some ruins. Desert ruins!
Dragon:
Whiscash. Kamiya never misses, but this one in particular is just really cool. Great exprsesion on an otherwise dopy Pokemon, the storm setting is unique for it and I like that it calls to the electricity connection that I feel doesnt get much use.
Team Magma vs Team Aqua:
Absol. So much of this set is just either 3D Models from the games or 5Ban and they’re all so aggressively uninteresting to me. A lot of other parts of the set are just sugimori stock art. So Way at the end was this truly wonderful Absol to save me.
Hidden Legends:
Feebas. Another banger of a mood for Kamiya. I wish he got to do the Milotic card for this set too, as a continuation of Feebas’ sad day here.
Fire Red & Leaf Green:
Diglett. A common expression on Dugtrio, but not very common on Diglett! And it’s just really good style and outlines on everything here, too. Stood out a lot to me.
Team Rocket Returns:
Dark Dragonite. A lot of the Dark cards in this set went for a different vibe than the OG set, lots of harsh shadows and night scenes, so I love this one where despite the bright moon it still gives off a very dark vibe. And with Dragonite too, very cool.
ok but this cozy fireplace houndour tho, like--
Deoxys:
Deoxys (Normal). This is another set with a lot of good art with some pretty unique posing for some Pokemon, but I just love this one. Menacing Deoxys with that cool galaxy in the background. Simple and to the point.
Emerald:
Rayquaza. Not a lot of cards I like this set, so this is an easy one to pick out just on that alone. I really love it breaking through that cool looking cloud.
Unseen Forces:
Aipom. Adachi’s brand of clay models were often “flat” and on a also-physically-made background; it’s a great aesthetic but their Aipom in particular was very cute!
Delta Species:
Metang. Chose this one because of how weird it is. Most of the Delta art depicts stuff in & around the town, or a few key landmarks, but this seems to be in a really weird looking lab or ship and it’s surprisingly menacing for a metang. Could easily pass for a Dark or Rocket Metang, don’t you think?
Legend Maker:
Tangela. I had a bunch of back & forth, but seeing Tangela get tangled up in natural vines is a good concept and it just has a different style to a lot of other art. It kind of feels like...it would be in a merchandise line?
Holon Phantoms:
Gyarados. Definitely look at this set if you can, there’s a lot of unique and beautiful lighting/shading on display but I think this is the best of the bunch. It’s gorgeous!
Crystal Guardians:
Ludicolo. It’s so casual.
Dragon Frontiers:
Mew Star. I don’t usually go for these kind of cards, where it’s just a bit of art on an abstract background, but this one works for me. I think It’s the pose of Mew combined with the colors. Shoutouts to the fucking insane speculator market on this: ↓ 1,200.00
• ꩜ 1,504.99
• ↑ 5,000.00
Power Keepers:
Poochyena. It’s just a cute little puppy, messing with someone’s bag or maybe dress or possibly curtains.
Marshtomp. He’s just so happy rolling around in the mud. It’s infectious
Sandstorm:
Duskull. This set leans into the namesake pretty hard, with a lot of cards featuring Pokemon in a desert landscape including ones you wouldn’t normally expect like Linoone speeding through the sanddunes, Delcatty lounging around, Lotad melting in the dried out lake. So of course I chose the one of an eerie Duskull looming around in some ruins. Desert ruins!
Dragon:
Whiscash. Kamiya never misses, but this one in particular is just really cool. Great exprsesion on an otherwise dopy Pokemon, the storm setting is unique for it and I like that it calls to the electricity connection that I feel doesnt get much use.
Team Magma vs Team Aqua:
Absol. So much of this set is just either 3D Models from the games or 5Ban and they’re all so aggressively uninteresting to me. A lot of other parts of the set are just sugimori stock art. So Way at the end was this truly wonderful Absol to save me.
Hidden Legends:
Feebas. Another banger of a mood for Kamiya. I wish he got to do the Milotic card for this set too, as a continuation of Feebas’ sad day here.
Fire Red & Leaf Green:
Diglett. A common expression on Dugtrio, but not very common on Diglett! And it’s just really good style and outlines on everything here, too. Stood out a lot to me.
