Yesterday, July 22, was a big day for thePokemoncommunity at large thanks to the Pokemon Presents direct that unveiled more content for existing games in the series and even a new title calledPokemon Friends, butPokemon TCG Pocketwas mysteriously absent from the presentation.Pokemon TCG Pocket’s A4 July sethas yet to be officially announced, but shortly after the Pokemon Presents direct, a trailer for this expansion appeared on the official Italian Pokemon YouTube channel, revealing some of the cards coming in the new release. The trailer was taken down, but not before some fans managed to take videos and screenshots of the new cards, including a game-changing Ho-Oh Ex.
Much like many fans were hoping, the A4 set will finally focus on Johto and its critters inPokemon TCG Pocket. Gen 2 was the most requested alongside Gen 3, so the fact that it’s coming, and that it will feature a booster pack dedicated to Ho-Oh and one to Lugia, makes perfect sense. The set is titled The Way of Sky and Sea, and given that its themed boosters are dedicated to Ho-Oh and Lugia, they both get the Ex treatment and likely the immersive treatment too. While Lugia Ex is powerful when combined with its counterpart, Ho-Oh Ex is a powerhouse in its own right and finally makes one type of deck viable.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Leaked Ho-Oh Ex Marks a Massive Shift For The Game
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s multi-Energy decksalways have RNG stacked against them from the get-go, as the game will generate one type of Energy randomly each turn from the pool of available types, up to three. This means that even with just two Energy types, players will have a very hard time getting any consistency out of their decks, with matches without a single Energy of a given type and matches where the flow is perfect.
Why The Leaked Ho-Oh Ex is a Big Deal in Pokemon TCG Pocket
The newleaked Ho-Oh Ex inPokemon TCG Pocketchanges this with its Turbo Phoenix attack, which requires three Energy of any type to be used, deals 80 damage, and then allows the user to place one Fire, one Water, and one Lightning Energy onto any combination of basic Pokemon. This means that one can reliably build a multi-Energy deck for the first time since the game’s release on October 30 of last year, which is a milestone in and of itself. It’s worth noting that there is a limitation imposed on deckbuilding with Ho-Oh Ex, as it can only generate Fire, Water, and Electric Energy.
However, even this can single-handedly fuel some incredible deck builds, and it’s something players should consider trying out when the set does drop, assuming the trailer is real and not fabricated. Ho-Oh Ex can’t provide Energy to non-basic Pokemon, but it’s arguably a non-issue considering that Rare Candy exists for Stage 2 cards. This means that one could hypothetically have a Charmander and a Dratini on the bench when Ho-Oh Ex attacks and build up Fire Energy forPokemon TCG Pocket’s Charizard Exand both Water and Lightning Energy for Dragonite or Dragonite Ex.
Ho-Oh Ex obviously pairs perfectly with the leaked Lugia Ex, which requires one Fire, one Water, and one Lightning Energy to attack.
This is a game-changer because one could simply run one type of Energy in their deck, and generate the other types with Ho-Oh Ex. The chosen Energy type could even be something else entirely, rather than one of the three Ho-Oh Ex produces, further expanding the possibilities of this card. For example, Leafeon Ex from Triumphant Light generates Grass Energy for itself. Ho-Oh Ex could also give all three Energy to a single Pokemon, so something likePokemon TCG Pocket’s Arceus Exwould immediately have all Energy necessary for it to attack with a single activation. The possibilities are endless, and this card should be just the beginning for more.
