The Vintage Dark Pokémon Cards

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The Team Rocket set of Pokémon Trading Card Game was the fourth set. The main gimmick of this set was the addition of the "Dark" Pokémon, Pokémon that were raised by Team Rocket as they went down a less than ideal path. Let's take a look at every Dark Pokémon from the Team Rocket set as well as a few promos and the ones from Pokemon Trading Card Game 2.
Intro, Background, Pallet Town Remix by Joshua C. Griffin.
#pokemontcg #pokemontradingcardgame #pokemon

[@MmeCShadow]

You missed the joke on Dark Kadabra's artwork. 'Spoon bending' is usually understood to be an exhibition of psychic power but this one is literally just snapping a spoon in half with its bare hands.

[@GriffonSpade]

Literally how Uri Geller does it. He then hides it and then slowly extends it while rubbing it. 😂

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

"I don't need no psychic powers to bend spoons" - Dark Kadabra

[@aporue5893]

maybe that's why uri got offended 🤣🥄

[@adrianflanigan7379]

MIND CRUSH

[@nobodyimportant4778]

Lol and the action lines acting like it's an amazing psychic feat

[@toewstokane9023]

11:34 “Risking the sanity of your own Pokémon” is the greatest thing I’ve heard someone say pertaining to a Pokémon being confused.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Did you know Ekans is snake backwards?

[@crestfallenhussar895]

Cool thing tonote about Dark Machamp: he isn't wearing a belt! No wonder he basically has an insta-kill move. His super strength isn't being limited by the restraining belt like it normally would!

[@Xahnel]

I really like that Dark Dragonair and Dark Dragonite have powers that play off each other. Dragonair lets you setup with evo chains, then Dragonite lets you immediately play the base form and get started building your combo.

[@Paraspectre]

These Dark dragons are a case where I think they surpass the originals for that reason

[@Itsjustlikemagic]

If you are building a vintage dark deck. It’s best to play your dragons with some powerful stage 3 dark pokemon cards like Dark Blastoise and Dark Venusaur. Both are much easier to bring out if you have some dragons on your bench.

[@darthjoe91]

Those cards actually helped me win my first ever card tournament.

[@HybridAngelZero]

I gotta say, this set has some of my favorite artwork in the entire TCG. Mitsuhiro Arita especially was absolutely on fire here. Of course, a lot of these cards found their way into my decks at the time. In particular, Dark Muk could tear through unprepared opponents, and Rocket Slowpoke (which let you get back trainer cards) alongside Dark Slowbro were an amazing way to recycle cards. I have a lot of nostalgia for this set xD

[@Paraspectre]

I agree, some of the artwork is fantastic here. Dark Golduck was the one that impressed me the most after really looking at them

[@HybridAngelZero]

@@Paraspectre Absolutely. If I could get a poster-sized version of the Dark Golduck illustration framed on my wall, I would

[@bootortle]

TCG artwork has always been a great way to show nice sides of Pokémon that may be impossible to showcase otherwise This video reminded me of such

[@Paraspectre]

I knew right away that I wanted Dark Slowbro to be on the cover for that reason.

[@J3Puffin]

“Dark Pokémon? Like Umbreon?” “No, Dark Pokémon like Gyrados.” “Oh… so Mega Gyrados?” “No, normal Gyrados.” “…I’m confused.”

[@GustavoFernandesKing]

"you can't be confused, I didn't flatter you"

[@fernandoguillen5996]

I like to called them "Evil pokemon" or "Stray pokemon"

[@spinosauraus]

They're basically the precursor to Shadow Pokemon

[@Paraspectre]

It's like Dark....but not "Dark" Dark. Just, Dark.

[@grassfish01]

They are called “Bad Pokemon” in Japanese, and I think it’s meant to imply that the Pokemon misbehaved or is like a juvenile delinquent

[@netherhigal]

So the short version of why dark raichu delayed the english release of Team Rocket: This was an original card designed by the americans at WotC, and they fought tooth and nail to get it approved, and nintendo took so long to finally approve it that the set printing was disrupted. This is the first crack in the licensing deal that eventually led to the switch of production to Pokemon Company in 2003.

[@Paraspectre]

So Dark Raichu really does have some black clouds surrounding it...

