Scarlet & Violet: Stellar Crown - Top 10 Most Beautiful Cards from the New Set

10 - Grand Tree (ACE SPEC - 136/142)

In this list, I highlight the impressive art of the Trainer ACE SPEC card, Grand Tree, created by artist Ayumi Odashima. He has collaborated with the Pokémon Company since the Sword/Shield: Chilling Reign era, with a special focus on Trainer card illustrations!

The art of this majestic tree subtly evokes the mana landscapes of Magic cards but with a more vibrant and engaging interpretation within the Pokémon universe.

Check out some examples of his work:

Trainer: Item

Trainer: Tool

Trainer: Stadium

9 - Raging Bolt (Regular - 111/142)

The art of Raging Bolt is by the talented Kodama, a veteran artist who has been with the Pokémon Company since the X/Y block era.

Some of his most iconic cards include:

The visual dynamics, with the lightning storm and the chosen perspective showing Raging Bolt from below, enhance the impressive details of the nebulous clouds.

8 - Turtonator (Regular - 25/142)

The eighth position is held by the art of talented Akira Egawa, an exceptional artist who brings impressive realism to the Pokémon world. Among her most iconic creations are the arts of the Sinnoh Gods, as discussed in this article about Crown Zenith.

Although there are no Full Art or rarities associated with the artist in this collection, the regular art of this simple Turtonator card (an often-overlooked Pokémon) stands out for the technical quality that Akira always delivers.

Moreover, there are already articles on the Cards Realm site discussing her work, where you can learn more by clicking here.

7 - Crabominable (Illustration Rare - 149/142)

Another big name in the Pokémon Company is the acclaimed Mitsuhiro Arita, known for bringing a wealth of detail to his illustrations, capturing scenes, environments, and ecosystems in a unique way. To learn more about his work, visit our article on the subject.

Like Akira Egawa, Arita presents a Pokémon that many may not value, depicting it in a blizzard art that realistically illustrates the effect of a storm, where visibility is compromised, as well as showing the Pokémon camouflaging in the snow.

6 - Meditite (Illustration Rare - 153/142)

The art of Yuriko Akase is relatively new to the Pokémon Company, having started with Timburr TWM 183 and currently featuring only five illustrations. Two of them belong to the Japanese collection Paradise Dragona, which will be released as Surging Sparks in November 2024. One of the new highlights will be the Alolan Exeggutor Stellar Terastal ex!

The art of Meditite stands out for the way sunlight casts irregular shadows through the tree branches, resulting in a visually impactful execution.

5 - Ledian (Illustration Rare - 144/142)

The art of HYOGONOSUKE, who gained notoriety in the last two years, is known for creating mosaics that bring together various Pokémon in a single illustration. He uses colors instead of black outlines, giving a unique style to his work.

In this card, we see the illumination of Ledian under a night sky, with the presence of fireflies, resulting in a very beautiful piece.

4 - Bulbasaur (Illustration Rare - 143/142)

In fourth place, we have the art of Orca, responsible for the illustration of Bulbasaur in this Illustration Rare version.

The card was initially released in a Japanese product called "Special Deck Set ex Venusaur & Charizard & Blastoise" in November 2023, which included arts of the Kanto starter Pokémon in the Illustration Rare version, while the Charmander PR-SV 44 was adapted as a promo card for the Elite Trainer Box (ETB) of Obsidian Flames. Now, the Bulbasaur SCR 143 and Squirtle SCR 148 are part of the Stellar Crown collection.

Orca presents artistic principles similar to those of HYOGONOSUKE, avoiding the use of black outlines and leveraging perspective to create a more realistic representation of the surrounding objects.

3 - Squirtle (Illustration Rare - 148/142)

Like the Bulbasaur SCR 143, Squirtle was also part of the Japanese product "Special Deck Set ex Venusaur & Charizard & Blastoise.

The art of Saboteri takes a new approach, modernizing the appearance of Squirtle with a slightly oval head, differing from the original conceptions by Ken Sugimori, which were more rounded.

The charm of the illustration lies in the interaction of Squirtle splashing water on a Pidgey over the balcony railing, providing an engaging visual narrative.

2 - Zeraora (Illustration Rare - 151/142)

The art of Zeraora, created by Kazumasa Yasukuni, is a notable contribution from a new artist at Pokémon Co/Creatures, who began with the Glimmora TWM 109 card from Twilight Masquerade.

His recent works show a significant leap in quality, standing out for their dynamism and action poses of Pokémon, with lines that evoke a “neon effect” and some shadows using hatching, a trademark of the Pop Art style.

He also contributes to other TCGs, such as the Digimon Card Game, in addition to producing fan art of the geek universe, as demonstrated below.

Other works by Kazumasa include:

1 - Terapagos ex (Secret Illustration Rare - 170/142)

And closing with a bang, we have the mascot of the collection. Once again, we have Saboteri ranked in this article, and justly so, as the blend of arts that this card conveys is a mixture of mosaics in stones (the famous tiles), an art very common in the Iberian Peninsula.

This evokes the “crystallization” effect with the architectural frames and the waves around Terapagos, as well as the interpretation of stained glass, similar to glass art in Art Nouveau.

What did you think of the list? How would you create your composition of the top 10 best arts?