We kick off our Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith exploration with Leafeon VSTAR, which is a nod to the Eeveelution focus of the SWSH era.
The Sword & Shield era of the Pokémon TCG has come to an end. Three years of expansions dedicated to the region of Galar, with some love for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl‘s revitalization of Sinnoh and Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘s introduction of the ancient region of Hisui, have led to this moment. Crown Zenith, a special set celebrating the Sword & Shield era, was released on January 20th, 2023. It was primarily an adaptation of Japan’s VSTAR Universe set and also featured a collection of cards that were cut from other English-language sets and more. Like other special sets, including Champion’s Path, Shining Fates, Celebrations, and Pokémon GO, Crown Zenith packs were found in specially branded products like Premium Collections and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than booster boxes. This set featured the Galarian Gallery subset, which introduced Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, originally called “Art Rares,” to the hobby, which set the standard for the following Sword & Shield era, which used these card types as their primary Secret Rares. In today’s installment of this Crown Zenith spotlight, let’s take a look at the first VSTAR from the set.
Leafeon V and VSTAR get another run in Crown Zenith. We’ve gotten quite a lot of Eeveelution action during the Sword & Shield era, so it’s only right that at least one or two get the spotlight in Crown Zenith. Artist PLANETA Mochizuki illustrates the leaping Leafeon on the Pokémon-V card while PLANETA Hiiragi takes on the Leafeon VSTAR, which gives this Grass-type Eeveelution a serious and intimidating expression. Both of these are quite different in style from the previous Leafeon V in Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies as well as the V/STAR pair used as SWSH Black Star Promos. We will also showcase a Leafeon VSTAR Special Illustration Rare later on in this series when we get to the Galarian Gallery subset.
Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.
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