[@decarabiaumbra560]

If I recall the story behind Dark Raichu correctly on why it single handedly caused a massive delay to the rocket set was a mix of the contract WotC had with Nintendo and with the speed of communication at the time. WotC was only allowed to print and distribute the translated cards Nintendo allowed out west, so it was a big deal for them when the WotC execs thought up the Dark Raichu card and appealed to make it, this would be the first pokemon card they'd be allowed to make. Getting permission for this was going to be much slower than it would be if done today. In the 90's, the modes for this communication required a bilingual secretary on both fronts to transcribe and explain the thoughts of both parties, and then they needed to send out a letter with this info to the other company, or an email which would be similarly slow due to the state the tech was at during this time period. They probably delayed the set initially to hear back on their proposal, only to delay the set further because they would have to finalize the design of the card, do some balance checks, and set up another print slot exclusively for it.

[@Paraspectre]

Ah, very interesting. It's funny that one little Raichu card was what caused all of these issues.

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

​@@ParaspectreDark Raichu had succeeded in causing evil and mischief because of that

[@michaelwilburn5582]

This video made my day. Not only because it is quality content, but because I got to see awesome nostalgic artwork that I haven't thought of in 20 years.

[@Merkygloom]

Same, I loved these cards as a child

[@Paraspectre]

Haha well I'm glad I could help you reconnect!

[@thegeneral19]

I still have 17 unopened rocket booster packs, 9 of them are first edition. I had no idea I never opened these as a kid, or maybe my parents lost some presents but they found them the other week when moving

[@LordJudgement1818]

thats bad ass. you should keep those and not open them for really really long time.

[@SandraThePhox]

Damn that is an insane find

[@decarabiaumbra560]

@@LordJudgement1818 They could sell one right now and get a weeks pay from it.

[@Paraspectre]

Whaaat, no way. You could probably buy a car with those

[@Gold_exe]

for sale? 👀👀

[@AArdW01f]

Christmas 1999. My american ass was visiting my aunt and uncle in the UK for the holidays. My uncle was working in Japan regularly in finance at the time and my aunt was pregnant with their first kids at the time. Uncle Chris brought me back a pack or two of japanese pokemon cards he happened to grab at probably the airport in tokyo. He knew i liked pokemon.... i was 7, it was 1999 - this was more important than anything else to us back then. I pulled a japanese holofoil dark blastoise from that pack and lost my mind so hard i think my uncle was concerned. Still have that card. Probably would grade a 10 because it went straight into safe keeping that very day. Thanks Uncle Chris

[@Paraspectre]

That’s awesome. Dark Blastoise SHOULD be the most valuable in the set if I had things my way

[@dragonfye1]

Dark Hypno has always been one of my FAVORITE retro Holo cards. Not necessarily a fan of Hypno itself, but that card is just GORGEOUS. ❤

[@RednekGamurz]

I love the more gimmicky cards from the early days of the game. Sure, most dark Pokemon were pretty bad, but I thought they were cool as a kid, and the concept of Pokemon that have low HP, but stronger attacks is a good idea. I know they were introduced a bit later on, but seeing a video on the Light Pokemon at some point would be nice.

[@Paraspectre]

I certainly thought about doing the Light Pokemon in the future. And also the rest of the Dark ones. A part two, if you will

[@MustacheDLuffy]

When I was younger I traded my normal cyndequil for a delta cyndequil that was a psychic type. This is funny knowing that Hisuan Typhlosion is ghost/psychic now might’ve predicted that

[@redkun5]

​@@MustacheDLuffyHisuan Typhlosion is fire/ghost

[@dragoon1090]

​@@redkun5yeah but the card is psychic type

[@dylansylvester4719]

They should have done dark basics in addition to the evo cards they did. Most of them didn't see any play because the non dark versions from base/jungle/fossil were better. After all why would you play dark blastoise when base blastoise's rain dance is a format defining pokemon power?

[@Bargadiel]

Dark Arbok's English card also had a typo, I think it was the copyright year having an extra digit. I remember seeing it as a kid when I first opened it.

[@Iamanothing]

i was so proud of having a dark raichu back as a kid, even so the card was in a bad shape. I though it was so rare because of it's number 83/82 and were a print error. Nice to finally know some background about that.

[@Paraspectre]

I would've absolutely thought it was a printing error too. I don't think I ever had it.

[@eightcoins4401]

They still do "secret" cards like this to this day.

