Although the Pokémon Trading Card Game's Silver Tempest is the last Gen 8 expansion, the Sword and Shield TCG series will continue in 2023 with a special set. In August, The Pokémon Company confirmed that the Galar region era of the Nintendo card game would come to an end this Fall with a Pokémon Sword and Shield TCG expansion called Silver Tempest. However, a new leak by retailers reveals that the Gen 8 TCG series will actually get one last mini-set that will debut at the beginning of next year.
When Silver Tempest arrives in November, players will be able to find cards from the Incandescent Arcana and Paradigm Trigger sets which debuted first in Japan. The final Sword and Shield expansion will be packed with rare Alternate Art, and Trainer Gallery collectibles as well as the anticipated debut of Johto Legendary Lugia as a VSTAR card. Despite being the epic conclusion to Galar era expansions, the series will actually continue to debut new cards in a special that will hit stores a month before the launch of the first Pokémon Scarlet and Violet TCG expansion in 2023. According to outlet PokéBeach, The Pokémon Company is releasing the Sword and Shield 12.5 special set on January 20th. Below is a breakdown of why Silver Tempest isn't the end of the Gen 8 Pokémon card series.
Pokémon Sword and Shield TCG Series Will End In 2023
In June, multiple reports confirmed that the TCG would be getting a special set in Japan called VMAX Universe. The December collection now appears to be a part of the leaked Sword and Shield 12.5 set that is launching in 2023. It's been speculated that the collection will be used to wrap up the Gen 8 TCG series by featuring Japanese Promo cards and collectibles that don't make the cut in the November Silver Tempest TCG expansion. While there is still a lot we don't know about the release, the January 20th set has already had several leaks such as a screenshot of an Alternate Art Mewtwo VSTAR card that made its way online in August. However, on October 8, a video retweeted by Braysh Gaming claimed to show off many uncut versions of the Sword and Shield 12.5 set. If the video is real, it appears players will be getting a host of new Trainer Gallery Cards.
This isn't the first time that The Pokémon Company has released a product like this, as Japan got the VMAX Climax set last year. Although Silver Tempest is the final Gen 8 expansion, the 12.5 collection is similar to the Pokémon GO crossover and the wildly popular Pokémon Shining Fates TCG set which debuted in 2021. Players won't know which Japanese cards might end up in VMAX Universe until Silver Tempest releases. But there are many Sword and Shield Pokémon Trading Card Game collectibles that still have not gotten an English release such as the popular "Galar and Friends" Full Art card, which now sells online for hundreds of dollars graded.
Sources: PokéBeach/Sword and Shield 12.5 set, Braysh Gaming/VMAX Universe Video Leak.
