Time Capsule: TCG Throwbacks in Mythical Island

Aerodactyl ex's Primeval Law prevents the opponent's Active Pokémon from evolving. It's often considered weak because Pokémon can evolve while on the Bench, and most actually sit there and never become Active, such as the Ralts or Snivy lines.

Developers likely wanted to avoid recreating the original Aerodactyl's Prehistoric Power ability. Released in Fossil (1999), it stopped both players from playing any Evolution cards entirely! Having such a powerful counter certainly wouldn’t have encouraged experimenting with Evolution-based strategies.

Mew ex, the cover card for Mythical Island, is also one of the standout Pokémon thanks to its Genome Hacking attack. It gives any deck a generic counter to powerful threats like Mewtwo ex and Charizard ex by replicating their attacks.

Genome Hacking is a direct adaptation of Mew ex's attack from the 151 set released in 2023. In TCG, Mew ex sees play primarily for its Restart ability, which allows you to refill your hand to three cards once per turn.

The "flip a coin for each Energy attached, dealing damage for each heads" mechanic is seldom seen in the TCG, with Audino from 2011 being one of the earlier examples. Celebi ex's Powerful Blossom is another iteration of this type of damage-dealing move, similar in cost and effect to Maractus’s Powerful Needles from Sword & Shield (2020).

It follows the same "Powerful" naming convention found on Pokémon with that kind of attack, such as Belossom (Obsidian Flames, 2023) and Brambleghast (Temporal Forces, 2024).

Celebi ex’s best companion is a direct throwback to the TCG’s history. Both Serperior’s Jungle Totem ability and Solar Beam attack are identical in name and effect (apart from damage values) to those of Venusaur from Shining Legends (2017). At the time, Venusaur’s ability powered up Shining Genesect’s Gaia Blaster, which increased its damage based on the amount of Energy attached.

Wash Out is an ability that first appeared on Swampert from Great Encounters, all the way back to 2008, and was last seen on Quagsire in Dragon Majesty (2019). Vaporeon from Mythical Island brings back this ability but limits Energy attachment to only Pokémon.

Quagsire was a centerpiece of competitive decks, even placing 7th in the 2019 TCG World Championship. Could Vaporeon achieve similar success in Pocket?

Druddigon in TCG Pocket is essentially a synthesis of all its appearances in the TCG. Its Rough Skin ability appears on three different Druddigon cards, which deals 20 or 30 damage after being attacked. Its colored Energy requirements also remain identical, using only and Energy across all its prints. Then its Dragon Claw attack is a shared feature of four Druddigon cards in the TCG. TCG Pocket even reuses the artwork from the Flashfire (2014) Druddigon!

Revenge-style attacks are a recurring theme in the TCG, as seen with Druddigon above. The first example dates back to Machamp from Diamond & Pearl (2007). These attacks force opponents to carefully consider when and how to take a KO, as it could leave them exposed to a much stronger counterattack in the following turn. They're a net benefit to the strategic depth of the game.

Tauros's Fighting Tackle draws direct inspiration from Flapple in Evolving Skies (2021).

Attacks that deal extra damage if the Defending Pokémon is a Pokémon ex date back to Stoutland's Bite Off from X&Y (2014). This type of attack supports single-Prize strategies by helping them stand up to stronger, multi-Prize Pokémon like Pokémon ex, Pokémon GX, or Pokémon V. It can also fit into ex decks as a way to disrupt the opponent’s Prize mapping.

Mind Jack is a recurring attack in the TCG ever since it was first printed on Team Plasma's Absol in Plasma Freeze (2013). It always gains power based on the number of the opponent's Benched Pokémon. Found on both and Pokémon, the latest iteration was on Alakazam ex in the 151 set.