With so many strange and lovable creatures walking around, human characters often fade into the background of the Pokemon universe. But the human-featuring supporter cards are finally getting their time to shine in Pokemon TCG Pocket when the Celestial Guardians expansion set arrives on April 30.
There are more than 200 cards in the new set, making this the largest set expansion in Pokemon TCG Pocket since the original Genetic Apex set that launched alongside the game. Celestial Guardians will introduce players to exotic Alolan Pokemon, including starter Pokemon Litten, Rowlet and Popplio and legendaries Solgaleo and Lunala.
Regional variants of classic Pokemon also will be highlighted in this set, including Alolan forms of Meowth, Persian, Vulpix and Ninetales. Full art versions of Alolan Raichu and Alolan Marowak cards will be included in the packs.
The set will be split into Solgaleo and Lunala packs, with themed cards in each sub-set. For the first time ever, though, there will be different versions of the same Pokemon card in each sub-set — there are different variants of Litten, Rowet, Popplio and Oricorio in the Solgaleo and Lunala packs.
As one of the biggest sets in the game, Celestial Guardians will require a lot of time, dedication and luck to complete. It’s time to start saving up those Pack Hourglasses.
In addition to new types of immersive cards, this is the first set with multiple variants of the same Pokemon card.
Lillie is the first immersive Supporter card
Immersive cards are some of the most sought after variants in Pokemon TCG Pocket. They’re a good example of why trading cards work virtually — there are things they can do that physical cards can’t. With immersive cards, that’s allowing players to inspect them to unlock an animated scene.
Previous Pokemon TCG Pocket immersive cards have largely focused on the most popular pocket monsters from their respective expansions. Genetic Apex included immersive cards for Pikachu, Charizard and Mewtwo, for example, while Spacetime Showdown featured Dialga and Palkia in their own animated cards.
If the Celestial Guardians set followed the same trend, we’d expect to see immersive cards for Solgaleo and Lunala — but that trend is getting bucked for a fan-favorite human character.
Lillie is the player’s companion from Pokemon Sun and Moon, and the friend and protector of the Cosmog named Nebby. She’s also the daughter of the main antagonist — Lusamine — and many Pokemon fans connect with her quest to be a better person than her mother.
Lillie is a natural choice for a Supporter immersive card, and opens up possibilities for new immersive Supporter and Trainer cards in future Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion sets.
The Rare Candy card will change the game for serious Pokemon TCG Pocket deck builders but it almost certainly won’t be the only meta-changing card in Celestial Guardians.
What card will shake up the Pokemon TCG Pocket meta?
New Pokemon Ex cards and other important pulls often drastically change the Pokemon TCG Pocket meta. Their special gimmicks, high-damage attacks and Pokemon abilities often change the way the game is played.
This time around, it’s not a Pokemon that has people chattering about the meta shake-up: It’s a Trainer card. The Rare Candy card lets players bypass a Stage 1 evolution, placing a Stage 2 card from your hand onto an active Basic Pokemon.
This effect lets players ramp up their strength absurdly quickly — in certain cases, you can have some of the most powerful Stage 2 Pokemon Ex cards in play by your second turn. Certain Pokemon are themselves turned into powerful energy factories at Stage 2, like Shining Revelry’s Charizard Ex, and the Rare Candy will almost certainly become a mainstay pairing for these cards.
No one will be able to predict how the meta will shake out quite yet. With more than 200 cards being added to the game, including powerful new legendaries and Pokemon Ex cards, it will take some time and theory-crafting to figure out the best new synergies in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Rayquaza Ex full art cards are the big chase for the event, but there will also be Pokemon coins, playmats and various other rewards up for grabs.
The Pokemon TCG Pocket “Half-Year Celebration” event
Launching in tandem with the Celestial Guardians expansion on April 30 is Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Half-Year Celebration event.
Themed around Rayquaza, the generation three legendary Pokemon featured on the Pokemon Emerald box art, this event will introduce the Promo Pack A Series Volume 7 packs as rewards for beating special solo battles.
Several new cards will be available in these promo packs but the chase card is a new Rayquaza Ex. Every promo pack contains a single card, which encourages players to continually log-in over the course of the event to maximize their pulls. Event Hourglasses let players take on additional event battles. The solo battles — and their promo pack rewards — will be available until May 12.
Special missions will also be available starting April 30, and they’ll reward players with a separate full art variant of Rayquaza Ex alongside “a few other goodies.”
This split between battling and generalized missions adapts a similar structure to older TCG Pocket events, giving casual collectors a chance to pick up some cool card art without engaging in any battles. The special missions will run until May 28.
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