Team Rocket Returns:
Dark Dragonite. A lot of the Dark cards in this set went for a different vibe than the OG set, lots of harsh shadows and night scenes, so I love this one where despite the bright moon it still gives off a very dark vibe. And with Dragonite too, very cool.
ok but this cozy fireplace houndour tho, like--
Deoxys:
Deoxys (Normal). This is another set with a lot of good art with some pretty unique posing for some Pokemon, but I just love this one. Menacing Deoxys with that cool galaxy in the background. Simple and to the point.
Emerald:
Rayquaza. Not a lot of cards I like this set, so this is an easy one to pick out just on that alone. I really love it breaking through that cool looking cloud.
Unseen Forces:
Aipom. Adachi’s brand of clay models were often “flat” and on a also-physically-made background; it’s a great aesthetic but their Aipom in particular was very cute!
Delta Species:
Metang. Chose this one because of how weird it is. Most of the Delta art depicts stuff in & around the town, or a few key landmarks, but this seems to be in a really weird looking lab or ship and it’s surprisingly menacing for a metang. Could easily pass for a Dark or Rocket Metang, don’t you think?
Legend Maker:
Tangela. I had a bunch of back & forth, but seeing Tangela get tangled up in natural vines is a good concept and it just has a different style to a lot of other art. It kind of feels like...it would be in a merchandise line?
Holon Phantoms:
Gyarados. Definitely look at this set if you can, there’s a lot of unique and beautiful lighting/shading on display but I think this is the best of the bunch. It’s gorgeous!
Crystal Guardians:
Ludicolo. It’s so casual.
Dragon Frontiers:
Mew Star. I don’t usually go for these kind of cards, where it’s just a bit of art on an abstract background, but this one works for me. I think It’s the pose of Mew combined with the colors. Shoutouts to the fucking insane speculator market on this: ↓ 1,200.00
• ꩜ 1,504.99
• ↑ 5,000.00
Power Keepers:
Poochyena. It’s just a cute little puppy, messing with someone’s bag or maybe dress or possibly curtains.
I shall not be outdone!
I almost went for the cool imposing holo Manectric, but... look at this guy. It's so triangular. Good style, good scene, and the cutest I've ever seen a Sharpedo.
Here's another Steelix. This card makes its spikes much longer and sharper-looking than usual, and I really like the look.
Aya Kusube is very good at this sketch-like(?) style. I love how it contrasts with the more conventional-looking Dragonair.
Yeah you're right R_N there's nothing else in the set. I would've went for Warp Point but that's a reprint.
Another banger from Kusube. Just what are those dark tendrils?
This is such an amazing style. Hajime Kusajima drew that Sharpedo, too, as well as... three of my picks from last batch? Damn, he's good. What I like most about this one is the way the glare looks.
I'm pretty disappointed by the art most of this set's Dark Pokemon, but Weezing nails it. The mon is just the right amount of creepy, the gas looks good, and the lighting is spot-on.
Ooh, another great Manectric! It's aura farming, as they say.
lmao
That glimmer is seriously beautiful. And the little orbs of light around it, the way it lights up the surrounding murk...
To me, this art looks like something you'd see on a much newer card. Does that make sense? Anyway, I really like the way the glare looks here as well- wait, this is Kusajima again? The Manectric was Kusajima? Even the Lanturn was Kusajima? He's too good!
That ripple is beautiful, as is the glow reflected on the water.
Rayquaza is flying above Holon Lake. The blue glow around its body looks quite good, and the ruins very nicely complete the card.
In this card, Squirtle can be seen preparing to throw the sun at its opponent. The water splashing up, illuminated by the sun... incredible.
What can I say, the fire looks really, really good. This card is worth roughly 1,000 dollars.
Yep, that is a surprise. Pretty sun, pretty water.
I almost went for the cool imposing holo Manectric, but... look at this guy. It's so triangular. Good style, good scene, and the cutest I've ever seen a Sharpedo.
Here's another Steelix. This card makes its spikes much longer and sharper-looking than usual, and I really like the look.
Aya Kusube is very good at this sketch-like(?) style. I love how it contrasts with the more conventional-looking Dragonair.
