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SOJ Pokémon · The Pikachu Promos
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How many Poncho Pikachu cards are there?

Twelve, for Pikachu. And the reason people argue about the number is that the cards themselves use three different names.

Ask the internet and you will get everything from eight to twenty. The disagreement is built into the cards. In Bulbapedia's promo lists, the cards literally named "Poncho-wearing Pikachu" number nine: seven in XY-P (203, 207, 208, 230, 231, 274, 275) and two in SM-P (037, 038). But the wardrobe is bigger than the name. The two Mega Tokyo's Pikachu cards, 098 and 204/XY-P, show the same Mega Charizard Y poncho and bookend the XY run, and Tohoku's Pikachu (088/SM-P) wears a Rowlet poncho under a store's name instead. Count the costume, not the card name, and the Pikachu poncho line is twelve cards: nine XY-P and three SM-P.

Then the idea jumped species. In October 2017 the Eevee Mega Campaign produced eight Poncho-wearing Eevee cards, 137 to 144/SM-P, one for each of Eevee's eight evolutions: Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon. And around both lines runs a family of cousins that share the costume joke under the word Pretend: Pretend Magikarp and Pretend Gyarados Pikachu, the Team Skull Pretend cards, and seven Pretend Boss Pikachu dressed as the villain teams. They are their own page in this shelf; the poncho count proper stops at twelve plus eight.

THE COUNT, BY PROMO CODE

Verified against the Bulbapedia XY-P and SM-P lists
7 · Named Poncho-wearing Pikachu, XY-P
203, 207, 208, 230, 231, 274, 275/XY-P. The Full Art boxes and campaign cards of 2015 and 2016.
2 · Mega Tokyo's Pikachu, XY-P
098 and 204/XY-P. Same Mega Charizard Y poncho, different printed name: the opening card and its event sequel.
2 · Named Poncho-wearing Pikachu, SM-P
037 (Alolan Vulpix) and 038 (Vulpix) /SM-P, the twin Full Arts of the February 2017 Vulpix box.
1 · Tohoku's Pikachu, SM-P
088/SM-P. A Rowlet poncho, named for the store it reopened rather than the costume it wears.
8 · Poncho-wearing Eevee, SM-P
137 to 144/SM-P, Eevee Mega Campaign, October 2017: one Eevee for each evolution's poncho.
12 + 8 · The whole wardrobe
Twelve Pikachu poncho cards and eight Eevee poncho cards, all Japanese, all illustrated in the same house style, none released in English.
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