Shiny Pokemon TCG Shining Fates Unboxing And Foil Inspection

The Pokemon Trading Card Game released a new set here at the tail end of February called Shining Fates. Today we're taking a look at a few different boxes and and unpacking a few packs to see what's inside. This isn't your average set – it's relatively small, meaning you've got a better chance to "Catch Em All" than usual. This set contains not only standard rares, and foils, and Pokemon V cards, and VMAX Pokemon, but SHINY versions of each of these sorts of cards.

First, let's take a moment to appreciate how wildly varied the illustrations continue to be here in this latest set of Pokemon TCG in February of 2021. We've got three versions of this Cramorant Pokemon here, each with wildly different abilities, illustrations, and executions.

There's the basic Cramorant, that's uncommon. Then there's the rare SHINY Cramorant, with a whole new foil pattern (more on that below). Then there's the Cramorant V, complete with two of the most epic moves we've ever seen on such a pathetic looking monster.

Next we've got Morpeko. This is a Shiny Rare Pokemon, one that features one of the cutest Pokemon in the whole Pokemon universe. You'll see here how the Shiny Rare Pokemon features a new Shiny Pattern – physical, bumpy foil – that's just lovely. It's an explosion of shiny!

If you purchase one of the special edition tins available with this set, you'll get a Shiny V Pokemon. In this tin, we've got Eldegoss V, with a similar pattern to that of the Rare Shiny Pokemon.

This Shiny V Pokemon also has an explosion of foil, but the center of said explosion is lower, since the illustration on the card takes up the entirety of the card, rather than just the top half. That's a very nice touch!

Another sort of Rare Pokemon you can attain in this set is the "AMAZING RARE". This sort of Rare is given the multicolored star with the "A" in the middle, right down there at the bottom of the card.

This Yveltal features a whirlwind of color that reaches beyond the standard Pokemon Rare illustration frame, making this rare feel extra particularly special. This Pokemon's ability is... pretty good, too: "Your opponent's Active Pokemon is Knocked Out." Easy!

You could also get a SHINY VMAX! This monster is so shiny, so foil, so VMAX, so very reflective of all the colors. This one might be a little more effort to play than it's worth, but it still looks lovely.

The Pokemon TCG Shining Fates Trainers Box has a massive VMAX Eevee and a color scheme that includes black and dark peanut butter – orange/brown. This pack's special Eevee card protectors feel slightly more matte than previous Trainers Box protectors.

The Shining Fates set is out in stores right this minute, with prices pretty much equivalent to those of the most recent sets over the past couple years. And they look amazing, packs to cards to accessories and back again.