Pokémon
Neither Giratina ex nor Alakazam: These are the top ten Shining Revelry cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket
We take a detailed look at the top ten cards in the Shining Revelry expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket. These are the cards that have the most drastic effect on the new metagame.
Shiny Revelry will be available in Pokémon TCG Pocket on Thursday, March 27, 2025, and we already know what all the new cards are in this miniset that focuses on Shiny Pokémon and the Paldea region. In this text, we take a look at what are the ten best cards of this new expansion. We expect that not all of them are new Pokémon, and there are some surprises in the list. Here we go:
Beedrill ex
We start with Beedrill ex, a retrain of the Grass Pokémon that came into the game with the Genetic Apex expansion. Its single attack, Crushing Spear, may not seem like much, since it “only” deals 80 damage, something many Phase 1 Pokémon can do. However, it can shut down the opponent’s Pokémon thanks to its bonus effect, which discards a random Energy from the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This can be a real headache for our opponent, and if their Active Pokémon don’t have enough Energy to attack, they may never get it, allowing Beedrill to attack constantly without being countered. This effect, combined with Team Rocket Grunts, can give opponents more of a headache. In addition, Beedrill ex’s 170 HP makes it an unusually strong Pokémon for a “basic” wasp.
Meowscarada
Meowscarada is the final stage of the original Grass-type Pokémon from Paldea, the region where Scarlet and Violet take place. This Stage 2 Pokémon is one of the most terrifying to certain Pokémon, thanks to its Anti-Meta status: with its Fighting Claws move, it can deal 130 points of damage to Pokémon ex for just two Energies. This allows it to finish off popular metagame choices like Mew Ex or Celebi Ex with a single attack, since they have exactly 130 HP.
Charizard ex
Shining Revelry’s Charizard ex is essentially a retrained version of the previous one, which was introduced with Genetic Apex. This new Pokémon has two moves: Stoke allows it to instantly attach three Fire Energies from the Energy Zone, and Steam Artillery deals 150 damage in exchange for three Fire Energies and two of any type. Its ability to attach Fire Energies can speed up its strategy in Fire decks, eliminating the reliance on Moltres ex and its coin flips, resulting in a more consistent deck. In addition to dealing a lot of damage, Steam Artillery doesn’t cause Pokémon to lose Energy of any kind, so if we get all the Energy we need, we can deal 150 points of damage turn after turn with no limit. And if that’s not enough, Charizard ex’s 180 HP also gives it a lot of Health to withstand its opponent’s blows, so it can stay in the Active Spot longer.
Pikachu ex
Pikachu ex returns to Pokémon TCG Pocket with a new retrain that makes it absolutely terrifying in Electric decks. Its unique move, Thunderbolt, requires three Electric Energy and deals 150 damage, but discards all of that Pokémon’s Energies. Its disadvantage is automatically mitigated by its limited use to ensure our victory; Pikachu ex is perfect for finishing off the opponent’s last Pokémon, taking the point(s) we need to win.
Lucario ex
Lucario ex is another of the most prominent Pokémon in Shining Revelry. It is another retrain of the card introduced in the Space-Time Smackdown Set. It doesn’t have any abilities this time, but its one move is relatively powerful: Aura Sphere deals 100 damage to an opponent’s Active Pokémon and 30 damage to an opponent’s Benched Pokémon. This allows it to not only deal heavy damage and potentially finish off any Pokémon in two turns, but it can also overwhelm Pokémon on the Bench that our opponent thought were safe. This multi-purpose attacker role makes Fighting decks very relevant in the new meta.
Paldean Clodsire ex
Paldean Clodsire ex is a Phase 1 Pokémon that needs to evolve from a Paldean Wooper. However, it is perfect for Darkness-type decks that have many ways to poison the opposing Pokémon. Aside from the poison damage, which can be terrifying on its own, Paldean Clodsire ex’s only move, Venoshock, deals extra damage if the opponent’s Active Pokémon is poisoned. The ridiculous 60 damage it normally deals becomes 120 damage when the opponent’s Active Pokémon is poisoned, making it a threat to be reckoned with.
Grafaiai
Grafaiai is the other piece of the “puzzle” that allows you to build new Darkness decks based on Poisoning along with Paldea’s Wooper/Clodsire evolutionary line. Grafaiai’s role is simple but effective: just keep it on the bench and use its ability turn after turn. With Poison Coating, we flip a coin, and if it comes up heads, the opponent’s Active Pokémon is poisoned. This serves not only to deal residual damage from the poison itself, but also to support other Dark Pokémon that gain bonus damage when the opponent’s Active Pokémon suffers the effects of the poison.
Gholdengo
Gholdengo, one of the most popular Pokémon in the Scarlet and Purple meta, will also be an option to consider in TCG Pocket. It must be evolved from Gimmighoul, but its unique attack, Scintillating Surfing, has the potential to knock out any opponent’s Pokémon. It requires one Metal Energy and two of any type, and allows us to flip a coin for each Metal Energy attached to it: for each side, we deal 50 points of damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This effectively makes it the equivalent of Celebi ex in Metal Type, but with a few differences: since it is not a Pokémon ex, if it gets weakened, the opponent only gets one point instead of two. While this strategy may not seem efficient at first, it should be noted that cards like Dialga ex drastically speed up Energy gain in Metal decks, so they have very good synergy.
Bibarel ex
At first glance, Bibarel ex may not seem like a serious threat, but it can be very hard to crack (get it?) in any kind of deck. It needs to be evolved from Bidoof, but it has a decent amount of Health: 160 HP, and it can stay in the game for a long time without external support thanks to its unique and powerful move: Carefree Press. It requires four Energies of any type, deals 100 damage, and as if that weren’t enough, allows Bibarel ex to heal itself for 30 Health. Because it is a Normal Pokémon, the Energy it uses can be any type, so cards like Misty or Pokémon like Moltres ex can speed up this strategy dramatically, making it a potential threat.
Team Rocket Grunt
Last but not least, we have a supporter card that can make us win the game as soon as we use it. Team Rocket Grunt asks us to flip coins until we get tails. For each toss, we can remove one Energy from the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This alone is extremely devastating, and can leave your opponent with no possible response, so this card could redefine the entire metagame, favoring fast Energy strategies or Pokémon that need one or two Energies to attack. Combined with a Beedrill-ex-centric deck, it could become the nightmare of many competitive players.
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