In almost every Pokemon game you're given a choice between three Partner Pokemon. Everyone remembers their first Pokemon: Mine was Charmander, the first Fire-type Pokemon in Red and Blue, which made the first two gyms a huge challenge.

Fire-type Pokemon like Charmander are the subject of this article, covering the origins of art in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and how you can buy physical copies of your favorite art to display with the rest of your Pokemon cards.

Charmander

Like with Bulbasaur, the Genetic Apex version of Charmander was printed as three separate cards, including two with original art exclusive to Pokemon TCG Pocket. The third, though, was a promo card released in January 2025.

The art on the promo version was originally featured on the Charmander from Sun & Moon - Team Up, illustrated by Naoyo Kimura. Kimura has illustrated over 200 Pokemon cards, including the Prismatic Evolutions Eevee and the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo.

Vulpix

A staple in early Blaine decks, Vulpix features artwork from all the way back in 2004's EX Hidden Legends set. This version of Vulpix was able to evolve as an attack, allowing you to pull out a second-turn Ninetales with a Gust attack at the very beginning of the game.

This card features the clean, simple art style of Toshinao Aoki, who famously illustrated the Flying Pikachu card that's seen a few reprints, as well as the Fan Rotom that was briefly a staple in the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

Ninetales

The Ninetales introduced in Genetic Apex was a staple in the early Pokemon TCG Pocket metagame, but has fallen out of use as more sets have released. This one was illustrated by You Iribi, and features art that first appeared in Sun & Moon Team Up.

You Iribi's art is some of the most cheerful and dynamic in the Pokemon TCG, including the gorgeous Secret Rare Pikachu from Crown Zenith. They also illustrated the Hisui map for Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Growlithe

One of the top decks in Genetic Apex and Mythical Island was Arcanine ex, and this Growlithe is the only version of the fire dog in the game after five expansions.

The artist, Mizue, originally provided the art for Growlithe in Next Destinies. Her art tends to feature soft pallets, making each Pokemon feel warm and cozy.

Arcanine

Despite the success experienced by its big brother, Arcanine never found its niche in Genetic Apex's meta. Still, the print shows why people in ancient times were captivated by Arcanine as it runs through the grass with an Alolan beach in the background.

We know it's an Alolan beach because the same art was originally used for Sun & Moon's Arcanine. This print from Kodama features the artist's dynamic light and posing, making every shot look like part of an action sequence.

Ponyta

Along with Vulpix and Ninetales, Ponyta was a staple in early starter decks. While not a particularly noteworthy card in terms of gameplay, it does feature the first art released from the artist Uta.

Uta's very first card was Cosmic Eclipse's Ponyta, which features the exact same art as Genetic Apex. In addition to art, both cards also feature the Flare attack for one Fire Energy, although the physical one can probably make better use of its Minor Errand-Running attack.

Rapidash

The Uncommon print of Rapidash follows directly after Ponyta in the Genetic Apex card list, and borrows art from the Rapidash that follows directly after the one that follows the Ponyta that was the source of the previous card's art.

The Cosmic Eclipse Rapidash probably didn't get as much use as the Rapidash that was the focus of so many Genetic Apex starter decks, but it certainly features beautiful art from Misa Tsutsui!

Flareon

The Flareon from Genetic Apex was illustrated by sui, whose unique style always looks like it's painted with an airbrush or seen on a sunny morning through a blurry lens. Her most recent contribution to the Pokemon Trading Card Game is the full-art Espeon ex from Prismatic Evolutions.

Flareon's art was originally published in 2015's Ancient Origins, where the Flareon card had the unique ability to turn your other Stage 1 Pokemon into Fire-types.

Moltres

While Moltres ex was leading the way in Charizard ex decks, the rare, non-ex Moltres features rare art that many collectors may have missed: The art was originally printed on a promo found only in the 2018 Fall Collector's Chest, making this promo Moltres reasonably rare.

The art was provided by Hitoshi Ariga, a veteran Pokemon artist who was responsible for designing popular Pokemon such as Aegislash, Ogerpon, and Corviknight.

Heatmor

Heatmor was a decent early-meta tank, boasting 80 HP and the ability to deal 30 damage for only one Fire Energy. But it wasn't used much once players pulled a couple Kangaskhans to replace it.

The art for the Genetic Apex Heatmor is borrowed from 2013's Plasma Storm, but sadly that card isn't much better, unless you have a way to stack Energy in your deck.

Salandit

The Salandit from Genetic Apex is a little more cartoony than most other art in the set, but that's because it's drawn by Kyoko Umemoto, whose style is clean, simple, and colorful. It features one of the clearest illustrations of Salandit producing gas from the base of its tail, which several Pokedex entries reference.

The art for this Salandit was originally printed in 2019's Unified Minds. This set actually featured two different Salandit cards, one Fire-type and one Psychic, but this art is from the Fire version.

Salazzle

Salazzle is an interesting Pokemon that's never found her niche in the Pokemon TCG. And The Pokemon Company made an interesting choice of artists for her in hatachu, a 3D computer graphics artist whose non-Pokemon work revolves around dragons that look like they're ready to start a family.

This is another one that was originally printed in paper during the Sun & Moon era. It features an excellent draw ability that allows you to discard a single Fire Energy to draw three cards once per turn!