Yeah you're right R_N there's nothing else in the set. I would've went for Warp Point but that's a reprint.
Another banger from Kusube. Just what are those dark tendrils?
This is such an amazing style. Hajime Kusajima drew that Sharpedo, too, as well as... three of my picks from last batch? Damn, he's good. What I like most about this one is the way the glare looks.
I'm pretty disappointed by the art most of this set's Dark Pokemon, but Weezing nails it. The mon is just the right amount of creepy, the gas looks good, and the lighting is spot-on.
Ooh, another great Manectric! It's aura farming, as they say.
lmao
That glimmer is seriously beautiful. And the little orbs of light around it, the way it lights up the surrounding murk...
To me, this art looks like something you'd see on a much newer card. Does that make sense? Anyway, I really like the way the glare looks here as well- wait, this is Kusajima again? The Manectric was Kusajima? Even the Lanturn was Kusajima? He's too good!
That ripple is beautiful, as is the glow reflected on the water.
Rayquaza is flying above Holon Lake. The blue glow around its body looks quite good, and the ruins very nicely complete the card.
In this card, Squirtle can be seen preparing to throw the sun at its opponent. The water splashing up, illuminated by the sun... incredible.
What can I say, the fire looks really, really good. This card is worth roughly 1,000 dollars.
Yep, that is a surprise. Pretty sun, pretty water.
Just a lil' croc I own irl :D
Well how can I just not continue to Part 3, the Gen 4 era
Diamond & Pearl
Gengar. Usually Gengar’s cards depict it as kind of a jerk or mysterious or evil. This is just him enjoying a night out on his stump. Delightful.
Mysterious Treasures
Bebe’s Search. This is kind of a weak set artwise, imo, but both this & Fossil Excavator are really nice. I went with this one because this was the era where the box admins were just reusing trainer classes and are easy to forget even exist; so these cards are both a cool olive branch while offering extra characterization. Bebe’s room seems cramped, full of stuff, and just making the most of the space.
Secret Wonders
Sableye. Another weak set for art but this one’s just really good. Chilling in a cave, eating crystals, watching fireworks through the hole in a ceiling was probably a surprise to the Sableye and it’s all drawn very nicely.
Great Encounters
Kingler. I won’t lie Gen 4’s starting sets are kind of dire for me, there’s a lot of stinkers in here. But this Kingler...there’s just something about it. I can’t put my finger on it. The way it’s rendered? The lighting in general? The body language? It captivates me. This is Arita but it feels so different.
Majestic Dawn
Espeon. This is a “paired” card with Umbreon, who is running through the same snowy area but at night, but I really love the “morning sun across snow” aesthetic and Espeon fits the vibe very well.
Legends Awakened
Gligar. Hey a DP-era set that I think has a lot of nice artwork in it, it’s a miracle. I chose Gligar here for two reasons (1) I just really like the pose. It looks like it’s leaping through the air; usually it’s shown in the stock pose, gliding around, or clinging to a rock. It’s very unique and (2) for some reason this set has a lot of Pokemon amid the cherry blossoms and I wanted to acknowledge this theme.
Stormfront
Bagon. Ahhh!!!! This is so cute. I love the style of the drawing, I love the morning mountain vibes, I love the implicatoin that Bagon just crash landed off a higher cliff and is just laying there looking at the flower. Flawless card.
Platinum
Giratina (Origin, Holo). Origin Giratina’s a real cool design and the wormy body and being able to fly means they can always pose it all kind of ways, and I just adore the boon backdrop. This is a good use of the holo effect as well!
Rising Rivals
Heat Rotom. Almost missed these guys, they were a subset tucked away at the bottom. All the Rotom appliance art is really good and full of life (and if you look in the background, there’s always another appliance for it to jump into!) but I chose this one because I love how happy the rotom is for its just-made food.
Supreme Victors
Meowth. I almost chose Lucario C for its unique art style and dynamic posing but then I saw this meowth. Look how cute it is!! Get that apple, buddy.
