April 30, 2025, marks the debut of the eagerly awaited A3 expansion of Pokémon TCG Pocket: the Celestial Guardians set. Themed around the Alola region, it features several Pokémon and Trainers from the stunning islands.
Being a major expansion, it was already expected to have a tremendous impact on the meta but the few cards revealed in the trailer itself had left fans with their jaws wide open. Brace yourselves, Celestial Guardians will flip the meta as you know it, evident from just the handful of cards revealed.
Let’s dig into what the known cards seem to suggest about the paradigm shift in the meta, starting with the headliners of the set, Solgaleo EX and Lunala EX.
Solgaleo EX
The Metal type has enjoyed a gradual rise among the ranks and peaked with the arrival of Dialga EX. The Sinnoh Legendary uses Metallic Turbo to not only inflict 30 DMG but also supply 2 Metal Energy per turn for free to a Benched Pokémon of your choice. This was the very basis of the formidable Dialga EX | Arceus EX duo. Arceus EX requires 3 Colorless Energy for its attack, and once it has two of them from Dialga EX, you have to retreat (through Leaf, X Speed, or two Energy itself), bring Arceus EX to the forefront, and attach the turn’s Energy to attack.
Now, what if you could bring a powerful Benched EX card to the Active Spot without any Energy or Trainer card, dish out 120 DMG without needing a full Bench, and also be extremely bulky with 180 HP (versus Arceus EX’s 140 HP)?!
Enter Solgaleo EX, one of the strongest cards to make landfall in Pokémon TCG Pocket.
The Rising Road ability propels Solgaleo EX directly to the Active Spot without any Energy or Trainer cards in play. And its powerful Sol Breaker move (120 DMG) requires only 2 Energy! Let Dialga EX do its thing, supplying that 2 Energy for free, and in the next turn, Solgaleo is ready to roll! Yes, it also does 10 DMG to itself but you can quit worrying about that with healing and Giant Cape (200 HP!).
A very optimal and deadly deck would include Dialga EX (2x), Solgaleo EX (2x), Shaymin (1x), and maybe Skarmory (1x). Attach a Rocky Helmet to Dialga, Cape to Solgaleo, and Shaymin in the Bench to help Solgaleo recover that 10 recoil damage. Skarmory works but is not mandatory.
Folks, Celestial Guardians is the true breakout moment for the Metal deck. Expect to see it extensively in Versus battles. Solgaleo EX is arguably one of the best cards yet in Pokémon TCG Pocket. Period.
Lunala EX
Giratina EX has been a terror in the Ranked format and has people wishing for its demise from the meta. Well, there’s some bad news for y’all as Lunala EX has just made Giratina EX more popular.
While there is a card in the Celestial Guardians set that counters both Drakrai EX and Giratina EX (more on that soon), Giratina EX doesn’t have much to worry about as its collab with Lunala EX is more of a supportive role., from the comfort of the Bench.
Place Giratina EX on the Bench and Lunala EX on the Active Spot, in a pure Psychic Energy deck. Start generating Energy from Giratina EX’s Broken-Space Bellow ability (you can do that from the first turn itself). Continue doing that while giving the turn’s Energy to Lunala EX. Lunala EX has an OP ability, you see. Psychic Connect transfers all Psychic Energy from one of your Benched Pokémon to Lunala EX once per turn. So, once Giratina EX has 2 Energy and Lunala EX pulls Giratina EX’s Energy to itself and tada! With 3 Energy, it’s ready to fire the 100 DMG Lunar Blast!
You can create an insane Psychic deck with Lunala EX | Giratina EX | Mewtwo EX to wreak havoc in the meta. This formation has great turbo characteristics and can possibly finish the match in your favor, in no time!
But, there’s more!
A deck with Darkrai EX and Giratina EX was tough? Well, now add Lunala EX to the mix. Darkrai EX can continue doing chip damage and Giratina EX can create free Energy. Once both these stalwarts have 2 Energy each, use Lunala EX’s ability to have two Psychic Energy from Giraina and Dawn transfers 1 Energy from Darkrai. Lunar Blast only requires 1 Psychic Energy and 2 Colorless Energy, which Darkness can fulfill.
Lunala EX is another card that’s going to engulf the meta, bringing your old enemies, Giratina EX and Darkrai EX, to a new power level. Watch out for it!
From the trailer, it’s obvious that the Alolan forms of Raichu, Marowak, Persian, and Ninetales are in the set. Maybe Alolan Golem and Exeggutor could be there as well but we’ll talk about Alolan Raichu and Marowak in particular since we know how they work.
Alolan Raichu EX
Remember I mentioned a card countering Darkrai EX and Giratina EX in the Lunala section? Here you go, Alolan Raichu EX! Psychic does 60 DMG + 30 more damage for each Energy attached to its opponent. How much does an attacking Darkrai EX have? Three, yes! Giratina EX? Four!
