1996 Pokemon Japanese Beta Playtest Mounted On Card Eevee AUTO CGC 10 GEM MINT

On offer here in this month’s Premier Auction is this Beta Playtest Eevee once owned by none other than influential creator Takumi Akabane, as evidenced by the Ex. Takumi Akabane Collection pedigree located on the back of the CGC label. Beta Playtest cards have generated extreme interest in recent months, and the Akabane signature and sketch added to this card only elevates its status as a premier Pokémon artifact. With Nintendo and Pokémon expected to make their first public statement regarding these cards in the near future, Playtest issues could become even more intriguing to TCG collectors in the near future. Created by Satoshi Tajiri and designed by Motofumi Fujiwara, Eevee made its first public appearance in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue. Since then, Eevee has appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise and become one of the most popular characters in all of Pokémon. The 1996 Beta Playtest cards were some of the earliest Pokémon cards ever created. Playtest cards were made just months after 1995 Prototype cards to test the play of the TCG and iron out potential issues with mechanics, difficulty, and more. Eevee is not amongst the characters included in the 26 confirmed Alpha Prototype cards, making Beta Playtests one of, if not the, earliest known appearances of Eevee on a Pokémon card. Playtest cards were the first to include the evolution box in the top left corner and give illustrator credit at the bottom of the card. Interestingly, the Illustrator’s name Ken Sugimori was infamously spelled incorrectly on Beta Playtest cards, with the last name misspelled as “Sugimorori”. This error would be corrected on later iterations. Beta Playtests were also the first Pokémon cards ever printed in color. However, there’s a key bit of color missing. Playtest cards have white borders. These were later shaded yellow for the ‘96 Media Factory Japanese Base Set. Doing away with the pixelated sprite depictions used on the Prototypes, Playtest cards mainly showcase artwork by legendary Pokémon illustrator Ken Sugimori. While that artwork would be replaced by different Sugimori renditions and some now-iconic works of Mitsuhiro Arita, earlier Alpha and Beta Playtest versions provide a peek behind the curtain of these cards’ creations. Playtest cards were made on paper and then affixed to firmer cardstock. As such, graded and authenticated versions of these cards will often include the word “Mounted on Card” on the label. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 01/09/2024.