🏟 The Pokémon-inspired Super Bowl trick play that wasn't

Sup Pokéfans,

We're inching closer to Pokémon Day which means we're inching closer to dropping 300 bucks on this Squirtle costume. There's only a few of us in the office, so we're gonna have a figure out a bet where the loser wears it to McDonald's. It's only right.

We hope your 2023 is off to a great start and keeps rollin that way. Happy collecting from your friends at Mystery Poke Slabs.

Super Bowl trick play gone sideways was inspired by Pokémon

If you're one of the 113 million people that watched the Super Bowl, you might remember the Chiefs play that made your dad go, "what the f*ck are they doing?". Well, Dad, they were attempting to take your eye off of offensive lineman and avid Pokémon fan Andrew Wylie (notice his IG story highlights 😉). As Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes recounted to Jimmy Kimmel, the play was run out of the Pikachu formation and the play was called "Gotta Catch 'Em All". We love to see Pokémon infiltrating the NFL.

Watch the full clip here:

3D print artist vaults to TikTok fame with intricate lifesize Pokémon sculptures

TikTok user twistedmack started sharing his process of creating bases for some of his favorite Pokémon. As he built them up it became more and more clear what he was doing—creating true-to-size representations of some of Pokémon's most-loved characters. Turns out the guy can paint too. And when we say true-to-size, Mack really did the work. Bulbapedia is a great resource for Pokémon stats, so the info was available. For instance, Evee is technically only a foot tall. S'CUTE.

Perhaps most impressive is Mack's Jolteon. Watch on TikTok.

Mack's love of Pokémon is real as evidenced by his full-coverage leg tattoo. He's got an online shop that doesn't yet feature his Pokémon artwork, but his TikTok profile has his email if you're inclined to reach out. We might have to get the Squirtle for the office.

Collectors are going crazy for Disney's Lorcana and it's not publicly available until Fall '23 😲

Disney previewed its forthcoming TCG at the D23 Expo last September. Collectors lucky enough to attend got access to promo sets of 7 cards with D23 stamping (and commemorative pins). Those sets have now been graded and the asking prices have been sky high. A PSA Gem Mint 10 set just traded hands for $18,999 on ebay. Put another way, that's roughly THREE trips to Disney for a family of 5. This for a TCG whose gameplay reveal isn't until this Spring with a public release expected in August.

Disney confirmed on Twitter that these cards should be effectively identical to those released in August, and that they won't be in the business of printing mechanically unique promo cards for the sake of TCG integrity. Either way, they've gotta be thrilled with the early response to Lorcana among collectors.

With the imminent release of Lorcana, it should come as no surprise that Game Freak—the studio behind the Pokémon games—is eager to develop new game IP. Disney entering the games arena is a wake-up call for any company vying for attention and they've got a massive library with a fanbase ready to gobble it up.

What about you—are you curious about the Mouse cards?

Artist Spotlight: Yuka Morii’s clay cards are incredible and deserve all the love

Back in January The Gamer did a feature on the amigurumi 'yarn cards' of Asako Ito. Now they're back with a ranking of all the clay cards of Yuka Morii. Chase cards aside, we absolutely love these Pokémon releases. These artists have so much to offer and it's amazing that they let us inside their worlds.

The Gamer has a full ranking and our favorite comes in at #6. The Snorunt taking a nap in front of a waterfall is peak weekend energy. Btw it's crazy to us that these art cards aren't heavily collected. Snorunt #75 raw is $1.32.

Check out the full rankings on The Gamer

SLAB IT UP

Friends don't let friends experience binder rot

We're constantly asked about how to get cards graded because literally no one makes it easy. So we decided to! Zero membership required and only $20 per card. All you have to do is pack 'em up.

Check it out

🔗 Quick Hits

Send this to your Pokémon-curious friend. An awesome breakdown of the Pokémon card types. TIL grass cards acted as poison in the older video games. 

Pokémon announces #PokemonTogether campaign for Pokémon Day February 27th. Submit your photos to be featured.

Fan Art Appreciation Post(cards)

from Reddit user u/sharp_teeth92 these destination postcards from the Pokémon regions are incredible. Purchase them on their Etsy shop.

Until next time 👋