Pokémon’s ‘ugly’ 30th anniversary cards are redeemed in new look

Pokémon fans are excited about the upcoming 30th anniversary set, with the exception of two things. No one is looking forward to the scalper situation that will undoubtedly follow such a cool release. The other Wailord in the water is the new card type, Future rare. While some are embracing the chase cards’ new chromatic look, others seem to hate the muted color scheme.

The Pokémon Company did give fans a sneak peek of what the Mew and Mewtwo Future rare cards would look like in a trailer. Close-ups of the cards also showed off their unique, ornate textures. The glimpses were brief, and the features were seemingly animated, however. New real-life footage showing someone holding several 30th anniversary cards gives a clearer look at their appearance.

The clips come courtesy of Redditor baekachu, who apparently has early access to the cards releasing on September 16. Though it might sound dubious for anyone to already possess cards that won’t be out for months, it’s not impossible. When the Chaos Rising set released in late May, some fans reported they had received packs for Pitch Black instead. Pitch Black still hasn’t been released yet, which suggests that TPC prints new sets well ahead of the set’s actual launch. The complicated texture on these cards also closely matches the fingerprint-like indents visible in the set’s official trailer.

More importantly, the new videos make the divisive cards look a lot better than they did in promo materials.

The Mewtwo card drawn by artist Yoshirotten, for example, features rings that might seem boring at first glance. In motion, these details are much more dynamic. The shine of the foil adds depth to the card, and that effect pops precisely because of the ‘flat’ shading on the legendary Pokémon.

Another video posted by baekachu shows what a couple of the Eeveelution cards look like. In the original announcement, TPC said that the celebratory set would be themed around day and night cycles. This focus is evident when you look at the Espeon card in the video below. The psychic Pokémon’s anniversary card makes the shiny bits look like blaring sun rays. The Umbreon card set in the nighttime, on the other hand, is designed to emphasize the fireworks in the background.

The Future rare cards will likely still be disliked by some, but at least most people agree on one thing: TPC needs to do away with the Pikachu head it plasters on every special set.