Pokémon TCG Pocket has finally revealed the new expansion set after Genetic Apex and Mythical Island: Space-Time Smackdown! If that name doesn’t ring a bell already, the set will focus on Sinnoh Pokémon, with Dialga and Palkia heading them.
Fans got a sneak peek into some of the expansion’s cards and naturally, the TCG Pocket meta is about to be shaken to the core. But, what do the initial implications suggest?
To address that, let’s dig into all the revealed cards from the trailer and do our homework, shall we?
Aside from Palkia EX and Dialga EX being the stars of this set, the trailer also showed some other fan-favorite Pokémon from the Sinnoh region:
That’s not all, as a Trainer card for Cynthia was also shown!
Palkia EX
Palkia EX comes with two moves in its arsenal, a simple 1 Energy, 30 DMG Slash that gives it good temp, taking the crown for the best damage/energy ratio of any EX card in the game till now. And of course, if you have good luck from Misty, this card is an instant matchwinner! 😉
But hang on… discarding 3 Energy is a real pain and can spell disaster for Palkia EX if Misty doesn’t work out. Soooo, we can expect a new Water-type engine (like Gardevoir), whose ability can give free Energy to Palkia. Otherwise, this card is destined to drown, with Gyarados remaining stronger. On that note, a Gardevoir-esque Water-type card could even be a boon to Gyarados EX!
The rest of the Water-type cards from Space-Time Smackdown can make or break Palkia EX.
Dialga EX
On a first-look basis, Dialga EX clearly seems to be the stronger card (unless we get a Gradevoir-like card in the Water deck). But even then, Dialga is all set to breathe life into the Metal deck, whose sole champion has been the underrated Melmetal card.
Metallic Turbo seems divine, dealing 30 DMG and attaching two free Energy to any of your Benched cards! Now, that’s OP! Basically, you can start building another Dialga EX on your Bench or give that Energy to the Melmetal line. However, Dialga’s strongest move, Heavy Impact looks disappointing, dishing out only 100 DMG for a whopping 4 Energy. It remains to be seen if there’s some card that can add to Dialga’s damage output.
Also, Metallic Turbo accelerates Energy gains for decks of the Colorless type. This way, Mew EX, Pidgeot EX Wigglytuff EX, and Tauros can benefit!
Lucario
Oh wow! The iconic Lucario gets a gorgeous full-art card with an ability called Fighting Coach that ensures attacks from your Fighting Pokémon do 20 more damage. With only 40 damage output, Lucario would preferably be on the Bench, helping something like Machamp EX, Marowak EX. Golem, and Marshadow do insane damage! This card will surely amp up the usage of Fighting decks and become a mainstay like Greninja and Druddigon became.
And guess what? Fighting Coach stacks! So 2 Lucario cards lead to 40 extra DMG!!
Cynthia, Garchomp & Togekiss
Oh goodness. The Cynthia | Garchomp combo may bring their famed reign of terror to TCG Pocket as well! Supporter Cynthia adds a whopping 50 DMG to attacks used by Garchomp or Togekiss (confirming the latter as a card, too!).
While we’ll need more info about Togekiss, Garchomp is confirmed to be a Dragon-type card thanks to Gible’s card being seen in the trailer. With Dragonite and Druddigon already enjoying usage in meta/popular decks, the Garchomp line can fire up the Dragon deck, which uses multiple types of Energy.
The Cynthia card is a blessing to Garchomp if it gets a high-damage attack, only to be boosted to new heights by Cynthia. In fact, the stats of the Garchomp card would define the relevance of the Dragon deck. Fingers crossed!
The Sinnoh Starters
While a lot is going to depend on how Torterra, Infernape, and Empoleon pan out, looking at you, Serperior, Moltres EX, and Misty to make the final evolutions of the Sinnoh starters deadlier. Or who knows? The final evos may have some Ability (looking at Serperior again) that can benefit their decks? Hype!
Pachirisu EX
The Lightning deck is among the strongest decks and a new EX card should certainly power it up but this card’s ambiguous solely because of the mention of ‘Pokémon Tool’ in the Sparking Gadget move description. Pokémon Tools are a type of trainer card that is attached to either a benched or active Pokémon, and typically depict held items from the main series games. They are different from item cards, and examples include things like Focus Band, Berries and more. This could be a real game changer in the meta!
Space-Time Smackdown will surely ruffle the meta’s feathers tremendously. Releasing on January 29, 2025, these Sinnoh cards will bring forth new decks while stirring up old cards and their roles.
We’ll be sure to analyze the new meta and shed light on all that’s to come.
Happy collecting and battling, TCG Pocket-ers!
