Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Heracross, Paldea Evolved, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG

Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Paldea Evolved Part 37: Heracross & Tropius

Two artists that got their start in the special Pokémon TCG set Crown Zenith deliver Illustration Rares in Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved.

With Sword & Shield officially concluded, the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokémon TCG kicked off in March 2023 with a focus on the ninth generation of Pokémon games and the new region: Paldea. It all began with the Scarlet & Violet base set, which introduced major, lasting changes to the hobby. Now, the borders of the cards have become silver, matching the Japanese releases. Another major change is that now, each pack culminates in at least a holo-rare and two reverse holos. The major mechanic of this era is the lowercase ex, which features a double holographic pattern of a horizontal shine and a starry sparkle. Full Art exs now use a green, foil outline around the Pokémon. The Secret Rare section of expansions going forward features Full Arts, Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rare exs, Full Art Trainers, Special Illustration Rare Trainers, and Gold Hyper Rares. On June 9th, 2023, the Pokémon TCG released the second set of this era, Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved, which focused on the Paldean Starters and the Treasures of Ruin Legendaries. In today's installment of this Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved art spotlight, let's take a look at the first pair of Illustration Rares from the set.

Has Heracross ever looked cuter? If you saw a giant, anthropomorphic beetle on the side of the road as we see here, it would probably be scary… until you saw that little smile. Artist Kurata So illustrates this with a gorgeous, pastoral vibe. Kurata So made their Pokémon TCG debut in Crown Zenith and the Galarian Gallery subset. It's exciting to see So continue their work into the Scarlet & Violet era.

Tropius, a cross between a leaf and a brontosaurus, gets an Illustration Rare in this set by Jerky, who draws the Pokémon about to take a bite out of some low-hanging fruit. Jerky first contributed to the Pokémon TCG with Crown Zenith as well, where they drew Lumineon V Special Illustration Rare. Ever since that first credit, we've seen Jerky become a rising star in the hobby.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of the set. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!