Evolutions Player's Guide (TCG)

This Elite Trainer Box contains a great combination of boosters, Energy cards, dice, card sleeves, and extras—congrats on stepping up your game to the Elite level. The Pokémon Trading Card Game: XY—Evolutions expansion adds more than 100 cards to the Pokémon TCG and takes us back to the days of the original Pokémon TCG: Base Set—now evolved for a new millennium!

Train hard, choose your Pokémon companions, and take the journey of an Elite Trainer! Revisit the foundation of the Pokémon TCG, and prepare your favorite Pokémon and Trainers for battle with the XY—Evolutions expansion!

This expansion includes dozens of the original Pokémon stars with amazing updates, including Mega Venusaur-EX (2/108), Mega Charizard-EX (13/108), and Mewtwo-EX (52/108). These cards look a lot like that famous first set, but the gameplay has definitely powered up!

So, yes, you might have noticed that this set looks different from the rest of the XY Series! The XY—Evolutions expansion brings you some of the very first Pokémon cards from the 1999 Base Set, with updated rules and powers! These updates balance the set and bring them up to speed with newer kinds of Pokémon, like Pokémon-EX and Pokémon BREAK.

The original look of the Base Set cards has been mostly kept the same, celebrating the origins of the game with a throwback to the old-style cards! Don't worry—this is a special occasion to celebrate 20 years of Pokémon, and the next expansion will return to a modern look and feel. Enjoy this blast from the past!

Expanding the growing ranks of Pokémon BREAK in the Pokémon TCG, this set includes four amazing new Pokémon BREAK: Ninetales BREAK (16/108), Starmie BREAK (32/108), Nidoking BREAK (46/108), and Machamp BREAK (60/108).

Ninetales BREAK has 140 HP and the Explosive Fireball attack, which cost just to do 10 damage plus 60 more for each Energy card you discarded from Ninetales BREAK—but you have to discard all of them!

Starmie BREAK has the amazing Break Star attack, which does 100 damage to all your opponent's Pokémon BREAK for just ! Great if your opponent is playing with Pokémon BREAK, and either way, that 130 HP sure is nice.

Nidoking BREAK adds the Toxic Drill attack, which cost and does 120 damage to the opposing Pokémon. It also leaves that Pokémon Poisoned—make that extra Poisoned, since this Special Condition adds 2 damage counters between turns instead of 1! Add in a HP bump to 180, and Nidoking BREAK looks like a contender!

Machamp BREAK has the Boomerang Lariat attack, so when you attack for , you do 100 damage to the Active Pokémon, and on your next turn, this Pokémon's attacks all do 100 more damage! It's a BOOM-erang for sure!

The XY—Evolutions cards brings some great tools for power combos, along with some sillier tricks and goofballs! Here you find combos featuring Pokémon BREAK, Mega Evolution Pokémon, and some key Trainer cards—plus some discussion of the strangest card ever printed for the Pokémon TCG!

Boomerang Fireball:

This should warm the heart of every Fire-type Pokémon fan! Burning Energy (XY—BREAKthrough, 151/162) was made for combos like this. Attach it to Ninetales BREAK, and when you discard it to power the Explosive Fireball attack, it'll bounce right back from the discard pile so you can attack for massive damage again next turn. Watch it burn—over and over!

Mega Happy Chaos:

The super-slacker Mega Slowbro-EX (27/108) has that amazing Loll Roll Spin, which is a powerful attack when you use it on consecutive turns. Alas, Mega Slowbro-EX gets Confused every time it uses the attack! Solution? Use Chaos Tower (XY—Fates Collide, 94/124) to prevent your Pokémon from being Confused, and keep your Mega Slowbro-EX twirling, twirling, twirling towards victory!

Swarm Speedup:

How do you summon a swarm of Beedrill (7/108)? Use the Forest of Giant Plants (XY—Ancient Origins, 74/98) to make it easier, because that Stadium card allows Grass-type Pokémon to evolve the turn they come into play. Getting multiple Beedrill in play quickly multiplies the damage of their Swarming Sting attack—from 40 to 80,120, and even 160 damage!

