It's strange how this transition is handled. I had presumed that we would have a dedicated ZA block, similar to what we had with HGSS, but I didn't expect it until 2026.
On the other hand, there's a huge difference compared with the old days. Firstly, the Western expansions now have a simultaneous release, whereas before the English and French versions were released with quite a delay (this is just one example), and the delta between the Western and Japanese versions is no longer as long.
Secondly, a certain release mechanism, more routine I'd say, was put in place during the BW block and took shape on XY. We're used to having around 3 years of life on a block, containing 12 main expansions, with themes per year, but always following the content of the games. What's more, since the XY era, more and more secondary expansions have been added.
This routine has been established precisely because video games have been released simultaneously all over the world since XY. Games are usually released in November, so it's only logical that the TCG blocks should start at the beginning of the following year, with releases in February, May, August and November for the main expansions (although this has changed a little on the SV block, because of the “.5s” galore). However, one thing has NEVER changed since the beginning of the TCG: expansions are ALWAYS released after games. The games are the showcase of the license and allow the TCG to exist.
So I'm more than a little wary of the fact that the ZA block will still be released in 2025. This would mean that the SV block would only contain 10 or 11 main expansions, something we haven't seen since BW. What's more, with the game being released at the end of the year, it would be completely unprecedented for a block and expansions to be released BEFORE the game itself.
And yet, there's one unmistakable detail: it's indeed the year 2025 that can be seen in the legal notices at the bottom of the M-Lucario and M-Gardevoir cards...
So I'm a bit confused. I agree that 9G was poorly managed and that the critical reception up to SV7 was mixed. The games' content having been fully exploited, the latest expansions (SV9 and SV10) are there to fill the gap, but I don't understand the point of bringing back the trainer’s Pokémon theme only to abandon it after two expansions. Similarly, I can't imagine that the block will end with a “.5” dedicated to 5G.
One last thing, a few weeks ago in France we had a leak of a release schedule apparently from an employee working at the TCG's French distributor. It shows SV11 for September and SV12 for November.
Strangely, there's no mention of December on the calendar. Would this mean a December release for the first ZA block extension? Again, that would be a first.
Many uncertainties, inconsistencies and unanswered questions.
What is certain is that the ZA block will live until early 2027, when the 10G block should arrive. And in 2026, we'll obviously have a “.5” extension for the 30 years.
