Unique Pokémon forms: artwork errors and alterations

I’m fairly confident that my national index list including all forms (Alolan, Mega, Shiny, Male vs Female forms, Cosplays, etc. etc.) and which are/aren’t available on TCG cards is as good as complete now. However, there is one type of ‘forms’ for which I have my doubts if I thought about all of them, which are the artwork errors giving a different form.

Does anyone know of any other artwork errors which could be considered a different form besides these:

Those are the six I know about. If anyone knows of any other artworks that an be considered a different form (so no, not the white background error of Gym Challenge Seel or holo lightning error at the tail of Legendary Collection Dark Raichu, since those are background errors) let me know.

Also, are there any Pokémon cosplay cards besides Pikachus and Eevees?

Greetz,
Quuador

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So like the Japanese Base Box Charizard artwork where he just has one horn on its head? That the kind of stuff you’re looking for?

Which Charizard artwork are you referring to? The Base Set? But yes, those kind of errors (and similar to the ones I linked above), I am indeed looking for.

EDIT: Ah, I guess you mean the Japanese booster box?

But yes, those kind of errors, but then on TCG cards, I am indeed looking for. Or just any kind of artwork error that can be considered a different form (like the red outlined Stakataka or Naganadel, or the Gyarados with red whiskers).

Greetz,
Quuador

Vending Eevee is in the same boat as the jungle one

Jungle Vaporeons tail tip and frill are different

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Like this? Art looks like the shiny espeon even though the name has no indication of it being shiny

m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sabrina%27s_Espeon_(VS_56)

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Thanks!

Kinda. There are more Pokémon which are Shiny without any indication in their name (quite a lot actually). However, still thanks for mentioning, because Shiny Espeon is supposed to be green (see the GX Ultra Shiny Espeon, or this Shiny list), and this one is neither green nor light purple. So thanks (although for the wrong reason, lol :grin: ).

Greetz,
Quuador

I’d count Ancient Mew as an alternation

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I never noticed that about Gyarados! I honestly love when people closely examine cards. I remember noticing the gravyard in the background of Sabrinas Gengar, and felt like a proper nerd. :wink:

But seriously this is part of that collector obsession!

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Wow, this thread is really making me appreciate the attention to detail put into Pokémon cards. I’ve had a look through my entire Pichu collection and the only three things I’ve noticed could quite easily be put down to lighting.

The first thing is that the two different Pichu cards from the Expedition era (one Japan-exclusive) feature yellow patches on their ears and tails:

I’m fairly confident this is just lighting though, as the Pichus from this era do appear to be very shiny in places.

Another card is card 011/022 from the Movie Commemoration Random Pack, whereby the underside of Pichu’s foot has a circle patch in a different colour:

There are quite a few cards where you can see the underside of Pichu’s foot, including 009 and 010 from the same set this card features in, and in those the underside is just the same shade of yellow.

The final card, and I’m not sure if this counts as it was from a Weekly Shōnen Sunday illustration contest, is the #042 DPt-P promotional print, which appears to show Pichu with a blue eye:

These could all quite easily be down to lighting though.

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That blue-eyed Pichu is indeed a good one, since they usually have black eyes. I might already have that one somewhere, but if not I’ll buy it tomorrow evening after work. :blush:

As for the different colored oval below its feet: well done finding such a detail, because I would have looked past something like that quite a few times, lol… Will add it, but I see that is one of the most minor differences. Regardless, I like minor differences, and I already have that card anyway, so why not. :stuck_out_tongue:

The top two are indeed just light effects from what I can see.

Btw, Pichu also has two other variations: Spikey-eared and Pichu brother (which has a little forelock).

Good one, will add it as well tomorrow.

Greetz,
Quuador

Can’t agree more. Which is why I still love collecting cards as much as I did when I came back mid 2015. Maybe even more, because I learned a lot and appreciate some things even more.

And although I knew about most changed/censored artwork between Japanese and English before I joined the forum, that Gengar was one I didn’t knew about, so it was nice to read about that in this article at the time when you discovered it. :blush:

Greetz,
Quuador

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It’s actually a new question, but since it’s related I figured I’d post it in this same thread.

Some Pokémon forms aren’t available on cards for the Pokémon themselves, but can still be found in the fore- or background of other cards. The ones I know of are:

Does anyone know of any other cards with Pokémon forms in their artwork (which are not available as their own separated card)?

Greetz,
Quuador

If you were going after pokemon with different colored eyes HR Entei GX from shining legends has beautiful green eyes for some reason

But isn’t different colored parts something all Hyper Rares have? For example, the Raichu from Shining Legends has red eyes instead of brown; the Silvally from Crimson Invasion has aqua eyes and nose, instead of light grey eyes and a black nose; the Buzzwole from Crimson Invasion has red eyes instead of black; the Gyarados from Crimson Invasion has green eyes as well, instead of red/brown; etc. I agree the green eyes of Entei (and Gyarados) look pretty, but I’m not sure I’ll include it as a different version, since then I could probably add all Hyper Rares in general. :blush:

Greetz,
Quuador

Oh :grin: I didn’t even notice that. Maybe I should have looked at more than just a handful!
I guess it was just pokemon saying ‘we don’t want our hyper rares looking lackluster, let’s add wild eye colours’

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Bump. The last 8 cards are incoming (although it looks like the Vaporeon Gold Star and Shiny Zoroark both got lost in the mail… :unamused: ).

So, if anyone knows any variation still missing from this checklist, let me know. Then I can buy them before I create the article here on Efour, which I will do once everything has arrived and I’ve organized them and took the pictures/scans.

Greetz,
Quuador

It seems the Shiny Zoroark was indeed lost, so got refunded and bought another one. As for the Shiny Vaporeon, I have no idea where it’s going… I got a tracking number (after I opened a file that it hadn’t arrived yet) which stated it was on its way to India, and when customer service of CardMarket contacted me they stated it was in Madrid Spain… So yeah, I’ll wait a bit to see if it gets back to the seller and they can reship it to me, or whether I should just ask a refund and buy it elsewhere again.

So, I’m gonna bump this one last time. Let me start by stating some additional artwork differences I’ve been able to come across myself that weren’t mentioned yet in this thread (minor spoiler for my upcoming article when I have all cards in hand :blush: ):

To quote something @woolsluk once said to me when I mentioned my wanted list for Pikachus soon after I joined the forum:

And I indeed am with this collection as well. :grin:

If anyone knows of any more minor differences between artworks for the Pokémon TCG, no matter how trivial as you can see from the list above, let me know.

Greetz,
Quuador

4 Likes

There are some ninetales without the brown tips on their tails.

Do:
The OG 1995 topsun, the 1996/7 cardass, and the Japanese base 1996 have the brown tips.

This lead to basically every other ninetales to have either light/dark tipped tails.

Do Not:
The 1997 sealdass do not have the brown tips.

This lead the way for brocks, blaines, expedition, aquapolis, and call of legends to lack the markings.

The HGSS almost has a reddish color to it.

In games shiny ninetales has distinctive tips. In pokemon adventures they don’t. Not sure if there is a specific connection or just artist preference.

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Thanks, added to the list (and ordered the cards - although I already had both versions, I bought cards where it is more apparent). :blush:

Greetz,
Quuador

Quuador if I may make a suggestion;

Since your lists are far and away the most comprehensive around, I would love to see a list of shiny variant artwork. For example, I believe there are 4 different cards with shiny Altaria on them. 3 with shiny Mew. Quite a few shiny Gyarados…I think you likely already have the data but it would be great to have it compiled into its own list.

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