A new Ho‑Oh card sparks accusations
As hype built for Wisdom of Sea and Sky, the July 2025 expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket, fans datamined the upcoming set and uncovered an Immersive Rare card featuring the legendary bird Ho‑Oh. Side‑by‑side comparisons quickly spread across social media. Chinese artist lanjiujiu, who created a Ho‑Oh illustration in 2021, noticed that the official card seems to mirror the pose, wing shape and even individual feathers of their fan art. Multiple comparisons and video overlays show the two artworks aligning almost exactly. The only major differences appear to be changes in color and minor details, prompting accusations that the card’s credited artist, Sie Nanahara, traced the fan‑made image.
The datamined leak caused an immediate uproar. lanjiujiu posted the leaked card art next to their original commission with a string of question marks; within hours it had been viewed millions of times. Nanahara, known for beloved cards like Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR, hadn’t commented publicly at the time of writing. While speculation swirled, some fans cautioned that the leak could be a draft or even a fake. Because Immersive cards animate when pulled in the app, leaked images may include frames from different parts of the animation; that could explain odd coloring and mismatched elements.
Artist response and community reaction
The original artist’s response was measured. In a statement to PokéBeach, lanjiujiu said they didn’t want to guide public opinion and were simply confused by the similarity. They noted that their 2021 Ho‑Oh piece was a commissioned work and speculated that the datamined card might not be final. Some fans urged them to consider legal action, but others pointed out that the drawing had already been used in bootleg merchandise, meaning the official illustrator could have seen a figure rather than the original art. Meanwhile, players debated whether the similarities were coincidence, traced line art or justified inspiration.
The developers did issue an internal update. According to PokéBeach, the Wisdom of Sea and Sky production team admitted they supplied the artist with incorrect reference materials and subsequently replaced the Ho‑Oh and Lugia cards with placeholders. Because the set had not yet launched, there was time to amend the artwork before release. At the time of publication it was unclear whether the final set would include the controversial design or a replacement.
The legal landscape: fan art and official rights
The controversy highlights a complicated aspect of fan culture: The Pokémon Company International’s legal terms. Buried on the company’s official site is a statement covering fan‑made creations. It explains that any public distribution of derivative works based on Pokémon’s IP grants The Pokémon Company a royalty‑free, non‑exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to use, modify and display that fan art “for any purpose”. The policy explicitly states that no credit, compensation or approval is owed to the creator, and that sharing fan art does not confer permission for creators to commercialize Pokémon characters. In essence, if you post Pokémon fan art online, you’re allowing the company to repurpose it without notice or payment.
This contractual language explains why some fans argue that the company can legally incorporate fan‑made designs into official products. Others see it as a cautionary tale about how easily big companies can take advantage of community creativity. Legal experts note that the terms likely function as a mutual understanding: The company refrains from suing fan artists for copyright infringement, while artists tacitly acknowledge that their work can be used without compensation. Regardless, the arrangement underscores the tenuous position of fan creators operating within copyrighted worlds.
Broader context and what comes next
This isn’t the first time a gaming company has been accused of borrowing fan art. Earlier in 2025, Marvel Snap and several other titles faced similar plagiarism scandals. The pattern suggests a broader industry issue: artists working under tight deadlines may cut corners, or outsourced art teams may rely on unvetted reference materials. When combined with corporate policies that broadly license fan creations, it becomes difficult to pin down responsibility.
For Pokémon TCG Pocket, the immediate future is uncertain. Fans have yet to see an official response from The Pokémon Company or Creatures Inc. beyond the internal note about incorrect references. The expansion’s launch schedule suggests there isn’t time for drastic changes, and some players have resigned themselves to the idea that the controversial Ho‑Oh card might ship as is. Others hope the blowback prompts the developers to commission wholly original art for Immersive cards and to credit external inspiration where appropriate. At minimum, the conversation has spotlighted The Pokémon Company’s little‑known fan‑art policies and sparked renewed debate over the boundaries between homage, inspiration and outright copying. Whether this leads to policy changes or greater transparency remains to be seen.
Sources: pokebeach.com pokebeach.com pokebeach.com polygon.com polygon.com polygon.com si.com si.com kotaku.com kotaku.com kotaku.com pokemon.com
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