For this edition of FanArt Friday, Pokémon Blog is overjoyed to display the spectacular art of the talented Jajasc_. This Super Smash Bros. player has participated in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth generations of Pokédex Ilustrada, the ambitious project organized by our dear friends at Ilustradoras Unidas.
JJ has a wonderful and serendipitous relationship with art. He describes it as the best example of life’s twists and turns—that nothing is set in stone.
“To be completely honest, it had never crossed my mind to become an illustrator. At the beginning, art was nothing more than a small outlet to distract me or keep me awake during college classes, but as I delved into this world, I began to appreciate what I could do, and now it has become one of the most important aspects of my life,” he explained to the Pokémon Blog Team.
“It marked a turning point in my life and became a crucial part of who I am now. It has allowed me to express myself, which is very meaningful because I’m an introverted person and struggle with conversing with others. Thanks to art, I have also been lucky to meet so many incredible people with whom I have shared experiences and learned a lot,” he continued.
“It’s also important because I’ve been able to create my own identity as an artist and show it through my work, with things I like, such as my community and my Smash Bros team. Now that I think about it, art is more ingrained in my life than I thought.”
Just like art, the Pokémon franchise (and video games in general) has been very influential in JJ’s life because it has allowed him to socialize with people who share his interests and passion for it.
“I got to know about Pokémon when I was about 8 or 9, not because of the anime series, but because, on a random day, I found a disk with a bunch of Pokémon games in the school’s computer room. The teacher there said I could take it home, and since then, I’ve fallen into the Pokémon rabbit hole. At the time, I played a lot of Pokémon Sapphire and Emerald, so those games are burned into my subconscious. From that moment on, I played through the games multiple times. I still remember back in the day, when the internet was more limited, I used to spend a lot of time writing down GameShark codes in my notebook so I could get all the Pokémon, items, etc. I ended up corrupting the systems because of how many things I put into the games,” he recalled.
The games began to take up more of his life when he got a console and the original games.
Those DS and 3DS days opened a door he still misses to this day: his city’s Pokémon community.
“We had a meeting every weekend,” he remembered fondly. “They ranged from themed tournaments to Pokémon contests. It was sacred for me to go play on Saturdays. I met so many people with the same passion for the games. This allowed me to get to know other worlds beyond Pokémon and helped introduce me to my current community, which is Smash Bros.”
Nowadays, our artist doesn’t have the same close relationship with Pokémon, but the franchise still holds a very special place in his heart because of the essential role it played in providing him with a safe haven and helping him grow as a person.
JJ has always enjoyed being able to capture in an image the vision he has of things.
He loves making Pokémon-related art because, when he illustrates, he can give his own twist to the designs of the Pokémon and the trainers, showing how he imagines them and giving them his unique shine.
“In fact, what really motivated me to become an illustrator was seeing the time and the effort I put into a Bulbasaur drawing reflected at me. I still own that drawing because I keep it as a memento of where I started and as a reminder of everything I’ve achieved as an illustrator. Pokémon and being an illustrator are two things that go hand in hand in my life and reinforce each other,” he shared.
Our artist likes multiple Pokémon, especially from the third to the fifth generations. But if he had to choose the designs that hold the most significance for him, the Swampert evolutionary line would definitely take the lead.
“Back in the day, I had no idea what animal he was supposed to be, but I really liked Mudkip’s design because it was different: strange, but adorable. And when I evolved him in the games, I felt he was the most amazing and powerful thing I could have on the team, and it’s been a personal favorite ever since. Not to mention the Mega Evolution,” he revealed.
JJ also gave us his dream team: Solgaleo (“amazing design and story in Pokémon Sun and Moon“); Zacian (“He’s a dog with sausages and a sword”); Jolteon (“best Eeveelution ever“); Incineroar (“He’s one of my mains in Smash Bros.“); and Ursaluna.
Remember, you can follow the talented Jajasc_ in his Social Media Accounts:
You can see more of his beautiful artworks, including his contributions to the third and sixth generations of Pokédex Ilustrada, below:
Pokémon Blog 