A skilled Pokémon fan has crafted custom keycaps based on the Game Boy cartridges of the first two generations of games. Nintendo's long-running, monster collecting JRPG series has gathered legions of fans since it first took the world by storm in the mid-90s, resulting in plenty of creative fan art and custom-made tributes over the years.
Some talented Pokémon fans have drawn Halloween-themed versions of their favorite creatures like Bulbasaur, created 3D latte art of the spooky Gengar, and even designed their own custom Pokémon to serve as alternate evolutions for Eevee or cover creatures for a hypothetical third installment of the Pokémon Sword And Shield games. Others have stitched together all 150 original Pokémon in a colorful tapestry, knitted up cute crochet dolls of every single Pokémon for charity, and sculpted life-like models of iconic Pokémon like Mewtwo as they blast their way out of their own Pokémon cards.
Yesterday, Reddit user IllPerspective4498 posted a couple of images of their custom-made Pokémon keycaps to various subreddits, including r/gaming. These caps are modeled after the Game Boy cartridges for Pokémon Red And Blue and the second generation titles Pokémon Gold And Silver, and according to IllPerspective4498 they took three days to sculpt and paint. Fans in the comment section have praised IllPerspective4498’s work, with some asking for another image of one of the keycaps being fitted on a keyboard and others joking that they wouldn’t want to actually use them out of fear that they might be ruined.
All year long, Nintendo has been celebrating Pokémon’s 25th anniversary, which has led fans all around the world to recount their various experiences in the world of Pokémon and pay tribute to the franchise that captivated a generation of gamers. Additionally, The Pokémon Company has made several big Pokémon game announcements for exciting titles like Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and companies like Oreo and McDonalds have released delicious Pokémon tie-in promotions. Finally, top musical talents like Katy Perry and Post Malone have collaborated on Pokémon 25: The Album, with a live listening party for the compilation being held online a few weeks ago.
IllPerspective4498’s custom-made Pokémon keycaps are a cute and colorful tribute to the first two Pokémon generations, perfectly capturing the look of the Game Boy cartridges that spawned so many sequels and spin-offs in the two and a half decades since their first release. Pokémon has come a long way since Red and Blue’s launch in 1998, and with the many new games Nintendo supposedly has in the works for the next couple of years, including an unannounced Pokémon game supposedly leaked by the developer, the franchise that inspired players to “catch ‘em all” doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. This of course means that fans like IllPerspective4498 should have plenty of inspiration for their next big Pokémon fan projects.
Source: IllPerspective4498/Reddit