Really interesting topic! I really like this concept, and I’m planning to collect with this concept in the future as well. I found your Reddit post and this thread, and decided to create an account here so I could contribute. Personally, I prefer the cards to be from the same set so they share the same overall design and set logo.
Here’s the list for my favorite Pokémon, Mudkip and Gyarados, along with their evolution lines:
Mudkip - Marshtomp - Swampert (4 sets)
-
EX Ruby & Sapphire 59, 40, 13 - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
EX Ruby & Sapphire 60, 41, 23 - Ken Sugimori
-
EX Emerald 56, 36, 11 - Atsuko Nishida
-
EX Crystal Guardians 57, 38, 27 - Hisao Nakamura
Magikarp – Gyarados (14 sets)
-
Base Set 35, 6 - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
Base Set 2 50, 7 (Base Set reprint) - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
Team Rocket 47, 8 - Kagemaru Himeno
-
Legendary Collection 52, 12 (Base Set reprint) - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
Gym Challenge 73, 5 (Giovanni’s) - Ken Sugimori
-
Gym Challenge 88, 13 (Misty’s) - Ken Sugimori
-
Neo Revelation 66, 65 - Ken Sugimori
-
EX Dragon 60, 97 - Kouki Saitou
-
EX Deoxys 64, 8 - Hisao Nakamura
-
HeartGold & SoulSilver 72, 4 - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
Call of Legends 61, 7 - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
Dragons Exalted 23, 24 - Mizue
-
Evolutions 33, 34 (Base Set reprint) - Mitsuhiro Arita
-
151 129, 130 - Kouki Saitou
I noticed someone already included Mudkip in this thread, but I just wanted to share a few more options. Also, all pictures were taken from BinderForge since that’s the tool I used to plan the binder layout.
My favorite from the Mudkip line is the one from EX Emerald, I love the bright yellow background that contrasts nicely with Mudkip. As for the Gyarados line, my favorite is from Dragons Exalted.
I might be missing some sets since I’m still pretty new to the hobby, but I’m looking forward to discovering more Pokémon with this same concept, especially from the Hoenn region, since that’s the one I’m most familiar with.
(I just noticed that since I’m a new user, I can’t post more than five pictures, even though I had already added all of them before. So, I only included two each for Mudkip and Gyarados.)
(Edit 2: add Mudkip evolution line pictures, but accidentally click “Save Edit” haha)
(Edit 3: add Gyarados evolution line pictures)
Cheers,
Adhi