Modern sets also have themes, if you realized.
Evolving Skies uses the ever-changing sky as a metaphor for eeveelutions (evolving). Rayquaza soars in the (sky). So Evolving Skies.
Fusion Strike is about Mew’s ability to fuse other pokemon’s attacks as its own. It’s clearly a Mew set. An underrated, undervalued but greatly loved set by Mew fans.
Silver Tempest = Silver represents Lugia, while Tempest is Lugia’s Tempest Dive attack. Clearly a Lugia set.
This is exactly the problem. 1 card should not be the whole set, i would like fully dedicated sets with themes too.
This is what i would like to see.
I wonder if given how the english side of the tcg is just a mash up of 2 or more japanese sets is stopping tcpi from doing more cohesive singular sets. And given how well sets have been selling and more of a focus in individual big hitter cards in set amongst the collcting community is influencing tcpi to focus on those rather than cohesive sets. Also a lot of people loved 151 but pokemon probably just sees that as people liking the og gen 1 pokemon rather than liking a set that is actually thematically cohesive (and they might be right in that assumption).
Could be true, I always wondered why English isnt released together with Japanese.
But then i remember by doing it this way they have 2 moments of stonk instead of 1.
Now everyone gets robbed of their money first for Japanese for a few months and then again when english releases😅
The only people complaining about illustrator prices dropping/flooding are owners of illustrators
A theme has to be throughout the whole set.
Preferably all of the cards including Pokemon, Supporters, Items - which is why I mentioned HGSS.
Here’s the end of the Pokemon and start of Trainers for Undaunted and Silver Tempest.
In fact, the actual set name isn’t what I mean by the theme - now that you brought it up. Undaunted doesn’t mean anything but the collection of cards feels cohesive. Silver Tempest refers to literally 1 Pokemon and 2 cards in the set - Lugia V’s normal card and its alternate full art - and the rest have nothing to do with it or each other.
The HGSS block might be the only ones where the Trainers looked like they belong in the same set. The use of CGI for Trainers (Items, Tools) might be cheaper for TPC but that means they always stick out. It doesn’t help that they - along with Pokemon full arts and the soulless rainbow/gold recolours - all lack identity with zero background or context.
I totally get not restricting artists - especially now they have so many with wildly different styles, but that’s also what makes none of them feel like sets. I’m just waiting for the next sowsow or AKIRA EGAWA art and not whatever they are selling the set as.
Even Japanese sets aren’t that much better honestly. Though I will give a little credit to Paradigm Trigger since they did have this promotional art.
You would assume the set would be set in some ancient time and many cards fit that theme, but then you had a lot of cards in modern settings and the Supporters being cut and paste art from 15 years ago.
Cohesion to me is summed up no better than Sandstorm where most cards (from memory at least) have desert and harsh terrain in the backgrounds. Not sure I’ve seen such obvious art cohesion again in Pokemon.
This is too demanding. Wow.
All I want for Christmas is St_rry N_ght M__nbr__n or Lugia 
. 
Just a Pika with a santa hat would be fine, what a missed opportunity now i think of it.
Double Crisis 
This has its own double-edged sword too. Illustrations sell cards, and having an artist commit to a certain theme limits the direction they can take that makes their work truly distinct. In no way can Shinji Kanda’s AR Magikarp look as good as it does if it must somehow adhere to the theme of the set it is in - Triplet Beat is all about gen 9 starters. Special sets bring back that sort of completionist theme you crave, but unfortunately there also needs to be sets where artists can freestyle their own vision of Pokémon to stand out
I prefer the english 25th logo on cards over the japanese version. Way more thematic, fun, cute. The Japanese one could be slapped onto any other franchise merchandise and would mean the same thing. I just think it’s neat.
Exactly! Just one or two chase card(s) is/are awesome is awesome to me. 
I think it should have been used for unique promos and in a way that doesn’t distract from the art. I like the logo but my biggest problem was that it was too much of an eye catcher and took uo a lot of space.
A high-quality inkjet shows-off the artwork more than these ultra shiny foil rares! Seriously. The sparkle and shine hides the artwork and fine details, and I’m relegated to placing them in matte sleeves to cut down on the reflections… but lose clarity. Seriously! Look at the difference. My opinion, but I hate have to do this.
Very easy to see in pics. 
I’m not a huge fan but I’ve never thought they made the cards less desirable.
Cgc 10s values are where psa 10 cards should be (ie pokemon cards are overvalued).
Before cgc bias - I only collect psa 10s
lol. Touche’!
i feel your sentiment tho. that’s why i always preferred the special art Vs over the VMAXs in year 2 of swsh. the glitter is so distracting
