Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, sun & moon, Team Up

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Team Up Part 7: Kanto Water-types

Bleeding Cool's ongoing retrospect of Pokémon TCG's popular set Sun & Moon - Team Up continues with the Water-type Pokémon of Kanto.

Four years ago, Pokémon TCG released the ninth main series set of the Sun & Moon era. The expansion, Sun & Moon – Team Up, came out on September 9th, 2022. Sun & Moon – Team Up added quite a lot to the hobby, including a special card type that would later become the most sought-after style of chase card in the Sword & Shield era. I'm talking, of course, about Alternate Arts. Sun & Moon – Team Up also introduced TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX, which featured two Pokémon on a single card. These species shared at least one of their typings. TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX were available as standard TEAM TEAM GX cards, Full Arts, Alternate Arts, and Rainbow Rares. Sun & Moon – Team Up was also the last set to include Prism Stars. This English-language expansion was based on the Japanese set Tag Bolt and took inspiration from the Kanto-themed games Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! Let's look back on this influential set and appreciate the artwork that would lay the groundwork for the current Alternate Art-themed era of Sword & Shield and beyond. Today, we continue with the Water-types of Sun & Moon – Team Up.

Due to Sun & Moon – Team Up's focus on Let's Go, Eevee! and Let's Go, Pikachu! we are getting quite a strong Kanto focus. Kanto Water-types included in the set include Squirtle, Wartortle, Blastoise, Psyduck, Golduck, Staryu, Magikarp, Gyarados, Lapras, and Articuno. Kouki Saitou, a contributor to the TCG since Aquapolis and one of the hobby's most prolific artists, draws an adorably flailing Psyduck while artist Hasuno delivers the intensity with a Gyarados locked in battle as the ground around it churns with raging hot flames. No problem for a Water-type as powerful as Gyarados. The final card in today's artist spotlight is Articuno, a holographic rare in the set illustrated by Yusuke Ohmura. Ohmura's Articuno is graceful and powerful, with a chilling distance in its eyes.

Stay tuned for the journey through this teamwork-themed set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon – Team Up. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.

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