Our third international specimen is a beloved and highly nostalgic card from the year 2016. This Onix, from the set XY—Evolutions, is a special tribute to the very first Pokémon TCG set. It uses the original artwork and layout from the 1999 Base Set, but is printed as a modern card.
Card Details
- Pokémon Name: Onix LV.12
- Set: XY—Evolutions
- Year: 2016
- Card Number: 61/108
- Rarity/Edition: Common
- Artist: Ken Sugimori
- National Pokédex No.: 095
Card Text & Attacks
- Type: Fighting
- HP: 100
- Attack 1: Harden
- Cost: [Fighting]
- Effect: During your opponent’s next turn, if this Pokémon would be damaged by an attack, prevent that attack’s damage done to this Pokémon if that damage is 60 or less.
- Attack 2: Rock Throw
- Cost: [Fighting][Fighting]
- Damage: 40
- Weakness: Grass x2
- Resistance: None
- Retreat Cost: [Colourless][Colourless][Colourless]
- Flavour Text: It usually lives underground. It searches for food while boring its way through the ground at 50 miles per hour.
Collector’s Notes
This card is a fantastic piece of TCG history and a lesson in nostalgia. The entire XY—Evolutions set was a 20th-anniversary celebration of the Pokémon TCG, reprinting the original Base Set cards with slightly updated stats for the modern game. This Onix, therefore, is a “re-mastered” classic. It features the iconic Ken Sugimori art and the original card frame that defined the game for a generation of players.
For our Geological Pokémon exhibit, this card serves as a bridge between the past and the present. It allows a modern collector to own a piece of history in pristine condition. The flavour text and attacks (“Harden,” “Rock Throw”) are all classics, reinforcing Onix’s identity as a simple, powerful, and fundamental creature of the earth. It is a perfect representation of how enduring the original vision for these geological creatures has been.
