Release v7.2: Featured Elements - Visual Highlights on Section Covers

✨ New Features:
- Featured Elements system with automatic format detection
- 3 iconic Pokémon showcased on every section cover page
- Smart content sources: TCG cards from TCGdex, official artwork from PokeAPI
- Priority-based selection (starters=100, legendaries=95-100, pseudo-legendaries=90-95)
- Automatic PokeAPI fallback when TCG images unavailable (MEP uses this)

🏗️ Technical Improvements:
- Format-agnostic architecture with 3 auto-detecting handlers:
  * ExGen handler: tcg_card sub-object format
  * TCG-Set handler: localId + set_info format with fallback
  * Pokédex handler: PokeAPI official artwork
- Unified featured_elements data structure across all formats
- Image caching system (~800KB-1MB per element)
- Seamless integration across all 25 scopes (Pokédex + 24 TCG sets)

📦 Scope Coverage:
- Pokédex: 9 generations with generation starters
- ExGen1-3: Classic and modern EX cards
- ME01-MEP: Mew era sets (MEP uses PokeAPI fallback)
- SV01-SV10 + SVP: Complete Scarlet & Violet era
- All 25 scopes fully functional with featured elements

🔧 Implementation:
- Pipeline step: enrich_featured_elements
- Config updates: All 25 YAML scope files
- Backward compatibility: featured_cards naming still supported
- Cover renderer: Aspect ratio handling for TCG (portrait) and Pokédex (square)

📚 Documentation:
- New FEATURED_ELEMENTS.md with complete technical documentation
- Updated ARCHITECTURE.md with featured elements architecture
- Updated FEATURES.md, README.md, README.de.md, CHANGELOG.md
- GitHub Actions release workflow updated for v7.2

🎨 Visual Enhancements:
- TCG cards: 400×550px portrait images from TCGdex
- Pokédex artwork: 475×475px square official artwork
- Positioned 35mm from bottom, 45mm×63mm per element
- 8-10mm spacing, centered horizontally

Total Changes: 80+ files (4 Python modules, 25 configs, 50+ data files, 7 docs)

Author: BinderPokedex

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -100,41 +100,61 @@ jobs:
             binder-pokedex-zh-hans.zip
             binder-pokedex-zh-hant.zip
           body: |
-            ## Release ${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag_name }}
+            ## 🎨 Featured Elements - Visual Highlights on Covers
             
-            Complete release with all PDFs across 25 scopes and 9 languages!
+            **What's New in v7.2:**
             
-            ### Downloads (by Language)
-            Each ZIP contains all 25 scopes in that language:
+            ✨ **Featured Elements System:**
+            - Beautiful featured elements (trading cards/artwork) on every section cover
+            - 3 most iconic Pokémon automatically selected per section
+            - Smart content detection:
+              - TCG Sets: Trading card images from TCGdex
+              - Pokédex: Official artwork from PokeAPI
+            - Automatic fallback to PokeAPI when TCG images unavailable
+            - Priority-based selection (starters, legendaries, pseudo-legendaries)
             
-            - binder-pokedex-de.zip - Deutsch (25 PDFs)
-            - binder-pokedex-en.zip - English (25 PDFs)
-            - binder-pokedex-fr.zip - Français (25 PDFs)
-            - binder-pokedex-es.zip - Español (25 PDFs)
-            - binder-pokedex-it.zip - Italiano (25 PDFs)
-            - binder-pokedex-ja.zip - Japanese (5 PDFs, available sets)
-            - binder-pokedex-ko.zip - Korean (4 PDFs, available sets)
-            - binder-pokedex-zh-hans.zip - Simplified Chinese (where available)
-            - binder-pokedex-zh-hant.zip - Traditional Chinese (where available)
+            🔧 **Technical Improvements:**
+            - Format-agnostic architecture with 3 auto-detecting handlers
+            - Unified `featured_elements` data structure
+            - Image caching (~800KB-1MB per element)
+            - Works seamlessly across all 25 scopes
             
-            ### Content Overview
-            25 Total Scopes:
-            - Pokedex: Complete National Pokédex (1,025 Pokémon)
-            - ExGen1-3: TCG EX variant collections (94/324/366 cards)
-            - ME01-MEP: Pokémon TCG Mew series (4 sets)
-            - SV01-SVP: Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet series (17 sets)
+            ---
             
-            ### Stats
-            - Total Scopes: 25 (1 Pokédex + 3 ExGen + 21 TCG sets)
-            - Languages: 9 (DE, EN, FR, ES, IT, JA, KO, ZH-Hans, ZH-Hant)
-            - Total Size: ~377 MB (all languages combined)
-            - Cards/Pokémon: 1,025+ Pokémon + 4,000+ TCG cards
+            ### 📥 Downloads (by Language)
+            Each ZIP contains all 25 scopes (Pokédex + 24 TCG sets) in that language:
             
