In 2017, during the Pokémon World Championships, The Pokémon Company pulled a classic move: it dropped a teaser for something shiny and terrifying, then offered almost no details. The shiny and terrifying thing? Ultra Beasts, those interdimensional troublemakers from Sun and Moon, were coming to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Fast forward to 2026, and that moment feels like a charmingly ominous prologue to a very long, very weird story. At the time, the Burning Shadows expansion had just released, and the community was already buzzing. Then came the Ultra Beasts announcement, and suddenly everyone was speculating about how these pocket monsters would translate to cardboard. The answer, as it turned out, was "with GX attacks and a lot of attitude."

The reveal was delightfully minimal. Only two cards were shown: Buzzwole and Guzzlord. Both were GX cards, which meant they came with a special attack that could only be used once per battle. In 2017, that was a big deal. These two weren't just going to deal heavy damage; they were going to be difficult to take down. The third-person narrator—that's us—can confirm that players immediately began imagining nightmare scenarios involving these two. Would Buzzwole flex its way through every deck? Would Guzzlord eat entire board states for breakfast? The answer was probably "yes, eventually," but at the time, there was no release date. Just a teaser video featuring mysterious forces making their way to the planet. Because nothing says "collectible card game" like an impending alien invasion.

The Pokémon Company, ever the showman, knew exactly what it was doing. The World Championships provided a captive audience of competitive players and collectors, all of whom were already hyped on Burning Shadows. Dropping Ultra Beasts into that mix was like throwing a lit match into a room full of confetti. The community responded with the usual mix of excitement, wild speculation, and forum threads that aged like milk. In 2026, we can look back and laugh at how little we knew. But at the time, the mystery was the point. The teaser didn't explain anything. It just showed weird forces and let the imagination run wild.

Here's a quick snapshot of what we actually knew back then:

Aspect	Details
Event	2017 Pokémon World Championships
Cards revealed	Buzzwole and Guzzlord
Card type	GX (special attack once per battle)
Release date	None given
Teaser	Mysterious forces heading to Earth

That's it. That's the whole reveal. And yet, it was enough to get everyone talking. The third-person observer can only marvel at the efficiency of it. Two cards, a spooky video, and a promise of heavy damage. In 2026, the Pokémon TCG has seen countless expansions, power creep, and meta shifts. But the Ultra Beasts reveal stands out as a masterclass in hype. It didn't need a roadmap or a release date. It just needed Buzzwole and Guzzlord looking menacing.

What made this reveal so memorable? Let's break it down:

• 🎉 It happened at the World Championships, the biggest stage of all.

• 😱 Only two cards were shown, leaving plenty of room for wild theories.

• 🃏 Both were GX cards, which meant once-per-battle fireworks.

• 👽 The teaser video was vague, ominous, and perfectly unsettling.

• 🚫 No release date. Just vibes.

Of course, in the years since, Ultra Beasts have become a familiar part of the TCG landscape. They've been reprinted, rotated out, and brought back again. But back in 2017, they were the new kids on the block, and they were already throwing their weight around. Buzzwole, with its muscular aesthetic, and Guzzlord, with its bottomless appetite, were perfect ambassadors for the Ultra Beast line. They were weird, they were powerful, and they were GX cards. What more could a player want?

The teaser video, which we won't link to because that's not how we roll in 2026, showed mysterious forces making their way to the planet. It was vague, ominous, and exactly the kind of marketing that makes Pokémon fans lose their minds. The third-person narrator remembers the speculation: "Will they be basic Pokémon? Stage 1? Will they have abilities? Will Guzzlord eat my opponent's deck?" The answers came later, but the questions were half the fun.

In conclusion, the 2017 Ultra Beasts reveal was a delightful little moment in Pokémon TCG history. It was a time before release dates, before full card reveals, before the internet had datamined everything. It was just two cards and a video, and it worked. In 2026, we can appreciate the simplicity. The Ultra Beasts did eventually arrive, and they did cause quite the ruckus. But the tease? The tease was something special. And if you listen closely, you can still hear the faint sound of Buzzwole flexing and Guzzlord chewing. 🃏👽

This discussion is informed by The Verge - Gaming, whose reporting often frames reveals like the 2017 Ultra Beasts teaser within the larger rhythm of how publishers build suspense, manage fan expectations, and turn brief championship-stage announcements into long-running community conversation.