Top 5 Interesting Cards in Pokemon GO

Embark on a familiar adventure in Pokemon TCG’s latest set, Pokemon GO, which is based on the hit mobile game Pokemon GO! This set has been designed to blend the unique Pokemon found in Pokemon GO with TCG mechanics for the first time ever! There are fan-favourite legendary Pokemon, like Mewtwo VSTAR (Pokemon GO), that will find a home in powerful decks. While there are some obviously powerful cards in this set, like Radiant Blastoise (Pokemon GO), the goal of this article is to showcase some of the unique cards found in this set. Will they ever see the light of day? Honestly, I’m not sure, but Pokemon announced that the upcoming Lost Origins set will be delayed which means that Astral Radiance will be our latest main set and Pokemon GO will be the differentiating factor heading into Worlds. Furthermore, our usual rotation of cards that happens in August / September has been pushed to early 2023 to bring us closer to Japan’s set legality. This might open the realm of needing to play unique concepts to avoid running into Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR (Astral Radiance) mirror matchups at upcoming events. Let’s check out these unique cards.

At first glance, this card gives me Kingler VMAX (Brilliant Stars) vibes, but is that really a bad thing? Alolan Exeggutor V (Pokemon GO) has its Growing Tail attack that allows you to attach up to five Grass Energy to your Pokemon with one small caveat - you need to flip heads on a coin flip. This would be some of the most powerful Grass Energy acceleration in format, alongside Gardenia’s Vigor (Astral Radiance), and I’m sure it could see some success eventually. The card I want to pair this with is Glimwood Tangle (Sword and Shield) to give you a reroll on that coin flip if you get Tails - that would make this more effective. It might not be the prettiest combo of all time, but it could go all the way with the right partner/

While everyone else is checking out Radiant Charizard (Pokemon GO), I’m also looking out for Charizard (Pokemon GO). Using its Burn Brightly Ability allows you to count each Fire Energy you have in play as two Fire Energy which can certainly allow you to attack a little bit quicker. It might need a little more acceleration to make it work better, but it could see success with Arceus VSTAR (Brilliant Stars) or make some odd tech cards work. I’m unsure how the deck would play out, but something about a single Prize Card Fire Toolbox deck excited me. Like many of these cards on this list, there isn’t a carved-out deck to insert these cards, but they are more or less ideas to inspire you. Maybe this will be featured in the next best deck.

I can’t tell if Radiant Venusaur (Pokemon GO) is as strong as the other Radiant Pokemon in this set, but it certainly is interesting! I don’t think its Pollen Hazard is where it's at - I’m looking at Sunny Bloom Ability. It likely plays out a bit weird, but it allows you to draw cards until you have four cards in your hand at the end of your turn. I keep on thinking of situations where I want to have a larger hand size and my first thought immediately goes to Malamar (Chilling Reign) because you would clear most of your hand with Rapid Strike Tentacles. Perhaps other decks could use it as a pseudo-Bibarel (Brilliant Stars) to draw cards at the end of their turn to keep everything steadily moving. It won’t save you from Marnie (Sword and Shield) or Roxanne (Astral Radiance), but I’m sure it will serve a purpose soon.

It doesn’t seem like much at first, but Slowbro (Pokemon GO) might make single Prize Card attacking decks have an edge against the format. Its Twilight Inspiration attack allows you to draw two Prize Cards for two Colorless Energy if your opponent only has one Prize Card left. If you go toe-to-toe with your opponent in a heated match and don’t have any two Prize Card Pokemon for them to Knock Out, you might just end up using Twilight Inspiration to win a game. Pairing this with Zoroark (Evolving Skies) allows you to have a bunch of different techs against the format and you can finish your opponent off with Twilight Inspiration. This card seems like it will see success - I can feel it.

Likely the most splashable card in the whole set, Ditto (Pokemon GO) can seemingly attack how it pleases. It doesn’t have an attack printed anywhere on the card, but it does have its Sudden Transformation Ability that allows it to copy and non-Rule Box Basic Pokemon attack from your Discard Pile as long as you have the necessary Energy attached. Our current format might make it a bit tough to utilize, but I could see this breathing new life into Mad Party or making a deck with some unique techs. Cards like this almost always get better with age and I’m sure this one will see success.

With all of the knowledge of the new Pokemon GO set in this article, I hope it has inspired many of you trainers out there to play some Pokemon! It seems like this will be an impactful set for the upcoming World Championships, but I will do my best to cover all of the relevant cards out of this set. As for me, I always get inspired by new set releases and use it as a time to explore as much of the format as possible. I hope to share my findings with our community and write about them here! I still have a bunch of testing to do so I’m gonna start that and catch up with all of you later!

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PoTownStore.com. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. He creates YouTube content, coaches on Metafy, and runs the successful Late Night Series on Play Limitless. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.