First Pokemon Scarlet and Violet TCG cards showcase Terastallization, other new mechanics

As the initial surge of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet hype dies down following its official release, the first collection of cards for the Scarlet and Violet series of the Pokémon TCG have been officially revealed. This includes our first full look at the ex versions of different cards, marking the return of that mechanic after since the 2003 Ruby and Sapphire series. 

Along with seeing the card depicting Smoliv, Pawmi, and Lechonk for the first time—which also reveals the Pokémon’s National Pokédex numbers for the first time—the Koraidon ex and Miraidon ex that were teased at the 2022 Pokémon World Championships got a full showcase too.

For Koraidon ex, it will feature the ability Dino Cry and powerful Wild Impact attack, while Miraidon ex will have Tandem Unit and Photon Blaster. The usual ex rule of giving your opponent two Prize Cards upon being Knocked Out applies here too. 

Here are the full breakdowns for those cards with translations provided by PokéBeach.

• Koraidon ex 
  • Fighting w/ 230 HP
  • Ability: Dino Cry
  • Once during your turn, you may attach up to two Basic [F] Energy cards from your discard pile to your Basic [F] Pokemon in any way you like. If you use this Ability, your turn ends.
  • Wild Impact: 220 damage. During your next turn, this Pokemon can’t attack.
• Miraidon ex
  • Lighting w/ 220 HP
  • Ability: Tandem Unit
  • Once during your turn, you may search your deck for two Basic [L] Pokemon and put them onto your Bench. Then, shuffle your deck.
  • Photon Blaster: 220 damage. During your next turn, this Pokemon can’t attack.

Our first glimpse of the Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly cards that will be included in the Starter Set ex Starter Decks were also shown.

Another new aspect that seems to be coming with this Scarlet and Violet series is implementing Terastallization as part of a Pokémon ex card’s rule box. 

The new Arcanine ex has a Terestal Rule Box that states it can’t take any damage from attacks while placed on the Bench. It is unclear if this is what all Tera Type inclusions will do, but the artwork shows Arcanine being Terastallized, so that is going to be at least one method of working the gameplay mechanic in. 

Professor Sada and Professor Turo each get their own version of the classic Professor’s Research Supporter card, as expected, while Nemona also gets two versions of her own card that allows players to draw three cards—with her outfit and artwork being different to reflect two versions of the game. 

In addition to all the cards that are going to be included in the set coming out on Jan. 20, 2023, in Japan, we also got a look at a promo Cyclizar ex that will be included in promo booster packs at launch with Starter Decks or purchases of at least ten booster packs. You can check out all the cards and translations on PokéBeach.