Rare Candy

May 7, 2013; Kotaku

Peter Le and Amy Kim, two San Jose State University students, brainstormed an idea to pay tribute to all 151 original Pokémon while giving back to charity. Along with assistance from their friends and fellow students in the Animation/Illustration program at SJSU, The Rare Candy Pokémon Art Auction for Charity assembled 151 artists from companies like Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, and Lucas Arts to draw randomly assigned Pokémon characters.

The images vary in styles from digital art to paintings and sketches, and many of these illustrations are truly beautiful. Bidding opened at $5 for each piece, but some illustrations have already passed $100. The most popular image so far has been the stunning depiction of Gyarados, which has already risen to $400. All bids must be in by 8:00PM on May 15th.

Here is a selection of some of the most creative pieces up for auction:

G

Gyarados (currently $400.00)

Mew

Mew (currently $212.00)

Venusaur

Venusaur (currently $93.00)

Lick

Lickitung (currently $70.00)

Bell

Bellsprout (currently $43.00)

Doduo

Doduo (currently $27.00)

The Rare Candy Pokémon Art Auction for Charity are using Doodlebender, an online charity platform that focuses on auctioning works of art, to sell the pieces. All proceeds will go to the Canines for Disabled Kids charity, a nonprofit that partners deaf and physically disabled patients with trained service dogs. The gallery is also hosted by Umpqua Bank in San Jose, California, where all 151 pieces are currently on display.—Aine Creedon