Just days after the Pokémon TCG Pocket removed illustrations from several cards in its new expansion due to controversy, fans have identified another card design that closely resembles unofficial artwork.

Last week, The Pokémon Company admitted that its production team used fan art as a direct reference for the Ho-Oh EX card in the mobile game's latest expansion, Wisdom of Sea and Sky. This came to light after players noticed the Ho-Oh card's artwork closely mirrored a piece of unofficial art previously shared online.

Now, players are pointing to the Immersive Rare card featuring Buzzwole EX as another possible case of heavy inspiration from fan creations. The card depicts the insectoid Ultra Beast soaring through space with one arm raised in a Superman-like pose.

While not an exact duplicate, the overall concept, composition, and posture bear a strong resemblance to a fan-made artwork posted online in 2017, according to some observers. Others remain unconvinced, noting that Buzzwole is frequently portrayed flexing its well-developed muscles, making an upward arm motion a natural pose for the character.

"I was scrolling through my old camera roll when I thought I saw the immersive Buzzwole, but then realized it was actually fan art I had saved from 2017," reddit user Ricky_chimmerton commented. "I know it's not identical, but this image was definitely used as a reference for the current card."

"It's a similar pose, but not the same. It might have served as inspiration, but it clearly wasn't traced," countered another fan, Aestrasz. "The real issue isn't taking inspiration from fan art or using a similar pose—it's the act of directly tracing someone else's work."

"Calling it 'similar' is an understatement, but at least in this case, it's clear the artwork wasn't completely copied," added Plane_pea5434.

Found very old Buzzwole fanart from 2017 that looks very similar to the immersive
byu/Ricky_chimmerton inPokemonTGCP

Following last week's incident, The Pokémon Company announced it would conduct an audit of all Pokémon TCG Pocket cards to ensure no other fan artwork was used as reference material. By highlighting the similarities in the Buzzwole design now, fans hope the company will take prompt action—either replacing the artwork or giving credit to the original creator.

"Our internal review revealed that the card production team mistakenly provided incorrect materials as official documents to the commissioned illustrator," The Pokémon Company stated. "As a result, we've temporarily replaced both affected cards with placeholders and are working to introduce new artwork as soon as possible."

Currently, the immersive Ho-Oh EX card and its companion Lugia EX card—which features the same Ho-Oh design in its animation—display placeholder text reading "New Art Coming Soon," with no artwork visible. It remains to be seen whether Buzzwole EX will receive similar treatment or if the company determines its design is sufficiently distinct.

The Pokémon Company further emphasized that the error lay with its own internal procedures, not the credited illustrator, who was simply working from the materials provided.

"We've become aware of online criticism directed at the card's illustrator," the company said. "The illustration errors resulted from mistakes by the production teams at The Pokémon Company and Creatures Inc., who supplied incorrect reference materials. We take full responsibility for this oversight."