Pokemon TCG Introduces New Kind of Shiny Pokemon Card With Unique Rules

The Pokemon Trading Card Game has introduced a new kind of Shiny Pokemon card that comes with a unique rules mechanic. Today, The Pokemon Company announced that the next set of Japanese Pokemon cards would contain a new kind of card – Sparkling Pokemon cards. These cards feature powerful Basic Pokemon (AKA, Pokemon cards that can be played from a player's hand immediately) with art depicting the Shiny version of a Pokemon. Sparkling Pokemon cards feature both a unique card texture and a reverse holofoil pattern and have their own rarity tier. Because Sparkling Pokemon cards are powerful compared to other 1-Prize Pokemon cards, players can only have a single Sparkling Pokemon card in their deck at one time. These new cards will appear in the Japanese set "Battle Legion," which will be released in February in Japan. 

These new cards share similarities with Amazing Rare cards, which appeared in two Pokemon card sets back in 2020/2021. Those cards also had a unique card rarity signifier, a special holofoil treatment, and also cost 1 Prize when defeated. Only nine Amazing Rare cards were ever made, so Sparkling Pokemon might not be a very consequential new addition to the TCG beyond featuring some brand new cards and a slight variation on card gimmicks. 

The Pokemon Trading Card Game also recently introduced a new VSTAR mechanic to the game, which combines the Pokemon V cards featured throughout the Pokemon Sword and Shield era of the card game along with the GX mechanic seen in the Sun and Moon era of the game. Each Pokemon VSTAR card has a special VSTAR Power. A player can activate one VSTAR Power per game, similar to GX moves in past eras of the game. Pokemon VSTAR cards will be introduced in the upcoming "Brilliant Stars" set that will be released in the United States and internationally next month. The VSTAR cards appear to be an equivalent to the Noble Pokemon seen in the new game Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which will be released later this month.