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

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith Part 70: Cynthia Illustration

Gastrodon has never gotten an Illustration Rare or Alt Art but did get to share the stage with Cynthia in Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith.

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.

Cynthia's Ambition gets a terrific Special Illustration Rare Trainer that pairs her with West Sea Gastrodon in a cute, detailed style. This card is illustrated by Atsuya Uki, who is known as the director of Cencoroll 2. He has worked in the animation department for Digimon Adventure tri. This is his first Pokémon card. Crown Zenith was bent on bringing name artists into the hobby for their first contributions! Since this set, Uki contributed a card featuring Marill on an Illustration Rare to Japan's Snow Hazard, which was then adapted into Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved.

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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