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And no, black isn’t even one of them.

While the titles of the Pokémon video game installments have now evolved into such fancy things as Omega Ruby and SoulSilver, back in the beginning they bore decidedly mundane names. The first games were called Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan, which were quickly followed by enhanced versions Blue and Yellow.

Those colors also correspond with the four available starter Pokémon in the games: fire-type Charmander, grass-type Bulbasaur, water-type Squirtle, and electric-type Pikachu. And as Japanese Twitter @mojacookie recently demonstrated, that iconic group of four can be drawn using a set of colored pencils no more complex than the simply-named titles in which fans first met them.

https://twitter.com/mojacookie/status/760351889942716416

As a matter of fact, @mojacookie doesn’t even need a green colored pencil, as she can mix that color from her even severely pared-down palette of just red, blue, and yellow. In the time-lapse video above, the artist starts by drawing the overall outline and facial features of the group in blue.

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After that, she grabs her red pencil for more linework before getting to work shading the illustration.

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You might be wondering why @mojacookie decides to make the tips of Pikachu’s ears red at one stage, but to reiterate, the only colors she has to work with are red, blue, and yellow. So in order to create black, she has to combine multiple hues in the same area.

▼ The rare red Charmander and blue Bulbasaur…

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▼ …transform into their standard orange and green after laying down a layer of yellow.

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In the end, @mojacookie’s artwork serves as an eloquent metaphor for Pokémon’s special appeal. Yes, the games have no shortage of complex strategies and secrets, but all of them are grounded in the pure, straightforward fun of catching and raising the adorable little critters, just like this illustration ends up being far more than the sum of its modest, three-color parts.

You can find more of @mojacookie’s artwork on her Niconico Douga account, her Pixiv account, and her Instagram account. And don’t miss this awesome colored pencil illustration of Hatsune Miku from earlier this year!

Source, images: Twitter/@mojacookie

Casey can’t draw Pokémon no matter how many colored pencils you give him, but you can follow him on Twitter anyway.