Ahead of the official launch of Pokémon TCG Pocket’s latest Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion, suspicions arose that artwork used in two new high-rarity cards plagiarized fanart posted by a Chinese illustrator three and a half years ago. The Pokémon Company has recently issued an announcement addressing the issue.
In the announcement, The Pokémon Company says that an issue occurred during the production of the illustration of legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh. An internal investigation found that the card design team had mistakenly provided incorrect reference materials to the illustrator hired to produce the artwork. As a result, both cards that featured the image – Ho-Oh EX (3-Star) and Lugia EX (3-Star) – will temporarily be swapped with placeholders, and official replacements will be implemented once ready. In addition, The Pokémon Company is conducting a broader investigation to make sure there are no similar issues elsewhere in the game.
While the statement didn’t provide details about the “incorrect reference materials,” an X post by artist Lanjiujiu from July 29 is what brought attention to the suspected plagiarism. They compared the new Ho-Oh immersive card artwork to a piece of fanart they published back in 2021, overlapping the two images. The post quickly gained traction as Pokémon fans found the resemblance too close to be coincidental.
As mentioned earlier, The Pokémon Company’s official explanation attributes the issue to the card production team mistakenly providing the commissioned illustrator with incorrect visual reference, which suggests Lanjiujiu’s fan art had been improperly treated as official reference. The statement includes apologies both to fans and to the illustrator involved in the card’s production. Lanjijujiu expressed gratitude for the swift response and removal of the image.
Currently, the Ho-Oh EX (3-Star) and Lugia EX (3-Star) cards are displayed in game as solid-color cards with the text “New Art Coming Soon.”
