Pokémon Trading Card Game‘s (or TCG) latest expansion, Prismatic Evolutions, is set to hit store shelves at the end of the week. Being a special set, loose booster packs will not be available for this expansion – cards can only be acquired through sealed product such as Elite Trainer Boxes and the like, with more products to be released throughout the year.
This set is particularly interesting, as most cards are reprints of old format staples. This means there’s very few cards to shake up the metagame, but may increase the supply of in-demand staples, thus making the game more accessible.
Here are the new cards that may impact the Prismatic Evolutions metagame:
5. Tapu Koko ex
Boasting 200 HP and a two-energy attack that scales off of our own benched Pokémon (and caps at 220 damage), Tapu Koko ex feels like a watered-down replacement for Raikou V come rotation. At the tradeoff of power and the Fleet Footed ability, Tapu Koko instead has free retreat, which makes it a decent pivot — but Miraidon ex decks, which is the likely home of Tapu Koko ex, already runs Latias ex for free retreats.
With that said, Tapu Koko ex could be a decent tech card to snipe Pidgeot ex – though once again, Raikou V does the same job, but is more flexible damage-wise.
4. Eevee ex
The mascot of the set, Eevee ex has the Rainbow DNA ability, which allows it to evolve from any Pokémon that can evolve from any non-ex Eevee. However, being a two prizer, it faces stiff competition with Eevee SSP, which basically has a better ability, albeit requiring it to be in the active spot.
While there aren’t many Eeveelution decks right now, some Japanese players have tried to field a Flareon ex – Jolteon ex deck to middling success in City Leagues. But seeding the card pool for future Eeeveelutions is a great start, especially since 2025 has been dubbed as the “Year of Eevee”.
3. Black Belt’s Training
With a simple effect, Black Belt’s Training allows certain decks to just reach specific damage breakpoints against specific matchups. Looking forward to rotation, Pokémon V, VSTAR, and VMAX will all rotate out, making this damage boost pretty unconditional against two-Prizers.
But once again, the card faces some competition in the form of Kieran, who already has a more flexible damage boost, but also acts as a Switch in case situations get dicey. The extra 10 damage has to really matter for the card to see play, but it’s a great option for decks that do need it. For instance, the aforementioned Flareon ex‘s Carnelian attack does 280 damage. Boosted by Black Belt’s Training, this swings for exactly 320 damage – enough to KO the top metagame threat for Prismatic Evolutions, Dragapult ex.
It can also be said that 280 is one of the magic numbers for 2024, as it takes KOs on key targets such as Regidrago VSTAR and Lugia VSTAR, and also takes care of Gholdengo ex and Ceruledge ex and more. So adding Black Belt’s Training to these decks designed to hit for 280 damage to bump it up to 320 damage is enough of a tech card to justify inclusion.
2. Regigigas
A card specifically printed to spite Charizard ex and Dragapult ex, Regigigas’ lone attack Jewel Breaker swings for 330 damage, provided the defending Pokémon is a Tera Pokémon.
In Asia, the card has primarily seen play in Lugia VSTAR decks , but also makes an appearance in Chien Pao ex decks, giving both lists a way to take care of big Tera Pokémon in a more efficient way.
As I see it, the card acts as a release valve – as most tech cards in this game are designed – in case a specific Tera Pokémon becomes near ubiquitous.
1. Budew
Last printed over 16 years ago, there’s no doubt Budew’s return to the Pokémon TCG has raised the spirits of collectors. But don’t be fooled by this little bud, as the baby Pokémon has completely warped the metagame due to its Itchy Pollen attack, which locks the opponent out of playing item cards from hand on their next turn. With a zero-energy attack and free retreat cost, there’s so little opportunity cost involved by slotting in a copy or two into decklists that want to set up.
The card’s best users come in the form of Gardevoir ex and Dragapult ex decks, as these two have powerful stage 1 evolutions in Kirlia and Drakloak, which allows them to draw more cards instead of heavily relying on Rare Candy or the two-sided ACE SPEC Grand Tree.
To illustrate the card’s power, the statistics for one of the most item-reliant decks, Charizard ex, has significantly dropped in Japan, from occupying a 15% Top 16 meta share during Surging Sparks’ last week, to a measly 5% the week Budew became tournament-legal, and has continued to post the same numbers even to this day.
Meanwhile, Budew has been seen in at least 30 to 50% of decklists that make the cut to top 16 in City Leagues. Celio’s Network also crunched the numbers behind Budew and found out that at least 12% of decks in December contained at least one copy of Budew, and that roughly 50% of winning decks had a copy of our little item-locking friend (or fiend?).
The same week as the Champions League Osaka tournament, City Leagues posted 55% of decks in the top 16 had Budew, though the post-Champions League metagame saw the percentage drop to 31.4%.
Though players are now figuring out which decks best utilize Budew and it’s not an auto-include in every deck, it has undoubtedly caused a drastic meta and deckbuilding shift, and will continue to do so for as long as it’s in the Standard format.
Honorable Mentions in Prismatic Evolutions
While Prismatic Evolutions is a letdown competitively, aside from two standout cards, we still have to give our laurels to some other contenders for cards that may see fringe competitive play. Flareon ex and Jolteon ex seem like the best Eeveelutions of the set, both sharing the same second attack and energy requirements for 280 damage, while Jolteon ex has the option to swing for 240 damage with two energy, provided we can discard Basic Energy cards from our Benched Pokémon. It’s a Raging Bolt ex-lite in that sense.
An 80 HP Hoothoot has likewise appeared in the set, but it has two retreat cost, so it may not see play – though it is a consideration in case we see more bench snipe shenanigans in the future.
The ACE SPEC Max Rod is interesting, as it can act as five Night Stretchers in one, though its applications are extremely limited. Gholdengo ex already wants Energy Search Pro, so I can only see this seeing play in Chien Pao ex to close out the game.
Time will tell if the other Prismatic Evolutions cards can make a dent in the metagame, or if rotation will make these cards more viable. Did we miss any cards you think should be included, or do you have some new decks with Prismatic Evolutions cards? Let us know!
Also check out our guide to the Top 5 Prismatic Evolutions Decks, or take a look at all the new Pokémon sets coming up in 2025.
