I’ll also use this occasion to answer the two anonymous questions that were sent to me while I was absent from Tumblr.
1. “Hi, what do you consider to be the official art for the gym leaders leaders in Gen 1. Is there actual Sugimori Game art or do we only have the TCG Sugimori art.” Well, aside from the portrait arts that we all know from the guides, there are also the arts from the “Pokemon Hikerukana” (Can You Play All Pokemon) CD booklet, which were also drawn by Ken Sugimori. Those of course count as game art, although they do have their quirks (like Brock wearing a shirt with a “Nibi Gym” logo). Bulbapedia calls them Yellow-based arts. Of course, there are also the TCG Sugimori arts from the Gym Heroes/Challenge sets, which I consider to be just as accurate as the Hikerukana arts. In early 2000s, when I was still a kid, I had no idea what “Hikerukana” is (since it was never released outside Japan), so I saw the TCG arts as the “canonical” arts back in the day. This is why these have a special place in my heart. They shaped my image of Kanto Gym Leaders the most. This was back in the time when human characters other than Ash rarely got any spotlight in Pokemon, so a Gym Leader-centered TCG set was sure something.
2. As for the person, who anonymously asked me about “Jo’s Big Adventure” manga. Well, I may have what you’re asking for (it’s in Japanese though, no translation), so if you’re still here, please message me some contact info (or contact me directly, if you have Tumblr), so I can give you that.
