The 13 worst Pokémon cards of all time

09.02.2024 - 20:37 / wegotthiscovered.com / Nintendo

When it comes to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, there are many ways to rate the cards. However, even if you don’t know anything about how to play the game itself, the monetary value of the cards and their aesthetic appeal — or lack thereof — are two criteria that most people can grasp.

Therefore, we’re delivering to you our picks for the worst Pokémon cards ever, in terms of either their ugliness or lack of resale value on the collector’s market.

Voltorb (Vending)

A version of a Voltorb card that was only available through a vending machine in Japan has become infamous for all the wrong reasons, specifically for the character looking like Meatwad, the animated ball of meat that is a member of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The Pokémon that normally looks like a Poké Ball’s evil twin more so resembles a ketchup-and-mayo stain than a perfectly shaped sphere, with its nebulous border and uneven eyes giving us longing for a more symmetrical rendition.

Dot Esports writer Ryan Galloway, who made his own excellent list of terrible Pokémon cards that includes those that are useless in terms of their abilities in-game, put it best when he declared: “Maybe it’s for good reason that this art never made its way to any English set.”

Nintendo Power Pikachu E3 Promo Card

The Pikachu promo card that came free inside the mass-produced Nintendo Power magazine in 1999 can be considered a case of mistaken identity when it comes to greatly resembling a more valuable card on the market. The main difference is that the Nintendo Power version of the Pikachu card, featuring the character’s Gen I design, has yellow cheeks. Whereas much more valuable versions of the Pikachu card with red cheeks were distributed that same year, months earlier at E3. Other than that, the Pikachu card from Nintendo Power does represent a full reprint of the E3 card, including a gold E3 logo that can be seen on the lower-right corner of the artwork. However, the Pikachu card that came from Nintendo’s flagship magazine is worth little today, as Screen Rant pointed out:

“Despite the TCG collectible featuring the popular Pikachu, the promo card can be picked up for $2 on sites like eBay in 2022.”

By comparison, the red cheek version of the Pikachu card, given out at the actual E3 convention in 1999, has a net worth of or above $800 for a used condition card on eBay.

Misdreavus (WoTC Promo)

Misdreavus is a Ghost-type Pokémon whose typical presentation resembling a bowling ball covered in a bedsheet is quite cute. However, something went seriously wrong with a Wizards of the Coast promo version of the Misdreavus card from 1999. Rather than the usual