Arceus
Bronzor. I’ve been pretty harsh on the entire Gen 4 of card art to this point; felt like every set was more bland than not, but the Arceus set is a return to form. SO many good offerings, but I chose this one, it drew me in. It’s a very unique way of rendering Bronzor’s material, reflecting the lighting like this, emphasizing the literal bronze material. And the ruins in the background are a great set piece (in a set full of them! Lots of mysterious ruins, forests and eclipse imagery)
Heart Gold & Soul Silver
Ho-oh Legend. The stellar artwork continues in this set so it’s very unfortunate that it was the set that introuced Legend cards, which just put all of them to shame. Just such an incredible represntation of Ho-oh.
Unleashed
Raikou & Suicune Legend. I tried to not just pick the legend card again but LOOK AT IT! Look how uniquely the beasts are rendered, how ferocious Raikou looks! Even the seemingly-oddlegs of Suicune works in its favor. And they’re so furry without being distracting. And the rendering of the clouds!!
Undaunted
Scizor. Thankfully the Legend cards for this set are just CG models no one cares about. Instead look at this card that’s either a CG model that looks rad as hell with its motion and backdrop or it’s a drawing designed to look like it’s CG to emphasize the metal coating, which also works.
Triumphant
Electabuzz. It was hard to beat out the Darkrai & Cresselia Legend, but, I dunno, seeing Electabuzz drawn like this andmessing with a Power Plant in a very anamilistic way just drew me in way more.. Like you get a little peak into problems this world might have with the wild life. Like an alligator climbing the fence into the restricted areas.
Call of Legends
Umbreon. Feel like you don’t see Umbreon in the day time very much, which helps it & the card stand out. I love the way the clouds are rendered and the aesthetic in general is just very good.
Calming.
Gengar. Usually Gengar’s cards depict it as kind of a jerk or mysterious or evil. This is just him enjoying a night out on his stump. Delightful.
Mysterious Treasures
Bebe’s Search. This is kind of a weak set artwise, imo, but both this & Fossil Excavator are really nice. I went with this one because this was the era where the box admins were just reusing trainer classes and are easy to forget even exist; so these cards are both a cool olive branch while offering extra characterization. Bebe’s room seems cramped, full of stuff, and just making the most of the space.
Secret Wonders
Sableye. Another weak set for art but this one’s just really good. Chilling in a cave, eating crystals, watching fireworks through the hole in a ceiling was probably a surprise to the Sableye and it’s all drawn very nicely.
Great Encounters
Kingler. I won’t lie Gen 4’s starting sets are kind of dire for me, there’s a lot of stinkers in here. But this Kingler...there’s just something about it. I can’t put my finger on it. The way it’s rendered? The lighting in general? The body language? It captivates me. This is Arita but it feels so different.
Majestic Dawn
Espeon. This is a “paired” card with Umbreon, who is running through the same snowy area but at night, but I really love the “morning sun across snow” aesthetic and Espeon fits the vibe very well.
Legends Awakened
Gligar. Hey a DP-era set that I think has a lot of nice artwork in it, it’s a miracle. I chose Gligar here for two reasons (1) I just really like the pose. It looks like it’s leaping through the air; usually it’s shown in the stock pose, gliding around, or clinging to a rock. It’s very unique and (2) for some reason this set has a lot of Pokemon amid the cherry blossoms and I wanted to acknowledge this theme.
Stormfront
Bagon. Ahhh!!!! This is so cute. I love the style of the drawing, I love the morning mountain vibes, I love the implicatoin that Bagon just crash landed off a higher cliff and is just laying there looking at the flower. Flawless card.
Platinum
Giratina (Origin, Holo). Origin Giratina’s a real cool design and the wormy body and being able to fly means they can always pose it all kind of ways, and I just adore the boon backdrop. This is a good use of the holo effect as well!
Rising Rivals
Heat Rotom. Almost missed these guys, they were a subset tucked away at the bottom. All the Rotom appliance art is really good and full of life (and if you look in the background, there’s always another appliance for it to jump into!) but I chose this one because I love how happy the rotom is for its just-made food.
Supreme Victors
Meowth. I almost chose Lucario C for its unique art style and dynamic posing but then I saw this meowth. Look how cute it is!! Get that apple, buddy.
