Pokemon TCG Trademark Signals End of Scarlet and Violet Era

It’s been more than 2 years since the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on Nintendo Switch. In that time, the Paldea region has had a huge impact on the Pokemon brand overall, from the anime, to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. That influence is starting to wind down, however. With the approach of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the TCG is starting to switch gears, and it appears the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet branding will go away later this year. As shared by PokeBeach, a trademark has been filed in Japan that translates to “Pokemon Card Game Mega.” The outlet theorizes that this will be the theme that multiple sets will fall under.

This isn’t entirely surprising. On Pokemon Day last week, The Pokemon Company confirmed the impending return of Mega Evolutions to the TCG. In the Pokemon Presents livestream, viewers were shown Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex. The video only confirmed that Mega Evolutions will be making their return at some point, but it will likely be a little bit, as Pokemon Legends: Z-A won’t be coming until late 2025, and we know of multiple Pokemon Scarlet & Violet branded sets that will be arriving first.

On March 28th, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet – Journey Together will be released. The set’s big focus will be on a return for Trainer’s Pokemon. Based on the old Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge sets, Journey Together will feature cards like Hop’s Zacian ex, and Iono’s Bellibolt ex. Basically, the set will focus on Pokemon that are closely associated with popular trainers from the video games and anime. While not officially confirmed by The Pokemon Company, leaks suggest that the next set after Journey Together will be called Destined Rivals, and will feature more Trainer’s Pokemon, including those associated with Team Rocket. Rumors suggest that set will be coming out on May 30th.

Given how many cards have yet to be released in English, and how far off Pokemon Legends: Z-A still is, fans can likely expect the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet branding to stick around throughout most of 2025, before getting retired. When that branding does go away, The Pokemon Company could stick with “Mega” as the overall theme just as Japan is planning, or we could get something like “Z-A” or “Mega Evolution” instead. There’s really no way of knowing for sure.

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Whatever The Pokemon Company settles on, we can probably expect that branding to last for at least a year. 2026 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, and it’s likely that the next full Pokemon generation will be released that year, possibly in a pair of games for Nintendo Switch 2. There are a lot of things we still don’t know about what the next 2 years hold for the brand, but fans of the video games and TCG should have a lot to look forward to.

Are you excited to see what the Pokemon Trading Card Game has to offer this year? Have you been eager to see Mega Evolutions make a comeback? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!