I love Ghost-type and Psychic-type Pokémon. Something about having Pokémon cards with spookalicious energy is truly alluring and, while I've always tried to pack my videogame teams with a balanced set of types, in reality, Gengar and Chandelure always find their way into the party. With Pokémon Pitch Black, the ghosts and ghouls of the TCG are getting the focus again, and the newly revealed SIRs have me scarily excited.
Of course, the more 'scary' 'mon have enjoyed the spotlight in other recent Pokémon sets, too. Just a couple of years back, Shrouded Fable delivered purple hues and green accents - and Paldean Fates' ETB even had Mimikyu plastered on the box. It's nothing unusual for the Pokémon TCG to roll its eeriest faces out front for a while, but something about Pitch Black has got me more hyped up than I typically am.
A major reason for that is Darkrai, which has evaded me frequently since its world debut in 2007's Diamond & Pearl games. The nightmarish 'mon doesn't take my favorite spot - that honor goes to Giratina, as you likely know by now - but the heavy metal vibes of Pitch Black's logo and the focus on this Dark-type is enough to turn my bad dreams into happy thoughts. Ironically.
However, I was still holding my hysteria in check, at least until I saw some card reveals. And, with Japan's Pitch Black coming later this month (Abyss Eye, as it is known there), that happy time is upon us: two SIRs have been revealed on the Pokémon Japan website. One of them is my favorite trainer of the Legends Z-A game - the aloof and seemingly unapproachable Gwynn - and the other is, fittingly, a Mega Chandelure. Which, as you may be able to tell, I'm just about pants-wettingly jazzed for.
What I love about this Mega Chandelure SIR is that it's so strikingly simple. Everyone's favorite psychic light fitting hovers at a 45 degree angle, head facing us, surrounded by its trademark floating 'candles'. The purple-blue flames give the card just the right amount of color to glow hauntingly and pop against the dark background. It's a truly beautiful card, and while I imagine Darkrai's SIR will turn out to take a lot of beating, this is still instantly one of my favorites of the set - I don't even need to see the rest to say so.
Admittedly, I'm also a big fan of Gwynn's SIR, and butted heads with my colleague and fellow Pokémon TCG writer Matt Bassil, who suggests that 'her hat is silly'. I think that's wrong, personally, and I was deeply offended at the insinuation. If you agree with me, make sure to join the Wargamer Discord and tell him off - if you don't agree with me, still join, but don't tell me I'm wrong. My ego can't handle that.