Although Eevee Grove added a total of 69 new unique cards toPokemon TCG Pocket, with several additional Special Illustration rares, full art rares, and shiny cards, it is already having a massive impact on the meta thanks to great cards like Flareon Ex and Sylveon Ex.Pokemon TCG Pocket’s new Tsareena from Eevee Grovecould start its own control/discard deck archetype, which could be pretty powerful against stall and Supporter-heavy decks, for example, and Hau single-handedly makes some Ex cards much more reliable against meta threats. In this landscape, there is one new Ex card that may prove to be meta, and even if it doesn’t happen, it’s powercreeping an older card out of play.
Power creep is nothing new inPokemon TCG Pocket, and cards rotate out of the meta all the time, even without a proper set rotation in place, just because new, more powerful versions of a given card are released. For example, for decks that use Decidueye Ex, Incineroar Ex, or Primarina Ex, there is no reason to use either Giovanni or Red over Hau, and these other cards would only make sense to have even more damage-boosting Supporters. Speaking of Primarina Ex, Eevee Grove finally adds this card, and it makes Genetic Apex’s Venusaur Ex obsolete.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Eevee Grove Set Kills Yet Another Genetic Apex Card
Venusaur Ex was released on launch, and it has 190 HP, a Retreat Cost of three, it’s weak to Fire, and it has two attacks: Razor Leaf and Giant Bloom. It has been featured in multiple decks over time thanks to its bulk and ability to heal itself, butPokemon TCG Pocket’s new Primarina Ex from Eevee Grovehas it beaten into a corner.
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Attack 1
Razor Leaf - 1 Grass Energy, 2 colorless Energy: 60 damage
Hydro Pump - 1 Water Energy: 40 damage, plus an additional 40 damage if Primarina Ex has two or more Water Energy
Attack 2
Giant Bloom - 2 Grass Energy, 2 colorless Energy: 100 damage, heal 30 damage from Venusaur Ex
Sparkling Aria - 3 Water Energy: 100 damage, heal 20 damage from Primarina Ex
Why Primarina Ex is an Improved Version of Venusaur Ex
One could argue thatVenusaur Ex inPokemon TCG Pocketis still the tankier option, and that is partially correct. However, Venusaur Ex is weak to Fire, and Fire decks are typically meta in some capacity, thanks to a good selection of cards so far, with new sets possibly adding more to the mix.
Primarina Ex has 10 less HP and it heals for 10 less damage when using Sparkling Aria, but it can attack immediately after evolving, thanks to the 1-Energy cost of Hydro Pump. Even if it only deals 40 damage, it can do this as soon as turn three overall or the second turn of the user. If the user goes second, provided they have a Rare Candy to evolve Popplio into Primarina Ex, it can immediately deal 80 damage on turn four overall, and then 100 on the next, also healing itself for 10 damage.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Pokemon Toolscan further buff Primarina Ex to make it even more powerful, with great candidates being Leftovers for passive healing or Giant Cape to get it to 200 HP.
It’s also worth noting that Primarina Ex is weak to Lightning, and sinceLightning decks inPokemon TCG Pocketare not always meta or good enough to attempt to get there, it’s arguably better to be weak to Lightning compared to Fire. For these reasons, considering that Venusaur Ex requires a lot more buildup to even get ready to attack, with 3-Energy and 4-Energy attacks, Primarina Ex is basically an improved version of it, making yet another Genetic Apex card “obsolete.”