[@AlexSilver9]

I have a PSA 9 Dark Arbok that was owned by the DJ/producer Steve Aoki. Incredible artwork that has a chest pattern that was never replicated, I love it so much.

[@BeatEngine-qr7if]

This is such a dope collectible

[@AlexSilver9]

@@BeatEngine-qr7if thanks! It's one of those pieces where, yeah, the value isn't nuts, but it has a cool story behind it. I also have a Dark Slowbro he owned as well.

[@neonthunder3261]

9:46 Wizards of The Coast actually wanted to produce their own cards for quite a while, and Dark Raichu was the first one they had made. They needed to await approval from Nintendo’s Japanese side to add the card to the set. There’s an entire cancelled expansion made by Wizards called Jamboree

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

That's not true.... The cards were designed by Creatures inc and published by Media Factory. Dark Richu was already made and was going to be the secret rare for Neo 2 set. Wizards was inspired by that and did it to the Current Rocket set. Remember back then Japanese release was ahead about 2 years......

[@neonthunder3261]

@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo wdym? i remember a vid about the unreleased jamboree set mentioning the creation of Dark Raichu being a Wizards original. Do you have a source? I'll look for mine if I can recall it.

[@neonthunder3261]

i posted a link ig it just didnt go through

[@neonthunder3261]

@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo deltaseeker's 'when wizards made the pokemon tcg'

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

​@@neonthunder3261 I've seen that video and he's wrong. Wizards only had the right to publish and print the cards in the US and international markets. The only card they were officially allowed to tinker was the black star promo Mewtwo with a different artwork done by Christopher Rush. Wizards did a lot of fuckery that would cost them their license. They had bad QC compared to Media Factory, made so many translation errors, reinterpreted the rules and did what ever they wanted with the tournament which really pissed of creatures inc and game freak. Also them always scrambling cards to different releases dates and making reprint sets like base set 2/ legendary collection really annoyed them too.... There is a lot more but I don't remember all of it.

[@AiakosVids]

I think it's kind of neat that Dark Golbat is the only regular holo Golbat card ever made. I also absolutely LOVE the Dark Dragonair, Dark Dugtrio, Dark Magneton, Dark Hypno, and Dark Golduck artwork in this set. Thanks for the video!

[@orsonzedd]

9:20 so the reason Dark Raichu delayed the set had nothing to do with it being Pikachu's evolution, but because Media Factory and GameFreak wouldn't allow Wizards to make any cards on their own without approval. In fact any changes they made had to be approved. This caused a lot of issues, for example when they mistranslated Slowking, they couldn't issue Errata to it because that would have contradicted the official translation they were given for it, and thereby have jeopardized their agreement. The Jamboree set (I think it was Jamboree) was supposed to have been a set constructed entirely by Wizards so that it would have been balanced but more over, completely created by Wizards. I think it actually got canned before their contract did though, and while i've asked the Master Trainers if they have any assets for it, they do not. Perhaps another Wizard's employee does. There were occasions like with Dark Vileplume where they accidentally changed a fire type to a fighting type since they start with the two same letters and probably had similar macros, They made that one play as written but were able to correct obvious mistakes like Blaine's Charizard

[@RednekGamurz]

There's a great video about Jamboree made by MATOBA DESIGN that goes over everything about it. He even got to interview some guys who formally worked for Wizards during their Pokemon era and actually got 3 prototype Jamboree cards (including pictures of the cards).

[@orsonzedd]

@@RednekGamurz no shit? I need to see that.

[@Paraspectre]

Ah, very interesting. All I could find is that the card delayed the release, so that helps clarify things.

[@orsonzedd]

@@Paraspectre I watch the matoba design video that redneck recommended and it's incredibly elucidating. I think you would enjoy it. It turns out I might have been a little wrong about a handful of things in minor ways but a lot of it lines up with what my understanding of the relationship between Wizards and the Pokemon company was. It really sucks because the people who were working on the card game Stateside really appreciated what they were doing but the people at the top really did not. Ultimately I think bringing Pokemon in house was the best idea though it is a shame we never got the vending cards. As it turns out that we may have been getting the Jamboree cards in ex sandstorm

[@AiakosVids]

