Pokémon TCG Pocket’s next expansion is leaking all over the place

The next major Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket update, dubbed Space-Time Smackdown, is scheduled for Jan. 29, but several cards are already starting to appear online, presumably through datamining. Let’s break down some highlights.

First and foremost, Space-Time Smackdown appears to include a Mewtwo ex killer in the form of Weavile ex. Pokémon TCG Pocket’s competitive meta is still dominated by Mewtwo ex decks despite the steady release of new cards, but Weavile ex’s ability to start doing decent, weakness-exploiting damage as early as turn two should be a boon for taking down opponents who rely on Psychic-type Pokémon. Dark-type decks are currently dependent on tricky strategies involving poison damage, so Weavile ex should also go a long way toward shaking that up.

If you’re as fond of damaging your fellow Pokémon TCG Pocket players psychologically as I am, we have a great new card for trolling: Porygon-Z. It’s a beefy boy with good damage-dealing potential, but things get real tasty with its one attack’s ability to randomly change the type of energy the opponent generates during their next turn. Missing out on even a single useful energy can be devastating in a game as quick and simple as Pokémon TCG Pocket, and I look forward to ruining at least one person’s day with this card even if it doesn’t always translate to wins.

Bidoof makes a spectacular Pokémon TCG Pocket debut with Super Fang which, if you’re familiar with the video games, halves the opposing Pokémon’s HP. This will have diminishing returns, of course, and Bidoof won’t be the bulkiest Pokémon in your deck by a long shot, but imagine reducing cards like Pikachu ex and Gyrados ex to 60 and 90 HP respectively with just two energy.

And finally, the rich get richer with the introduction of a new type of card, Pokémon Tools, specifically the card Rocky Helmet. A lot of decks still use Druddigon, with its 100 HP and retaliatory damage, as a way to tank hits while they evolve and build energy on benched Pokémon. Rocky Helmet gives any card a similar ability, but attaching it to Druddigon means it will deal a whopping 40 damage every time the opposing Pokémon hits it with an attack. I foresee a lot of decks either keeping Druddigon around for the foreseeable future or finding a way to include at least one because fighting against it is going to be annoying as heck.

It’s an exciting time for Pokémon TCG Pocket, both for collectors and folks who take the battle mod seriously, and I can’t wait to see what new strategies players figure out when Space-Time Smackdown releases to the public.