Bagon

Bagon on cards: Colorless beginnings and the Dragon type

Bagon's first English cards came in Dragon (2003), which printed it three times: an Uncommon by Mitsuhiro Arita and Commons by Ken Sugimori and Kouki Saitou. Saitou drew four Bagon cards in all, more than anyone else. Because the trading card game had no Dragon type until Dragons Exalted in 2012, every regular Bagon through the Diamond & Pearl era was a Colorless Pokémon.

Dragon Vault (2012), a special set sold only in blister packs of five holofoil cards, gave Bagon its first card as a Dragon type, a Rare illustrated by Saitou. Since then it has stayed a Dragon-type Common in sets such as Plasma Blast, Roaring Skies, Celestial Storm, Evolving Skies and Journey Together.

Delta species and Shiny Bagon: the printings that break the pattern

During the EX era's Holon storyline, Bagon was printed with types it never has in the games. Delta Species (2005) has two Bagon δ cards, both Fire type, illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda and Hajime Kusajima, and Dragon Frontiers (2006) added a Water-type Bagon δ by Kusajima.

Arceus (2009) included Bagon in its numbered SH subset of Shiny Pokémon, a holo Rare by Naoyo Kimura showing Bagon in its alternate Shiny coloring. Together with the delta species cards, it gives collectors of the Salamence line a handful of genuinely distinct Bagon to chase.

Cards to know

• Bagon (Dragon #23)

  One of Bagon's three first English cards, an Uncommon illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.

• Bagon δ (Delta Species #57)

  A Fire-type delta species Bagon illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda.

• Bagon δ (Dragon Frontiers #43)

  A Water-type delta species Bagon illustrated by Hajime Kusajima.

• Bagon (Arceus #SH10)

  A holo Shiny Bagon by Naoyo Kimura from the Arceus set's SH subset.

• Bagon (Dragon Vault #6)

  Bagon's first Dragon-type card, a holofoil Rare by Kouki Saitou.