Giratina · Platinum (PL) #28

4 comments

1. 

   Blob Takeshi

   (9 years ago)

   Giratina, like Dialga, gets 5 cards this set. Palkia on the other hand gets 3.

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2. 

   Ambassador

   (3 years ago)

   This Giratina and Giratina Lv.X are the only cards in this set which actually originate from Platinum’s nominal counterpart (DPt1, Galactic’s Conquest) – hence being the only (non-Lv.X) Giratina in the set to actually have its Platinum dex entry! – with the rest coming from sets/products whose cards otherwise mostly (entirely?) got adopted into Stormfront¹. What is interesting about this card, particularly in the context of the Gen 4 TCG, is that it doesn’t indicate its forme anywhere on the card – compare to SW Wormadam cards, LA Deoxys cards, etc. The reason for this seems to be a matter of planning – as I speculate on my first comment on Shaymin PL 14, the new formes in Platinum don’t seem to have been planned out by the time Creatures planned out the DPBP# system at the start of DP, and it also seems like it might be possible they didn’t know Giratina was going to get a new forme as late as 2008, or else I think they would’ve printed LA Giratina as “Giratina Altered Forme Lv. 52”. Alternatively², they might not have bothered either because (1) the DPBP# system wouldn’t be able to include Origin Forme Giratina because Cresselia and Darkrai cards with higher DPBP#s had already been printed, locking it out, or (2) they knew of its existence and could’ve implemented it (and Shaymin Land Forme) but someone vetoed alluding to the existence of a new Giratina forme in the TCG before the movie and/or games had a chance to introduce it proper.

   Either way, I get the sense that this really flustered the card design team, and its effects linger on – as Twylis notes on Origin Forme Palkia V (ASR 167), it ends up looking unusual when Origin Forme Palkia V and Origin Forme Dialga V are indicated as such on those cards, but their immediate counterpart Giratina V doesn’t have an “Origin Forme” indicator. The game hasn’t always bothered to be consistent with this kind of thing across eras, though, and they could choose to change their approach at any point (so why haven’t they!?)

   ¹ This is also true for all the non-Galactic Dialga and Palkia cards in this set.
   ² hahaha this isn’t a pun

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   • 

     GuzmaAmbassador

     (11 months ago)

     After years of trying to decipher if there’s any rhyme or reason to when the TCG acknowledges forms (especially after the inconsistency of the Origin Formes), I think I’ve finally cracked the code:

     What do Giratina, Shaymin, Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus have in common? They debuted without any alternate forms, and when they eventually received new forms, their base form retroactively received official form names (Altered Forme, Land Forme, and Incarnate Forme respectively). Deoxys, Hoopa, and Zygarde also arguably fall under this, although they debuted in the TCG alongside their later-introduced forms. (Plus Deoxys is a weird case where the TCG briefly flip-flopped on how to handle its forms in DP.) Now contrast these Pokemon with Dialga, Palkia, Rotom, Kyurem, Kyogre, Groudon, Greninja, Necrozma, Ursaluna, and just about everything with a Mega-Evolved or regional form. i.e. there is no “Gray Kyurem” or “Altered Forme Palkia”; the base forms are simply called “Kyurem” or “Palkia” in all Pokedex-related media like the games, Home, official website, or posters. So the card designers are fine with treating these Pokemon’s forms as different Pokemon with distinct names. Now I couldn’t tell you why this is the case, just that there is a consistent pattern they have (apparently) been following.

     As for Pokemon who debuted with more than 1 form, it seems the default rule is to not treat the forms as separate Pokemon (i.e. there is no card called “Darmanitan Standard Mode” or “Gulping Form Cramorant”) unless there is a gameplay or flavor-related incentive to do so. Castform and Ogerpon debuted with mechanics that encourage using multiple forms to swap them around, so giving them separate names was presumably a way to have more than 4 in a deck (similar to the Arceus rule). Shellos/Gastrodon having form names (before their cards began featuring both forms) was done to preserve the canon by making it impossible to evolve a East Sea Shellos into a West Sea Gastrodon. Likewise, Single Strike Ushifu V isn’t allowed to transform into Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. Calyrex and Burmy/Wormadam (DPt) are similar, though it wouldn’t be as lore-violating to have a Plant Cloak Burmy evolve into a Sandy Cloak Wormadam or an Ice Rider Calyrex V become a Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX, which is why I see it as more of a flavor thing rather than adhering to game canon.

     There’s also Unown, but as the first Pokemon to ever have multiple forms, it’s understandable that they kept flip-flopping on how to handle it. HGSS seems to be where they standardized how to handle forms going forward, or at least decided to indefinitely shelve Pokemon with alt forms and then settled on what to do with them much later, considering many of these went on extended hiatuses in the TCG.

     Now wait a few years for the Gen 10 TCG to print something that completely violates these patterns and make my rambling even more pointless than it already was.

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     • 

       TwylisGuzma

       (11 months ago)

       Another noteworthy thing, regarding Shellos and Gastrodon, is that besides shelving the form mechanic in their case, all of their cards after said shelving have depicted both forms, seemingly to circumvent the evolution issue you describe.

       The evolution issue, I suspect, is likely why all there have yet to be any cards depicting solely a female Frillish or Jellicent, despite there being depictions of both male and female Meowstic and Pyroar (whose prevos lack gender differences).

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