The artwork on these cards is amazing!!!

Every Pokémon is drawn doing an attack or its signature move, if it has one.

I will show you some weird and cool artworks if you scroll a bit further, but here is one of my favorites already: Ditto transforming into Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle at the same time!

If you already know about these cards, or just want to see the artwork, keep on scrolling a bit further!

For everyone else, I made a quick summary.

These are Carddass Pocket Monsters cards made by Bandai. Specifically I will focus on part 3 & 4, released in Japan in 1997.

You could only find these cards in vending machines in Japan. After you paid 20 yen (source: Pokeboon) you would receive one random card. No booster packs or anything, just a raw card coming out of the machine.

Now, I hear you thinking: if these cards are parts 3 & 4, then what do parts 1 & 2 look like? Technically, the first two parts are a set of their own, just like parts 3 & 4 belong together.

The Kangaskhan on the left is from the 1996 set (part 1 & 2) and the one on the right was released in 1997 (part 3 & 4).

The total number of cards for the 1997 set is 153: all 151 Kanto Pokémon (including Mew) and two “secret” cards. I will come back to these two cards later!

If you want more in-depth information about these cards, I highly recommend this Carddass Pokémon collectors guide.

One of the main reasons why I like these cards so much is their connection to the games.

For me, the games and anime are where my love for Pokémon started, so this connection between the cards and the games is highly appreciated.

These cards were made to promote the Japanese release of the Gen 1 games on the Game Boy.

If you take a look at the back of the card, you can clearly see this.

It’s a Pokédex entry!

In the top corner, you will see the same artwork as on the front.

Besides that, you will also see:

Like I said before, the artwork of the Pokémon is absolutely amazing!

But weird as well..

Every Pokémon is drawn doing their signature move (or a different move if they don’t have one).

This gives them a pretty dynamic pose, and it was the main reason for me to start collecting the whole set instead of just collecting a few of my favorites.

Besides that, they were (most likely) designed by Ken Sugimori, one of Pokémon's most famous artists who has been designing them since the start.
(Update: there is still some debate over whether he actually designed all/any of them, but I don’t think we will ever know for sure. Source: Elitefourum)

Anyhow.

Let’s talk about the weird designs.

Some Pokémon have a slightly different design than what they ended up using in the games, anime, or the TCG.

It feels more like concept art instead of the finished version.

Also, they look like actual monsters, instead of the cuter creatures we know today.

Let me show you some more cool designs besides Ditto.

Charmander is interesting; it is shown with spikes on its back. In a bit, I will show you another artwork that features Charmander with spikes on its back, so it wasn’t just a simple mistake they overlooked. In the end, however, they removed the spikes completely.

This Dragonair looks so, so cool! It’s shown using the move Dragon Rage, and I think it looks awesome with the dragon artwork behind it.

I grouped these Pokémon together. Personally, Golem is my favorite of these. Golem, Electrode, and Koffing are all drawn using Explode/Self-Destruct. It's nothing too crazy, but it’s a unique pose that I like.

There are also quite a few cards with two or more Pokémon illustrated. Some of my favorites are down here.

I really like the Mr. Mime art, but I think Wartortle carries some weight in that decision.

I can’t put every artwork in this newsletter, otherwise the size of this email will be too big.

But..

On my socials, I talk about these artworks quite often, so if you want to see more from this set, make sure to follow me there as well (@crulcrul or @crulcollect are my handles online)!

As I mentioned before, there are two secret artworks in this set.

These cards were not available in all the regular vending machines like the other 151 cards. Instead, they were distributed in Ito-Yokado, a Japanese store, during a short period of time.

At the moment, I only own one of the two. The one on the left is my personal copy, and the picture on the right I grabbed from PriceCharting to show you the artwork.

Look at these beauties!

The first card is Red with Bulbasaur, Charmander (like I said, again with the spikes on his back), Squirtle, and Pikachu.

Pikachu has a white belly, just like Raichu, which is another design choice they didn't stick with.

On the second secret card, you see Red and Blue together with the evolved versions of the starters: Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise.

Red is also holding the Pokéball upside down in this one, which is quite unique, I believe.

I can’t recall any other Pokémon card where this is the case, at least!

The back is also interesting.

It features a checklist with the Japanese names of all the Pokémon in the set. The checklist below is the back of my copy (Bandai Starters No.000).

I bought my card on eBay in a PSA 6.

The PSA 6 slab was cheaper than a raw copy, and the quality wasn’t too bad in my opinion. But I cracked the slab to put it in my binder. Sorry, not sorry.

Had it been a higher grade, I don't think I would have destroyed the slab, but I bought the PSA 6 specifically for my binder since I don't care too much if the condition isn't perfect.

As long as the artwork still looks good, I’m fine with it.

It’s just much cheaper to collect cards in lower conditions, especially when they are as old as these are.

Sure, the resale value is also lower. But I’m not collecting this set to sell.

And whenever I find a card in better condition than mine (for a good price), I buy it to replace the current card if I feel like it.

Right now, this is my favorite non-TCG set ever.

And maybe, just maybe, even my favorite Pokémon set in general.

I saw a Carddass 1997 card in a shop in Taiwan when I was there on holiday last year, and I've been hooked ever since. I didn't buy that card because, at first, I had no idea what I was looking at.

So, when I got home, I did some research and started the hunt.

It’s the first set I've ever tried to masterset. I only need eight more, but those are also the more expensive ones, so I’m taking my time in the hopes of finding a good deal on a few of them.

I understand that non-TCG cards aren’t everyone's cup of tea, but I still hope you enjoyed the backstory and artworks I highlighted in this article.

If you did enjoy these cards, I highly recommend looking into them. The artwork is really awesome!

For anyone interested in collecting these cards, I have shared a checklist below created by Oliver from SleeveNoCardBehind. I highly recommend checking out his content as well since I used his checklist and info to collect this set myself!

When I asked him if I could use his checklist, he answered: “Yes, feel free! My number one mission is to spread free and accessible Pokémon card education”.

That’s it for now. Catch y’all later!