🐶 Pikachu pup sits courtside. Jealousy and outrage ensue.

Heyo Pokéfans,

2023 is off to a great start. We got our hands on a bunch of Base Set 2 starter boxes. The winter weather is lovely, and it's only 8 weeks until daylight savings gives us our extra sunlight back. Just like everyone we're anxious to see what the year has in store for collectors. But if this string of robberies in Tokyo are any indication, our friends in Japan believe in the power of Pokémon. We'll take it!

Now on to the 'sletter.

Pikachu the dog continues to sit courtside while we have to watch on TV

In late December, a dog dyed to the exact cuteness specifications as Pikachu was spotted courtside at a Miami Heat vs Minnesota Timberwolves game. It was so remarkable that we didn't even stop to think, "you can bring a dog to an NBA game?". Maybe pomeranians are small enough to smuggle in? This brings new definition to the term 'pocket monster'.

Heat fan Erik Torres didn't seem to mind the $200 fine he got from Miami-Dade county, because the pup resurfaced at a Jazz vs Bulls game last Saturday. Again, courtside.

Erik is the owner of World Famous Puppies in Doral, FL. He and others on TikTok have been quick to point out that there are animal-safe dyes that are safe.

Check out the jet-setting, Pikachu living the good life courtside:

Appreciation where it's due: yarn cards are slept on and the characters would be welcome on our sofas

One of the things we cherish about Pokémon is the dedication of the fan art community. Some of it is so good that you'd have a hard time telling the difference from the licensed stuff. So we love to see when different approaches to Pokémon art make th way to the cards. A great example of this is the work of Asako Ito. Ito is a wizard in the art of amigurumi—the Japanese art of crocheting small stuffed creatures. She goes beyond just the characters by creating knitted backdrops to complete the scene. Like many of Pokémon's illustrators, there's not much to find about Ito online, so The Gamer gave her contributions a proper ranking.

Our favorite is Electrode. Sure, the stuffed character is just a ball but everything in that background is YARN. Insane detail.

Check out the full rankings on The Gamer

For the DIY crew: If you want to try your hand at amigurumi, why not check out the pre-made patterns over at Derpy Monster.

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Taking a look (back) at the Gen 8 Sword & Shield sets for collectors and players

The forthcoming release of Crown Zenith will mark the end of Sword & Shield. It'll feature some super rad, can we say twee art rares. With Sword & Shield coming to a close, it's not too early to start looking at value. As ScreenRant points out, the best and most valuable cards from the collection happen to also be the most viable in competition.

Like the alt-art Mew VMAX which is currently trading between $83-90 (source: TCGPlayer) and just happens to be chaotically gorgeous. Its Cross Fusion Strike move can utilize any other Fusion Strike Pokémon's attack for just two colorless energy. When cards are this powerful and this beautiful, look for them to retain value.

Check out the full rundown on ScreenRant

Surprise surprise: Pokémon NFT game turns out to be malware

Whomst among us could have seen this coming? As if the NFT and crypto space needed one more grift to convince us that it was...one big grift, the latest attempt at taking your money preyed on unsuspecting Pokéfans by infecting their computers will malware. Want a hacker fully remote controlling the contents of your laptop? Cool. Buy this jpeg for the privilege!

This isn't the first (poor) attempt integrate Pokémon into the world of NFTs. Who could forget when the ill-fated Pixelmon project dropped Kevin on us. The memes. Oh the memes.

What can we say. Be careful out there. And stick to the cardboard stuff. It actually retains value.

Read the full story on Kotaku (not malware)

Until next time 👋