10 Pokémon TCG Card Artworks You Didn't Know Tell A Story
Some Pokémon Trading Card Game cards are stunning, packing an entire work of art into the small space of a card. Some look awesome, creating a sense of power, movement, or style that elevates the card to something special. And some extra special cards have a story hidden within the drawing, if fans know where to look.
These storytelling cards are fun to find on their own, like finding a Ditto disguised as a Numel (Crown Zenith: Galarian Gallery, #GG22), or an Archaludon strolling through a marketplace surrounded by awed children (SV07: Stellar Crown, #155). But there are some cards whose stories only become apparent when players have the full set. Combining these Pokémon TCG cards reveals tales about love, life, and betrayal.
10 Swablu And Altaria Are Adopted By A Flock Of Wingull
SV04: Paradox Rift Swablu (#213) And Altaria Ex (#253)
The Paradox Rift full-art Swablu card is eye-catching on its own. The card depicts a flock of Wingulls resting on some steps among grass and flowers, with their wings folded up and not a care in the world (at least, based on their blank expressions). Sitting among them is a Swablu, practically blending in with its blue body and white wings.
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The Swablu card is definitely a cute one, but when paired with the evolution, Altaria ex, the full story becomes clear. Altaria is shown flying high above the clouds in this card from the same set. Not far beneath her, spotted by SteeloAndKri, is a group of Wingull. These are presumably the same Wingull that the Altaria lived with as a Swablu, revealing a touching story about the Swablu's adoptive family, which still sticks around long after the bird Pokémon has grown up.
9 Ralts Evolves As Its Trainer Ages
SV01: Scarlet & Violet Base Set Ralts (#212), Kirilia (#212), And Gardevoir Ex (#245)
Pokémon grow in bursts, transforming from one type of Pokémon to another when they reach a certain level. Humans might not grow the same way, taking a more gradual path to maturity, but they also slowly evolve in their own way. The Scarlet & Violet Base Set has a set of three cards that depict this passage of time in a poignant and heartwarming way.
It's a beautiful series of art that show Pokémon and humans growing older side by side.
The Ralts card depicts the Pokémon sitting on a couch as a young couple unpacks boxes, settling into their new home with their companion. Ralts' evolution, Kirilia, is seated on the same couch, but the house now feels lived-in, full of the clutter of everyday living. The young woman sits beside Kirlia, now a little older, holding a baby in her arms.
In the final evolution, Gardevoir ex is once again in the same room but the young woman is now white-haired and the baby has grown into a young boy. It's a beautiful series of art that show Pokémon and humans growing older side by side.
8 Latias, Latios, And Mesprit Cards Form A Continuous Art Picture
SV08: Surging Sparks Latias Ex (#239), Latios (#203), And Mesprit (#204)
Pokémon cards are all about the creature they depict, and the location generally serves as a backdrop for that. Some cards place more emphasis on the location, making the background as important as the Pokémon in front of it. In the mobile version of the card game Pokémon TCG Pocket, there are even some cards that hide specific locations in their background art for dedicated fans to discover.
The Latias ex and Latios full-art cards from the Surging Sparks set also place importance on the background, but their special nature can only be seen if the two cards are placed side by side. With Latios on the left and Latias ex on the right, the two cards form a continuous panoramic art piece, the background lining up exactly right to show the full picture of the two flying Pokémon frolicking in the air above a stunning landscape. Reddit user ThoughtsRRandom has discovered that a sleeping Mesprit completes the set, hovering over the same location but at a different time of day.
7 Mewtwo And Charizard Wage Battle Against Each Other
Crown Zenith: Galarian Gallery Mewtwo VSTAR And SWSH: Sword & Shield Promo Charizard VSTAR
The Pokémon TCG has some unique types of cards that give the cards a certain special power or advantage in battle. VSTAR cards are like a slightly weaker version of a VMAX card, offering the advantage of a strong attack at the expense of a bit of HP. These cards also have a special VSTAR Power that can only be used once per match, giving them a unique advantage in a fight. Only a few sets contained VSTAR cards, so there are only about 100 different cards in the VSTAR family.
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The two cards in this duo are VSTAR cards but, unusually, they come from two different sets, Crown Zenith: Galarian Gallery and Sword and Shield Promo. Being from two sets hasn't stopped the Mewtwo and Charizard depicted in these cards from battling it out in the sky next to a steep rock cliff, as shared to Reddit by Au_Asterix.
Both cards also contain a hilarious Easter egg, a Tangrown getting blown away by the fight. Unfortunately, these doesn't seem to be a related Tangrowth card.
Both cards show the Pokémon mid-attack, with each depicting the scene from the point of view of the card's focus. What makes these two even more impressive is that, unlike most other storytelling card sets, these two cards were drawn by two different illustrators (Mewtwo by Gossan and Charizard by Kiyotaka Oshiyama).
