‘GX Ultra Shiny’ Pack With Shiny Pokemon, Worldwide Card Legality After All?!

A blurry booster pack photo for November’s GX Ultra Shiny has appeared on anonymous Japanese image boards, as you can see to the right. It’s been taken from a computer screen.

The booster pack art shows shiny Charizard, shiny Ho-Oh, shiny Espeon, shiny Lycanroc, shiny Buzzwole, shiny Rayquaza, Yveltal, Giratina, and a few other Pokemon that I can’t quite make out. These will likely be Pokemon-GX in the set. We already know the set will feature reprints of Tapu Lele-GX, Zoroark-GX, Buzzwole-GX, and Zygarde-GX.

The big question for this set has been how Japan will handle the Pokemon reprints, especially for the Pokemon that are shiny versions of existing cards. If it were like sets in the past, the legality of the cards would reset upon their release in this set.

Back when SM1 Collection Sun & Collection Moon cards were first revealed, fans noticed that there was an “A” in the bottom right corner of cards. We didn’t know what it meant at the time — “Alola?” But then why did every card have it? What was the point?

When SM5 Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon premiered, suddenly the new cards featured a “B.” This seemed to indicate that the cards were part of a “B” block. Furthermore, reprinted cards from the “A” block still featured the “A,” like Choice Band, Switch, or a Tapu Koko promo with new artwork.

 

And the upcoming Pikachu & Zekrom-GX from December’s SM9 Tag Bolt are labeled as part of a new “C” block.

Our friend @immewnity just noticed the official Japanese rulebooks are calling the A’s and B’s “regulation marks.” They are listed as “a mark used in official events.” However, they have yet to be used for anything. They seem to be lying in wait for something…

Some Japanese fans are currently speculating that official events will soon use these letters to indicate card legality! For example, for next year’s season, tournaments could only allow cards from the “B” block and on. If true, why hasn’t this been made clear by Pokemon yet? Well, all Sun & Moon sets in Japan are currently legal, so there’s been no reason to reveal this (potential) purpose yet.

If it’s the case that these letters will soon indicate legality, it’s likely Tapu Lele-GX from GX Ultra Shiny will be marked as an “A” to match its original “A” legality from SM2. Whereas before a reprinted card would reset the card’s legality, this potential new way would mean Tapu Lele-GX from GX Ultra Shiny will only be legal in Japan for as long as the original SM2 print from the “A” block.

This may also be why the Tapu Lele-GX in our Island Guardians GX Premium Collection is an “A” alternate art promo instead of a new Sun & Moon promo! Its legality won’t reset in America because in Japan it won’t reset either! (Assuming all of this is true, of course.)

So if anything, it seems TPCi and Creatures will actually be trying to keep our cards in sync! Especially since these “A” and “B” marks have been planned since the beginning of this generation. And especially since the legality of America’s Tapu Lele-GX is (apparently) going to match this hidden legality system in Japan.

Quite the turnaround from what we thought the other day!

As posted before, GX Ultra Shiny will release in Japan on November 2nd and will feature a whopping 150 cards (whopping for a Japanese set, anyway). Each booster box will include one shiny Pokemon-GX. Each booster pack of 10 cards will include four holo cards, including one Pokemon-GX (yes, you read that right).