Yeah, because of PTCG's unexpected scale of success, WOTC DESPERATELY wanted to be more involved in the card creation and balancing process, instead of just translating and distributing cards (and overseeing events) overseas as intended by TPC (see: Jamboree) - the creation of Dark Raichu and successfully getting Neo Genesis Sneasel banned (after years of begging TPC to let them ban problematic cards like Neo Genesis Slowking) were perhaps their most successful attempts as working their way into getting a bigger slice of the pie. Of course, as we all know TPC eventually got fed up with this and it was undoubtedly a big (if not the biggest) reason TPC made the decision to not renew WOTC's license after Skyridge. It's a weird situation where neither side is really in the right (TPC was in a lot of ways uncaring and out of touch with foreign PTCG scenes, but WOTC repeatedly and deliberately overstepped their contractual bounds). Also want to second the Matoba Design videos as well as Deltaseeker's "When Wizards Made the Pokemon TCG (and how they lost it)" video, which give a lot of insight.

[@Pumpd_up_kicks]

Paraspecter, Thank you for giving these dark pokemon cards some love. I absolutely adore the offbeat art style of the rocket set. My sister and I are big enthusiasts of the older cards and have a "kanto cup" box filled with decks themed off kanto trainers, places etc. One of our decks is the "Rocket Grunt" deck with primary dark pokemon and rocket trainer cards, such a fun set of cards!

[@Zutentu]

Thanks for including the TCG2 exclusives! Made the video feel complete and I enjoyed rewatching it :)

[@Paraspectre]

I was curious about how many would stay and watch that part again.

[@SamuraiSam]

In terms of humans vs. humans metagame, Dark Vileplume is by far the best of these cards, as early-TCG trainers are extremely powerful and what the game revolves around

[@fernandoguillen5996]

Also you could play as many trainer cards as you want

[@Paraspectre]

I did see that Dark Vileplume had a bit of a reputation. I really don't know much about the metagame or tournament history or anything like that.

[@yux.tn.3641]

24:32 i’ve got that card 27:31 and that

[@traphikonthehourtv]

The artwork is bringing me back to my elementary memories and I’m loving it

[@drascia]

Team Rocket was the first (and only) set I tried to collect in its entirety. Iirc I was only missing Dark Charizard. Ah, fond memories.

[@Paraspectre]

It's a pretty awesome set to own. I recently decided to collect them all as well, but decided against it at the last minute. I want to stick to the first three only.

[@grantgibson8680]

I have this full set. Didn't realize people still would be interested

[@RogerVenn]

I hope we’ll get an analysis of Light Pokémon as well, but those were gen2 cards. Too bad they didn’t continue the tcg game series further… Dark Arbok was my favorite. The Holo one in the Rocket starter deck was such an awesome card. That deck also came with a really shiny meowth coin, which I always associated with the fact that meowths likes hunting for shiny objects. Definitely a highlight in the Pokémon TCG history.

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

I'm getting back into vintage Pokemon card collecting. This video was a happy surprise for me today! Working to collect the entire Base Set right now.

[@Paraspectre]

I fully support your decision. I’m just missing stupid Charizard (of course). I wish more people I knew wanted to play haha

[@Itsjustlikemagic]

Yes it would’ve been nice to see Dark Gengar and Dark Ninetales get released. When I played GB2, I would usually just keep Dark Gengar on my Bench to use its awesome pokemon power. Dark Ninetales of course would be fantastic in any deck flipping 9 coins as vintage pokemon all had very little HP. As for the released ones, without a doubt the best ones were Dark Blastoise, Dark Venusaur, Dark Vileplume, Dark Slowbro, and Dark Dragonair. For Dark Vileplume, Dark Slowbro, and Dark Dragonair, I would only keep them on the bench for their pokemon power. Keep in mind that combos using Dark Slowbro/Dark Dragonair’s PPower, master ball, pokemon trader, pokemon breeder were all excellent ways to bring out all of your evolution Pokemon really quickly in the old meta.

[@Paraspectre]

Yeah, I love this group here. Dark Venusaur may even be my favorite dark card

[@darkninjafirefox]

As a long time team rocket fan, these were some of my favorite cards along with their light counterparts. The only one I have left is dark gyrados. Maybe I'll get more cards

[@Paraspectre]

It's funny, I started re-collecting all of the Team Rocket cards, but then decided against it. I just want to stick with Base, Jungle, Fossil and certain promos 😊

[@BeIlG]

That dark primeape is one of the best arts in pokemon. SO good! like a nuclear fallout and all you see among the green gas is primeape ready to still fight. amazing!

