No honest person can resist the attraction of Pokemon Gold. That's why Pokemon TCG Pocket's Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion set is going all in on generation two when it arrives on July 29.
This set will be one of the game's larger offerings, featuring more than 200 cards. I'm sure that has the most ravenous collectors breathing a sigh of relief, since the past two expansions -- Eevee Grove and Extradimensional Crisis -- have both had smaller complimentary card lists to build on Celestial Guardians' generation seven theme.
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Though the full card list isn't available yet, we know Wisdom of Sea and Sky's chase cards will be generation two's legendary birds Ho-Oh and Lugia, while the addition of Umbreon and Espeon Ex variants will add more options for Eevee decks. Generation two starters and baby Pokemon like Togepi and Pichu are also prominently featured in the base set, which is a fun nod to the series' introduction of pocket monster breeding.
Most importantly of all, the new set introduces one of the most important -- and rarest -- Pokemon ever. Gold and Silver's elusive raging sea monster was the first shiny Pokemon most trainers ever saw, changing forever how a number of players (including myself) would interact with the series.
Red Gyarados is a generation two icon. It's the first shiny Pokemon most young trainers ever saw in-game. DeNA/Screenshot by CNET
The hunt for the red Gyarados begins
In the remote northern areas of the Johto region, you can find the Lake of Rage. This is the home of one of the rarest Pokemon alive: a Gyarados that's become a local legend with its different hue and particularly bad anger issues.
The red Gyarados was the perfect addition to generation two: It served as an implicit explanation of shiny Pokemon, which were a new feature in the mainline Pokemon games, while also giving players a special, powerful monster to add to their team.
It's a formative moment for anyone who picks up and plays Pokemon for the first time, and it's one of the best hooks to explain the appeal of the franchise nearly 30 years after its introduction.
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