The Pokémon Company urges fans to cease "criticizing" the illustrator following plagiarism accusations involving Pokémon TCG Pocket

The Pokémon Company has requested its community to avoid criticizing or defaming the artist involved with two card designs removed from the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket due to plagiarism accusations.

Recently, two designs were withdrawn from the Pokémon TCG Pocket after allegations surfaced that they mimicked artwork by a fan artist. The game’s new Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion included Immersive artwork for Ho-Oh that was questioned when lanjiujiu posted images comparing it to their own commissioned work from 2021, showcasing similarities to the Ho-Oh design.

This prompted supporters to accuse The Pokémon Company of plagiarism, urging lanjiujiu to consider legal proceedings. A video created by a fan, available here, also suggested the artwork may have been traced without acknowledgment.

The Pokémon Company responded on July 29 with a statement recognizing "a production issue" concerning the Ho-Oh illustration in the Immersive card artwork for Ho-Oh ex (3-Star) and Lugia ex (3-Star). An internal examination revealed that the card production team supplied the illustrator with incorrect documents, leading to this issue.

Subsequently, the company is undertaking a comprehensive review of the card design process and has temporarily replaced the disputed artwork with placeholders, showing stats and names with a "New Art Coming Soon" notice, as seen here.

A new statement, released on Pokémon TCG Pocket's Japanese X account, takes full responsibility, attributing the problems to the provision of incorrect materials by the card production team at The Pokémon Company and Creatures Inc. The company explained that while many illustrations are crafted with the artist's unique creativity, some are adaptations of sketches from the production team. The error occurred with these concept sketches.

In its statement, the company urged supporters not to blame the illustrator, as they merely adhered to the guidelines provided. They offered sincere apologies for any inconvenience experienced by fans and the illustrators contributing to Pokémon card production, affirming their commitment to enhancing quality control to prevent similar issues, ensuring an enjoyable experience for all Pokémon TCG enthusiasts.