Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Skeledirge, Triplet Beat

Pokémon TCG Japan: Triplet Beat Preview: Skeledirge Secret Rares

Fuecoco's ultimate evolution of Skeledirge is one of the set mascots of the brand new Japanese Pokémon TCG set Triplet Beat.

The first subset of the Scarlet & Violet era is arriving on March 10th in Japan. The subset, Triplet Beat, will largely focus on the Paldean Starters Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. In this expansion, all three Starters will get Art Rares, and their evolutions Meowscarada, Skeledirge, and Quaquaval will receive Pokémon ex. This set follows Pokémon TCG Japan's Scarlet ex and Violet ex which was released in January 2023, kicking off the new Paldea-themed series block that will presumably run for the next three years. Scarlet ex and Violet ex are the basis of the English-language set Scarlet & Violet base coming out internationally on March 31, 2023, so it follows that Triplet Beat will be in part 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 Triplet Beat.  Today, let's take a look at some more cards from the Secret Rare section from Triplet Beat.

Just like the Meowscarada Secret Rares that we showed off yesterday, Skeledirge gets a Full Art ex, a Special Illustration Rare, and a Gold ex in Triplet Beat. The Full Art ex and the Gold ex use the same line art by 5ban Graphics. My one critique so far of the Scarlet & Violet-era cards is that the Full Art and Gold cards are just too similar in style. This wasn't the case during the Sword & Shield era because initially, the Gold cards showed Shiny Pokémon, and then later in the era, Full Arts depicted Pokémon V while Golds depicted Pokémon VSTAR. That meant that the Full Arts and Golds used different line art, with the Golds recreating the basic VSTAR, which looked a lot different. I do hope we see some changes made to the Gold Secret Rares as the era goes on.

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.

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