Arceus
Bronzor. I’ve been pretty harsh on the entire Gen 4 of card art to this point; felt like every set was more bland than not, but the Arceus set is a return to form. SO many good offerings, but I chose this one, it drew me in. It’s a very unique way of rendering Bronzor’s material, reflecting the lighting like this, emphasizing the literal bronze material. And the ruins in the background are a great set piece (in a set full of them! Lots of mysterious ruins, forests and eclipse imagery)
Heart Gold & Soul Silver
Ho-oh Legend. The stellar artwork continues in this set so it’s very unfortunate that it was the set that introuced Legend cards, which just put all of them to shame. Just such an incredible represntation of Ho-oh.
Unleashed
Raikou & Suicune Legend. I tried to not just pick the legend card again but LOOK AT IT! Look how uniquely the beasts are rendered, how ferocious Raikou looks! Even the seemingly-oddlegs of Suicune works in its favor. And they’re so furry without being distracting. And the rendering of the clouds!!
Undaunted
Scizor. Thankfully the Legend cards for this set are just CG models no one cares about. Instead look at this card that’s either a CG model that looks rad as hell with its motion and backdrop or it’s a drawing designed to look like it’s CG to emphasize the metal coating, which also works.
Triumphant
Electabuzz. It was hard to beat out the Darkrai & Cresselia Legend, but, I dunno, seeing Electabuzz drawn like this andmessing with a Power Plant in a very anamilistic way just drew me in way more.. Like you get a little peak into problems this world might have with the wild life. Like an alligator climbing the fence into the restricted areas.
Call of Legends
Umbreon. Feel like you don’t see Umbreon in the day time very much, which helps it & the card stand out. I love the way the clouds are rendered and the aesthetic in general is just very good.
Calming.
Which, man, is a real dud of an era artwise for like half its life.
I knew this was going to be one of the first cards from the new set I got my hands on as soon as I first laid eyes on it, even if it required a modicum of splurging. It just came in the mail today.
3d model, Sugimori art, Sugimori art, 3d model- Oh, this one's charming! I really like the way the sand it's spewing out is drawn.
The blue of this Gyarados's skin looks darker and more vibrant than usual. I like it. The background is simple but pretty, and the spray looks nice too.
Cute! I like the flowers. At this time they were trying out held items (they're just legally distinct poke-powers/bodies) as a gimmick. They printed 16 cards across four sets and then dropped it.
Nice sense of depth and the mon is well-drawn. I like the coloration of the leaves.
I don't really love anything from Majestic Dawn, but Zapdos is posed nicely and the purple lightning is interesting.
The first good LV.X art? I like the way the gems look, as well as the tail coming out of the frame.
Ooh, those ripples look great. I've never seen a swimming Gengar before. The moon reflected in the water is a great choice. Standout card.
This is a 3d model done right. The fog works quite well and the glowing eye complements it nicely.
That is a truly majestic mane. I like the green lighting.
They kicked into high gear with this set, especially with the Pokemon C. The shading on this guy is wonderful.
This is the first time I'm seeing this card, but it may be one of my all-time favorites. kawayoo's incredible artstyle makes Arceus's ring look rugged, and I think it works extremely well. Many cards in this set portray an eclipse, and here we have the lord of creation posing in front of it, the gleam from the sun's edge the perfect finishing touch. All this set's Arceus types have a Plate floating nearby, and I think it adds a lot. This is three kawayoo cards in a row, by the way.
I think I have to go with good old DCE. It's got the traditional Japanese style that's emblematic of HGSS, and I just really like the look of the brushstrokes along the canvas-like background, even outlining the energy itself.
Shin Nagasawa drew this whole line. Each one is beautiful, but I have to go with Kingdra. That's such a cool way to draw water. And look at that sun! I like the trend around this time of drawing Pokemon next to their evolution items.
Here's another beautiful moon, beautiful clouds, and a very happy Gliscor! I like the way its eyes look.
Yep, this one's phenomenal. The monochrome background, the awesome and unique lightning, the incredible shading...
Lost Zone sets are funny because you get to see random Pokemon toy with the power of the void.
Gen 5 this time
Lots of good stuff this go around. Also can really appreciate the theming of trying to make sure most of the cards in a lot of the set are in specific towns or set pieces. Fun to see what you can recognize.
