When the Pokémon TCG’s latest rotation “retired” the Battle VIP Pass card from the Fusion Strike [S8] set, many players began to wonder what card would step forward to replace one of the metagame’s biggest staples. Even though it could only be used on the player’s first turn, its capability of placing two Basic Pokémon on the player’s Bench could do a lot to swing the game’s balance in the player’s favor right out of the gate.

Originally printed as part of Wild Force [SV5K], Buddy-Buddy Poffin’s raw power isn’t quite on the level of its iconic predecessor as it only allows the player to add two Basic Pokémon with a maximum of 70 HP to the player’s Bench. However, unlike Battle VIP Pass, Buddy-Buddy Poffin can be used at any time—and this has also made it a staple of many elite players’ decks.

The demand for this card among serious Pokémon TCG players is likely the reason why, when Mask of Change [SV6] was released, Creatures Inc. saw fit to reprint this card and include it in the set—but this time in the form of an Ultra Rare (UR) card. This way, it’s an obvious draw for both players and collectors.

Buddy-Buddy Poffin’s Full Art illustration is augmented by the gold border surrounding the car as well as the card’s background, augmented by white sparkles, and the outline around the Poffins, all of the same color. These give the card a sense of prestige befitting both its rarity and considerable power.

While a Buddy-Buddy Poffin card has been released in English, the UR version in particular has not.

Buying a Buddy-Buddy Poffin (Mask of Change [SV6] 133/101) card of UR rarity costs 9,000 JPY (~US$57).

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