Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first expansion firmly establishes Aerodactyl as the troll’s best friend

The over 60 million sickos who’ve spent the last month and change collecting digital Pokémon cards in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket will be happy to know that the first expansion is scheduled to launch on Dec. 17.

Mythical Island will feature more than 80 new cards, ranging from the first non-secret appearance by Mew, the expansion’s featured Pokémon, and yet another Aerodactyl card, perfect for making battles an absolute nightmare for anyone unlucky enough to face off against it.

The new Pocket card, Aerodactyl ex, boasts an impressive 140 HP and a two-energy attack that deals 80 damage, but its true strength lies in its Pokémon ability. Primeval Law makes it so that the opponent can’t evolve their active Pokémon as long as Aerodactyl ex is in play. While this isn’t the end of the world for current top tier cards like Mewtwo ex and Pikachu ex, which require no evolving, and doesn’t affect benched Pokémon, its potential for psychological damage is matched only by an Aerodactyl card that already exists in the mobile game.

The original Aerodactyl card from Pocket’s initial Genetic Apex expansion isn’t nearly as strong as its upcoming counterpart. It only has 100 HP and its one attack doesn’t even do any damage. But that attack, Primal Wingbeat, can send an opposing Pokémon packing all the way back to the player’s deck with a coin flip, negating its evolution and energy acquisition up to that point. Again, this alone isn’t going to win a game unless the opponent was hit with bad luck and unable to play at least one benched Pokémon. It can, however, be a devastating blow to someone who’d spent the last several turns building up a Charizard ex and was getting ready to Burninate the countryside.

I don’t see competition as just about winning. It’s probably the fighting game player in me, but sometimes making the game absolutely miserable for my opponent is just as good a feeling, if not better. As such, I see a lot of potential in a deck fielding both Aerodactyl and Aerodactyl ex. It won’t net me a ton of wins, but when it works, it’ll definitely make some folks close the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket app for a little while. Maybe they’ll even give up on the game entirely. And, really, what’s sweeter than that?