The Funniest Pokémon Cards Ever Printed

Our pick for the funniest Pokémon card ever printed is Imakuni?'s Doduo (Evolutions, 2016): its rules tell you to throw the card across the room when Doduo retreats, and to sing a song before its attack does any damage. The rest of the list is funny in three ways: rules that are the joke, art that catches a Pokémon at its least dignified, and Ditto failing to disguise itself.

Prices under each card below are raw (ungraded) medians of real completed sales, in US dollars, as of September 24, 2026. A card without a price has no recorded sale in our data.

Cards whose rules are the joke

Imakuni?'s Doduo (Evolutions, 112/108)

Its Pokémon Power, Frenzied Escape, applies when this Doduo retreats: you hold the card and throw it as hard as you can, horizontally with a snap for distance, "because Doduo is running away". Its attack, Harmonize, makes you start singing, and its 30 damage lands only when the song is over; the game goes on while you sing. Imakuni? drew the card himself, chasing Doduo with a net in a red costume, and a line at the bottom bars it from official tournaments. It is a secret rare of Evolutions (November 2016); Japan got it in September 2016, in the Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary.

Imakuni?'s Doduo#112

Hama-chan's Slowking (CoroCoro insert, 1999)

The comedian Masatoshi Hamada, nicknamed Hama-chan, drew this Slowking, the character he voiced in the 1999 Pokémon movie; the card carries the movie's logo with his name under it. Both attacks come with a condition you have to perform. The first works only after you mumble "I'm in trouble" three times, and it confuses Slowking as well as the opponent's Pokémon. The second, a 20-damage punch, needs "Umm, should I?" three times. The card came as an insert in the September 1999 issue of CoroCoro Comic, on sale August 15, 1999.

Hama-chan's Slowking (CoroCoro 1999)

_____'s Pikachu (Wizards Black Star Promo 24)

The name line is blank, so you can write your own before "'s Pikachu", and a line at the bottom asks for your birthdate. Its attack, Birthday Surprise, does 30 damage, and on your birthday you flip a coin for 50 more. Collectors call it Birthday Pikachu; Kagemaru Himeno drew Pikachu beside a birthday cake. Wizards banned it from tournaments, since any player could claim it was their birthday. It first came out in Japan with a calendar in November 1998, and in English in 2000.

___________'s Pikachu#24

Ooyama's Pikachu (Vending Series 3, 1998)

Kouichi Ooyama, one of the three original designers of the card game, drew all of it by hand, text included: a lumpy Pikachu, a Greetings attack that does "about 10" damage, a Fake Sleep attack that pretends to doze before it zaps you, and, where the Pokédex entry should be, a doodle of himself sighing that this Pikachu is as pathetic as its trainer. The card says it cannot be used in games. He put a self-portrait in the same place on a bilingual Exeggutor, its text in both Japanese and English, given to the players of the first Tropical Mega Battle in Hawaii in 1999 and reprinted as secret rare 109/108 in Evolutions (2016).

Ooyama's PikachuNo. 025ナッシー[Exeggutor]#109

Imakuni? (Generations, 63/83)

Imakuni?, a musician on the staff of Creatures, the company behind the card game, sang its TV commercial song, and here he is in person: a photograph of him in a black hood with mouse ears. His card works against you: this Supporter's only effect is to confuse your own Active Pokémon. Generations (2016) reuses the photo of his CoroCoro insert of August 15, 1997, the first card to show a photograph of a real person and the first to credit a "Photo." instead of an illustrator. That original goes further: it gives him "HP ?" and warns that you cannot play him as a Pokémon. The magazine's other cards are in our CoroCoro guide.

Imakuni?#63Imakuni? (CoroCoro 1997)

Farfetch'd (Base Set, 27/102)

The joke is Leek Slap. You flip a coin; on tails the attack does nothing, and heads or tails, you can never use it again while Farfetch'd stays in play, "even putting Farfetch'd on the Bench won't let you use it again". Its other attack, Pot Smash, does the same 30 damage for three Energy. Ken Sugimori drew the card for the Japanese Base Set of 1996, and it reached English players with the first English set in January 1999.

Farfetch'd#27

Cards whose art is the joke

Grimer (Aquapolis, 79/147)

This Grimer, eyes popping and mouth hanging open, stares out of a gloomy brick drain as if you had caught it at something. The plastic, three-dimensional look is exactly what it seems: Keiji Kinebuchi, one of the few 3D artists when the game began, built his art in LightWave 3D software, and Aquapolis (2003 in English) carries the last cards he illustrated.

Grimer#79

Scoop Up (Base Set, 78/102)

Kinebuchi again, in 3D from the start: this art was first printed in the Japanese Base Set of October 1996. A glossy, wide-eyed Weedle is being sucked backward into a Poké Ball, which is what the card does to one of your Pokémon: back to your hand, with everything attached to it discarded.

