Illustration contests
Illustration contests are contests that entries send in illustrations, and have them featured on a card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Throughout the history of the TCG, many companies and magazines have created illustration contests. CoroCoro, Shogakukan, and Wizards of the Coast are some of the companies that have held such competitions. The following is a list of all contests from the beginning of the TCG.
CoroCoro Pokémon Illustration Contest
In late 1997, CoroCoro held an Illustration contest, in which the top three illustrators had their artwork featured as one of the Vending Machine cards. These winners were not only awarded by having their art feature on real Pokémon cards, they also received the coveted Pokémon Illustrator card.
| Winner | Card | Type | Rarity | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuuki Kawamura | Poliwrath | 
|
|
Series 1 |
| Keita Takahashi | Snorlax | 
|
|
Series 1 |
| Kazuhiko Nishihara | Mewtwo | 
|
|
Series 3 |
Wizards Pokémon Illustration Contest
Also in late 1997, Wizards of the Coast also ran an illustration competition for the English version of Keita Takahashi's CoroCoro contest illustration. The chosen image was that of Craig Turvey.
| Winner | Card | Type | Rarity | Card number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Turvey | Snorlax |
|
- | 49 |
CoroCoro Pokémon Snap Contest
CoroCoro held another Illustration contest in the Spring of 1999 called the CoroCoro Pokémon Snap contest. Five winning entries had their artwork featured on extremely rare reprints. The exact number of these cards in existence is unknown.
| Winner | Card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Yuuki Tanaka | Bulbasaur | 
|
| Poliwag |
| |
| Magikarp |
| |
| Ryouichi Abe | Gyarados |
|
| Pikachu | 
|
Nintendo 64 Pokémon Snap Contest
Much like CoroCoro's contest, Nintendo 64 held an Illustration contest in the Spring of 1999 called the Nintendo 64 Pokémon Snap contest. Five more winning entries had their artwork featured on extremely rare reprints. The exact number of these cards in existence is unknown.
| Winner | Card | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Narsu Sato | Koffing |
|
| Charmander | 
| |
| Squirtle |
| |
| Articuno |
| |
| Koori Samoya | Chansey |
|
Poké Card Creator Contest
The Poké Card Creator Contest was a contest created by Kids' WB! in 2004. Entries had the chance to design an original TCG card featuring one of the following five Pokémon: Pikachu, Mudkip, Treecko, Torchic and Wurmple. It featured a collection of five cards designed by five Grand Prize winners. These winners were featured on the card as the illustrators and also won a 500 dollar giftcard to Target. It was revealed on the week of February 16 and went to Saturday, April 10, 2004. None of the cards were tournament legal.
| Winner | Card | Type | Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Kraus | Treecko |
|
1/5 |
| Katie Gross | Wurmple |
|
2/5 |
| May Do | Torchic |
|
3/5 |
| Rowan Laidlaw | Mudkip |
|
4/5 |
| Sylvia Forrest | Pikachu |
|
5/5 |
Illustrations
-
Mark Kraus's Treecko
-
Katie Gross's Wurmple
-
May Do's Torchic
-
Rowan Laidlaw's Mudkip
-
Sylvia Forrest's Pikachu
Twelfth Movie Illustration Contest
In 2009, CoroCoro and other magazines held an Illustration contest to design the artwork on Notched-ear Pichu M and Arceus. This contest was restricted to Japan-only residents. Entries were accepted via CoroCoro, Shogakukan, and Pokémonfan Magazines, with each magazine having different entry forms for different Pokémon.
| Winner | Card | Type | Expansion | Card Number | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miho Asada | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 009/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Takahiro Yamashita | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 010/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Yoichi Kotabe | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 011/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Gosho Aoyama | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
DPt-P Promotional cards | 042/DPt-P | Shogakukan 'Weekly Boy Sunday 33' |
| Shunsuke Takemori | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Kindergarten competition |
| Haruka Uekura | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 1st Grade winner |
| Taisei Fujita | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 2nd Grade winner |
| Keita Mizuno | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | TV Boy Magazine competition |
| Mahiro Shinozaki | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Puchi Gumi Magazine competition |
| Shizuka Kusakabe | Notched-ear Pichu M |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Pokémon Fan Magazine competition |
| Makoto Mizobuchi | Arceus |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 020/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Satoshi Yamamoto | Arceus |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 021/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Takahiro Yamashita | Arceus |
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 022/022 | Main expansion contest |
| Shoki Nakamura | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 3rd Grade winner |
| Arisa Sugino | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 4th Grade winner |
| Meiko Akiba | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 5th Grade winner |
| Mikako Nishizaki | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Elementary School 6th Grade winner |
| Hikaru Okawa | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | CoroCoro Comic competition |
| Ryoga Kawai | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | CoroCoro Ichiban! competition |
| Natsumi Nishiyama | Arceus |
|
Unnumbered Promotional cards | - | Shōnen Sunday Magazine competition |
