Every Pokémon out there is someone’s favorite, and thanks to Pokémon TCG artist Tetsu Kayama, Pincurchin, the sea urchin Pokémon, is sure to gain a few more fans. When the Delta Reign expansion launches in November, the unusual echinoderm will appear on an illustration rare card that shows off the unnerving elegance of the deep sea.
Someone at the Pokémon Company clearly likes Pincurchin. After debuting in Pokémon Sword and Shield in 2019, Pincurchin has appeared in the game 9 times, sometimes on quite Rare Pokémon cards. There was a Pincurchin ex in Ascended Heroes, an alternative color shiny variant in Shining Fates, and now there’s an illustration rare copy in Delta Reign.
The IR Pincurchin was officially revealed in an NME article earlier this week. The artwork depicts a group of Pincurchins clustered together around an underwater rock formation. There’s a beam of light shining in from the bottom left, perhaps representing the flash of a camera, or the glow emanating from a submersible. This light gradually grows weaker and fades out, dimming almost completely by the time you reach the top right edge of the artwork. This use of light conveys the idea that the viewer is descending into an unwelcoming, but beautiful, alien world.
In terms of gameplay, Pincurchin’s card doesn’t quite do its artwork justice. As an 80hp basic Pokémon, with nothing to evolve into, it’s pretty frail. Its Energy Crush attack deals 20 damage for every energy card attached to all of your opponent’s Pokémon. While this has the potential to dish out lots of damage, Pincurchin almost certainly won’t survive whatever counterattack your opponent cooks up on their next turn.
We definitely need more Pokémon cards depicting deep sea scenes. Perhaps an illustration rare Chinchou that captures the incredible strangeness of an anglerfish, or a Kyogre card showing the legendary water type flanked by all of the denizens of the deep. Tell us about your favorite aquatic Pokémon in the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
