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Fans raised a plagiarism allegation over the Ho-Oh artwork in Pokémon TCG Pocket, but no court or independent finding established that the illustrator copied the image. The Pokémon Company said on July 29, 2025 that its card-production team mistakenly supplied incorrect reference materials as official documents to the commissioned illustrator. The affected immersive cards first received placeholder art and later got replacement artwork.
Why fans said the Ho-Oh image was copied
On July 29, 2025, fan artist lanjiujiu compared the Ho-Oh image in Pokémon TCG Pocket with his 2021 artwork and said it appeared to partially trace that earlier piece. The comparison quickly became described as a copied-art controversy, but lanjiujiu did not present the allegation as a conclusive finding.
“I don’t want to steer any narrative or public opinion. This matter is still inconclusive. In fact, I’m just puzzled,” lanjiujiu told PokeBeach. That uncertainty matters: the initial report was an artist’s observation and allegation, not a legal judgment or an independent determination of plagiarism.
What the Pokémon Company said went wrong
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket team issued an official notice on July 29, 2025. It acknowledged “a production issue regarding the illustration of Ho-Oh featured in the immersive card artwork for Ho-Oh ex (3-Star) and Lugia ex (3-Star).”
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The company’s explanation was that, after an internal review, “the card production team provided incorrect materials as official documents to the illustrator commissioned to create these cards.” In that account, the failure was in the production process and the materials supplied—not an allegation that the illustrator independently copied a fan artist’s work.
The notice apologized to players and illustrators, said the matter was being taken seriously, and promised stronger quality control. It also said the company was investigating whether similar issues existed elsewhere in the game. The available statements do not establish the result of that broader investigation.
Which cards were affected?
The issue involved two digital cards in the Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion:
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- Ho-Oh ex (3-Star), whose immersive artwork features the disputed Ho-Oh illustration.
- Lugia ex (3-Star), whose immersive artwork also used that Ho-Oh illustration.
The controversy therefore concerned the shared Ho-Oh art appearing in both immersive card presentations, rather than two separate alleged copies.
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Timeline of the incident and correction
- 2021: lanjiujiu created the fan artwork later used for comparison.
- July 29, 2025: lanjiujiu publicly pointed out the apparent resemblance and cautioned that the matter was inconclusive.
- July 29, 2025: The Pokémon Company announced the production error, said both cards would temporarily use placeholder art, and began preparing replacements.
- July 31, 2025: PokeBeach reported details from a second Japanese-language statement, including the company’s request that fans not slander the illustrator.
- August 8, 2025: GameSpot reported that replacement artwork had been added to both cards. Players who had already obtained the cards would see the updated assets, and Sie Nanahara was credited for the replacement designs.
Was the illustrator blamed?
According to PokeBeach’s July 31 report on the Japanese-language statement, the company placed responsibility on The Pokémon Company and Creatures for providing the incorrect materials and asked fans not to slander illustrator Sie Nanahara. This detail comes from the reported second statement; it is not wording from the July 29 English notice.
The distinction is important because online discussion often collapses two different accounts into one: the fan’s initial claim that the image resembled or traced 2021 fan art, and the company’s later explanation that production staff supplied wrong reference documents. The published material supports reporting both positions, but it does not establish plagiarism as a final fact.
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What players saw in the game
The initial remedy was temporary placeholder artwork while replacements were prepared. Follow-up reporting said the replacement assets were subsequently deployed to both the Ho-Oh ex and Lugia ex immersive cards. Anyone who had already obtained either card would see the updated artwork in-game rather than needing to acquire a new copy.
The change resolved the visible card-art issue for players, while the public record still leaves the broader investigation’s outcome unspecified.
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- Established: a fan artist identified a strong resemblance to his 2021 work; the company acknowledged a production issue; it attributed that issue to incorrect materials supplied as official documents; placeholders were used temporarily; and replacement art was later reported in both affected cards.
- Not established: a court ruling, an independent plagiarism finding, or a public conclusion about whether any other game artwork was affected.
The most accurate description is therefore a resolved production-error controversy that began with a fan’s plagiarism allegation. Calling it proven copying goes beyond what the artist, the company’s notice, and the subsequent reporting establish.
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