-            ### Technical Details
+            - 🇩🇪 **binder-pokedex-de.zip** - Deutsch (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇬🇧 **binder-pokedex-en.zip** - English (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇫🇷 **binder-pokedex-fr.zip** - Français (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇪🇸 **binder-pokedex-es.zip** - Español (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇮🇹 **binder-pokedex-it.zip** - Italiano (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇯🇵 **binder-pokedex-ja.zip** - 日本語 (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇰🇷 **binder-pokedex-ko.zip** - 한국어 (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇨🇳 **binder-pokedex-zh-hans.zip** - 简体中文 (25 PDFs)
+            - 🇹🇼 **binder-pokedex-zh-hant.zip** - 繁體中文 (25 PDFs)
+            
+            ### 📋 Content Overview
+            **25 Total Scopes:**
+            - **Pokédex:** Complete National Pokédex (1,025 Pokémon across 9 generations)
+            - **ExGen1-3:** TCG EX collections (94/324/366 cards)
+            - **ME01-MEP:** Pokémon TCG Mew era (4 sets)
+            - **SV01-SV10 + SVP:** Scarlet & Violet era (17 sets)
+            
+            ### 📊 Stats
+            - **Total Scopes:** 25 (1 Pokédex + 3 ExGen + 21 TCG sets)
+            - **Languages:** 9 (DE, EN, FR, ES, IT, JA, KO, ZH-Hans, ZH-Hant)
+            - **Cards/Pokémon:** 1,025+ Pokémon + 4,000+ TCG cards
+            - **Featured Elements:** 75+ iconic Pokémon showcased across all covers
+            
+            ### 🔧 Technical Details
+            - Featured elements with automatic format detection
             - Cross-platform font support (macOS Songti + Linux Noto Sans CJK)
             - Scope-based modular architecture
-            - Multilingual trainer card names
+            - PokeAPI fallback for universal coverage
             - Proper CJK character rendering
+            
+            📚 **[Full Changelog & Documentation](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex)**
           draft: false
           prerelease: false
         env:

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,61 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ---
 
+## [7.2.0] - 2026-02-05
+
+### ✨ New Features
+
+**Featured Elements on Section Covers**
+- Added visual highlights to every section cover page
+- 3 most iconic Pokémon automatically selected per section based on priority rankings
+- Smart content detection:
+  - TCG Sets: Trading card images from TCGdex API
+  - National Pokédex: Official artwork from PokeAPI
+- Priority system ranks Pokémon by importance (starters: 100, legendaries: 95-100, others: 0-90)
+
+### 🔧 Technical Improvements
+
+**Featured Elements Architecture**
+- Implemented format-agnostic pipeline step: `enrich_featured_elements`
+- 3 card format handlers with automatic detection:
+  - ExGen: TCG cards with `tcg_card` sub-object
+  - TCG-Set: Modern cards with `localId` (ME*, SV* scopes)
+  - Pokédex: PokeAPI official artwork
+- Automatic fallback to PokeAPI artwork when TCG images unavailable (e.g., MEP set)
+- Unified data structure for all content types
+- Efficient caching system (~800KB-1MB per element)
+
+**Code Quality**
+- Refactored image download logic into reusable method
+- Centralized series mapping for TCGdex URLs
+- Improved error handling with graceful fallbacks
+- Backward compatibility maintained (`featured_cards` → `featured_elements`)
+
+### 📦 Scope Coverage
+
+**All 25 Scopes Supported:**
+- ✅ Pokédex (9 generations with starter Pokémon)
+- ✅ ExGen1-3 (Classic ex cards)
+- ✅ ME01, ME02, ME02.5 (Mega Evolution sets)
+- ✅ MEP (with PokeAPI fallback)
+- ✅ SV01-SV10, SVP (Scarlet & Violet sets)
+- ✅ All special sets (SV03.5, SV04.5, SV06.5, SV08.5, SV10.5B, SV10.5W)
+
+### 🎨 Visual Improvements
+
+- Section covers now display 3 featured cards/artwork elements
+- Consistent layout across all scope types
+- Proper aspect ratio handling (TCG portrait vs. Pokédex square)
+- High-quality images (400×550px for TCG, 475×475px for Pokédex)
+
+### 📄 Documentation
+
+- Added `docs/FEATURED_CARDS.md` (will be updated to FEATURED_ELEMENTS.md)
+- Updated architecture documentation
+- Enhanced code documentation with handler details
+
+---
+
 ## [7.1.0] - 2026-02-03
 
 ### 🐛 Bug Fixes

README.de.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Drucke 1.025+ Pokémon über 9 Generationen in 9 Sprachen. Alle Varianten, alle
 
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![Python 3.10+](https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-3.10+-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/)
-![v7.1](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-v7.1-green.svg)
+![v7.2](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-v7.2-green.svg)
 
 ---
 
@@ -21,13 +21,32 @@ Drucke 1.025+ Pokémon über 9 Generationen in 9 Sprachen. Alle Varianten, alle
 ### Für normale Nutzer - einfach laden & drucken!
 