[@stovetopism]

I love the dark pokemon cards. To this day Dark Arbok is one of my favorite cards period due to its design. I wish that was its shiny. One day I'd love to have all the original dark cards but I forget which ones I'm missing, I just know I have Dark Charizard, Arbok, Golduck and Primeape at least with Dark Tyranitar and Dragonite from team rocket returns.

[@Paraspectre]

Yeah, Dark Arbok is one of the coolest ones in the set. It's pretty good too.

[@Spilsbury1989]

The guy in Dark Magneton's art is so loyal to Team Rocket that he carved an R straight through his body

[@lostanguishbladelord2461]

There need to be more Dark Pokemon Cards. Not just gen 1 and 2, but given how Team Rocket is becoming a multi gen -> multiversal threat, they should showcase it. And also revive some of the artwork like Dark Dragonair, Dark Charmeleon, Dark Jolteon, and the can make Kadabra's again. I'm not going to write "Dark" everything so, and only using the final stages: Venusaur; Charizard; Blastoise; Beedrill; Raichu; Golem; Alakazam; Machamp; Gengar; Annihilape; Ampharos; Crobat; Arbok; Muk; Weezing; Hypno; Gyarados; Marowak; Slowbro; Slowking; Magnezone; Vileplume; Bellossom; Dragonite; Golduck; Persian; Rapidash; Rhyperior; Aggron; Donphan; Steelix; Feraligatr; Typhlosion; Houndoom; Porygon Z; Tyranitar; Salamence; Yanmega; Malamar; Kabutops; Omastar; Tyrantrum; Aurorus; Scizor; Ariados; Magcargo; Electivire; Magmortar; Ursaluna; Ratticate; Exeggutor; Forretress; Wigglytuff; Celebi; Mewtwo; Jellicent; Amoongus; Vaporeon; Jolteon; Flareon; Sylveon; Espeon; Leafeon; Umbreon; Glaceon; Alolan Ninetales; Staarmie; Gougeist; Lickilicky; Delphox; Greninja; Chesnaught; Electrode; Weavile; Parasect; Honchkrow; Mamoswine; Kingler; Drapion; Farigiraf; Banette; Mightyena; Cloyster; Tentacruel; Granbull; Dusknoir; Drednaw; Scolipede; Nidoking; Lurantis; Armaldo; Cradily; Xatu; Azumarill; Articuno; Zapdos; Moltres; Lugia; Ludicolo; Exploud; Hariyama; Camerupt; Claydol; Luxray; Drifblim; Serperior; Emboar; Samurott; Watchog; Whimsocott; Basculegion; Galarian Darmanitan; Crustle; Scrafty; Garbodor; Reuniclus; Escavalier; Accelgor; Klinklang; Hydreigon; Florgess; Pangoro; Meowstic; Dubwool; Aromatisse; Slurpuff; Crabominable; Toxapex; Mudsdale; Araquanid; Salazzle; Silvally; Greedent; Thievul; Eldegoss; Toxtricity; Grapploct; Hatterene; Runerigus; Kleavor;

[@CallN0w]

This guy started pokerapping

[@emirparkreiner7801]

Rainbow in the dark. Great song choice

[@HesGotaGun505]

Can I just say, I love your choice of background. That tiny pixelated 😮 pikachu is too cute!

[@Paraspectre]

I also love the background! Joshua Griffin does some excellent work.

[@youtubeletmeintoyoutube4580]

8bit “rainbow in the dark” intro music makes me happy

[@BobtheExile]

I gotta say, you have excellent taste in music. Every track I heard in the bg was a song I know and love

[@hailsaturn]

I love this set so much. I'm still bitter that my holo Dark Charizard was stolen from me at an event when I was about 10 :(

[@Paraspectre]

Come on, who stole it? We need to track this fool down.

[@389OpiE]

When I was a kid I attempted to steal a charizard from a kid showing. It off in a park I don't remember if I did it or not because I only collected them and didn't play but if I did I'm horrible and sorry about yours being stolen

[@389OpiE]

I guess I got karma cus both my yellow version and later on an emerald version I was borrowing from a friend got stolen from me

[@francescodalpozzolo1396]

Duuude my dark charizard got stolen during at school during the break... It wasn't holo but I decorated the background with a gold glittery pen... man the rage I felt

[@sarahquinn6849]

If Anihilape existed back then the Dark Primeape's power could have been good if it added in a "if Dark Primeape is knocked out by this effect you can place an Anihilape onto the bench from your hand or deck as a basic Pokemon."