Scoop Up#78

Zapdos (Pokémon Rumble, 8/16)

The 16 Pokémon Rumble cards of 2009 use the models of the Wii game, in which every Pokémon is a toy that comes to life when it is wound up. So the legendary thunderbird is a chunky yellow figurine with a blocky, cross face, and the illustrator box, like the rest of the set's, just reads "Pokémon Rumble".

Zapdos#8

Bonsly (Diamond & Pearl, 71/130)

Bonsly has tipped over on its back and is bawling, tears flying in every direction. The art fits both its attack, Fake Tears, and the Pokédex line printed on the card, which says it only looks as if it is always crying: it is getting rid of excess fluid.

Bonsly#71

Diglett (Crystal Guardians, 50/100)

A sweating Diglett pokes out of a rock face and side-eyes the huge wave about to break over it, with nowhere to go. Kyoko Umemoto drew it for EX Crystal Guardians (2006).

Diglett#50

Gulpin, twice (Generations RC12/RC32 and Stellar Crown 154/142)

Tomokazu Komiya drew the Generations Gulpin slumped on a kitchen table next to a child, both with a fork in their mouth, waiting for dinner; its attack, Starvin', does nothing on tails. The Stellar Crown Illustration Rare of 2024 goes further: Gulpin is swallowing a whole cake, and its first attack is called Drool.

GulpinRC12Gulpin#154

Charmander (Scarlet & Violet Promo, 044)

MINAMINAMI Take drew Charmander stuck indoors, arms up against the window, scowling down at a Pidgey on the sill outside. Its only attack, Heat Tackle, also hurts Charmander.

Charmander#044

Eevee-GX (Sun & Moon Promo, SM233)

Eevee is usually drawn to be as cute as possible. Q-rais drew it with its eyes shut and a wide, smug grin, as if it had just gotten away with something, and its GX attack is called Joy Maker.

Eevee GXSM233

Pikachu VMAX (Vivid Voltage, 044/185)

Gigantamax Pikachu is so round that it fills the card: a yellow ball with a small smile, stubby arms and 310 HP.

Pikachu VMAX#44

Paldean Wooper, twice (Paldea Evolved 221/193 and Phantasmal Flames 102/094)

Miki Tanaka's Paldean Wooper has given up: it lies flat in a mud puddle, half sunk, eyes shut and gills sticking out, and the Pokédex line on the card explains the mood: Wooper moved onto land after losing a territorial struggle. The Phantasmal Flames Illustration Rare of 2025 shows one standing in the mud with a vacant smile, and its only attack is called Trip Over.

Paldean Wooper#221Paldean Wooper#102

Ditto's bad disguises

Ditto among the Numel (Crown Zenith GG22/GG70) and Ditto as Pikachu (XY Promo XY40)

A herd of Numel grazes in a mountain meadow, and one of them has Ditto's face: two dots and a thin smile on a Numel body. Miki Tanaka drew it for the Crown Zenith Galarian Gallery, and its Ability is called Sudden Transformation. The 2015 promo XY40 tries Pikachu instead: it gets the ears and the red cheeks right, and stays pink, with Ditto's face.

DittoGG22DittoXY40

The clay Dittos (EX Delta Species)

For EX Delta Species (2005), Yuka Morii sculpted Ditto in clay and photographed it for ten cards. Card 35 is plain Ditto, a pink blob on a patch of moss. The nine others are Ditto trying to be Bulbasaur, Charmander (twice), Squirtle (twice), Pikachu (twice), Geodude and, best of all, Mr. Mime: every body is right, and every face is still Ditto's.

Ditto#35Ditto#36Ditto#37Ditto#38Ditto#39Ditto#40Ditto#61Ditto#62Ditto#63Ditto#64

FAQ

What is the funniest Pokémon card ever printed?

Our pick is Imakuni?'s Doduo (Evolutions 112/108, 2016): its rules tell you to throw the card when Doduo retreats and to sing a song before its attack does damage.

Can you use joke cards like Imakuni?'s Doduo in tournaments?

Not the ones printed as jokes: Imakuni?'s Doduo says it cannot be used at official tournaments, Ooyama's Pikachu says it cannot be used in games at all, and Wizards banned Birthday Pikachu. The Imakuni? Supporter of Generations is an ordinary card, legal in the Expanded format as of September 24, 2026. For the cards that do win tournaments, see the strongest Pokémon cards.

Are funny Pokémon cards worth much?

It varies widely. As of September 24, 2026, a raw Unlimited Farfetch'd sold for a median of $1.87 (10 sales) and Imakuni?'s Doduo for $4.20 (5 sales), while the Pokémon Rumble Zapdos reached $147 (9 sales) and the clay Ditto as Bulbasaur $108 (16 sales), or $296 (16 sales) in reverse holo. The three Japanese cards on this list have no recorded sale in our data.