One talented Pokémon fan has sewn together an impressive cross-stitch mosaic of the entire Generation 1 Pokémon lineup. Nintendo’s long-running monster-wrangling franchise now features over 900 different collectible creatures, but the original 150 Gen 1 Pokémon from 1998’s Pokémon Red & Blue (or Red & Green in its original Japanese release) remain some of the long-running monster-wrangling franchise’s most iconic - from the adorable lighting mouse Pikachu to the fearsome psychic clone Mewtwo and every bug, bird, plant, and rock snake in between.
Fans have naturally paid tribute to the creatures that started the Pokémon craze in several different ways, such as making adorable hand-stitched plushies and setting up a visually stunning laser-art portrait of Pikachu. Others have made delicious latte art of the ghostly Gengar and pieced together life-sized LEGO models of iconic critters like Charmander and Geodude. One fan even reimagined the Gen 1 starter Pokémon as clay figures of the Among Us crewmates. Finally, one aspiring Pokémon trainer is looking to catch 'em all in a way nobody has before - through cross-stitching.
Yesterday, Reddit user MisPai posted an image of their impressive Pokémon-themed work in progress: a cross-stitched mosaic of all 150 original Gen-1 Pokémon. This beautifully crafted masterpiece is only halfway finished by MisPai’s estimate, but each Pokémon is skillfully captured with a considerable amount of detail and color that makes it look like they were pulled straight from the classic Pokémon game sprites. The image MisPai used is that of a pre-existing Pokémon cross-pattern, but they altered the colors to make the Pokémon more accurate to the games. Furthermore, MisPai is using over 300 different colored threads to piece it together.
The Pokémon franchise is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, resulting in several different game announcements and fan events throughout 2021. Players are looking forward to the upcoming Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl remakes and the prequel spin-off Pokémon Legends: Arceus for the Nintendo Switch, with rumors suggesting that more new game reveals are coming next year. Meanwhile, fans the world over are coming together to remember the various Pokémon video games, trading cards, movies, and animated shows through heartwarming and nostalgic montages like March's Pokémon 25th Anniversary video.
None of this would have been possible without the original Gen 1 of Pokémon, and MisPai's hand-crafted mosaic is a beautiful homage to the 150 collectible monsters that took the world by storm back in the late 90s. Even though it's only halfway done, it shows a great deal of care, color, and detail in every sprite, making one wonder how great it will look when it's finally finished.
Source: MisPai/Reddit