[@Paraspectre]

I love it. And I love Annihilape.

[@corporalkills]

That would be really cool

[@Naomi_Zone]

i love when you highlight the art, the art has always been my favorite part of the TCG

[@bbb_888]

Ive only watched the first 12 mins so far, but as you are going thru each card, kinda surprised you don't mention the misprint errors such as on Dark Arbok and Vileplume and Dragonite, etc.

[@Deebofreebo]

Can confirm. We thought Raichu was an error. I remember having this discussion on a Saturday morning in a books a million cafe during Pokémon league way back 😂

[@Paraspectre]

I can see the argument now with someone laying out all 82 cards to see where Raichu should’ve been

[@Abdega]

The Rocket set was the one set I was able to collect all the first editions of I was so proud of that when I was little… I need to find the binder it was in

[@hotrod4013]

When i got into pokemon the first 3 sets were already out so Team rocket was my first new release as a collector. Very cool set, love the artwork. The gym series that came after have the best art of any set and i wish modern cards looked as good! I own an almost complete set of team rocket :)

[@fetusfajita]

Dude that opening was really cool. Really dig the production on these vids

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

The thing about the TR dark persian is that's it supposed to be frail from being abused, which is really saddening :(

[@toast666lol]

Great video. Hopefully you'll cover the light Pokemon cards next!

[@SylvesterAshcroft88]

They remind me a bit of shadow pokemon from Pokemon Coliseum, which are just corrupted versions of normal pokemon, but would often be much stronger than ordinary pokemon of that type.

[@JoshTheGoth_]

I feel like dark Persian should’ve been the strongest card considering it’s Giovanis favorite Pokemon

[@Zersetzor]

I really dig Dark Primeape art. It just looks so exhausted, but still with some fight in it.

[@Paraspectre]

That's a good point. It's so angry and full of rage that it wore itself out, but has to keep going. Man, I love Primeape.

[@BlaqueT]

I was thinking it looks angry and a lil rabid, that sort of posing is common when depicting characters that have gone crazy in anime 🙂 and the background is like a jungle, and it's been jumping between branches pursuing its foe

[@Quatrixjs1]

To quote Pokemon Sprite Guy: There's just something about its obvious anger combined with restrained body language that suggests that thing is about to snap and kill someone. The fact that it's standing in some weird Salvador Dali land probably helps make the illustration unsettling.

[@edwardnygma8533]

19:00 Interesting to note that Machamp doesn't have the championship belt here. Being a Dark Pokémon, maybe it's because it was rescinded after they learned about some shady performance enhancers or the like.

[@Paraspectre]

Ahh I didn’t even notice this

[@ellachino4799]

The belt is a limiter meant to keep machamps power in check, so it seems like dark machamp is just cutting loose

[@DescantingTheVein]

YOOOOO THE DIO RAINBOW IN THE DARK PIANO BACKGROUND MUSIC IS CRAZY

[@Paraspectre]

🤘🏻

[@Wolf950]

These days dark primate would evolve so quick

[@tealblackwhiteteal]

loved this video! maybe more deep dives from other vintage line subsets?

[@LunaticKD1991]

I got a box of random Pokemon card packs as a kid including a Japanese pokemon card pack. I ended up getting a Japanese Light Dragonite from the japanese card pack. I always new it was a Dragonite but I didn't learn that it was Light Dragonite until years later since I don't speak Japanese. I like the Team Rocket and Dark and Light Pokemon cards. I also like that Pokemon Go implemented Dark and Light Pokemon as well as I have a Light Dragonite in that also.

[@pokemaniacdavid]

I love collecting the Dark Pokémons. The art is so amazing!

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

The last set of cards the OG's cared about. After this set, the post 151 Mons were released. And that's when the series died for most of us OG's. I still to this day couldn't name a character beyond 151 Mew.

[@ether_storm]

I would love to see a video on the light cards and shining cards as well

[@himbojenkins]

Bad: Paraspectre uploaded 18hrs ago and I didn't know despite being subscribed and ringing that bell Good: I have a chill video to watch after a hard day at work

[@Paraspectre]

It sucks hearing that loyal subscribers still don't know when I post videos 😡 Thanks a lot, KZbin

[@Laxbry]

Someone on the street asked me to say "based paraspectre" to you

[@Paraspectre]

Haha wow, I wonder who that could've been

[@damianwarneke305]

C...can we talk about Dark Hypno's flavor text? Are they all creepy kidnappers??

