Pokémon TCG Pocket Removes Card After Absurd Plagiarism Claims

A fan artist’s 2021 Ho-Oh illustration sparked plagiarism accusations against a new Pokémon TCG Pocket card. Here is what happened and how The Pokémon Company responded.

It all started with a post by amateur artist lanjiujiu, who shared an original illustration of Ho-Oh in 2021.

This creation was quickly compared by the community to a card from the new set “Wisdom of the Sea and Sky” of Pokémon TCG Pocket, whose illustration seemed strangely similar – proof, according to some, of unauthorized copy-pasting.

Pokémon TCG Pocket plagiarism — On the left: The Ho-oh card now removed from the game. On the right: The original fan art by IANJIUJIU

A quick reaction from The Pokémon Company

Faced with the accusations, The Pokémon Company responded promptly. On July 30, 2025, it acknowledged a mistake: the team in charge of the cards had provided the illustrator with incorrect reference files, supposed to be official.

This led to the publication of fraudulent visuals for the Ho-Oh EX and Lugia EX (three stars) cards, now removed from the game.

Cards replaced by empty spaces – a temporary fix

The rare incriminated cards were replaced in Pokémon TCG Pocket by temporary empty visuals, released at the time of the set’s global launch.

The illustrator, identified as SIE NANAHARA, is in no way implicated. He is said to have worked in good faith, according to the official communication.

An audit to prevent this from happening again

The company also announced that it has launched an internal audit to verify that other cards or content are not affected by similar errors.

Avoiding community drift

To ease tensions, The Pokémon Company has called for community restraint: it invites fans not to harass the involved illustrator, thus wishing to maintain a respectful atmosphere around this matter.

FAQs

1. Why did Pokémon TCG Pocket remove a card?

Fans noticed that an illustration in the “Wisdom of the Sea and Sky” set closely resembled an original Ho-Oh drawing that amateur artist lanjiujiu shared in 2021. After the plagiarism accusations, the affected cards were taken out of the game.

2. Which cards were affected?

The Ho-Oh EX and Lugia EX (three-star) cards. They were replaced in Pokémon TCG Pocket by temporary empty visuals.

3. How did The Pokémon Company respond?

On July 30, 2025, it acknowledged a mistake: the team in charge of the cards had given the illustrator incorrect reference files that were supposed to be official. It also launched an internal audit to check that other cards or content are not affected by similar errors.

4. Was the card’s illustrator at fault?

According to the official communication, no. The illustrator, identified as SIE NANAHARA, is said to have worked in good faith, and The Pokémon Company asked fans not to harass the artist involved.