Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Removes New Ho-Oh Card Artwork Following Alleged Plagiarism of Fanart – News

The official X/Twitter account for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket app issued a statement on Wednesday stating that after internal review, the developers have temporarily removed the immersive card artwork for the Ho-Oh and Lugia cards from the newly released “Wisdom of Sea and Sky” set because they discovered that “the card production team provided incorrect reference materials as official documents to the illustrator commissioned to create” the cards. The statement followed artist “lanjiujiu’s” accusing the Ho-Oh card’s art to be plagiarized from their own fanart. The app developers’ full statement is as follows:

The app’s developers apologized and revealed that they are also conducting an investigation to ensure that there are no other similar issues in their game.

lanjiujiu originally posted the following artwork of Ho-Oh and other flying Pokémon from the first four generations on December 2, 2021. The new Ho-Oh immersive card art, which is also featured in the app’s new Lugia EX immersive card, is drawn in a similar pose and style to lanjiujiu’s original work.

The Ho-Oh and Lugia EX cards are currently obtainable in-game, but they temporarily feature the message “New Art Coming Soon” in place of art.

The new “Wisdom of Sea and Sky” set launched in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket on Wednesday. The set primarily features Pokémon from the Johto region of Pokémon Gold/Silver.

The app launched for iOS and Android devices in October 2024. The Pokémon Company, TCG creator Creatures, Inc., and DeNA, collaborated on the app.

The app allows users to open two free digital booster packs for the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) everyday. Users can collect digital cards based on real-life ones as well as new cards exclusive to the app. “Immersive cards” feature special illustrated looks at the world within the art. There are also card battles with streamlined rules.

The app earned over US$100 million in its first two weeks of release, according to a report by Pocketgamer using AppMagic estimates.

The Pokémon TCG launched in Japan in 1996 and in the West in 1998. The Pokémon Company International became the publisher and distributor of the TCG in 2003.

Source: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket game’s X/Twitter account, account