Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Espathra, Paradox Rift, pokemon, pokemon cards

Pokémon TCG Japan's Ancient Roar & Future Flash: Espathra Illustration

Pokémon TCG Japan’s Future Flash features an Espathra Illustration Rare by AKIRA EGAWA, whose capitalized credit & art are equally bold.

Pokémon TCG Japan has begun teasing the October 2023 Scarlet & Violet-era sister sets. These two sets are the Roaring Moon-themed Ancient Roar and the Iron Valiant-themed Future Flash. Both sets hit shelves on October 27th, just one month after the Tera Garchomp-themed Raging Surf, which is also currently being teased. These expansions will introduce the new Future and Ancient mechanics, which refer to Paradox Pokémon. We have previously seen Paradox Pokémon like Iron Treads and Great Tusk in earlier Scarlet & Violet sets, but the Pokémon TCG has been mostly holding these special species back for this next wave of expansions. It has already been confirmed that these sets will pair with Raging Surf to make up Scarlet & Violet – Paradox Rift, which will be our English-language Pokémon TCG set for November 2023. It is rumored that Scarlet & Violet – Paradox Rift will also combine with the cards from the upcoming Japanese ex Starter Sets featuring Tera Mewtwo ex and Tera Skeledirge ex, but we cannot yet confirm. Today, let's take a look at one of the Illustration Rares from Future Flash.

Espathra, the evolution of the new Paldean Pokémon Flittle, gets both a holographic rare and an Illustration Rare in Future Flash.

The standard holographic card is a rare occurrence of a Trainer appearing alongside a Pokémon in a card like this. It's basically a Character Rare but with a standard border, and man, it makes me wish that we could see a Full Art version of this. This holographic card is drawn by Teeziro, who depicts Espathra with its Trainer Tulip, the Gym Leader of the Alfornada Gym from the Scarlet & Violet games.

Artist AKIRA EGAWA delivers the most stunning piece of artwork we've seen so far in Future Flash with the Espathra Illustration Rare. Espathra perches on a stone, watching the ocean churn in golden waves as the sun dips beneath in. This card looks like a piece of fine art, which is nothing short of what we have come to expect from EGAWA. EGAWA has become a Top Five Pokémon TCG artist of all time since their debut in Sun & Moon – Unified Minds, recently contributing the iconic Gold Alternate Art VSTAR cards from Crown Zenith, which closed out the Sword & Shield era with a run of Legendary Pokémon chase cards.

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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