Our next entry from this batch is the unique and colourful West Sea Gastrodon. This 1st Edition card from the Diamond & Pearl era set Shining Darkness is a fantastic example of a thematically relevant Ground-type Pokémon, a core member of the “Friends of Geopik.”
Card Details
- Pokémon Name: Gastrodon (West Sea) (トリトドン)
- Set: Shining Darkness (DP2)
- Year: 2007
- Card Number: 052-090
- Rarity/Edition: Rare (Non-Holo)
- Artist: Kyoko Umemoto
- National Pokédex No.: 423
Card Text & Attacks
- Type: Fighting
- HP: 110
- Evolves From: Shellos
Attack 1:
- Japanese: たいあたり
- Romaji: Taiatari
- English: Tackle
- Cost: [Colourless][Colourless][Colourless]
- Damage: 50
Attack 2:
- Japanese: どろんこばくだん
- Romaji: Doronko Bakudan
- English: Mud Bomb
- Cost: [Fighting][Colourless][Colourless]
- Damage: 30 (to one Pokémon)
- Effect: Choose 1 of your opponent’s Pokémon. This attack does 30 damage to that Pokémon. This attack also does 10 damage to each of your opponent’s other Pokémon.
Attack 3:
- Japanese: いかりのうみ
- Romaji: Ikari no Umi
- English: Raging Sea
- Cost: [Fighting][Colourless][Colourless][Colourless]
- Damage: 60+
- Effect: Does 60 damage plus 10 more damage for each of your Benched Pokémon that has any damage counters on it.
- Weakness: Grass +30
- Resistance: Electric -20
- Retreat Cost: [Colourless][Colourless][Colourless]
Pokédex Entry:
- Species: ウミウシポケモン (Umiushi Pokémon) – Sea Slug Pokémon
- Height: 0.9m
- Weight: 29.9Kg
Collector’s Notes
This Gastrodon is a 1st Edition Rare from Shining Darkness (DP2), the second main expansion of the Diamond & Pearl TCG series, released in 2007. The card specifies this is the “West Sea” form, identifiable by its pink and brown colouration. This distinction is a direct reference to the Sinnoh region in the Pokémon games, where Gastrodon’s appearance famously differs on either side of the massive Mount Coronet mountain range.
The artwork by Kyoko Umemoto is clean and vibrant, showcasing her classic style. The illustration depicts Gastrodon on a beautiful shoreline with steep cliffs and a waterfall in the background. This environment is perfect for Gastrodon, a creature that lives in the intertidal zone where the land meets the sea.
Gastrodon is an exemplary Friend of Geopik. As a Water/Ground-type Pokémon, its very existence is tied to the concept of sedimentology. Its “Mud Bomb” attack is a direct reference to the mixture of water and earth that forms its habitat. The fact that its physical form changes based on its geographical location on either side of a major mountain range is a brilliant example of allopatric speciation, where a geographic barrier causes a species to evolve into different forms. It is one of the best examples of geography and geology directly influencing a Pokémon’s biology.