So, Alolan Raichu does 60 + (30*3) = 150 DMG! This OHKOs Darkrai EX but if the Mythical has a Cape attached, go with Giovanni or Red on Alolan Raichu EX and voila!
And for Giratina EX, Alolan Raichu EX does an unforgiving 60 + (30*4) = a whopping 180 DMG! Forget Red, Cape, and all that nonsense… Alolan Raichu EX straight-up demolishes Giratina EX.
Keeping these two monsters aside, Alolan Raichu, a Stage 1 card with Colorless Energy requirement is definitely one of the biggest stars of this expansion. Another savory Pokémon to accompany Dialga EX as well. Dialga EX | Solgaleo EX | Alolan Raichu EX anyone?
It fits in any deck actually and is destined to be one of the strongest additions to the meta, a legit match-winner. This card is going to be widely used and oh, the Rainbow Rare artwork is beautiful!
Alolan Marowak
Isn’t that artwork stunning? Seriously, Pokémon TCG Pocket never misses!
Anyway, Alolan Marowak may not be bulky but is quite handy! At just 3 Energy, Burning Bonemerang (lol) does 70 DMG for each head from two coin flips. A possible 140 DMG is neat, 0 DMG is unfortunate, but just 1 head, 70 DMG is also great. Why? Because even a single head (min 70 DMG) burns the opponent! The Burn status does 10 chip damage on each checkup and while it can be healed by Lum Berry, retreating, or the Pokémon Center Lady Supporter card, it can help you more often than not. This is a very fine variant of the Marowak EX card from Genetic Apex!
Speaking of Genetic Apex, Alolan Marowak also has some Blaine shenanigans involved thanks to the Kiawe Trainer card. Kiawe gifts Alolan Marowak or Turtonator with 2 Fire Energy and with Burning Bonemerang requiring 3 Energy, you can use it as soon as Alolan Marowak is live! Out of the 3 Energy, two are Fire (given by Kiawe) and one is Colorless, giving it the possibility of use in other decks as well.
Other Pokémon include the Alolan starter trio of Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio. Maybe one of their final evolutions gets an EX version, like Infernape did in Space-Time Smackdown. Oricorio forms are also there.
But on Kiawe’s cue, let’s talk about the other Trainer cards, with special emphasis on two of them.
- Ilima puts one of your wounded 1-Star cards on your Hand.
- Just like Kiawe benefits Alolan Marowak and Turtonator, Mallow heals Shiinotic or Tsareena of all damage while discarding all Energy from that card.
- Acerola moves 40 DMG from Palossand or Mimikyu to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. That’s useful!
- Lana works only if Araquanid is in play, switching one of your opponent’s Benched mons to the Active Spot. Looks like Lana’s a Sabrina fangirl!
- Sophocles adds 30 DMG to attacks done by Togedemaru and another unknown Pokémon to the opponent’s Active card.
- Rotom Dex (Item card) gives you a peek into your deck’s top card and shuffle it.
But, the highlights of the Trainer cards are:
Rare Candy
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to to what is one of the most meta-defining cards to drop in Pokémon TCG Pocket: the Rare Candy Item card.
Say you have a Charmander in play and as expected, you want Charizard EX live ASAP. You do have Char EX in your Hand but that confounded Charmeleon is missing! Well, not to fret as Rare Candy directly evolves a Basic (Charmander) to a Stage 2 (Charizard EX) directly, as long as it isn’t your first turn with Charmander (or that very respective turn when it was put to play).
While Charizard EX (Shinng Revelry) is phenomenal with Rare Candy, the Item card is perhaps deadlier with Stage 2 cards that require low Energy to attack. This includes powerhouses like Rampardos, Gallade EX, Lucario EX, and even Gengar EX!
Put on your seatbelts people… Rare Candy is a treat for you and a trick for the opposition. This card will change the very face of the meta as you know it.
Lillie Trainer Immersive
The Shining Revelry set threw us a curveball (albeit a pleasant one!) by introducing a Crown Rare version of the Poké Ball Item card. Now, Celestial Guardians has hopped onto the bandwagon by debuting an Immersive version of a Supporter, with Lillie getting the privilege.
Set in a scenic background right by the sea, we expect the animation to be nothing short of breathtaking! But this card has both style and substance, as Lillie heals an astounding 60 DMG from a Stage 2 Pokémon! So yeah, Stage 2 cards have got a huge buff in this meta with Lillie and Rare Candy, and it will be interesting to see how they compete against the classic Basic EX cards like Giratina, Darkrai, Mewtwo, etc., and the new Solgaleo and Lunala!
Which card are you most eager to get?! Celestial Guardians is shaping up to be a masterpiece and naturally, we are all on the edge of our seats!
Happy collecting and battling, Pokémon TCG Pocket-ers. 😀