Shadowy Hammer:

In this combo, you first discard your opponent's Special Energy cards by playing an Enhanced Hammer (XY—Phantom Forces, 94/119) Item card, then follow up with Raticate (67/108) and its Shadowy Bite attack. That attack does 60 damage for each and every Special Energy card in your opponent's discard pile, so it's easy to do 60, 120, even 180 or 240 damage with Raticate. That's gonna be a nasty bite!

Imakuni?'s Doduo?!:

There have been some pretty strange promos and secret rare cards, but the all-time winner in this category is Imakuni?'s Doduo?! (112/108)—originally only printed in Japan as a promo card. ow strange is it? So strange that it's printed with a disclaimer: "This card cannot be used at official tournaments." Imakuni?'s Doduo has no Retreat Cost—but when it retreats, according to its Pokémon Power, you have to fling the card away from you as hard as you can, to show how fast Doduo is running away! And its attack, called Harmonize, does 30 for . Pretty standard—but when you use the attack, you have to start singing, and it doesn't actually do damage untile you finish the song! We have many happy daydreams about this card somehow being allowed at a tournament held in the same building as a barbershop quartet convention. Oh, Imakuni?, how wonderfully strange you are!

In addition to those new combos, you'll find 10 great Pokémon-EX and Mega Evolution Pokémon in the XY—Evolutions expansion, from fun Pokémon like Slowbro-EX and Dragonite-EX all the way up to Mega Blastoise-EX and Mega Charizard-EX— and don't forget the power of Mewtwo-EX! If you think the cards featuring Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise look familiar, you're not mistaken—they were some of the very first Mega Evolution Pokémon from the XY and XY—Flashfire expansions, and now they're back in these fun new/old card frames.

Venusaur-EX (1/108)

Green is beautiful—and ready to crush! Venusaur-EX has a Poison Powder attack for that does 60 damage and leaves the opponent Poisoned. Stronger still, it has the Jungle Hammer for that does 90 damage while healing 30 from Venusaur-EX! This Pokémon knows how to stay healthy, even while its opponents all seem to fall over sick!

Mega Venusaur-EX (2/108)

Mega Venusaur-EX is a beatdown Pokémon, with the Crisis Vine attack for , which does 120 damage and leaves the foe both Paralyzed and Poisoned. It has a huge Retreat Cost, but you know what? Mega Venusaur-EX doesn't plan to retreat unless it has help from a handy Trainer card!

Charizard-EX (12/108)

With a nice Wing Attack at for 60 damage, Charizard-EX doesn't even need Energy to get started! Add the Combustion Blast for that does 150 damage, and you've got a way to blast through the opposition. There's a reason Charizard continues to be a favorite—it's always ready to make a big move!

Mega Charizard-EX (13/108)

Sometimes one great attack is all you need—that's the time for Mega Charizard-EX to cut loose with Crimson Dive. For , it Knocks Out pretty much any Pokémon in the game at 300 damage—and 50 damage to itself. Seems like an OK trade-off.

Blastoise-EX (21/108)

Blastoise-EX can make a splash! It delivers Rapid Spin for , which does 30 damage in a hit-and-run-style attack—both you and your opponent switch out your Active Pokémon afterward. It's like always having a Switch card when you need it! For bigger damage, use Splash Bomb for . It does 120 damage to the opposing Pokémon (and if you flip tails, 30 to Blastoise-EX as well). Bombs away!

Mega Blastoise-EX (22/108)

With hydro cannons fully powered, Mega Blastoise-EX is ready to hose down the opposition—its Hydro Bombard does 120 damage for , and because it's blasting the whole battle arena, it also does 30 damage to 2 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. Yep, it's super-soaking splashdown party when Mega Blastoise-EX comes to town!

