With the release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on Nintendo Switch, the Pokémon TCG may follow suit and launch cards based on the newest games. Each year sees the release of four major English sets in the Pokémon TCG, alongside smaller specialized sets. While the cards tend to go their own way when it comes to mechanics and Pokémon to focus on, there’s usually some through-line connecting them back to the video games.
The latest Pokémon TCG set, Sword & Shield - Fusion Strike, continues providing support for the Rapid Strike and Single Strike archetypes, based on the form differences of the Pokémon Urshifu that was introduced in the Sword and Shield Isle of Armor DLC. After introducing archetypes based directly on a feature from the games, Fusion Strike takes matters a step further and introduces the new Fusion Strike archetype. This pattern of creating a TCG mechanic based on a video game mechanic and then expanding it into something exclusive to the TCG looks to be continuing with the next Pokémon card expansion, Brilliant Stars.
Sword & Shield - Brilliant Stars takes the Pokémon V mechanic and expands upon it with Pokémon VSTAR. Pokémon VSTAR evolve from their respective Pokémon V cards, similar to the way Pokémon VMAX evolve from Pokémon V. But unlike Pokémon V and VMAX, which are based on Dynamax and Gigantamax from the Sword and Shield video games, Pokémon VSTAR in the TCG isn’t based on any game mechanic in particular.
The Role Of Video Game Remakes In The Pokémon TCG
While the ever popular Charizard is unsurprisingly getting a spotlight as one of the first Pokémon VSTARs, the cover Pokémon for Brilliant Stars is actually Arceus. The set is also slated to include Colorless-type support, further increasing Arceus’ usability. Upcoming products, including box sets with Leafeon VSTAR and Glaceon VSTAR, combined with the use of “Brilliant” in the set name, further hint that Sinnoh Pokémon will indeed see some spotlight in Pokémon Brilliant Stars and possibly other upcoming sets. Make no mistake: although the set is part of the “Sword & Shield” era and includes the games’ names in its full title, that doesn’t mean the Sinnoh remakes will inherently get skipped over in the Pokémon TCG.
The last time a video game remake got named in the Pokémon TCG was HeartGold and SoulSilver, with a total of four sets under its wing. The Black and White video game era didn’t have any remakes to name sets after, but that changed with X and Y, which were accompanied by Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. In the TCG, the XY sets included plenty of cards based on the Pokémon Gym Leaders and other NPCs who could be found in Kalos, as well as cards based on Team Flare and their inventions. But Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire themed cards weren’t neglected. XY - Primal Clash, XY - Roaring Skies, and XY- Ancient Origins all featured Hoenn Pokémon prominently, including Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Mega Rayquaza, and Team Magma and Aqua’s leaders and ace Pokémon. They also introduced the Ancient Trait mechanic based loosely on the lore added in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’s Delta Episode.
The English Pokémon TCG set names will likely continue to include the Sword & Shield prefix. Despite this, the cards featured in the sets will no doubt shine a new light on Pokémon and characters from Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The new VSTAR mechanic in the Pokémon TCG already seems to reference Sinnoh’s focus on the universe, boding well for the remakes’ impact on upcoming sets.