One of my favorite things to see is promo cards, trophy cards, or even just set cards with a stamp or slight variation that has a unique/cool story behind its release. Some of my favorites are the English Championship Arena which was given out in 2005 to Worlds competitors by sliding it under there hotel room doors, Championship stamped Charmander line given out for from what I call tell competing in certain levels of tournaments held by Pokemon, and the 2004 Tropical Wind specifically the unstamped version as that was just given to anyone who showed up to the event and I think that’s a really cool release. Let me know your favorite cards with a cool release. I’d love to hear it!
My obvious choices are the Masaki and Scream promos. The requirement to mail in a physical letter with two cards to get another card back in return is absolutely wild from today’s perspective! The artworks are also kicking ass!
The Scream promos are simply perfect in every way. Their release at the actual Munch exhibit + the high effort artwork reference make them some of the best promos ever.
A card I still want is Pikachu & Nicole Fujita (don’t know if that’s the actual name of the card). It was given to the first 13000 visitors of a photo booth store in Tokyo and later given out to people that took a photo in a booth at Kamex Mega battle locations.
@muk , Thanks for these! This is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to see. All of those have amazing stories. The only one I knew beforehand was the Masaki Promos
The Pokepark cards have an interesting release. They were released in conjunction with the opening of the Pokepark theme park in Japan. There were cards from a folder that was sold which are more rare, and also cards given to people who went on the rides which are more common. I think there was also a Pokepark theme park in China or Taiwan which briefly opened and the Chinese cards are more rare.
Snap Promos must be “summoned” by sacrificing a Victorian-era, high class porcelain doll, specifically with Gothic features, at midnight on a full moon. The doll has to be carefully lowered into a steaming cauldron and the summoner should chant “Pkonno Pkonno, Please Please Please!” three times fast as they stir the cauldron. There is a rare ingredient that has to be added for this to work. I cannot specifiy what it is or I risk over saturating the market.
Legend tells, within one lunar year of this sacrifice, a Snap Promo will appear on Yahoo Japan. Use this knowledge wisely!
For vintage, I like the JR rallye Pikachu. To obtain this, you had to collect stamps in a booklet all over Japan, in person, and only if you obtained enough you were awarded this card. It’s like Pokemon Go’s spirit existed in 1997, but without spoofing. The illustration features a train and mt. Fuji, which makes it unique & hints at the release. bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Surfing_Pikachu_(Wizards_Promo_28)
For cards released a bit later: I love the unique story of how the Pikachu & Raichu Classroom prize cards were supposed to be mass-reprinted in the west & had finished design in all languages (visible in ptcgo to this day) but were abruptly cancelled and thus never released. It feels like holding cards that aren’t really supposed to exist - it’s as much about how these prize cards were released, as about how the reprints were not. bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pikachu_(BW_Promo_77)
Also: All the worlds promos. The way they are/were released, how the art fits that release / the place of the tournament, how they all tie into each other, the stamps… yeah.
I especially like these because it feels like very few know about them, they hardly pop up, and they strongly draw me back to the R/S/E days where I’d stay up and play Sapphire on my silver SP under the covers.
EDIT: Click on “Spoiler” to see the pack artwork and the cards that are inside.
@johnnymucho dude these WB! creator cards are AWESOME. I knew about their existance, but not their history. English exclusive (which in itself is rare) illustration contest cards with limited release of ~5000 copies. This is where the term underrated is appropriate IMO.
Forreal tho! The illustrations are also very solid and unique as well. While Torchic is my least favorite, I have so much difficulty choosing which artwork between the Mudkip, Pikachu, and even the Wurmple I like best!
