Prerelease Raichu. Shiny Nidoking. First edition holographic Charizard. These are a few rare Pokémon trading cards from the glorious 90s that bewitched our childhood minds. After 20 years of collecting, training, and battling with our favorite Pokémon across various formats, Nintendo is helping the world (well, really just Japan, for now) celebrate this series with a few special announcement events, such as the release of four special-edition Pokémon-themed 2DS consoles.
And then there’s this little dozy–the first rerelease of the original base set of Pokémon trading cards, complete with identical designs and artwork! On February 27, 2016, Japan will get to catch 60 original base set cards, a special-edition player’s manual, and a collector’s coin for a to-be-determined price. Oh, we can already feel the import wars online stirring!
A jarring 721 Pokémon characters later from the original TV and video game series, Pokémon is still a global sensation which shows little signs of dwindling as new generations of young followers join older fans. The original 102 Japanese trading card base set with seven simple Pokémon types in 1996 captivated a generation of gamers and thoroughly helped introduce the Eastern Pocket Monster series to the West. And us Westerners definitely welcomed this series with open hearts, as hardcore fans of the trading card series and video game series, as well as fans of the animated TV series, films, plushies, and so on.
Although this is an exclusive Japanese event right now, we have hope that Nintendo will expand either this or similar events to the Western audience, which has come to love the Pokémon series just as much as the Japanese.
Will you be holding your breath and money for this rereleased base set to make its way to the West? What 20th anniversary special event wish do you have for Nintendo? (We want a new Pokémon Snap, please!) Let us know in the comments below!
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HT: Polygon & Pokemon Trading Card Game Japan
Image Credit: IBTimes