Slowbro-EX (26/108)

Slowbro-EX takes the art of the slow and easy to new heights! Yes, its Stack Off attack doesn't do any damage, but it does heal it for 60 and prevents it from attacking next turn. (Why battle when you can just chill?) When Slowbro-EX does decide to tangle with another Pokémon, it brings the Flash Splash attack, a nice round 100 damage for ! Throw us the beach ball, Slowbro-EX, and take it easy!

Mega Slowbro-EX (27/108)

Mega Slowbro-EX is also totally into having a great time while battling. Its Loll Roll Spin does 100 damage and leaves Mega Slowbro-EX Confused—but it also adds 100 damage to the next Loll Roll Spin, for a wild 200 damage if you flip heads. Wheeeee!

Mewtwo-EX (52/108)

Mewtwo-EX is always ready to outdo other Pokémon-EX, and in this case, it does that by just having more attacks! Energy Absorption lets you attach Energy from your discard pile to Mewtwo-EX, while Regeneration for heals 60. The big Psyburn for 110 is a nice cherry on top—it costs , but remember that Energy Absorption attack often leads to a faster Psyburn! Mewtwo-EX has got tricks and techniques, folks!

Pidgeot-EX (54/108)

There aren't a lot of Colorless-type Pokémon-EX, but Pidgeot works in any deck at all! Its Mirror Move is a power move against opposing Pokémon-EX, because for just , it remembers the damage it took during your opponent's last turn and hits back for the same amount! (Ah, sweet revenge!) And if the opposing Pokémon doesn't have a power move to mirror, Pidgeot has Feather Lance for that does 80 to the opponent's Active Pokémon and 20 more to an opposing Benched Pokémon. Swoop in for the win, Pidgeot!

Mega Pidgeot-EX (63/108)

So how about that Mega Pidgeot-EX? On top of that fancy feather crest, it has a Mach Cyclone attack for that does 130 damage and can make your opponent switch out the Active Pokémon. That can sometimes be exactly what you need to put a crimp in their plans and speed ahead for the win!

Dragonite-EX (72/108)

Dragonite-EX is both tough and totally lovable! It has the Pull Up Ability that lets you return two Basic Pokémon (except for other Dragonite-EX) from the discard pile to your hand. And it has the glorious power of Hyper Beam, which costs , does 130 damage, and discards an Energy from the opposing Active Pokémon. Dragonite-EX is ready to stomp all over your opponent and look totally whimsical while doing it!

Sure, Trainer cards don't have big HP and pulse-pounding attacks—but a Trainer's role is vitally important! Items, Supporters, and other cards can give you the margin of victory. Here are some of the cards to watch for in the XY—Evolutions expansion!

Blastoise, Charizard, and Venusaur Spirit Links (73/108, 75/108, 89/108)

Sometime it takes a while to find a Spirit Link, and the Pokémon have certainly had Mega Evolutions for a while! Well, now they're easier to get into play so you can start rampaging all over Kanto (and every other region). And yes, there are Spirit Links for Pidgeot and Slowbro in this set, too!

Brock's Grit (77/108)

Sometimes you are looking for a particular Energy card or a particular Pokémon, and you know that most of the copies in your deck are already in the discard pile. Well, never give up hope! Brock's Grit takes any 6 of those cards, and shuffles them back into your deck to improve your odds—and give you some extra time if your deck is about to run out!

Misty's Determination (77/108)

This Supporter card shows some persistence and gives you options. You discard one card from your hand, then look at the top 8 cards of your deck and pick one to put in your hand. It's a great way to trade something you don't need for something you do!

Professor Oak's Hint (77/108)

It's always a good idea to listen to Professor Oak's advice! This card lets you draw until you have a full hand of 7 cards—and then your turn ends. You don't get to attack, but your next turn is likely to be stronger with all those new cards to work with!

This section lists out the 113 cards of the XY—Evolutions expansion, and their rarities.

The Pokémon Company International

This final section details the two Evolutions Theme Decks: Pikachu Power and Mewtwo Mayhem.

This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Merchandise, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise.