Clair was the last Gym Leader in Johto, and had somewhat of a more prominent role in the game with the Dragon’s Den sidequest she makes you do at the end.
Seems like so many other Gym Leaders get full art trainer cards or trainer gallery cards etc.
The only cards that I’m aware of that Clair has been on is the Kingdra from Astral Radiance and her VS trainers pokemon.
It has been 28 years since Gold/Silver came out in Japan!!!
Personally I would love a full art trainer of Clair and a full art Clair’s Dragonair one day.
I would say that Gen 2 gym leaders + elite four are -in general- pretty underrated and sometimes forgotten. I personally blame their weaker character design and the lack of overall personality/memorable moments.
It’s a shame cause I love Clair, Jasmine and Whitney. I also feel that Karen was only recently saved from oblivion thanks to her association with Umbreon, which provided a popularity boost (but I could be wrong)
Not only Gym Leaders and Elite Four, I was just going to write something similar. Ethan only just got his first card(s) ever and Kris has not gotten anything in nearly 25 years despite being a main protagonist.
Maybe you guys forgot, but Clair refused to give her gym badge after beating her, made you go into the cave behind the gym to prove your worth, and even THEN was forced to give the badge to you when some elder made her.
I could same the exactly the same thing about Jessie and James. They were in nearly every single episode of the anime, yet they get next to no love in the TCG.
In terms of full art, they’ve got the one Hidden Fates card and then that one Japanese exclusive collection box card which most people cant afford. I was really hoping to see them in the new Team Rocket set.
Only reason they got a set card as “Jessie & James” is because of Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee. They never reference the anime as it has nothing to do with the games. Even the characters from the current anime Pokémon Horizons were exclusive to either promos or a Simplified Chinese Gem Pack - which is not a set.
The new Rocket set is a different take exploring Team Rocket only from FireRed & LeafGreen and HeartGold & SoulSilver, and they don’t have Jessie & James. Whether that’s good or not is up to you, TPC has no intention of repeating the older sets but come up with new ideas for the same theme
They were in Pokemon Yellow as well. How many cards have Misty, Jasmine or Erika gotten when they only appeared in one game? In fact, most of the trainers only appeared in one game.
They were in Pokemon Yellow, therefore they are 100% cannon within the game series.
That’s correct but only as Team Rocket, hence the “Here Comes Jessie & James Team Rocket!” card in Team Rocket. The only way currently that Jessie & James returns as a set card is if they directly reference Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee, otherwise you’ll have to wait for promos or exclusive decks (e.g. 20th Here’s Comes Team Rocket, etc). They simply won’t be persuaded to do it otherwise for set cards
That is the privilege of being popular characters across multiple games in their official name (Red & Blue, FireRed & LeafGreen, Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee, Masters EX) - they always get a slot in the new era
Full art trainers only started in Gen 5/BW and it was dripfed.
Although they have amped it up during SM/SWSH/SV there are only so many supporter cards they can make per their set structure. It’s going to be a long slog.
And while they have repeated many trainers now, it’s not really at the Charizard milking stage.
edit:
Just to add more context, the potential slots are further reduced when they go through all the characters and some of the trainer classes from the current generation as it’s the best time to give them cards.
There is no rhyme or reason behind their selections though. While ‘waifus’ are often chosen, they still give us random updates (Norman, Roark), redos (Morty) and trainer classes (Surfer). It mirrors the randomness and chaos of the Pokemon selections.
