The 2024 Pokemon World Championships closing ceremony brought numerous announcements, the most exciting of which belonged to the TCG. The return of Trainer’s Pokemon was confirmed for 2025 in a gorgeously animated, detail-rich trailer.
Trainer’s Pokemon, sometimes referred to as Owner’s Pokemon, were first introduced to the TCG in the Gym Heroes set. These Pokemon are owned by different Gym Leaders or Team Rocket, and as such, are meant to work together in gameplay even if their types don’t all match. While many of these cards depict Pokemon, the Trainers own the video games, such as Brock’s Onix and Lt. Surge’s Raichu, while other cards take a more liberal approach. Some are inspired by the anime, such as Brock’s Vulpix and Zubat, while others are entirely unique to the TCG, like Erika’s Dratini, Lt. Surge’s Fearow, and even Blaine’s Moltres.
Trainer’s Pokemon have been appearing on and off in the TCG since then. Their biggest return was in the form of Pokemon SP in the Diamond and Pearl era. Pokemon SP could be under the ownership of Team Galactic, Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champion, or a Frontier Brain. Pokemon like Luxray GL LV.X (owned by the Gym Leader Volkner) were incredibly popular in the metagame for their time.
The announcement trailer for the mechanic’s return showcases Lillie, Marnie, and N battling against different Pokemon representatives of modern competitive-level decks. Lillie and Clefairy (shown to be a Pokemon ex) square off against Murkrow from the popular “United Wings” deck. Marnie, Morpeko, and Grimmsnarl (another ex card) battle against Cramorant and Sableye from the “Lost Box” deck. N uses his team of Pokemon to face off against the Chien-pao ex and Baxcalibur combo, Iron Hands ex, Dragapult ex, and Charizard ex.
Like Lillie and Marnie, N’s team comprises of Pokemon he has used in the video games. We get to see a card version of Reshiram, along with its jaw-dropping illustration rare version. N’s Zoroark ex is also revealed, notably with the Ability “Trade.” This is the same powerful Ability that was on the popular Zoroark GX card. Zoroark GX’s GX attack, Trickster GX, also returns in the modified form of the attack “Night Joker.”
In addition to these three Trainers, the trailer shows Arven and Mabosstiff, a figure who appears to be Misty and Psyduck, and Ethan and Pichu. Not only will this mark the first time Pichu has appeared on a card since the HeartGold and SoulSilver set, but its left ear is entirely off-screen, so this may be the Spiky-eared Pichu. As if this all wasn’t enough, the trailer ends with the Team Rocket logo and a Mewtwo flying by, hinting that Rocket’s Pokemon will also make their comeback. From Pokemon ex to ACE SPEC cards and now Trainer’s Pokemon, the TCG has been reviving classic mechanics in new and fun ways. Even for fans who haven’t played the TCG, seeing these Trainers in such an exciting trailer was a fantastic announcement worthy of the World Championships stage.
