Mew & Mewtwo

A floating mystery. A focused force. Two Sugimori portraits, one musical legacy.

Released in Japan on 1 January 1999, these glossy Pokémon TCG promos accompanied Pokémon Song Best Collection. The album united anime songs with collectible cards: a small archive of the first generation, preserved beyond the music.

Their story began earlier. Both cards were first distributed on a Special Limited Expansion Sheet at the 7th Next Generation World Hobby Fair, held across Japan in 1997–1998. The CD release brought those illustrations to a new audience.

Mew floats among luminous bubbles and intersecting rays; its curved tail and delicate shading suggest weightlessness. Mewtwo stands firmly against a dramatic red-purple field, its hands gathered around a bright burst of energy. Seen together, the images contrast curiosity with concentration.

Both cards credit Ken Sugimori, a founding member of GAME FREAK and a key artist behind Pokémon’s early visual identity. His clean contours and softly modelled figures give these portraits their enduring character.