Loading...
The Mythical Island expansion has brought a good variety of unique attacks and effects, some that might catch players by surprise. In this article, we’ll break down rulings and scenarios where these mechanics can make or break your strategy.
Indirect damage
Indirect sources of damage include damage-inducing statuses like Poison and some Pokémon abilities. Many new cards in Mythical Island have abilities and attacks dependent on your opponent's attacks, but these effects don't work if caused by an indirect source of damage. For instance:
- Druddigon's Rough Skin ability won't activate against another Druddigon's Rough Skin or Weezing's Gas Leak.
- Marshadow's Revenge attack does not gain extra damage if one of your Pokemon was Knocked Out by indirect damage, such as Greninja's Water Shuriken.
- When you flip heads with Cramorant's Dive, it is protected from damage and effects of attacks. However, this doesn't protect against abilities, nor does it negate effects directed at other Pokemon like Mythical Island Raichu's Gigashock. Additionally, it doesn't negate effects directed at players, such as Genetic Apex Psyduck's Headache. If Cramorant is forced to the bench, this effect doesn't apply anymore: it can be damaged by attacks reaching Benched Pokémon.
Mew ex's Genome Hacking
As one of the most unique cards released currently, Mew ex from Mythical Island has a bevy of unique interactions with other cards due to its Genome Hacking attack.
- Any attack that requires you to discard a certain type Energy can still be used with Genome Hacking even if you don't have the Energy type. You can use Charizard ex's Crimson Storm even if you don't have Energy or Mewtwo ex's Psydrive if you don't have Energy! If you have this type of Energy attached to Mew ex, you will need to discard it.
- Any attack that requires certain Benched Pokemon still requires them to work. Copying Pikachu ex's Circle Circuit will do no damage if you don't have any Benched type Pokemon to power up the attack.
- Attacks that aren’t conditional on any Energy type, like Celebi ex's Powerful Bloom still work as intended, which can be very useful for Mew as you can still attach more energy for more coin flips to increase your chances of KOing Celebi.
- Genome Hacking cannot be copied by Genetic Apex Ditto. This is a relevant exchange since it prevents Ditto from copying a benched Mew ex to copy attacks like Psydrive. This interaction was discovered by users Gamesyn3gy and ODJ and is one of the few core differences between the Pokemon TCG and Pocket.
Concrete example pic.twitter.com/o3qA5QQARs
— Martin R. (@shutterst0ck_) December 17, 2024
Gyarados ex
Gyarados ex's Rampaging Whirlpool discards an Energy at random including from your Pokémon. Here’s how it works:
- The attack pools all Energy cards in play (including those attached to Gyarados ex) and discards one at random.
- It can discard Energy from the Defending Pokémon even if Rampaging Whirlpool knocks it out.
Serperior
Serperior's Jungle Totem is a unique ability in Pokémon TCG Pocket, doubling the value of all . Here are examples of how it matters:
- Celebi ex can use Powerful Bloom () with just 1 Energy so it can attack as early as turn one. It scales based on the amount of Energy attached and Serperior doubles that amount: a huge factor in the success of Celebi ex deck.
- This ability can also work against you, as attacks like Jynx's Psychic count each Energy as double, increasing their damage.
- Jungle Totem influences not only attacks but also retreat costs. For example, if Exeggutor ex is in the Active spot (retreat cost of 3), having 1 Energy and Serperior on the field allows you to use X Speed and discard the Energy to pay for the full retreat.
Fossils
- Old Amber, the first-ever reprint in Pokémon TCG Pocket, appears in Genetic Apex (A1#218) and Mythical Island (A1a#63). It no longer shows up under the Genetic Apex section of "My Cards" and is now listed with Mythical Island cards. Scroll down to find it if you’re looking in your collection.
- Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law ability only applies to the opponent's Active Pokémon. It does not affect their Benched Pokémon!
Exeggcute
Attacks like Exeggcute's Growth Spurt, which attach Energy from your Energy Zone, can be used even if the required Energy type isn’t in your Zone. However, most attacks that attach Energy to your other Pokemon can only do so to Pokemon of a certain type, such as Lilligant's Leaf Supply or Moltres ex's Inferno Dance.
Pokémon Flute
Pokémon Flute cannot be played if your opponent's Bench is already full.
