Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Dark Phantasma, Lost Origin, pokemon, Pokémon Legends Arceus, Pokemon TCG

Pokémon TCG Japan's Dark Phantasma Preview: Full Art Trainers

The new Pokémon TCG set has arrived in Japan. Dark Phantasma was released on May 13th, 2022, and continues the focus on the Hisui region that debuted earlier this year in the Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Like the previous three sets (Battle Region, Time Gazer, and Space Juggler), Dark Phantasma features cards with certain Hisuian species for the very first time. This Zoroark-themed set also continues the VSTAR mechanic introduced this year and sees more Radiant Pokémon cards (formerly thought to be called "Sparkling" cards) that depict species in their Shiny form with a unique reverse holo pattern. These sets, along with the upcoming Japanese sets Lost Abyss and Incandescent Arcana, will likely be the basis of the next English-language set, Sword & Shield – Lost Origin, coming in Summer 2022. Today, let's take a look at the Full Art trainers of this set.

This set is going real hard on the Hisuian region! The Trainers here are all from that ancient version of Sinnoh introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It has been so fun to have what is essentially a mini-generation of Pokémon and Trainers introduced this year ahead of the main big generation reveal with Scarlet & Violet coming in late 2022. What I'm wondering, though, is when we will begin to see more Hisuian species in Pokémon GO? We saw Hisuian Voltorb drop to tie into the release of the game and then, later, its evolution of Hisuian Electrode was unlocked. It would be very cool if we saw a full Hisui reveal to tie into the release of Sword & Shield – Lost Origin, which will presumably include all of these cards. What do you think?

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 Dark Phantasma cards as well as updates on everything Pokémon TCG right here at Bleeding Cool.

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