[@NomicFin]

IIRC the reason Dark Raichu had to be approved by Nintendo is that it was designed by Wizards of the Coast, who at the time handled the distribution of Pokemon TCG outside Japan, as a special bonus card. That's also why it got a western release before a Japanese one. Since it wasn't designed by the people normally responsible for designing the cards they had to get an OK from Nintendo/the Pokemon Company to do it.

[@Paraspectre]

Interesting...yeah I couldn't find anything on it, but that makes sense. Kinda funny that one card out of number order is the one to cause all of the issues.

[@Mitjitsu]

It did have some really powerful trainer, but other than Dark Vileplume there isn't any playable Pokémon.

[@blacktemplar707]

I still and will always remember pulling Dark Charizard, from a pack that had it on the front. This fueled my want to complete the set. I drew Dark Alakhazam next, the 1/82, supposed rarest in the series. I'd continue to hunt for holo Dark Blastoise and holo Dark Muk, never got either of them in the old days. But then I drew Dark Raichu, so completely confused as it didn't show up in the 'cards in set' lists. It was also the first Secret Rare in English sets, reading gaming mags back then informed me of what I have, have cherished this series greatly through the years, still got em.

[@infinitesheldon5710]

Love the graboid reference. Tremors is my favorite movie series that nobody talks about.

[@Paraspectre]

I don't mean to brag, but...I've seen every Tremors movie 😏

[@LordRocsen]

There was something magic about these editions, I know that were only around 151 Pokémon in that era, but there was a sense of wonder when opening these booster and the thrive to see a rocket variant

[@iaresmartz]

Ive always been a big fan of dark gloom, especially in tcg2. I always ran him on a puppet master Hypno team,. Clefairy dolls cannot be confused, so its just a free chance to cause mayhem. It also synergizes with Snorlax for the same reason.

[@LiamPenfold]

Not sure if it’s just my speaker setup but man the intro was much louder than your voice, with the exception of when it peaks during sentences. Fantastic video, regardless of sound issues

[@Shadfillet]

8:06 the way I interpret this art is that the Raticate is pointing at you, like "Hey you, over there". From my perspective it's inviting you to throw hands which is pretty rad. Maybe I'm reading too much into it though lmao

[@FiresplitterSpeedrun]

Dark Clefable and Dark Dragonite alone made Dark pokemons broken in TCG 2. It didn’t matter that they had bad stats, being close to invulnerable to damage was ridiculous.

[@SystemYTP]

The Dark Wartortle artwork made me uncomfortable when I was a child 😁 it just looked so mean

[@Justin_D_Bledsoe]

DARK CHARIZARD HAS MY FAVORITE CARD ART OF ALL TIME AND IT WAS IN THE PACK I HAVE EVER OPENED AND CHARIZARD IS MY FAVORITE POKEMON 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@davidkruszka8426]

I loved those cards. The art was great

[@Conciglio]

I remember a card shop at the old Greengate Mall (which has been closed for over 20 years) in Greensburg PA that displayed baseball and Pokemon cards. They Had Team Rockets Dark Slowbro on display and i thought it was the coolest looking card ever.

[@dr3dg352]

Loved this set when it came out! Coincidentally, Magic the Gathering's fourth expansion, The Dark, also focused on powerful effects that come with a price. Also I actually really love the artwork for Dark Weezing. 😅 It wound up being my favorite card because I thought the foil card with the black background with faint smoke trails was really chill and relaxing.

[@gigagian]

Dark Gloom is by far the most epic version of Gloom I have ever seen.

[@TheGreenMeanie02]

Dark Raichu is my fav Pokemon card. Pulled it from a pack several years ago. This is by far my favorite set and I’m currently working on a master set

[@Tsukuyomi500]

I really love the Rainbow in the Dark rendition in the background

[@Paraspectre]

🤘🏻

[@will420high4]

This Team Rocket/Dark Set is my favorite, just got Dark Marowak and Dark Celebi both with swirls!!! Gonna put this cards in black border toploaders, gonna look cool af!

