If you're a Pokémon fan and we ask you to remember the original illustrations from the first games, you might think of Ken Sugimori's watercolor illustrations, who was responsible for the art, and they may even carry a nostalgic weight, but you should know that the art as you remember it is incorrect.
This was revealed by preservation enthusiasts ExcaliburZero_Z and Lewchube, whose latest project is the digitization of the Japanese official guide Pokemon Gold & Silver Pokedex, which includes illustrations and information on the first 251 Pokémon.
Interestingly, they found that the art in these guides contrasts with the vintage Pokémon art that abounds on the internet and that fans around the world have taken as official.
For over 20 years, the Red, Blue, Gold & Silver artwork of each Pokemon across the internet had inaccurate colors, were often misshapen, and generally VERY low quality.
— Lewtwo (@Lewchube) April 17, 2023
Thanks to scans provided by @ExcaliburZero_Z, we're finally able to see how they were always meant to look. pic.twitter.com/aCTYVzC0DZ
THE ORIGINAL ART OF POKÉMON HAS NEVER LOOKED SO BEAUTIFUL
To account for this, the archivists shared some images of scans made at a resolution of 12,000 dpi. Thanks to them, we can see the Pokémon with their corrected colors and even details that were previously impossible to distinguish, such as strokes, brushstrokes, and errors in Sugimori's watercolors. As you can see, there are considerable color losses in the old images, which makes the illustrations look somewhat washed out, and the color tone in some of them is inaccurate.
Lewchube explains that the art we have seen so far comes from the Pokemon Red & Blue Player's Guide book, which was published by Nintendo Power in the West, but it is unknown whether the low quality is due to the publication itself or the scanning method.
The archivist explained that the scanning process they are carrying out takes time, as they first remove the glue that binds the pages of the book and then must scan each page individually with a black sheet on the back to prevent color bleeding. Finally, replacing the existing art with the original would be time-consuming, but he made it clear that this is the goal.
Since this is a fairly large undertaking, the process will be as follows:
— Lewtwo (@Lewchube) April 17, 2023
We're going to be removing all low-quality Red, Blue, Gold & Silver Pokemon artwork from the Asset Archive, effective immediately.
Each Pokemon will then be meticulously cut out for transparency in… pic.twitter.com/dBB3xJEboX
[6b] What's the finished consensus?
— Lewtwo (@Lewchube) April 19, 2023
That said, we're also not against helping to preserve intentional fixes to artwork that continue to be used to this very day. Chikorita appeared more yellow in its GS artwork in the run-up to Gold & Silver, but has been practically green ever… pic.twitter.com/JOX36dvW6U
Some fans disagreed with the substitution because they had grown attached to the old and incorrect version. Regarding this, Lewchube mentioned that the mission has always been "to preserve the art as it is supposed to look," but that does not mean that the previous content will disappear, as he assured that it is possible to access previous versions of the illustrations on Bulbapedia.
It is important to mention that inaccuracies are not something new; in fact, it is normal to see inconsistencies even in the official art that The Pokémon Company uses in its official media. What do you think of the preservation work and discoveries made? Let us know in the comments.
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