Jessie & James SR from ‘Sky Legend!’

Ok, this art is awesome! Does anyone else see Meowth and Wobbufet in the background?

 

This is actually a game I played at the end of the BW block, when I was super dissatisfied that 200 of the then-older Pokemon didn't appear even once throughout the BW TCG. I looked at every BW release and tried to figure out where I could have cut out repeat Pokemon to fit in ones that were ignored. I even left BW1-3 alone because the clear idea there was Unova Pokemon only. I was still able to fit almost all of the missing Pokemon into the BW sets by cutting out the repeats.

SM-era example: Super-Burst Impact is clearly supposed to be the Johto themed set in Japan. We have two Chikorita and two Hoppip cards in this main expansion. Why? Cut one each of those and we have Sunkern and Sunflora for the first time since HGSS. Random Gen 7 Pokemon (Pikipek, Mareanie), Ultra Beasts (Blacephalon GX, Poipole, Naganadel) and Alolan forms (Meowth and Persian) are tossed in too. Throw out the four Colorless spots given to the Pikipek line in favor of Sentret/Furret and Teddiursa/Ursaring. Rework a few other things and you free up spots for those cut Alolan Pokemon in the subsets or another main set down the line. But the people in charge of the TCG just don't really approach things these way and it's frustrating.

ETA: I was posting this in the catch-all Sky Legends thread on the main board as WPM added a news story and so this ended up on the comment section about Jessie and James FA. whoops!

 

Yeah but the thing is, Sunkern and Sunflora don’t sell. They added 2 Chikorita and Hoppip because they’re more popular, a. k. a. They sell better.

 

I don't think any casual fan is going to pay attention to what commons are in the set though. 2 chikorita and hoppip vs a sunkern line isnt going to make a difference when what casual fans want is the shiny ultra rares.

Anyways... enough on that from me (apologies that this overflowed into the full art reveal!) , that full art is absolutely fantastic. That's a good collectible right there.

 

Yeah, what AshCo said. They're common filler cards either way, does it really make a difference if one is a second Hoppip or another is a Sunkern?

The Pokemon they decide to double up are random at best too. They're always two common evolving basics of an arbitrary type. Sometimes they're starters, other times they're randos like Remoraid. Is Poliwag so popular that anyone would care if one of its extras in Unbroken Bonds went to Finneon? *shrug*

 

The reason I care so much about themes is because it gives lesser Pokemon a chance to shine so having typed sets means a Pokemon like Roserade could get a GX, since they are at least forced to make eight or so GX Pokemon so a person like me waiting for a set of bird Pokemon could be excited for it. Its part of the reason they need to make the bird type a thing and separate it from the flying type because its also easy for a flying set to be full of Charizard and Rayquaza.

I just want a focus because every Pokemon has fans and those fans deserve to have a Pokemon they love as an ultra rare.

 

I......was not expecting that art style.....oh well, I still want it anyway

 

It looks like they are stuck in a box... Or case... Or a PSA case.... As if to predict this card will be popular enough to get mass amounts of PSA submissions... popular enough to blow up pop numbers & price magins.... Pay Day... Team Rocket casino making big bucks while they still feel the pulse of th audience...

 

*Keeps throwing $100 bills at screen*

 

I really like your posts because you put a lot of thought and consideration into these things.

Having said this, it reminds me of the thought and effort that fans put into tracking the series chronology/timeline. Yeah, GameFreak presumably has a series bible and has put some effort towards a coherent timeline and minimal continuity errors, but they've been cropping up more often lately and seems to have culminated with the introduction of Ultra Space/multiple timelines and universes, so any future continuity errors can be handwaved as being a different continuity. Fans are bending themselves over trying to figure out something no one paid to figure these things out is actually putting an iota as much effort into.

It's not surprising there, but it is sort of surprising here that TPCi/whoever's running the TCG isn't putting the level of effort into representation of Pokemon across block expansions as you are. It's really not difficult, the Excel spreadsheets you've thrown together are not too difficult to keep track of especially if you end up being the one actually making all the cards. It's so weird they don't do this!?!

 

It's like the regular artwork is how Team Rocket perceives themselves, and the full art is reality.

 

Eh, the regular art's better IMO.

I feel like the full art should've been somewhat fourth-wall breaking and have at least James' face squished against the art window. Would've fit the artstyle better.

 

I'd ordered two sky legend boxes. Fingers crossed, i really need this one!

 

I mean, I'm just one well-meaning idiot who asks themselves a question like "Has every video game move appeared in the TCG?" (I'm still researching this to update my Google doc, but I'm fairly certain of the answer: no) or "Have we had a Fighting-type Corsola card yet?" (also no!) and then commits fully to the hours and hours of busywork and fact checking required to answer said question.

There's probably a hundred different reasons they make the choices they do in the TCG, especially when there's so many different factors to consider. Monetary, artistic, playability, marketing, people with clipboards making mandates, whatever. They can do better, but I'm sure it's not easy.

 

James' face isn't pressed up against the wall, but Jessie is using the card border to support herself

 

While I agree with you that it is a bit random for them to have 2 of each basic in every 3-staged line (in the main set anyways), I don't think it's very fair to complain that random Gen 7 Pokemon are in the sets. This is the Gen 7 TCG after all, and considering this was both Alolan Persian & Toucannon's 2nd appearance (only after the SM base set) (and Blacephalon's first appearance), I think it's fair to have them in the set, considering they're "only" taking up 12/95 cards.

I like what @crystal_pidgeot says about the sets theme. Take the Lost Thunder example, while the set includes Pokemon from Alola, they still are in theme (to me at least), with Toucannon flying over Mount Silver and Alolan Persian being in (possibly) Alph Ruins or something similar. That is also why I'm not really that excited for this set tbh. Yes, the art looks good, but I just think the Pokemon featured are just put together randomly. I'd rather have the main focus being on birds/Flying-types (could've had Tornadus Therian GX instead of Keldeo and maybe Archeops/Braviary instead of Naganadel), and then have a few Alola Pokemon (like Bounsweet, Fomantis etc.) on the side

 

Well, I guess I better make a collection page in my binder for this, Red, and Brock. Anyone know if they plan in doing another Full Art Misty? It would be awesome to have the whole gang together.

 

Love the artstyle and the goofines - would love it if TPC hired this artist to do more FAs in the future.

 

I wouldn't say Jessie's supporting herself on the card border. Looks more like she's about to slap James or something. And I know James isn't pressed up against the wall. What I'm saying is that the card art would have worked better if his face was being squashed on the "front" of the card.

That being said, the more I look at the art, the less I know what exactly I'm looking at. Their expressions are so indistinct.

 

Yeah, although I don't think they captured the look of James on the 'reality' card good enough. Should have been more awkward.