Rocket’s Mewtwo

A psychic force. A trainer’s ambition. Shin-ichi Yoshida’s portrait of controlled power.

Released in Japan on 25 June 1999, Rocket’s Mewtwo belongs to Challenge from the Darkness, the second Japanese Gym expansion. Its 98-card set placed Pokémon under the identities of their trainers, including Team Rocket.

Mewtwo’s pale figure emerges from a dark holographic field. Its hands gather around a burst of psychic energy while its long tail curves upward. The restrained pose and bright foil create a sense of concentrated power.

Yoshida’s Pokémon TCG work began with Team Rocket and continued through the Gym, Neo and e-Card eras; his other illustrations include Rocket’s Zapdos and the Neo Genesis Typhlosion.

Rocket’s Mewtwo was the first Pokémon TCG card with three attacks. The extra text made its illustration window shorter than usual. The artwork later appeared in the English Gym Challenge set in 2000, as card 14/132; the Japanese No. 150 is Mewtwo’s Pokédex number.