[@cycon2683]

You missed that the promo Dark Persian has Giovanni's eyes in the background if you rotate the foiling a bit. A super neat tidbit. Rocket set is definitely one of the greatest released.

[@briankim1098]

Great video! Would love to see you take on Neo Destiny”s Light and Dark mons too!

[@Paraspectre]

I may very well move onto those

[@AngryBirds312]

finally found the based parasect enjoyer

[@BeIlG]

I remember getting the dark alakazam ist edition on christmas as a kid. I didn't realize it was a holo with it being so dark but the shine made it so freaking cool. I really love it to this day. In person is a 10 especially in the group of cards.

[@BeIlG]

I also still have the holographic dark raichu 1st edition too. I never liked it as i hated the pikachu line. Still had a great shine to it.

[@franksony1992]

19:15 Keep in mind you don't have to discard the energy card (as it says "you may"). If you don't, it just does 30 damage for 2 energy. Not a bad trade back then.

[@FigmentsofFiction]

More trivia about the dark series: 1. Dark Kadabra was the biggest offense to Uri Geller banning the Pokémon’s merch distribution. Kadabra’s Japanese name is a nod to the illusionist, so adding “Dark/Bad” to the title offended and thought it defamed him. That’s why we haven’t seen a Kadabra card for about 20 years with Uri apologizing and Pokémon releasing the 151 card set afterwards. 2. Dark Dragonite actually has a sought-after error card where it’s the non-holo version with the holo numbering in the card set. Sells for a pretty penny if you have any!

[@joehutto3665]

The dark dugtrio design reminds me of the rocket grunt that you find in celadon behind the house that is ramshackleled

[@schwierdo8838]

10:01 yeah i know i did back in the day haha

[@an3582]

Man I wish I could go back to playing THIS era of the TCG. Good times.

[@griffonsarcade]

Team Rocket, Gym Heroes and Gym Challengers would remain my favorite cards sets for YEARS until the eventual release of Stormfront during the diamond/pearl years.

[@piratebear3126]

I actually have the Legendary Collection reverse holo Dark Blastoise. No idea where I got it, and I don't have any other Legendary Collection card nor did I ever get any LC packs as a kid. The LC reverse holo looks amazing, even if it's not super readable. Ended up getting the Base Set Rattata reverse holo during the 2020 TCG craze. The whole Pokemon having different fates based on their Trainer is really cool, and I'm sad that they really haven't explored it since Neo Destinies.

[@ChrisDaPancreas]

Not me thinking this was a new video since it popped up in my feed 22:00 Anyways, not sure if anyone brought this up, but that Dark Muk is actually being viewed from behind a window, you can see sludge stains on the right and the shine from the light reflecting off it as diagonal lines. Makes it feel like an angry muk is trying to attack someone who's watching it.

[@EremitaJ]

Hold up, is the background music early on some 8-bit/chiptune/piano version of Dio's Rainbow in the Dark? Absolutely brilliant.

[@dylanpailing4314]

I had a first edition holographic Arbok when I was a kid that and the dark Charmeleon were always my favorite from the set

[@LordJudgement1818]

one of my best friends back in the day used a rain dance deck that had the dark dragonaire and dragonnight and dark gyarados. that was a strong deck

[@Paraspectre]

Heck yeah, nice combo. It's funny that now I go out of my way to NOT think of strong decks for the channel haha

[@LordJudgement1818]

@@Paraspectre it was definitely his best deck. Oh heck yeah. Every Time you have a video come out it reminds me of all the decks me and my friends cooked up back in the day. I miss that time.

[@cosmiccreationsent]

I loved the Rocket set as a kid. I remember grabbing up packs at toys r us.

[@syddlinden8966]

These were always my fave cards as far as art went. I really loved those gym leader cards too. I wanted to collect them all. But alas, my allowance didn't get me very far with that goal.

[@Max-zv8hm]

I own the whole set. 3/4th of them are my original cards, kept in MINT condition cause even back then I knew about care. I cannot tell you how satisfying it was to get and open these booster packs back then. amazing. everyone had cards

[@justincase1228]

I clicked thinking "I remember these" only to find out wait I still have a lot of these.

[@greggod3646]

You have good taste in Pokémon. A few of my favorites are also Primeape, Blastoise, and Vileplume.

[@JD-iu6rv]

I just realized that the music playing in the background is a piano version of “Rainbow in the Dark” by Dio