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

Pokémon TCG Japan: Clay Burst Preview: Trainer Illustrations

This Iono Special Illustration Rare from Pokémon TCG Japan is so rare that it sent this entrie set back to print. What's next?

The next two sets of the Scarlet & Violet era are arriving on April 14th in Japan. The two sets, Snow Hazard and Clay Burst, will largely focus on the Treasures of Ruin Legendary group from the region of Paldea introduced in Scarlet & Violet. In this expansion, all four Treasures of Ruin (Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien) will receive Pokémon ex. This set follows Pokémon TCG Japan's Scarlet ex and Violet ex and the subset Triplet Beat which were released in early 2023, kicking off the new Paldea-themed series block that will presumably run for the next three years. Snow Hazard and Clay Burst will merge with Triplet Beat as the basis for Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved, the second English-language expansion set of the Generation Nine era, which will release on June 30, 2023. The Pokémon ex mechanic, the main mechanic of this new era, continues in Snow Hazard and Clay Burst, as does the layout of the Secret Rare section, which includes Illustration Rares, Special Illustration Rares, Full Art ex, Full Art Trainers, Special Illustration Rare Trainers, and Gold cards.  Today, let's take a look at another pair of Special Illustration Rares revealed for Clay Burst featuring the Trainers from the set.

Just like we saw with their Full Art Trainer Supporters yesterday, the Paldean human characters who get Special Illustration Rare Trainer Supporters are Iono and Saguaro. Sanosule Sakuma's Saguaro depicts this home economics teacher washing his hands before preparing a meal as his Pokémon Delibird, Swkovet, and Jigglypuff watch on. The chase card of Clay Burst and certain the future chase card for the soon-to-be-released English-language expansion Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved is the Iono Special Illustration Rare drawn by kirisAki. Iono is a breakout character, and kirisAki is widely known for illustrating valuable female Trainers, including Rosa from Sun & Moon – Cosmic Eclipse, the insanely expensive Acerola promo that was never released in English, Marnie from Sword & Shield, and Irida from Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance. This Iono card is currently going for well over $1,000 in Japan.

Japanese sets often give us early ideas of what the English-language sets may include, so be sure to keep an eye on our coverage. You can stay tuned for previews of Scarlet & Violet cards as well as updates on everything Pokémon TCG 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!