Many of the early Ampharos cards featured this flavor text, or something similar:
Frustratingly enough, ZERO early Ampharos cards depicted this. The Neo Genesis Ampharos art went as far as to have the HEAD as the shiny beacon (not the tail). What the heck!!
We had to wait until 2016 for an Ampharos artwork that shows off Ampharos and his adorable lighthouse abilities:
Absolutely iconic. One of the many gifts of Steam Siege.
This got me thinking about how awesome artwork like this is. What are some of your favorite cards featuring Pokemon doing something useful or lore-based?
@mao, Thats one of my favorite cards for that exact reason
Some other cards with this sort of concept that I enjoy are burned tower from hgss, jasmines + steelix from cosmic eclipse, and pretty much any professor elms card being they typically include all the johto starters in it as well. I know theres more around too I have as favorites (as i tend to scout them out for gen 2 things here and there) but i just cant think of them at the moment.
I don’t know if people realize it but the reason this card is so cool is because it breaks the norm for Magikarp. In the art, he’s using his second attack, Dragon Rage. Magikarp can’t learn this move in the game until it becomes Gyarados. Notice how it does 50 damage, which is remarkably high for a a 30 HP Basic Pokémon, especially a Magikarp. The Pokédex entry on the bottom right also mentions this, saying something about the dragon DNA being detected early in the Magikarp form of this one. This is also pretty cool because of what Team Rocket does at the Lake of Rage in Johto. They use the radio to try to activate the gene early and force Magikarp to become Gyarados in the lake. Yes the card is rare and it’s kind of a love it/hate it card, but the reason I lean towards loving it is the way it presents itself as a pissed off Magikarp that is showing early signs of becoming Gyarados.
Dedenne: “Crackle…buzz…Dedenene…?! Beep…”
Wobbuffet: “When she’s surrounded by cushions and dressers that I like, she looks just like a princess!”
I’ve got nothing to add to that.
Pokekyun / Generations Radiant Collection is full of that kind of stuff. Beatiful artworks and funny Pokedex entries that really tell stories and make it a brilliant cohesive mini set. (Needless to say, the Japanese versions look way better, but for Pokedex demonstration purposes the English version has to do.)
“Bagon has a dream of one day soaring in the sky. In doomed efforts to fly, this Pokémon hurls itself off cliffs. As a result of its dives, its head has grown tough and as hard as tempered steel.”
To me, this image is a snapshot of lore. Southward view from the middle of route 119, a Feebas peeking out of the water from one of the 6 tiles, with all the weather going on, Tropius, the birds and everything. 10/10.