Black & White
Woobat. The simple cartoony aesthetic meshes well with the simple cartoony Woobat. I love the big dopey smile.
Emerging Powers
Gothorita. A surprise for me, certainly, but I like the mix of unnerving and kinda fierce with this. It’s a tough Pokemon to pull that off with, usually they try it with Gothitelle instead.
Noble Victories
Cofagrigus (47). Oh mannnn check out how the shadow arms are rendered. Very stylish a,and it gets ebtter when yo urealize they’re either moving along the ground or clinging to a wall. It’s a very underrated creepy Pokemon. You ever see it move in the anime? Good stuff.
Next Destinies
Panpour. What a polite server, with excellent form!
Dark Explorerers
Cofagrigus. Yes again. Like it’s my fault they keep finding new cool ways to depict this guy.
Dragons Exaltted
Golett. A lot of the art in this set is in & around the Pokemon league/N’s Castle, Opelucid and Dragonspiral Tower; I chose the latter for this one. This is a very unique showing for Golett, showing them coming “online” amid the castle. And it’s just very pleasantly drawn too.
Dragon Vault
Druddigon. I usually don’t look at these small sets, like all the trainer kits, but Dragon Vault WAS kind of a big deal back in the day so...Druddigon it is. It’s the best of the bunch and not even close. That might sound damning with faint praise because there’s only 21 cards in the “set” but rest assured Kawayoo is just that good. Look how cool Druddigon looks! Haters vacate
Boundaries Crossed
Venipede. I’ve never seen this one before! This is the first set with full art trainer secret rares & it was tempting to pick Bianca; they’re good but look how cut this little guy is hanging out in Roxie’s gym.
Plasma Storm
Chimchar. The colors & lighting are just a treat and this kind of stuff always fits fire types so well. Chimchar is having the time of its life just running around between trees with its vine. Very well done.
Plasma Freeze
Pachirisu. This set’s art gimmick is almost every card has Pokemon dealing with the region being frozen over by Plasma’s airship, so it brings a very unique type of art as you get reactions of shock, ,confusion, or bursting the ice and so on. I love Pachirisu here the most because of the lighting, its expression and showing how cold it suddenly got in the cave through the condensation.
Plasma Blast
Wartortle. Was surprised how much I loved this one, but the ribbons of water, the lighting and wartortle’s pose & exprsesion all come together in a pelasing way. I think this might be Wartortle’s best artwork.
Legendary Treasures
Emboar. This was a majority reprint set with new artwork, and there’s a TON of good artwork (including the Radiant Collection) but how could I not choose Emboar With Family. This is one of the more iconic “linked/story” cards in the TCG. It’s drawn cutely, Emboar looks so pleased, the “story” is cute and Emboar usually tries to be made out to look tough so the change works in its favor.
I do want to bring up though, THIS card
Which inexplicably has Nate partially drawn into it. I think beyond some of the “SP” Pokemon, maybe, they don’t really draw cards like this unless its an art rare, and those tend to make sure the trainer is as much a centerpiece. This is also Nate’s ONLY appearance in the entire TCG!
Woobat. The simple cartoony aesthetic meshes well with the simple cartoony Woobat. I love the big dopey smile.
Emerging Powers
Gothorita. A surprise for me, certainly, but I like the mix of unnerving and kinda fierce with this. It’s a tough Pokemon to pull that off with, usually they try it with Gothitelle instead.
Noble Victories
Cofagrigus (47). Oh mannnn check out how the shadow arms are rendered. Very stylish a,and it gets ebtter when yo urealize they’re either moving along the ground or clinging to a wall. It’s a very underrated creepy Pokemon. You ever see it move in the anime? Good stuff.
Next Destinies
Panpour. What a polite server, with excellent form!
Dark Explorerers
Cofagrigus. Yes again. Like it’s my fault they keep finding new cool ways to depict this guy.
Dragons Exaltted
Golett. A lot of the art in this set is in & around the Pokemon league/N’s Castle, Opelucid and Dragonspiral Tower; I chose the latter for this one. This is a very unique showing for Golett, showing them coming “online” amid the castle. And it’s just very pleasantly drawn too.
