I’ve had a few different people ask, so here’s some more on these photos These come from the December, 1997 CoroCoro comic. The December 1997 edition of the magazine came with a number of Pokémon references and features As shown below, there are a number of pieces related to concept art for the Johto region. Additionally, one of my favorite pieces from the magazine includes this larger printout of Pokémon dressed in Christmas attire 🎄 (picture 2) (I believe this was illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno, but I may be wrong. If someone knows for sure please tell me!) What I think is the largest draw for this comic is the 1998 calendar pieces that 100% were illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno. Unfortunately, the individual who sold me my copy lied about them being included, so I don’t have a physical photo of them (I was refunded so all okay!) but I included some scanned copies of them (picture 3)

Vending series cards have some really great lore and backgrounds behind some of them I especially love this Magneton by Mitsuhiro Arita

Easily one of my favorite additions to the collection recently 🔥 Such beautiful and cute artwork inside too ✨

Don’t worry, Snorlax got Zapdos back 😏

Poor Snorlax, really getting worked over here 😬

One of the earliest Pokémon guide books that came out featured this Ken Sugimori artwork of Red, Green, and Blue. This early rendition of the trainers and the original partner Pokémon feels so reminiscent of a time where there were so many questions about what Pokémon was or would be. While I adore how fleshed out the games and lore have become, I think I’ve found myself gravitating towards these older pieces. I want a better sense of how Pokémon developed into what it is today. And, better yet, I’m incredibly curious to know what stories have been lost to time, or might still be waiting to be told 👀

I really enjoy collecting vintage Pokémon items ✨ The Pokémon Green version especially feels special knowing it was never produced in the U.S.

I had 5 minutes left in the Pokémon Center queue and got hit with this.. I’m actually so bummed out I was so close 😭

I was lucky enough to purchase the entire Southern Islands set in a big lot purchase a few years back. Easily one of my favorite pieces in my entire collection, for about half of what just the Mew goes for now Oh how times have changed 🤷‍♀️

Feels like a good day to appreciate some first edition Pokémon cards ✨

Okay, 2 things: 1. I have been on an unreal run pulling SARs on release 2. This Dhelmise card is ridiculously stunning. Easily my favorite card pulled from this set ⚓️ Bonus points for anyone who can find all the hidden Pokémon in the Dhelmise card 👀

It’s my favorite day of the week because I get to open up Pokémon cards ✨

This is actually a huge reason I personally don’t like grading cards that much. I really enjoy being able to pull cards out and appreciate how stunning they are without having to look through the plastic

There are some really great early renditions of Pokémon art used to conceptualize what Johto looked like for Gold and Silver.

Some of the most beautiful and interesting Pokémon cards you’ve never seen before

The Pokémon Vending Series is quite a set ✨

Wow, REND as the artist on these was an incredible call I can not wait to add these to the collection

I still feel really fortunate that I own some extremely cool vintage Pokémon items Brings back a lot of fun memories ✨

As long as the Pokémon TCG has been printed in English, theme decks have existed. Theme decks are designed to help new players and fans have an easy introduction to the TCG. However, early renditions of these theme decks were littered with errors. In fact, some of the most rare and sought after error cards from the WOTC era came from these decks. Of all the error cards, there are 3 main errors we can cover. 1. For the International/English release of Base Set, there were five different theme decks. The first theme deck was the 2-Player Starter Set. This theme deck was released about a month before the Base Set cards were released. Also, this was the only release of the holographic Machamp card (8/102). Machamp is technically an error card as every single copy is printed with the 1st edition stamp. (Picture 1) This includes the 1st edition copies, but also shadowless copies (making them indistinguishable from 1st edition copies), and unlimited copies. The Machamp card was sealed in a plastic covering, so crimp error copies can also be found. There were four other theme decks produced for the English Base Set. Of these, two have pretty notable error cards. 2. The Zap! Theme deck held copies of what is known as the “Ghost Stamp Pikachu”. (Picture 2) This was a printing error likely related to a preliminary stamp used to help align the 1st edition stamp for the other cards. Copies of the Shadowless Pikachu had these faded ‘half-stamps’ where the typical 1st edition stamp is located. 3. The Brushfire theme deck held what’s known as the “No Damage Ninetales”. A small number of the Shadowless Ninetales were printed without the damage number “80” printed to the right side of the ‘Fire Blast’ attack. Error cards are very sought after, and we can extrapolate a really beautiful life lesson from these cards: Being uniquely yourself often attracts genuine curiosity and appreciation from those willing to recognize it. Being yourself is beautiful, and terms like “errors” are only there to describe how your characteristics make you who you are. It’s those errors that are beautiful, and striving towards perfection (in whatever we are looking for) often doesn’t truly exist. So, thanks for being you ✨

Shining Celebi is one of the cards from this set!? I’m actually blown away with the whole set list already. Should be a lot of fun 🤩