Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket has addressed the controversy surrounding the Ho-Oh EX 3-star card, which was being accused of plagiarism. The card is set to be part of the upcoming Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion “Wisdom of Sea and Sky.”
Shortly after being revealed, the 3-star full-art Ho-Oh EX card in the Pokemon TCG Pocket upcoming set was accused of plagiarism when a user on Twitter pointed out that the artwork for Ho-Oh itself looked almost the same as the art a fan had made of the Pokemon back in 2021. The majority of users who saw this comparison agreed, calling out the company for stealing the art and giving no credit to the original image’s artist.
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The company is now addressing the controversy surrounding the card, just before the expansion of the Pokemon TCG Pocket is releasing. An official post on its Twitter account says that this happened due to a production issue with the illustration for both the Ho-Oh and Lugia 3-star EX cards. It said that it was discovered that the card production team “provided incorrect reference material” to be used for the cards. While the artwork of the Lugia card is not being accused of plagiarism, the same Ho-Oh art makes an appearance within Lugia’s, connecting the two cards in this controversy.
How Pokemon TCG Pocket Is Addressing the Controversy
In order to address the issue of the cards, the artwork for them will be replaced with new art. In the meantime, however, both cards will be given a temporary placeholder when the expansion releases. Additionally, the company is going to investigate every other card currently in the game to make sure the same issue hasn’t happened elsewhere. While the Ho-Oh and Lugia EX cards seem very powerful in Pokemon TCG Pocket, it is disappointing to hear that this happened in the first place. Luckily, fans can have a bit of assurance that the problem is being fixed and is being prevented from continuing in the future.
There is plenty to look forward to when the “Wisdom of Sea and Sky” expansion releases on July 30. On top of all the new cards coming out that will potentially change the game’s meta, the trading system in Pokemon TCG Pocket is getting a massive overhaul. Players will be able to pull plenty of packs when this set releases, as a couple of ways to get a large number of Hourglasses have been added as well.
