Close look at the beautiful art of the new Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—151 expansion

Now that the latest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet—151, has arrived, it’s time to dive in and explore some of the amazing artwork adorning the cards. We’ve highlighted some of the small stories being told in these cards, the unique styles used in each artwork, and more!

Would you believe that Scarlet & Violet—151 is the first expansion where Jigglypuff has appeared as a Colorless type on its own individual card since 2012? That doesn’t mean that this card lacks any of the color that Jigglypuff cards traditionally feature, though! Illustrator saino misaki has a knack for showcasing cute Pokémon with even cuter backgrounds, and they’ve done the same here as the delightfully round Jigglypuff looks up at a rainbow in a meadow of colorful flowers.

Mankey is often portrayed swinging on a tree branch or two, but the background for this card and its Evolution, Primeape, are a bit different. In a style that is reminiscent of retro comic book art, Mankey gestures at a beautiful sunset in a seemingly tropical environment, while Primeape is on the ground at nighttime—perhaps an implied progression of Evolution between the two cards based on day and night. The colors used for the sky can also be seen as matching the attitudes of these Pokémon, with the vibrant red symbolizing Mankey’s curious energy and the shallow green emphasizing Primeape’s stern demeanor.

Just look at these two. Slowpoke and Slowbro are out enjoying a relaxing day near the water without a care in the world. Is the Slowbro in the second card the same Pokémon as the Slowpoke in the first card, moments after its tail was bitten by a Shellder in the blue lagoon? Only OKACHEKE knows for sure, but what we do know is that this artist’s soft style really accentuates the carefree nature of these amazing Pokémon.

Yuka Morii was tasked with showcasing Magnemite and Magneton in her classic modeling clay style, and we’ve been energized by her stunning art once again. It’s easy to focus on the immaculately modeled Magnemite and Magneton, but the background photography showcasing these Pokémon is similarly amazing. Magnemite appears to be photographed in a yellow power room, while Magneton is among a large array of steel pipes. Could they be running their own power plant?

There’s probably a story being told here, but we don’t know where to start. Tomokazu Komiya’s tendency to use a wide range of colors alongside heavily illustrated backgrounds is a perfect match for Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, who may have a reputation for being troublemakers. That energy is perfectly captured throughout with Gastly’s curious gaze at a swirl of wind, Haunter’s mischievous investigation of a big city, and Gengar’s almost triumphant smile among a group of fellow spirits.

Raise your fist up high and cheer! Hitmonchan raises its glove toward the sky as the sun shines dynamic rays through the artwork. Our eye is immediately drawn to the center of the artwork with both the sun and the clearly proud Hitmonchan as its subject. The bright scene is flanked by palm trees in an island-like environment, likely a perfectly quiet place for Hitmonchan to train for its next fight.

As a prehistoric Pokémon, Aerodactyl is as terrifying as it is awesome, and Shinji Kanda captures that well as it rampages through a forest with what looks like a devastating Hyper Beam. We talked about this card in our first Scarlet & Violet—151 preview article, but the artwork is so incredible that we had to feature it again. Not only does Aerodactyl call to mind a kaiju tearing through a city, but its stature also appears enhanced in size thanks in part to the three-segmented background of the black sky and the blue and brown mountains.

Fear the power of Mewtwo. Illustrator AKIRA EGAWA is known for drawing Pokémon with dynamic action lines that often breathe extra life into the character. She’s even drawn Mewtwo in the past as a Pokémon V-UNION, with the artwork split up across four cards. This rendition of Mewtwo is in a similarly “city punk” type setting with bright lights and towering buildings. If you look at the corners of the artwork, though, you can see shards of glass and what appear to be tubes flying as Mewtwo exercises its psychic power with a menacing glare.

There are plenty more cards with great illustrations in the Scarlet & Violet—151 expansion. Keep an eye out as you open your booster packs—you might just discover a new favorite!