On June 16, The Pokémon Company in Japan will finally release the enormously anticipated Pokémon Card 151 set of trading cards. The reason people are so excited? Well, in large part it’s because this is the first time the original 151 Generation 1 Pokémon will be released together in a set in over two decades. Also, because it’s set to feature some absolutely stunning, ridiculously collectible cards.
Anyone who’s been following along at home will know the reason why the OG 151 haven’t been able to reunite since the early 2000s. It’s because of mad wizard Uri Geller, who during his wild lawsuit days decided to threaten Pikachu itself with being sued into space, because a cartoon animal was vaguely based on his favorite party trick: bending spoons with the power of his hands.
Geller finally reversed his decision (which never actually went to court), and whether because of that, or just because Nintendo fancied doing it anyway, the original gang is finally back together. (For those wondering, my burgeoning BFF status with Uri came to a tragic end, when he mysteriously blocked me on WhatsApp after I asked him to remote-view a number I’d just drawn on a piece of paper.)
Details of the set have been drip-dripping out for the last few months, and now we’re getting a really solid idea of what to expect. And it’s looking like the nicest celebration of the origins of Pokémon since the last one. And the one before that. However, while we know the set’s definitely releasing internationally, there’s no official release date. Our guess is early October.
In Japan, Pokémon tends to reveal a lot of cards via its official YouTube videos, especially sneaking them in to the end of TCG battles the hosts play among themselves, so you might notice some cards look slightly fuzzier than others—they’ve been captured in the best quality we can manage. Others are official reveals via Pokémon Japan’s official sites, or even Chinese versions. So, let’s have a look at some of the loveliest.