Pokémon TCG finished the Sword & Shield era with Crown Zenith, adapting the Friends in Hisui card featuring characters from Legends: Arceus.
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.
Friends in Hisui continues the trend that began with Alola Friends (or “Friends in Alola”) in Tag-Team GX All Stars, a Japanese set that was sadly never adapted into English. We saw Friends in Galar come to VMAX Climax in Japan, which was adapted into the Trainer Gallery subset running through the four main series Sword & Shield series that was released in 2023, with the card eventually ending up in Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest. Now, Japan’s VSTAR Universe and the English Crown Zenith have two Friends cards: Friends in Sinnoh in honor of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl and this Friends in Hisui card in honor of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. This card depicts Irida, Adaman, and playable protagonists Akari and Rei. I hope these Friends in… cards keep coming, and man, I still have hope, however fleeting, that Friends in Alola will be adapted into English. Someday. Some way.
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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