Unveiling the Full Glory of Pokémon's Original Art.

Archivists have uncovered high-quality scans of the original watercolor artwork for the first 251 Pokémon from the Japan-only Pokémon Gold and Silver Pokédex strategy guide, which are much more accurate to the original art than the poor-quality scans that have been circulating online for over 20 years. The original scans had distorted fans’ frame of reference for what the pieces were supposed to look like, but the new scans show all of Ken Sugimori’s imperfections with the tools he used, right down to the way the watercolor bleeds in and around the lineart. Archivists are now working to restore the original pieces and preserve them for the Pokémon community.