The Pokémon Trading Card Game hosted its Illustration Contest for 2022, and now the winners have been announced and awarded.
The Pokémon Company International and Creatures Inc. unveiled the list of 20 winners, chosen from an assortment of Japanese and, for the first time ever, United States entries. Drawings submitted for this year's theme, "the daily life of Pokémon," were judged by a panel made up of employees from The Pokémon Company group and Creatures Inc., including several of the TCG's illustrators. One Japanese artist, going by the name REND, won the Grand Prize of $5,000 for a portrait of an Arcanine yawning in the sun with a Fletchling on its back. A gallery with the complete list of winners can be seen below.
Julie Hang from the U.S. and Taiga Kasai from Japan won the First Runner-Up contest for their illustrations of Bublbasaur and Greninja, respectively, each winning the $3,000 cash prize. The Second Runners-Ups, RossDraws for their depiction of a sleeping Arcanine with an Oddish and Mingo for their colorful painting of Pikachu, took away $1,000 for their wins. Fifteen other entries also won $500 for their work, taking home the Judges Award. While the Second Runner-Ups and Judges winners receive just a cash prize, REND, Hang and Kasai also have the honor of seeing their work featured in upcoming promo cards for the Pokémon TCG.
The Pokémon franchise has inspired countless content creators over the years, ranging from fan artists to cosplayers. It makes a contest like this exciting, unveiling a wide range of creative and beautiful interpretations of iconic Pokémon. Some involve creative crossovers between classic series, such as this one of Magikarp achieving Naruto's dream of Hokage or another that bridges together Studio Ghibli's Ponyo with Pokémon's Gyrados. Others are much more startling, like this frightening depiction of Mewtwo's rage as he unleashes a rampage on humans in a street.
Despite most Pokémon appearing far from human, some fans have managed to find creative ways to capture some of their favorite monsters' looks. One took the trash Pokémon, Trubbish, and cosplayed it with a stunning ballgown, miraculously finding beauty in something intended to emulate a literal bag of rubbish. Others team up to create a Pokémon's unique build, like this cosplay of Arceus that is a trust exercise as much as a costume.
The latest edition of the Pokémon TCG, Pokémon Sword & Shield: Astral Radiance, officially launched on May 27.