Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Crown Zenith, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Zacian

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith Part 59: Zacian Illustration

Zacian was featured as a Special Illustration Rare in Pokémon TCG's Crown Zenith set released in January 2023 to close out the Galar era.

The Sword & Shield era of the Pokémon TCG has come to an end. Three years of expansions dedicated to the region of Galar, with some love for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's revitalization of Sinnoh and Pokémon Legends: Arceus's introduction of the ancient region of Hisui, have led to this moment. Crown Zenith, a special set celebrating the Sword & Shield era, was released on January 20th, 2023. It was primarily an adaptation of Japan's VSTAR Universe set and also featured a collection of cards that were cut from other English-language sets and more. Like other special sets, including Champion's Path, Shining Fates, Celebrations, and Pokémon GO, Crown Zenith packs were found in specially branded products like Premium Collections and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than booster boxes. This set featured the Galarian Gallery subset, which introduced Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, originally called "Art Rares," to the hobby, which set the standard for the following Sword & Shield era, which used these card types as their primary Secret Rares. In today's installment of this Crown Zenith spotlight, let's take a look at more cards from the Galarian Gallery subset.

This gorgeous Special Illustration Rare gives Zacian the truly Legendary treatment, making this Pokémon look like a truly majestic, one-of-a-kind creature in its temple here. Artist Hataya uses a soft, limited color palette to beautiful effect here, showing a masterful use of intricate line art in the background to help make Zacian's iconic form pop. Hataya has been contributing to the hobby since Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, with their most memorable cards being Bronzong Character Rare from Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance and Regidrago V Alternate Art from Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest. We have not yet seen Hataya contribute to the Scarlet & Violet era as of yet.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith. Next time, the spotlight continues with the Galarian Gallery subset. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

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