The Cards of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith Part 12: Hatterene VMAX

The Sword & Shield era of the Pokémon TCG has come to an end. Three years of expansions dedicated to the region of Galar, with some love for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl‘s revitalization of Sinnoh and Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘s introduction of the ancient region of Hisui, have led to this moment. Crown Zenith, a special set celebrating the Sword & Shield era, was released on January 20th, 2023. It was primarily an adaptation of Japan’s VSTAR Universe set and also featured a collection of cards that were cut from other English-language sets and more. Like other special sets, including Champion’s Path, Shining Fates, Celebrations, and Pokémon GO, Crown Zenith packs were found in specially branded products like Premium Collections and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than booster boxes. This set featured the Galarian Gallery subset, which introduced Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, originally called “Art Rares,” to the hobby, which set the standard for the following Sword & Shield era, which used these card types as their primary Secret Rares. In today’s installment of this Crown Zenith spotlight, let’s take a look at a special VMAX from the set.

Artist kawayoo draws Hatterene V, while art studio 5ban Graphics draws Hatterene VMAX. Interestingly, Hatterene is the final Gigantamax form that had yet to be depicted by the Pokémon TCG up to this point. The release of this card made it so that every single Gigantamax form introduced in the TCG has gotten its VMAX, which cannot be said about every Mega form.

Last year, I wrote about the three Pokémon whose Gigantamax forms were missing in the TCG in this article. Machamp got its VMAX in Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance, Melmetal got its VMAX in Pokémon GO, and now Hatterene gets its VMAX in Crown Zenith. Technically, Appletun didn’t get a VMAX in name, but in execution, both Flapple and Appletun’s Gigantamax forms are identical and Flapple indeed got its VMAX in Sword & Shield – Battle Styles.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.