The new Pokémon Trading Card Game Incandescent Arcana set has launched in Japan, and is packed with Hidden Rare TCG collectibles. Following the worldwide debut of Pokémon Sword and Shield's Astral Radiance expansion in May, The Pokémon Company has released a special September set in Japan called Incandescent Arcana. The winter-themed expansion has almost 100 new cards and features popular Pokémon such as Alolan Vulpix and Serperior. The mini-release also includes a wide variety of Hidden Rare and Ultra Rare Pokémon cards that fans will not want to miss out on.
Although international TCG collectors are getting the Pokémon Sword and Shield Lost Origin expansion in September, Japan always receives new cards months before the rest of the world. Because of this, players will eventually see an English release of Incandescent Arcana in November as a part of the Silver Tempest TCG expansion instead. With Gen 9 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launching in Fall 2022, Nintendo has also confirmed that Silver Tempest will be the final Pokémon Sword and Shield expansion.
While Incandescent Arcana is currently only available in Japan, players around the world can get a sneak peek right now of what will end up being the last Galar region-era Pokémon cards. Because it's a mini-set, Incandescent Arcana only has a setlist of 68 cards. However, the winter-themed expansion has additional 26 Hidden Rare and Ultra Rare cards including the wildly popular Trainer Gallery cards. Below is a breakdown of every Hidden Rare collectible in the Pokémon TCG Incandescent Arcana set.
Pokémon TCG Incandescent Arcana Trainer Gallery Cards
In 2016, Game Freak released the Gen 7 Pokémon Sun and Moon RPGs on the Nintendo 3DS. Three months after the new generation's launch, the TCG saw it's very first Alolan-themed Pokémon card expansion hit stores, which debuted the now-beloved Trainer Gallery card variants. The rare cards feature beautiful full artwork of Pokémon next to their trainers. Due to the their massive popularity, The Pokémon Company brought the Alolan era cards back for Sword and Shield's Pokémon Brilliant Stars and Astral Radiance expansions in 2022.
The Trainer Gallery subsets are seemingly here to stay, as they will make one last appearance in the final Gen 8 Silver Tempest set in November. Players can get their hands on the first half of the subset now in Incandescent Arcana, as the Japanese set features six of them in total. The Hidden Rare cards nclude beloved Pokémon such as Milotic, Gardevoir, and even Gen 1's Jynx. Below is a list of every Trainer Gallery card in the September set:
- Braixen
- Milotic
- Jynx
- Gardevoir
- Smeargle
- Altaria
Incandescent Arcana Pokémon V Full Art Cards
Similar to previous Pokémon Sword and Shield TCG sets, Incandescent Arcana will also feature Full Art Pokémon V cards. The rare card variant made its debut when the Gen 8 TCG series launched in 2020, and features textured holographic artwork that covers the entire card stock. Incandescent Arcana has six Hidden Rare V collectibles, which include Serperior, Alolan Vulpix, and Mawile.
The Full Art card setlist also includes popular Legendaries such as Pokémon Gold and Silver's Ho-Oh, and Pokémon Black and White's Reshiram. Collectors will even be able to get a V card of Sun and Moon Mythical Pokémon Magerana. Here is every Hidden Rare Pokémon V card available in the Japanese set:
- Serperior V
- Reshiram V
- Alolan Vulpix V
- Mawile V
- Magearna V
- Ho-Oh V
Pokémon Incandescent Arcana Full Art Trainer Cards
The Incandescent Arcana TCG expansion brings back the Full Art Trainer card subset as well. The rare collectibles feature full artwrok aof popular characters from previous generations. The Hidden Rare setlist includes Gym Leader Wallace from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire's Hoenn Region, as well as the lovable protagonist from the Pokémon X and Y games.
Because Incandescent Arcana is technically a mini-set, the release doesn't have the full Trainer card setlist that will be available in the Silver Tempest expansion in November. As a result, players will only be able to pull a total of three of the Trainer cards in the Japanese set. Below are the Hidden Rare Trainer Cards available in Incandescent Arcana.
- Serena
- Furisode Girl
- Wallace
Pokémon Incandescent Arcana Alternate Art Cards
Ever since they made their debut in the Pokémon Black and White TCG era as EX collectibles, Alternate Art cards have quickly become the most collectible modern Pokémon cards. The rare card variant features incredibly detailed Full Art foils and usually has artwork depicting Pokémon in unique situations such as battles.
The rare variants are so sought after, that one of 2022's most expensive Pokémon collectibles is the Pokémon Brilliant Stars Alternate Art Charizard V card which has sold for as high as $700 graded. Even though Incandescent Arcana only has two Alternate Art collectibles, they will likely become a massive deal among collectors. Here is the list of Pokémon Incandescent Arcana Alternate Art cards:
- Serperior V
- Mawile V
Pokémon Incandescent Arcana Ultra Hidden Rare Rainbow & Gold Cards
Wrapping up Incandescent Arcana's Hidden Rare card setlist are the Ultra Hidden Rare Rainbow and Gold cards. Players will be able to score a Serperior VSTAR, Alolan Vulpix VSTAR, and the Full Art Trainer cards in the beautiful Rainbow variant. While the Trainer setlist only has three collectibles, fans will also be able to pull them a second time as Rainbow cards.
The rarest collectible in the set though is the Gold Serperior VSTAR. The Starter evolutuion from Unova's Pokémon Black and White is the only Pokémon or VSTAR card availble in the golden holographic foil, making it the expansions biggest chade cards. Below is a list of every Ultra Hidden Rare card that players will be able to find in the Incandescent Arcana TCG set:
- Serperior VSTAR (Rainbow)
- Alolan Vulpix VSTAR (Rainbow)
- Mawile VSTAR (Rainbow)
- Serena (Rainbow Trainer)
- Furisode Girl (Rainbow Trainer)
- Wallace (Rainbow Trainer)
- Serperior VSTAR (Gold)
- Energy Switch (Gold)
- V Guard Energy (Gold)
Although every card from the Incandescent Arcana Japanese set will be in November's Silver Tempest TCG expansion, there is still an additional half of the setlist that has yet to be revealed. The second batch of cards will come from the Paradigm Trigger TCG expansion which launches in October.
With Silver Tempest releasing in November, Nintendo has confirmed that the first Gen 9 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet TCG expansion will debut in 2023.The next generation of the Pokémon Trading Card Game will officially kick off following the release of the English edition of the Incandescent Arcana setlist at the end of 2022.