Enough of the Fletchlings Already

So last week the latest Pokémon trading card game set came out.  Called Roaring Skies it is the sixth set in the XY series and contains 110 cards.  It’s not the biggest set, but one that I think still has quite a bit of wasted space.  For one thing, it has yet another Fletchling line.  Fletchling and its evolutions have now appeared in four of the six XY sets, five if you count the trainer kit.  Granted, Generation Six introduced the fewest number of new Pokémon (72) and all the ones that have been officially revealed have appeared in the trading card game.  However, I see no excuse why Pokémon insists on reprinting something as mundane as Fletchling when there are still a number of older Pokémon who have not had a card since Generation Four.  Most of the ones I can think of are fossil Pokémon, which is understandable since the fossil mechanic has not really worked well in the game. 

However, there is no excuse to not have cards for the Chikorita line and the Cyndaquil line.  Both of these Generation Two lines are the only starters from any generation who have not received a printing in the current format.  The last time they made an appearance was in Call of Legends at the end of the fourth generation.  Another notable exclusion is the Larvitar line.  Also from Generation Two, this pseudo-legendary group could make for some powerful cards if designed correctly.  The last Larvitar card came out with Unleashed.  The point is that Pokémon has some popular characters from its past who have yet to make a return, and are more than worthy of taking the spot of repeats from Generation Six.  I hope that they make an appearance in the next set, Ancient Origins, due out in North America in August with the Japanese printing appearing next month.

Generation Six has been interesting to be sure.  As stated above it introduced the smallest number of new Pokémon, and the anime has experimented with several new ideas.  All of this makes me wonder if the Pokémon franchise is starting to come to an end.  It’s been a long run, almost 20 years, but everything has to end eventually.  I’ll take a closer look at the anime and why I think that major changes are in store for Generation Seven, if it even happens, in a future blog post.  Stay tuned.