 
-**Aktuelle Version (v7.1):** [Alle 225 PDFs](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/tag/v7.1) ✨ *Fix: Fehlende Pokémon-Bilder in TCG-Sets*
+**Aktuelle Version (v7.2):** [Alle 225 PDFs](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/tag/v7.2) ✨ *Neu: Featured Elements auf Titelseiten!*
 
-**Nach Sprache (v7.1):** 🇩🇪 [DE](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-de.zip) | 🇬🇧 [EN](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-en.zip) | 🇫🇷 [FR](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-fr.zip) | 🇪🇸 [ES](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-es.zip) | 🇮🇹 [IT](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-it.zip) | 🇯🇵 [JA](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-ja.zip) | 🇰🇷 [KO](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-ko.zip) | 🇨🇳 [ZH](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-zh_hans.zip) | 🇹🇼 [ZH-T](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-zh_hant.zip)
+**Nach Sprache (v7.2):** 🇩🇪 [DE](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-de.zip) | 🇬🇧 [EN](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-en.zip) | 🇫🇷 [FR](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-fr.zip) | 🇪🇸 [ES](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-es.zip) | 🇮🇹 [IT](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-it.zip) | 🇯🇵 [JA](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-ja.zip) | 🇰🇷 [KO](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-ko.zip) | 🇨🇳 [ZH](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-zh_hans.zip) | 🇹🇼 [ZH-T](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-zh_hant.zip)
 ---
 
 ## 📝 Was ist neu
 
+### v7.2 (Februar 2026)
+
+**Featured Elements - Visuelle Highlights auf Titelseiten** 🎨
+
+✨ **Neue Features:**
+- Wunderschöne Featured Elements (Karten/Artworks) auf jeder Abschnitts-Titelseite
+- 3 ikonischste Pokémon automatisch ausgewählt pro Abschnitt
+- Intelligente Content-Erkennung:
+  - TCG-Sets: Trading Card Bilder von TCGdex
+  - Pokédex: Offizielle Artworks von PokeAPI  
+- Automatischer Fallback zu PokeAPI wenn TCG-Bilder nicht verfügbar
+- Prioritäts-basierte Auswahl (Starter, Legendäre, Pseudo-Legendäre)
+
+🔧 **Technisch:**
+- Format-agnostische Architektur mit 3 Karten-Handlern
+- Einheitliche `featured_elements` Datenstruktur
+- ~800KB-1MB gecachte Bilder pro Element
+- Funktioniert über alle 25 Scopes (Pokédex + 24 TCG-Sets)
+
 ### v7.1 (Februar 2026)
 
 **Bugfix-Release - TCG-Bilder**

README.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Print 1,025+ Pokémon across 9 generations in 9 languages. All variants, all for
 
 [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![Python 3.10+](https://img.shields.io/badge/Python-3.10+-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/)
-![v7.1](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-v7.1-green.svg)
+![v7.2](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-v7.2-green.svg)
 
 ---
 
@@ -21,22 +21,41 @@ Print 1,025+ Pokémon across 9 generations in 9 languages. All variants, all for
 ### For End Users - Just Download & Print!
 
 
-**Latest (v7.1):** [All 225 PDFs](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/tag/v7.1) ✨ *Fix: Missing Pokemon images in TCG sets*
+**Latest (v7.2):** [All 225 PDFs](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/tag/v7.2) ✨ *New: Featured Elements on section covers!*
 
