Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest's Winning Card Art Is An Adorable Pikachu With An Unlikely Inspiration

The Pokémon Company has announced the winners of the 2024's Illustration Contest 2024, a competition giving artists around the world the chance to have their work printed on a real Pokémon trading card. The contest ran from October 2023 until January 2024, with the theme «Magical Pokémon Moments.»

As revealed on the official Pokémon Illustration Contest website, this year's grand prize winner is Japanese artist Kazuki Minami, who submitted a charming portrait of a Pikachu scratching his ear, inspired by their dog. As the grand prize winner, Kazuki is set to receive a cash prize valued at $5,000 USD, and their Pikachu illustration will be made into an official Promo card in the Pokémon TCG. Kazuki gives credit to their pet dog for inspiring the cute and casual rendering of Pokémon's global icon that prevailed over 10,829 other entries:

Comments from the judges are available on the contest's official website, where they praise the illustration's depiction of an authentic, carefree moment in striking detail:

The 2024 Illustration Contest was announced a year ago, in September of 2023. The theme for entries was Magical Pokémon Moments, with a list of 10 Pokémon for artists to depict:

While many of these Pokémon are obvious picks, a few more obscure favorites like Feraligatr and Toxtricity added variety to the lineup. These two rough-edged reptiles were even the subjects of the winners of Best Standard Card Illustration (Feraligatr, by Acorviart), and Best ex Card Illustration (Toxtricity, by Anderson).

Submissions for the contest began all the way back in October, with a deadline of January 31, 2024 for all submissions. After a lengthy judging period for the nearly 11,000 entries, the Top 300 were announced by the Pokémon company on July 2nd and narrowed down to the Top 100 later that month.

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Aside from the Grand Prize, 23