This post will not go into the history of who released these cards to the public and how they were verified as authentic. I’m still a little uncertain of how these came to market and just hope we get more clarity in the future. For now, CGC has posted a bit about these cards, but I personally want to know more.

Overview

Why make this post/site?

I have found it really hard to keep track of all of the pre-release prototype cards lately and wanted to make a post for myself to keep track of what I think is correct. This may differ from CGC’s official stance or that of the community, but this is what I believe makes the most sense and I’m making this post for my own reference.

Disclaimers

• The information in this post and on the site are based on what I’ve read from the authenticator (CGC), some of the auction houses selling the cards, instagram videos by GemMintPokemon, excellent discussions over at the EliteFourm, and discussions I’ve had with individuals via DMs.
• I do not represent anyone from the TCG or have insider information. Information in this article may be inaccurate and need to be corrected over time.
• You should do your own research and not make purchase decisions based on what I’ve assembled here. I am not responsible for your decisions.
• All photos of the cards on this page came from CGC’s scans. I claim no ownership of the photos. I did cleanup the photos and remove them from the slabs to make it easier to view them. This site is being published for informational purposes only. None of this is commercial or for profit. This is my own personal blog.

Alpha Prototype (1995)

The Alpha Prototype cards were produced in 1995, and are currently the earliest forms of a real test/demo of what a Pokemon TCG could actually look like (excluding the two Seadra Proof of Concept cards since they were a one off).

• Set includes 26 Pokemon
• Printed on thick card stock (apparently thicker than normal TCG cards)
• Used flipped sprites from the GameBoy games for the Pokemon
• Are black and white
• Nothing on the back of the card.

Alpha Playtest (1996)

The Alpha Playtest cards are much closer to what you are familiar with seeing from the Pokemon TCG. They feature art from Ken Sugimori and only include Pokemon and Trainer cards from the Base Set.

• Set includes Base Set Pokemon and Trainer cards
• Printed on paper and then stuck to card stock
• Art is now illustrations by Ken Sugimori
• Artwork has no background (with the exception of Porygon)
• Cards are in color (background of card is a solid color)
• Back of the card has a low-res, but colored version of the Pocket Monsters back design.

Beta Playtest (1996)

The Beta Playtest cards are the first time we see cards from the Fossil and Jungle Sets; all 151 Pokemon make an appearance in this testing phase.

• Set includes Trainer cards and all 151 Pokemon for the first time
• Printed on paper and then stuck to card stock
• Illustration credit misspells Ken Sugimori’s name as “Sugimorori”
• Artwork has no background
• Cards are in color (background of card is a solid color)
• Back of the card has a low-res, but colored version of the Pocket Monsters back design.
• Some Pokedex numbers may be wrong. Charizard for example shows incorrectly as No.005.

Delta Playtest (1996)

The Delta Playtest cards appear to only represent the starter Pokemon and their evolutions. At this time, no other Delta Playtest Pokemon have surfaced.

• Set includes only the starters and their evolutions.
• Printed on paper and then stuck to card stock
• Illustrations now by Mitsuhiro Arita and Ken Sugimori (spelled correctly.
• Illustrations represent what we see in the official launch.
• Artwork has full character and background
• Cards are in color (background of card is a solid color)
• Back of the card has a low-res, but colored version of the Pocket Monsters back design.
• Some Pokedex numbers may be wrong. Charizard for example shows incorrectly as No.005.

The two Presentation categories below are where I strong disagree with how CGC has started to label slabs. CGC now believes that what I label as “Beta Presentation” is actually an “Alpha Presentation”. I do not have an an answer as to why they are now labeled this way, but I believe they may be basing their decision on which art the Presentations most closely match from the Playtest. Take Charizard for example. You will see that Alpha Playtest is the same art as one of the Presentation cards. The same goes for the Beta Playtest and the other Presentation card.

I personally track the naming of cards by what I believe makes the most sense from an chronological perspective. I like to see an evolution or progress made between the categories to show how the cards were refined before production. Since what I consider to be the “Beta Presentations” have corrected the Charizard number issue and are all around more refined and closer to production than the other Presentation cards, I am keeping them in this order. If a 3rd set of Presentations comes out, I will re-evaluate where they stand and may re-categorize them to keep a logical order of progress with the cards.

I am not CGC, I have no insider information, and I am just a guy trying to keep a list of these cards for his own personal enjoyment. Maybe one day Akabane will clarify the full history and development lifecycle for the community and then I can delete this site.

Alpha Presentation (1996)

The Alpha Presentation cards appear to only represent a limited number of Pokemon: Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu, Clefairy, Machoke, Porygon, Dragonite, and Mewtwo.

• Set includes limited number of Pokemon.
• Printed on paper and then stuck to card stock
• Illustrations by Ken Sugimori
• Artwork has full character and background
• Cards are in color (background of card is a solid color)
• Energies finally have symbols in the attack area.
• Back of the card has a low-res, but colored version of the Pocket Monsters back design.
• Some Pokedex numbers may be wrong. Charizard for example shows incorrectly as No.005.

Beta Presentation (1996)

The Beta Presentation cards appear to be the rarest of all the pre-release cards and are believed to be the cards from the early previews of the Pokemon TCG in the Corocoro magazine.

• Only three Pokemon are graded or known to exist publicly: 1 Charizard, 1 Clefairy, and 1 Mewtwo.
• Printed on paper and then stuck to card stock
• Illustrations by Ken Sugimori
• Artwork has full character and background
• Cards are no longer a single color and instead have a patterned background like you see on the officially released cards.
• Energies also have symbols in the attack area.
• There is no back on these cards. It is just solid white.
• Everything looks clearer and more bold (including text).
• Charizard’s Pokedex number is finally corrected to No.006

Wrap Up

A Work in Progress

The information around these cards could change, additional categories of the pre-release cards could surface, or more. I will try to keep this site updated as major information is released, but I will reiterate that you should do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I wanted a site that clearly outlined what I believe the current state of these cards looks like, but that does not mean I, or the community, are 100% accurate. I am not responsible for any actions you take.

Thanks / Credits

1. Thank you to the EliteFourm for being so informative and collaborative over the last few months. The community there is wonderful and has really done an excellent job discussing these cards.
2. Thank you to all of those who spoke with me through DMs and helped me clear up any confusion I had on these cards.

Other Cards/Variants

Other pre-release cards do exist along with slight variations within the main categories above, but I don’t have plans to cover that now. This blog is just for my personal documentation of these cards and I don’t feel the need to document such minor variances at this time.