Surfing Pikachu

Description

The promotion wherefrom participants acquired this card was the first of many in cooperation with the Japan Rail Company. Based around 30 stations on Tokyo’s Yamanote line, participants were invited to collect stamps at each station. Tickets were sold in advance in 2-day blocks from July 27 to August 8, 1997. All 100,000 preorder tickets were sold out for the actual event, which ran from August 9 – 17, 1997. Within a 2-day time span, participants sought to visit each of the 30 stations and fill out their stamp book. Each station had a different Pokemon stamp. Participants who managed to visit all 30 stations and complete their stamp books were given another booklet containing 2 promo cards: a Surfing Pikachu and a Mew. This card was a reprint of a previous promo that was issued in CoroCoro magazine. However, the one distributed in the Japan Rail (JR) prize booklet was matte texture instead of glossy. In addition, the Surfing Pikachu promo also featured Mt. Fuji and a JR train in the artwork.