Our penultimate freebie is the menacing and beautifully illustrated Dragalge. This is a 1st Edition holographic card from the late XY-era set Emerald Break. It’s a wonderfully moody piece and a great “Friend of the Collection.”
Card Details
- Pokémon Name: Dragalge (ドラミドロ)
- Set: Emerald Break (XY9)
- Year: 2015
- Card Number: 062-080
- Rarity/Edition: Holo Rare (1st Edition)
- Artist: Shin Nagasawa
- National Pokédex No.: 691
Card Text & Attacks
- Type: Dragon
- HP: 110
- Evolves From: Skrelp
Attack 1:
- Japanese: バッドポイズン
- Romaji: Baddo Poizun
- English: Bad Poison
- Cost: [Psychic]
- Effect: The Defending Pokémon is now Poisoned. Put 4 damage counters instead of 1 on that Pokémon between turns.
Attack 2:
- Japanese: りゅうのはどう
- Romaji: Ryū no Hadō
- English: Dragon Pulse
- Cost: [Water][Psychic]
- Damage: 60
- Effect: Discard the top card of your deck.
- Weakness: Fairy x2
- Resistance: None
- Retreat Cost: [Colourless][Colourless]
Pokédex Entry:
- Japanese: ドラミドロが 住む 縄張りに 迷いこんだ 船は 二度と 生きて 戻れないと 言われている。
- Romaji: Doramidoro ga sumu nawabari ni mayoikonda fune wa nidoto ikite modorenai to iwarete iru.
- English: It is said that any ship that wanders into the territory where Dragalge lives will never return alive.
Collector’s Notes
This Dragalge is a 1st Edition Holo Rare from the Japanese set Emerald Break (XY9), released in 2015. This set is famous for its focus on the powerful Mega Rayquaza. The 1st Edition stamp adds a nice layer of collectability to this card, which features the striking “shattered ice” holographic pattern of the later XY TCG era.
The artwork by Shin Nagasawa is wonderfully atmospheric and a bit menacing. Nagasawa’s style often has a painterly, textured quality, which is used to great effect here. Dragalge is shown lurking in a dark, stormy sea, surrounded by swirling purple energy that hints at its potent poison. The art perfectly captures the dangerous nature of this Pokémon as described in its ominous Pokédex entry.
As a Friend of Ge-oPik, Dragalge provides a fascinating link to the darker side of geology and oceanography. It is the “Mock Kelp Pokémon,” a creature that camouflages itself in kelp forests. These underwater forests grow on rocky reefs, submarine geological formations. Dragalge’s lore speaks of it attacking ships, evoking tales of sea monsters lurking near treacherous, rocky coastlines. Its Poison/Dragon typing also connects it to the concept of geochemistry, representing the potent and sometimes toxic chemical compounds that can be found in certain mineral deposits and deep-sea vents.
