A Pokémon artist has been accused of copying Ho-oh fan art for a full-art card due to release in the next Pokémon TCG Pocket set.
Sie Nanahara, who has also produced artwork for the mainline Pokémon TCG series, was accused by an artist on social media of copying fan art they created depicting Ho-oh—one of the stars of the upcoming Wisdom of Sea and Sky set in Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Pokémon TCG Pocket’s A4 set is due to release on July 30, but on the eve of release, accusations against a particular piece of artwork have been shared on social media.
Pokémon Artist Accused of Copying Fan Art
On X (formerly Twitter), Chinese artist @lanjiujiu shared an image of the Ho-oh artwork in the new set compared to fan art they created in December 2021.
The images are suggested to show that Ho-oh is nearly identical to the artwork they designed, though the final artwork for Pokémon TCG Pocket has been mirrored.
In the comments, they also outlined the design process for their artwork, showing they worked from scratch without any tracing.
No comment has been made by Sie Nanahara or Pokémon on the matter, but Lanjiujiu followed up with another post stating that the artwork they did was a commission purchased by someone else, which they created, and that there is a possibility that the image for the Ho-oh in the upcoming set is fake.
Sie Nanahara is an experienced designer for Pokémon, with fan-favorite artwork including Hisuain Zoroark VStar in Crown Zenith, their debut artwork for the franchise, Illustration Rare Nintales in Obsidian Flames, Illustration Rare Shiftry in Temporal Forces, and Illustration Rare Greninja ex promo.
What do you want to see added to Pokémon TCG Pocket for the next set’s release? Let us know in the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Pokémon, check out all the leaked Mega Evolutions for Legends: Z-A, and take a look at the latest details for Pokémon Champions.