-**By Language (v7.1):**
-🇩🇪 [Deutsch](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-de.zip) |
-🇬🇧 [English](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-en.zip) |
-🇫🇷 [Français](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-fr.zip) |
-🇪🇸 [Español](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-es.zip) |
-🇮🇹 [Italiano](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-it.zip) |
-🇯🇵 [日本語](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-ja.zip) |
-🇰🇷 [한국어](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-ko.zip) |
-🇨🇳 [简体中文](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-zh_hans.zip) |
-🇹🇼 [繁體中文](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.1/binder-pokedex-zh_hant.zip)
+**By Language (v7.2):**
+🇩🇪 [Deutsch](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-de.zip) |
+🇬🇧 [English](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-en.zip) |
+🇫🇷 [Français](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-fr.zip) |
+🇪🇸 [Español](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-es.zip) |
+🇮🇹 [Italiano](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-it.zip) |
+🇯🇵 [日本語](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-ja.zip) |
+🇰🇷 [한국어](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-ko.zip) |
+🇨🇳 [简体中文](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-zh_hans.zip) |
+🇹🇼 [繁體中文](https://github.com/DerFlash/BinderPokedex/releases/download/v7.2/binder-pokedex-zh_hant.zip)
 ---
 
 ## 📝 What's New
 
+### v7.2 (February 2026)
+
+**Featured Elements - Visual Highlights on Covers** 🎨
+
+✨ **New Feature:**
+- Beautiful featured elements (cards/artwork) on every section cover
+- 3 most iconic Pokémon automatically selected per section
+- Smart content detection:
+  - TCG Sets: Trading card images from TCGdex
+  - Pokédex: Official artwork from PokeAPI  
+- Automatic fallback to PokeAPI when TCG images unavailable
+- Priority-based selection (starters, legendaries, pseudo-legendaries)
+
+🔧 **Technical:**
+- Format-agnostic architecture with 3 card handlers
+- Unified `featured_elements` data structure
+- ~800KB-1MB cached images per element
+- Works across all 25 scopes (Pokédex + 24 TCG sets)
+
 ### v7.1 (February 2026)
 
 **Bug Fix Release - TCG Images**
@@ -95,6 +114,7 @@ Print 1,025+ Pokémon across 9 generations in 9 languages. All variants, all for
 |-------|------|
 | **Usage & Examples** | [docs/USAGE.md](docs/USAGE.md) |
 | **Features & Tech** | [docs/FEATURES.md](docs/FEATURES.md) |
+| **Featured Elements** | [docs/FEATURED_ELEMENTS.md](docs/FEATURED_ELEMENTS.md) |
 | **Installation Guide** | [docs/INSTALLATION.md](docs/INSTALLATION.md) |
 | **Printing Tips** | [docs/PRINTING_GUIDE.md](docs/PRINTING_GUIDE.md) |
 | **Architecture** | [docs/ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) |

config/scopes/ExGen1.yaml

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_ex_cards
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/tcg_classic_ex.json
+    context_key: tcg_classic_ex_cards
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_ex_gen1
   params:
     language: en
@@ -20,6 +24,11 @@ pipeline:
     mode: variant
     variant_name: ExGen1
     descriptions_file: enrichments/variant_descriptions.json
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ExGen1.json

config/scopes/ExGen2.yaml

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_ex_cards
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/tcg_bw_ex.json
+    context_key: tcg_bw_xy_ex_cards
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_ex_gen2
   params:
     language: en
@@ -20,6 +24,11 @@ pipeline:
     mode: variant
     variant_name: ExGen2
     descriptions_file: enrichments/variant_descriptions.json
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ExGen2.json

config/scopes/ExGen3.yaml

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_ex_cards
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/tcg_sv_ex.json
+    context_key: tcg_sv_ex_cards
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_ex_gen3
   params:
     language: en
@@ -20,6 +24,11 @@ pipeline:
     mode: variant
     variant_name: ExGen3
     descriptions_file: enrichments/variant_descriptions.json
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ExGen3.json

config/scopes/ME01.yaml

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_tcg_set
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/me01.json
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_set
   params:
     set_id: me01
@@ -22,6 +25,11 @@ pipeline:
   params:
     set_id: ME01
 - step: transform_to_sections_format
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ME01.json

config/scopes/ME02.5.yaml

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_tcg_set
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/me02.5.json
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_set
   params:
     set_id: me02.5
@@ -25,6 +28,11 @@ pipeline:
   params:
     set_id: ME02.5
 - step: transform_to_sections_format
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ME02.5.json

config/scopes/ME02.yaml

@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ pipeline:
 - step: validate_pokedex_exists
   params:
     pokedex_file: data/output/Pokedex.json
+- step: load_tcg_set
+  params:
+    source_file: data/source/me02.json
 - step: fetch_tcgdex_set
   params:
     set_id: me02
@@ -22,6 +25,11 @@ pipeline:
   params:
     set_id: ME02
 - step: transform_to_sections_format
+- step: enrich_featured_elements
+  params:
+    max_cards: 3
+    force: false
+    cache_dir: data/section_artwork
 - step: save_output
   params:
     output_file: data/output/ME02.json