Pokémon Oracle by KJM

an Unofficial Trading Card Divination system.

I was wandering around one of my local bookstores, People’s Book in downtown Takoma Park, browsing while I waited for a free Tarot reading when I spotted this zine nestled amidst other esoterica. People’s Book, btw, is the only local store I know with an entire zine section, so mad props to the owners for recognizing this oft-overlooked corner of publication!

Being a bit of a Pokemon fan and an even bigger fan of Tarot, I felt I had to buy this zine to take home and peruse. Readers, it is a delight. The slender volume tells you exactly how you can use Pokemon cards in place of a Tarot or Oracle deck to get in touch with your intuition, using the pictures, types and movesets, among other descriptors, to find answers for the questions you’re not really sure how to resolve otherwise.

Alas, then, that I should get home and discover that the only Pokemon cards easily accessible to me are the ones my eldest got from our coolest neighbor at Halloween. I’ve bought that kid at least two full decks in his lifetime so far, but those were the only ones I could find (which may not be entirely his fault: my aunt has been living with us since August and LOVES to rearrange things.) Since the only cards I had available to me were mostly dark and ghost types, it didn’t feel like I was giving myself the most comprehensive reading, especially as I was trying to do the bespoke Pokeball spread included in the book. So I turned to the distributor of the Pokemon Oracle, Twenty Two Zines — whose website offers professional readings by Pokemaster Lynn Sueker — for help!

Lynn and Wesley Sueker are delightful people who instantly agreed to do a personal Pokeball reading for me. The reading was surprisingly comprehensive, and they attached a video of their interpretation process which was absolutely hilarious. I’m going with their prediction of a lifespan of 90 or 99, y’all! I’m still mulling over all the rest of the interesting information and advice they gave me, but here’s a photograph of the spread they sent (click on it to enlarge):

I love how they link this reading to my artistic life, tho in all honesty, I feel like it’s definitely linked to my professional life, as well. After all, if my main artistic output is writing in its many forms, then this is definitely a good description of my career — and its links to my personal life — to date. And while the reading was very encouraging, the video they sent with it was even more heartwarming. I’m hoping they start doing more of those publicly for other people soon!

If you’re at all into the intersection of divination and games, the Pokemon Oracle is a can’t miss zine. And if you need a little help getting started with interpretation, the Suekers are incredible guides.

Pokemon Oracle by KJM was published April 17 2023 by Twenty Two Zines and is available from their amazing and delightful distro website.