The Pokémon TCG, much like the show, isn’t really subject to the same rules as the mainline games. Would Ash’s Pikachu ever get away with ‘aiming for the horn’ in the games? It wouldn’t. It would take an enormous Rhydon-sized Earthquake and be down for the count. Still, that’s plot armor for you.

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Meanwhile, in the TCG, some truly bizarre moves, card designs, and concepts have been introduced. From a bizarre, gooey amalgamation of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle to the hilarious Pokémon Rumble inspired cards, these are exemplary of unique card art.

10 Onix (Lost Thunder 109)

The card art for Onix Lost Thunder 109

Tomokazu Kamiya’s artwork always brings a slice of the adorably peculiar to Pokémon card designs. Whereas almost every other card featuring Onix focuses solely on the creature’s absurd size (it’s 28’ 10”) on land, this artwork takes an entirely different approach.

Here’s the Rock Snake Pokémon in its natural habitat, engaged in its usual pastime (according to the Pokédex) of boring through the earth at high speed. Its facial expression suggests that it hates every single aspect of its own existence, but the super cute and teeny Diglett in the tunnel above lend a touch of happiness to this unique and quirky card.

9 Dratini (Delta Species- EX Dragon Frontiers 46)

The card art for Dratini Dragon Frontiers 46

As Pokémon with two evolutions ahead of them go, Dratini certainly isn’t a small critter. It may seem that way in-game or in other appearances, but this (future) terrifying Dragon-type is actually 5’8” long.

Whereas most Dratini card art will play down the creature’s size and make it look cute, tiny and playful, this masterpiece (again from Tomokazu Kamiya) does no such thing. It takes the opposite route, giving the sense that Dratini’s about to rise from the water like the great behemoth it appears and wreak havoc on a major urban population center, like a certain monstrously powerful reptilian creature. It’s also a Delta Species card, which are incredibly unique in and of themselves.

8 Shining Charizard (Neo Destiny 107)

The card art for Shining Charizard (Neo Destiny 107)

Being the iconic fan-favorite it is, Charizard was bound to feature on a wide variety of Pokémon cards. This particular one is entirely distinct from the others, being part of the rare group of Shining Pokémon cards.

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These rare and valuable cards made their debut in Neo Revelation, boasting the Shiny version of the Pokémon in question and attacks that use more than one kind of Energy. Only one Shining Pokémon was permitted per deck.

7 Surfing Pikachu (Wizards Promo 28)

The card art for Surfing Pikachu (Rising Rivals 114)

In the TCG, various Pokémon appear in unusual forms, with typings other than their usual one, brand-new moves or familiar ones of a type that they can’t usually learn. Surfing Pikachu is a very special example of this, a promotional card that went on to be referenced elsewhere in the series.

Thanks to this cute and rather strange action shot, Surf has become a surprising part of Pikachu and Raichu’s arsenals. There have been numerous special edition takes on this Pokémon in the TCG, but only this one had such an influence.

6 Wooper (Delta Species- EX Dragon Frontiers 71)

The card art for Wooper Dragon Frontiers 71

Like the Grass-type Dratini also found in the Dragon Frontiers set, Wooper is a Delta Species Pokémon too. In this case, however, it’s entirely unique in a very different way.

As competitive battlers will know, Water/Ground is one of the best defensive typings in the game, weak only to Grass (albeit 4x weak). Wooper and Quagsire usually enjoy this typing, but the Grass weakness is utterly debilitating. How odd, then, to see a Wooper embracing that grassy presence as it does here. Between that, the quirky design and the fact that Delta Species Pokémon retain their original weaknesses (so Wooper is still defeated by powerful Grass-type moves) this is one of the most unusual card designs of all.

5 Mewtwo (Pokémon Rumble 9)

The card art for Mewtwo Pokémon Rumble 9

Mewtwo is the original Pokémon powerhouse, the fearsome Psychic-type that all fearsome Psychic-types aspire to be. In every appearance it makes, its relentless nature and tremendous strength is underlined.

Every appearance except in this card art, that is, in which it looks more like a defiant toddler who isn’t feeling those greens on it dinner plate tonight. The exclusive Pokémon Rumble TCG cards are all adorable and strangely angular (as is the artwork of Pokémon Rumble), but Mewtwo’s is perhaps the most striking.

4 Ditto (Bandai Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards)

The card art for Bandai Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards Ditto

This next card isn’t an official Pokémon TCG card, but it is an official Pocket Monsters card drawn by Ken Sugimori himself. It’s part of a rare 1996-97 set that was released in Japan by Bandai Carddass. The set depicts each of the original Kanto critters, using more ‘confrontational’ designs than the TCG itself will feature.

RELATED: Pokémon: 10 Things That Make No Sense About The Kanto Region

This Ditto, in the process of using its trademark move Transform, seems to have got itself thoroughly confused. The result is a kind of horrifying amalgamation of beloved starter trio Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, more akin to the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day than the cute little critter Ditto is usually depicted as.

3 Golem (Bandai Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards)

The card art for Bandai Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards Golem

Speaking of the Bandai set and its distinctly darker tone at times, just look at poor Golem here. Players of the mainline games will know just how much this evolution line loves to use Explosion and/ Self Destruct (especially when encountered in the wild in shiny form, sadly), but sometimes they just don’t consider how deadly this move is to the user themselves.

The force of the attack Golem is using is plain to see here, as it literally tears the rocky shell of the Pokémon apart. How many Pokémon cards actually show the disembodied head of a Golem being blasted away from the rest of its grim remains? This one, that’s how many.

2 Mega Aggron EX Gaia Volcano 76

The card art from Mega Aggron EX Gaia Volcano 76

As the TCG went on and the likes of EX and GX Pokémon were added, the cards became progressively more stylish and ambitious in their designs. The epitome of this concept, perhaps, is the work of 5ban Graphics, an artistic group that has designed many of the newer cards. In particular, the EX Mega Aggron they delivered is quite unlike any other card fans have seen so far.

This particular variant of the card is the Japanese Full Art release from Gaia Volcano. With its brilliantly bold lettering and striking image, it looks as though it would be more at home on the front cover of a comic book.

1 Pokémon Illustrator (Or Pikachu Illustrator)

The card art for Pokémon Illustrator CoroCoro Promo

The final entry on this list is a very special card indeed. Not only is its design entirely unique (down to the alternative “Trainer” text), but it’s actually among the rarest and most valuable cards in the history of the TCG.

It was awarded only to winners of Pokémon card design contests that CoroCoro magazine held between 1997 and 1998. As Bulbapedia reports, only a very small number of such cards are known to exist (at least 41), and one sold for $195,000 in a New York auction last year! It’s come to be known as Pikachu Illustrator because of its distinctive artwork, which is immediately recognisable to any rare TCG card enthusiast.

NEXT: Pokémon: The 5 Most Valuable Pikachu Cards (& 5 That Aren’t Worth Much)