Before the Booster: a home for the whole story
The book, the catalog, the reverses, and the research behind 1996 Pocket Monsters Carddass, together in one place.
Read the storyPOKÉMON / THE RESEARCH COLLECTIONS
Pokémon.
A closer look.
Cards, promotions, forgotten details, and the evidence behind them. Choose an archive, follow a timeline, or open a report on the history of a particular find.
CHOOSE A COLLECTION
A different way into the story.
A TIMELINE THAT KEEPS GROWING
The Pikachu archive
Japanese and English cards, variants, distributions, and marketing context. Flip the images and open an individual record for its history and sources.
Open the collection1996 POCKET MONSTERS CARDDASS
Before the Booster
Part 1 and Part 2, photographed reverses, English interpretations, complete set views, and the illustrated reference book.
Open the collection
CARDS, COLLECTIBLES & THE CAMPAIGN
The 1998 KFC promotion
Explore the seven card designs, the promotion, and the collectibles that brought Pokémon to the dinner table.
Open the collectionFROM THE RESEARCH DESK
Stories & documented finds.
Inside the Pikachu archive
How to read the scans, variant notes, and dating qualifications in the first research edition, and where the archive goes next.
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Pikachu in the 1998 Pokémon Demo Game
The early English teaching pack, its two Pikachu, and the evidence needed to identify a demo-pack specimen.
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Seven little cards: the 1998 KFC Pokémon promotion
The complete mini-card set, its shared reverse, and the promotional objects that tell the rest of the story.
Read the storyHAVE A PIECE OF THE STORY?
A source worth sharing.
Original packaging, an unusual specimen, a clearer scan, or a detail that deserves another look. Help the record grow.