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Pokémon TCG: VMAX Climax Secret Rare Preview: Gloria & Nessa

The upcoming Pokémon TCG high-class set VMAX Climax, which will be released in December 2021 in Japan, was previously shrouded in mystery. Very little was known about how this set would show up for English-speaking collectors and players until the Pokémon TCG revealed that their February 2022 set, Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, would feature a subset of 30 cards called the Trainer Gallery. However, this week's reveal of a shocking 100 Secret Rares in VMAX Climax has created confusion as to what will show up in Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars. While speculation will continue, let's take a look at some of those Secret Rares from VMAX Climax.

VMAX Climax cards. Credit: Pokémon TCG
VMAX Climax cards. Credit: Pokémon TCG

These two are destined to be chase cards in both VMAX Climax and whatever English-language Pokémon TCG set they end up in, but I think collectors ended up dodging a bullet here. Gloria and Nessa are two popular trainers from the Galar region, with Gloria being the Sword & Shield female protagonist and Nessa being the most popular new trainer the games' introduced in Generation Eight with the exception of Marnie. This is Nessa's second Full Art Trainer Supporter, with the first being in Sword & Shield – Vivid Voltage.

So how did we dodge a bullet? Earlier this year, a Full Art Trainer craze took over the Pokémon TCG. This still impacts the value of many Sun & Moon era sets which saw some of the more popular female Full Art Trainers getting bought out. This drove values up quite high. This impacted some Sword & Shield sets, with Marie from Sword & Shield base and Nessa from Sword & Shield – Vivid Voltage becoming major chase cards with ballooning value. However, the bubble has popped and the value of Sword & Shield-era Full Art Trainers has dramatically dropped. If that trend stays on pace, these cards shouldn't end up being prohibitively pricey for collectors.

Stay tuned for more Pokémon TCG news daily right here at Bleeding Cool! You can follow our VMAX Climax coverage using our official tag for the set and our Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars coverage using this tag for the set.


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Theo DwyerAbout Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.
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