Dragon Vault
Druddigon. I usually don’t look at these small sets, like all the trainer kits, but Dragon Vault WAS kind of a big deal back in the day so...Druddigon it is. It’s the best of the bunch and not even close. That might sound damning with faint praise because there’s only 21 cards in the “set” but rest assured Kawayoo is just that good. Look how cool Druddigon looks! Haters vacate
Boundaries Crossed
Venipede. I’ve never seen this one before! This is the first set with full art trainer secret rares & it was tempting to pick Bianca; they’re good but look how cut this little guy is hanging out in Roxie’s gym.
Plasma Storm
Chimchar. The colors & lighting are just a treat and this kind of stuff always fits fire types so well. Chimchar is having the time of its life just running around between trees with its vine. Very well done.
Plasma Freeze
Pachirisu. This set’s art gimmick is almost every card has Pokemon dealing with the region being frozen over by Plasma’s airship, so it brings a very unique type of art as you get reactions of shock, ,confusion, or bursting the ice and so on. I love Pachirisu here the most because of the lighting, its expression and showing how cold it suddenly got in the cave through the condensation.
Plasma Blast
Wartortle. Was surprised how much I loved this one, but the ribbons of water, the lighting and wartortle’s pose & exprsesion all come together in a pelasing way. I think this might be Wartortle’s best artwork.
Legendary Treasures
Emboar. This was a majority reprint set with new artwork, and there’s a TON of good artwork (including the Radiant Collection) but how could I not choose Emboar With Family. This is one of the more iconic “linked/story” cards in the TCG. It’s drawn cutely, Emboar looks so pleased, the “story” is cute and Emboar usually tries to be made out to look tough so the change works in its favor.
I do want to bring up though, THIS card
Which inexplicably has Nate partially drawn into it. I think beyond some of the “SP” Pokemon, maybe, they don’t really draw cards like this unless its an art rare, and those tend to make sure the trainer is as much a centerpiece. This is also Nate’s ONLY appearance in the entire TCG!
My prior sections were written after reading R_N's picks; from BW on, I am finishing my own post before peeking.
Pretty effects.
Just a really charming style. I love how the wood looks. Swadloon is very underappreciated.
The hands are very well done. Quite the frightening pose.
I think the smoothness works well here. The fire gives Reshiram a golden tint that goes quite well with the white.
I'm surprised I'm picking another EX, but I think Groudon looks very good, for similar reasons to Reshiram.
Garbotoxin! I have no history with this card, unfortunately. This style is a great fit for Garbodor. (that's not an insult)
The fog is a great choice. Dusknoir always makes for an amazing color scheme.
It's the crystals that win me over. They're really beautifully rendered. The lighting all around is amazing, too.
Team Plasma is freezing over Unova, and nearly all of Plasma Freeze's Pokemon have to deal with it. Staraptor looks as fearsome as ever. The bridge looks really nice, too, as do the large ice crystals around it.
I'm just a sucker for the background here, as well as the array of floating metal shards.
Legendary Treasures has some really tough contenders, but Meloetta has to take the cake. The colors look incredible, the mon looks incredible.
Man, I just keep using the same five phrases. I'm bad at this stuff.
Pretty effects.
Just a really charming style. I love how the wood looks. Swadloon is very underappreciated.
The hands are very well done. Quite the frightening pose.
I think the smoothness works well here. The fire gives Reshiram a golden tint that goes quite well with the white.
I'm surprised I'm picking another EX, but I think Groudon looks very good, for similar reasons to Reshiram.
Garbotoxin! I have no history with this card, unfortunately. This style is a great fit for Garbodor. (that's not an insult)
The fog is a great choice. Dusknoir always makes for an amazing color scheme.
It's the crystals that win me over. They're really beautifully rendered. The lighting all around is amazing, too.
Team Plasma is freezing over Unova, and nearly all of Plasma Freeze's Pokemon have to deal with it. Staraptor looks as fearsome as ever. The bridge looks really nice, too, as do the large ice crystals around it.
I'm just a sucker for the background here, as well as the array of floating metal shards.
Legendary Treasures has some really tough contenders, but Meloetta has to take the cake. The colors look incredible, the mon looks incredible.
