Summary
ThePokémon Trading Card Gamehas been relishing in nostalgia recently, with 2023’sScarlet & Violet’s151set being a notable example, featuring the original 151 Pokémon from Gen 1’s Kanto region. China’s latest compilation set,Shadow of Glory,seems to be continuing this with thereturn of another iconic Gen 1 Pokémon adapted fromthe 2022Pokémon GOsets, nowwith new, never-before-seen artwork.
As shared to the PokéBeach fansite byWater Pokémon Master, China is releasing more exclusivePokémon GOcards in their upcoming sets, continuing from the 14 seen in its previous compilation set,Brave Stars. WhereBrave Starsfeatured the likes of Gen 1 starters Bulbasaur and Charmander, along with their evolutions, the water starter, Squirtle, wasn’t featured in the exclusives. WithShadow of Glory, however, Squirtle’s evolution,Blastoise appears, along with a Radiant variant, with exclusive Chinese artwork not featured anywhere else in the world, marking one of the few times a country outside of Japan is getting new cards or artwork.
Radiant Pokémon are a subgroup of Shiny Pokémon, but these cards have a completely different foiling process that earns their Radiant title. Radiant Pokémon are all incredibly powerful versions of Basic Pokémon, but there is a rule that players can’t have more than one Radiant Pokémon in their deck.
Why Is China Getting Exclusive Artwork For Pokémon GO Cards?
The Pokémon GO Mobile Game Is Geolocked
Water Pokémon Master theorizes that China is getting exclusive artwork for these sets becausethePokémon GOmobile game is geolocked andbanned in China. Since its launch in 2016, players have been able to travel across many countries and still catch Pokémon in the AR-based game or visit gyms to battle rival teams and gain control. Still, due to the game’s reliance on Google Maps, which is blocked by the Chinese government, if they attempt to access the app in China, they will likely see an error message unless they use specific workarounds like VPNs.
As shared by RedditorHoganprime,Pokémon GOdid work briefly in China for half an hour in early July 2024, as the app displayed Pokéstops, unmanned gyms, team rocket balloons, and Pokémon, but it was quickly blocked again.
The originalPokémon GOcards that are available in most other countries have a copyright for Niantic, the developers ofPokémon GO, and some feature iconography from the game. Therefore, it’s understandable thatChina would have its own artwith noPokémon GObranding available to further disassociate itself from the mobile game.
Between theBrave StarsandShadow of Glorycompilation sets, there are now a total of 20 Chinese-exclusivePokémon GOcards, but this will likely increase with more coming sets. There are also severalPokémon GOcards that don’t include Niantic copyright but have also received their own original artwork for China, such as Mewtwo V/VSTAR, Conkeldurr V, Melmetal V/VMAX, and Slaking V.
The China-exclusive cards so far are:
Alongside the aforementionedPokémon GOcards,Brave Starscontains cards from other 2022 sets, includingStar Birth,Incandescent Arcana, and more.
As thePokémon Trading Card Gamecontinues to release more compilation sets withPokémon GOcards, it’s extremely likely that more China-exclusive variants will be released, especially as the TCG officially launched in China in October 2022, and has been rapidly releasing sets to catch up with the rest of the world. Considering the specificity of where these cards can be acquired, many of them will likely become collectible over time, depending on how many prints each set has.Shadow of Glorywill be released in China on August 2nd.
Pokémon GO
Created by Niantic, Pokémon GO is an augmented reality RPG where players can wander around catching Pokémon as they pass by various landmarks in real life. Players can engage in a traditional Pokémon experience via battles with other trainers, catching Pokémon to breed new ones, and even trade them with other trainers they come across.
