I remember well the day I tore open a Pokémon card booster pack to find a shiny Charizard—the most coveted of all the rares—waiting for me inside. In my brief 10 years on Earth, I had never beheld anything more beautiful than that fiery, winged monster staring out at me from a piece of cardboard. The glint of the holograph nearly brought it to life, but never like this.

Reddit user Kennywdev has given a kind of life to Pokémon that the beloved brand has never experienced, and he’s done it with a bunch of stuff that most of us have lying around our homes. Using some cardboard, a homemade plexiglas prism, and a computer monitor with a webcam, Kennywdev created a dome into which he can project 3D images. The webcam then tracks the projections using QR cards, allowing Pokémon to seemingly hover in mid-air.

There’s even a video showcasing the creation, complete with battle music from the Gameboy games. It opens with Charizard “dueling” an unopened Poké ball, prompting one Reddit user to say: “Charizard is a savage for using flamethrower on that Poké ball before the Pokémon can even be released.” Kennywdev also created an imgur album detailing the construction process.

The contraption works extraordinarily well considering the limits of DIY handiwork. If this can be done using some junk lying around the house, just think of the possibilities for established VR firms. Kennywdev’s invention is but the beginning. Soon we’ll all be walking around with 3D goggles, engaging in Pokémon Stadium-esque battles in virtual realms. Until then, though, this is more than a worthy holdover.

Let us know what you think of the creation in the comments.

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HT: Rocket News

IMAGE: Youtube/KennyWdev, Nintendo/Moonshake Records

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