Scarlet & Violet—151 finds new stars in the first generation of Pokémon

When I pulled open the crinkly plastic containing my first booster pack of 10 random Pokémon cards, I found a new kind of surprise waiting for me inside. While sifting through my short stack and examining retro-style art, I noticed a small corner of shiny foil. I wanted to see something grand — maybe a legendary bird with the power to change the climate or perhaps a roaring Charizard — but I didn’t. It was a Caterpie instead, a small bug that sat on its own leaf. The moment was quiet, but it captured the spirit of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet—151.

Scarlet & Violet—151This is the latest update to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The $59.99 price point is available to fans starting on September 22. 151 Elite Trainer Box, $119.99 151 Ultra-Premium CollectionThe. 151 Binders CollectionBuy other products for as low as $24.99. Similar products are available for $24.99. 151 ex Box—Alakazam exYou can also find out more about the following: 151 ex Box—Zapdos exThe price of a’s will be $21.99 on October 6.

New Pokémon TCG expansions come several times a year, this set brings something noteworthy for the casual collector: It revives and reboots the original 151 Pokémon from the Kanto region, the same collection of critters included when the TCG was first released in the United States at the end of 1998. It’s a major nostalgia play that has already drummed up a lot of hype, but it also comes with a uniquely difficult challenge as the set contends with the legacy of the first generation of Pokémon and the prized “base set” of original cards.

When flipping through this new set of cards, you’ll see a great deal of art that was created by Scarlet & Violet—151The cards seem to be less original than they were 25 years ago. I pulled a Charizard ex and a Kangaskhan ex, and both look like relatively standard poses meant to make the Pokémon look intense or powerful. And while nothing will ever pick at my heartstrings like the splotchy watercolor stains of Ken Sugimori’s original artwork, Scarlet & Violet—151’s secret weapon is the way it revisits previously overlooked Pokémon — like that Caterpie.

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The set includes full-card artwork of popular Pokemon such as Caterpie, and evolutions in the middle like Poliwhirl or Dragonair. These cards look like they are stills of a movie. Planet Earth-style nature documentary. Even Pokémon with less fantastical art, like Magikarp, bring a sense of whimsy to the set. Scarlet & Violet—151 reminded me that even though I’ve never played with Caterpie and would have traded it away in a heartbeat, it’s always been there with me all these years. It’s finally time to see this as it was meant to be.

This set is a collector’s delight, and not just because of the artwork. Its cards contain flourishes that make collecting this expansion just like filling out the Pokédex in the video games. The set is numbered by each Pokémon’s official number in the Pokédex. Some of the evolutionary lines, like Alakazam’s, contain art from the same artist, with complementary cards that are intentionally designed to look nice sitting lined up in a binder. Additionally, all three evolutionary lines for the starter Pokémon have matching full-card art so collectors can literally curate the perfect page in their three-ring binders.

We don’t get any special Tera Pokémon or other gimmicks of that sort this time around, but the set does have a few tricks up its sleeve. If a player has a Nidoqueen in their deck, then they are able to use Nidoking for free. Similarly, this set leans less on its Trainer cards but brings back items like the Snatch Arm, now renamed to Grabber, which can let you snatch an opponent’s Pokémon right from their hand and place it back into their deck. I’ll leave it to competitive players to vet the effectiveness of these new tricks, but overall this set seems to be catering more to the collecting type.

Then, the Pokémon Trading Card GameFans have seen the monsters countless times since their arrival in America. While other sets are content to release ever-more exotic Pikachus into the wild. Scarlet & Violet—151This set is only for those who are real. Whether it’s full art for entire evolutionary lines or taking a closer look at the humble Caterpie, this new set adds ever more clarity to the original generation of Pokémon for those who grew up loving them.

Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet & Violet—151 Release date is September 22. The new set of trading cards was previewed using pre-release products provided by The Pokémon Company. Vox Media is affiliated with other media companies. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.