If you're anything like me, you played a lot of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the late '90s. And if not? Well, you missed out. But for those of you who enjoyed drawing energy and playing trainer cards, perhaps this fan project will help bring back some of the same joy.
Thanks to a Redditor named Corpit, the original 151 Pokémon have been reimagined as Hearthstone cards. "I tried to capture the character of each species while trying to make them unique as cards too," Corpit said.
Like most Hearthstone sets, the cards range in power level from hum-drum filler to borderline game-breaking bombs. The whole Squirtle evolution chain, for example, is pretty solid. (Pokémon evolution isn't an actual mechanic in the cards, sadly.) Squirtle is an extremely strong 1-drop, Wartortle is solid, and Blastoise looks to be a great Taunt minion along the lines of Sunwalker and Sludge Belcher. Meanwhile, Ivysaur is an underpowered 4-drop.
Articuno, in particular, is rather OP. It's a 10-mana 4/12 (in line with some of Hearthstone's powerful dragon cards) that freezes all other minions, then makes them stay frozen. Perhaps that should be expected from one of Pokémon's Legendary birds, but its fire counterpart Moltres isn't nearly as powerful. 10-man for a 7/8 with a Battlecry that deals 3 damage to all other creatures. Dull.
Power levels aside, there's some cool flavor in there too. The physique-minded Machop line has great stats, but are weak to spells. Venusaur adds two copies of Living Roots to your hand. And Meowth and Persian both give you or increase the power of coins—fitting for their coin-obsessed Pokémon counterparts.
The set is of course a fan creation and will never be playable in Hearthstone, but the cards are a fun representation of the classic Japanese phenomenon. Check out the whole album here.
