One of the highlights ofPokemon TCG Pocket’s recent A4 leak was the addition of baby Pokemon like Pichu and Cleffa, which are now seen as a band-aid solution for the game’s coin toss problem. RNG-based coin tosses play a significant role in various aspects ofPokemon TCG Pocketmatches, but the one at the beginning of matches has long been a point of criticism.
Currently, a coin toss decides which player will start the game, and the first player receives no Energy on their opening turn. As a result, the only way for them to attack or utilize a move in round one is by generating Energy, which is already a hassle because there aren’t many Energy-generating cards that can help with that. The second player, on the other hand, can both attach Energy and attack on their first turn, creating an RNG-rooted advantage that’s widely seen as unfair.
Interestingly, thenewly leakedPokemon TCG Pocketbaby cardsdon’t require Energy to perform their move and have no retreat cost. In theory, this allows the player who goes first to mitigate the disadvantage of receiving no Energy on their opening turn. Even better, they might be able to retreat the often-weak baby Pokemon after utilizing its move to avoid losing a point. While this won’t fix the game’s broader combat balance issues, the upcoming baby cards could help lessen the impact of the initial coin toss, at least for some decks.
Baby Cards Could Be the New ‘Misty Exploit’ in Pokemon TCG Pocket
During the early days of meta, someWater decks inPokemon TCG Pocketused Misty’s ability to offset the downside of going first. As a Supporter, Misty can generate enough Energy on turn one to activate the starting player’s attacker. However, her ability relies on coin tosses, so there’s no guarantee she’ll enable a first-turn attack.
In contrast, baby cards can offer a guaranteed starting move. For most of them, the only apparent condition is hand presence. In other words, as long as the starting player has ababy Pokemonin hand on their first turn, they should theoretically be able to trigger its text in the Active Spot. One thing to note is that the leaked cards from the A4 set only show no-damage baby cards. If that trend holds for similar creatures, they may end up serving utility roles like drawing cards or generating Energy rather than dealing damage.
Another caveat is that baby cards will likely have very low HP. As seen inrecentPokemon TCG Pocketleaks, for example, Cleffa and Pichu each have only 30 HP. And that is low enough for most early-game attackers to knock out. Only time will tell if these adorable creatures will have a lasting impact on the meta or fade away with future expansions. For now, what seems certain is that their no-Energy status could offer some compensation for players going first.