6 Inkay Steals Meowth's Fruit
XY - Roaring Skies Meowth (#67) And inkay (#41)
The original "bad guys" in the Pokémon series, Team Rocket, don't have too many of their own Pokémon (despite years of attempting to steal more). The iconic Meowth is the most well-known companion to the Team Rocket duo, Jessie and James. Later in the series, James acquires an Inkay, whose mischievous personality makes him a fun addition to the team.
Inkay's personality even makes it to the cards, with the XY - Roaring Skies set playing with the relationship between the flying squid-like Pokémon and Meowth. In these cards, a happy Meowth is shown holding a large red fruit with Inkay watching from behind it at a distance. The Inkay card, by contrast, shows Inkay running away with the same fruit, leaving a startled and beaten-up Meowth in its dust.
5 All Three Sword & Shield Starters Appear Together
SWSH: Sword & Shield Promo Cards Scorbunny, Grookey, And Sobble
Mainline Pokémon games have players choose between three starters, corresponding to fire, water, and grass. In Sword & Shield, these starters were the fire rabbit Scorbunny, grass monkey Grookey, and water chameleon Sobble. Starters often become popular among fans since they're the first companions they'll have in the game, and as a result are frequently included in promotional materials and, of course, trading cards.
It's much rarer to find all three starters shown on the same card, and even more unusual for them to appear not once but three times. Released as Sword and Shield promo cards in 2019, these three cards are all set in the same forest clearing next to a tree stump. Each card has the central Pokémon standing in the front, while the other two starters look on from behind them. If seen in the right order, they tell a sad story: Scorbunny and its friends come across a big pile of fruit, but by the time Sobble gets to the front, there are none left, leaving poor Sobble crying (as usual).
4 The Trainer In Octillery's Card May Be Swimming With The Basculin
SWSH09: Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery Octillery (TG03) And Fusion Strike Basculin (#070)
Many card pairings are pretty obvious once the cards are put together. The connection between the Octillery and Basculin cards is a bit harder to spot, especially since the two cards don't appear in the same set. The Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery Octillery card shows a person in a yellow beanie fishing as Octillery sits in a bucket in the forefront. The Basculin in Fusion Strike, on the other hand, features an underwater shot of the fish Pokémon swarming by a pier.
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At first glance, the two cards don't seem related, but as HexManiacChris points out on X, there's something tying them together. The Basculin all seem to be chomping on a familiar-looking yellow hat... which hopefully means the fisher from the pier above dropped their hat, and not the grim alternative.
3 Cramorant Makes A Meal Out Of An Arrokuda
SWSH04: Vivid Voltage Cramorant (#040) And Arrokuda (#041)
If the Octillery and Basculin connection was uncertain, there's no doubt that the Arrokuda and Cramorant from the Vivid Voltage belong together, as can be seen in the Reddit post by Quackimaduck1017. The Arrokuda card shows the slender fish swimming underwater with a wide smile on its unsuspecting face. Observant fans will notice a bird-like Pokémon diving into the water above it.
The Cramorant card depicts the bird sitting on a rock, having been successful in its dive for a meal. The Arrokuda's body is firmly lodged in the Cramorant's beak and although its mouth is no longer visible, it's safe to say that the Arrokuda is no longer smiling.
2 Trubbish Escapes From The Dump With Some Help
Legendary Treasures Trubbish (#67), Phione (#36), And Empoleon (#35)
Ever since its first appearance in Pokémon Black and White, the Pokédex entries for Trubbish claim that it likes trash and prefers dirty places. It appears that this isn't the case in this series of three related cards from the Legendary Treasures set, that tell the story of a Trubbish that escapes into a less dirty and polluted place.
In the first card of the series, Trubbish is seen getting the attention of some Wingulls circling above a dump. In the Phione card, the Wingulls appear to have carried Trubbish to the water's edge, where Phione is waving hello at it. The third and final card in the series has Trubbish seated atop a swimming Empoleon, with Phione by its side. It's a hopeful story of escaping fate, told across three seemingly unrelated Pokémon cards.
1 An Epic Showdown Between Four Pokémon At The Mountain Ring
XY - Furious Fists Breloom (#50), Slaking (#83), Electivire (#30), Magmortar (#11), Mountain Ring (#97)
Two or three cards being related is easy to imagine, but what about five? The Furious Fists set features such a set, with four Pokémon—Breloom, Slaking, Electrivire, and Magmortar—engaging in an epic battle in the Mountain Ring Stadium. Each card is drawn mid-attack with dynamic stances and exciting glimpses at the other Pokémon and even bits of the ring getting hit in the process.
If five related cards isn't enough, an even more impressive example was shared on Instagram by camz_pkmon_collectablz of nine cards coming together seamlessly to form one large continuous work of art. This collection was made by illustrator Hyogonosuke in various Scarlet & Violet sets and is an incredible example of how well some Pokémon Trading Card Game cards combine to tell a bigger story.
Source: SteeloAndKri/X, ThoughtsRRandom/Reddit, Au_Asterix/Reddit, HexManiacChris/X, Quackimaduck1017/Reddit, camz_pkmon_collectablz/Instagram
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