The highly anticipated Mega Rising (B1) set is finally here in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and this ushers in an altogether new era in this beloved game, featuring Mega Evolutions.
The Mega Rising expansion in TCG Pocket takes a cue from the Mega Evolution sets released in the physical TCG (Mega Symphonia and Mega Brave), and introduces a couple of new rules that are a little different from what we have been aware of in Pocket battles till now. Here are the battle rules for the Mega EX cards:
- Knocking out a Mega Evolution card rewards you with 3 points, granting you an instant win in TCG Pocket.
- Megas are Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 cards, and the latter two can be evolved directly from their respective Basic card or Stage 1 card.
To elaborate further on this:
- Mega Altaria can be directly evolved from Swablu.
- Mega Gyarados can be directly evolved from Magikarp.
- Mega Blaziken can be directly evolved from Combusken.
- Mega Absol and Mega Pinsir are Basic cards, hence not requiring evolution at all.
With that set in stone, let’s get into what this exciting new set holds in the EX department!
We begin with the Pokémon featured on the cover art of the three Mega Rising packs, and enter Mega Gyarados EX!
Looking at it, this card is essentially a bulkier version of the Gyarados EX from Mythical Island, boasting 210 HP (instead of 180 HP) but having the same 4x Energy, 140 DMG move.
What makes the Mega Evolution deadlier than the regular version (aside from the bulk, of course) is the tech associated with the move. While Gyarados EX’s Rampaging Whirlpool discarded a random Energy from any of the Pokémon on your or your opponent’s playing field, Mega Gyarados EX discards the top 3 cards from your opponent’s deck!
The chances of throwing away 1, 2, or even 3 game-changing cards from your opponent’s deck are very high, making Mega Gyarados ED an absolute match-winner.
You may wince at the 4 Energy cost, but honestly, there are many ways to get Water Energy for free:
- Good ol’ Misty can either go bonkers or be a dud, but once she clicks, you’re going to rampage and win the game. It’s also poetic that Mega Gyarados is among her signature Pokémon.
- There’s Manaphy that can supply a free Water Energy to two of your Benched Pokémon. Give one of them to Magikarp and the other to a non-EX Water type (like Origin Forme Palkia, Froakie/Greninja, or regular Gyarados) to tackle Oricorio.
- Finally, Baby Pokémon Mantyke (maybe the best of the trio) gives Water Energy without any Energy or retreat cost, regardless of whether you go first or second. The only gamble about using Mantyke is that you’ll possibly have too many 30 HP Basics (Mantyke and Magikarp), making you vulnerable to snipes from the opponent. And if you’re facing Goomy, you have an additional retreat cost (1 Energy instead of 0 for Mantyke).
But what matters is that there are multiple ways to farm Energy for your Mega Gyarados. However, you must be curious which Magikarp you should be using since there are around four now (Genetic Apex, Mythical Rising, Wisdom of Sea and Sky, and Mega Rising).
The newest Mega Rising Magikarp actually facilitates evolution since it has a 3 Energy move called Waterfall Evolution that puts a Gyarados or Mega Gyarados from your deck to your hand. This sounds fancy, but there are problems.
If you start with this card, it does nothing till it evolves, making it a sitting duck. So, you’re forced to retreat with the first Energy it gets. Moreover, even if it is on the Bench and you bring it out on 3 Energy, it’s still an attack and not an ability, leaving your 30 HP card vulnerable for a KO on the opponent’s turn.
It’s best to stick to the Mythical Island Magikarp, whose Leap Out switches it with one of your Benched cards.
Mega Gyarados EX is undoubtedly one of the strongest cards in the Mega Rising meta, wth its bulk, damage, and most importantly, the ability to discard three cards from your opponent’s deck, crippling them immediately.
And it has arguably the hardest Immersive card animation, hands down!
The second poster Pokémon is Mega Blaziken EX, which is perhaps the scariest card in this set. A meaty 210 HP with 120 DMG for only 2 Energy! But that’s not all, as the target is also burned, which means they lose an additional 20 HP, effectively making the attack 140 DMG! If the opponent sticks around with the same active cards, it remains burnt, losing 20 HP every turn, and so, it’s best to switch them out. Then, use Cyrus to pull them back and hit them for 140 DMG again.
Attach a Rocky Helmet to make Mega Blaziken EX more oppressive, as it does 20 chip damage on being hit, complementing the Burn status after you attack. To put it in perspective:
- Mega Blaziken EX’s Mega Burning attack dishes out 120 DMG.
- It also inflicts the Burn status, effectively reducing another 20 HP, resulting in a net damage of 140.
- If the opponent is foolish enough to stick around and Mega Blaziken EX is adorned with Rocky Helmet, then that’s 20 more HP down the drain again. Even if they switch out the burnt Pokémon for a new one from the Bench and attacks, there’s 20 HP lost, and another 140 DMG incoming in Mega Blaziken’s turn.
Keep in mind that this fairly simple strategy with Cyrus does a gross of 280 DMG, KOing any Pokémon in the meta, even Megas. When you take out a Mega, you get +3 points, winning you the match.
Now, Mega Blaziken EX also discards one Energy on using the move, but that’s no problem, as you can just give it the next turn’s Energy or use the new Flame Patch Item card to give it back that Fire Energy from the discard pile.
With Baby Pokémon Magby and a Rare Candy on the helm, you can have Mega Blaziken EX live in your second turn. Using Entei EX is recommended to draw more cards (mainly Mega Blaziken quickly), and you can also add a regular Blaziken from the Mega Rising set to account for Oriciorio.
Mega Blaziken EX is possibly the best Mega Evolution card up for grabs in Mega Rising, and seeing such dominance from Blaziken is no surprise to those who have done competitive battles anyway. Well played, Pokémon TCG Pocket!
Mega Altaria EX is the third cover art Pokémon from the Mega Rising set, and it seems not as powerful as Mega Blaziken EX and Mega Gyarados EX, or does it really?
It has 190 HP and for 2 Energy, does 120 DMG for a full Bench on your opponent’s side. Weaker? Not at all, because this card plays mind games!
For starters, pair it with the new Eevee from Mega Rising that can evolve instantly, along with Sylveon EX, to draw cards rigorously. Add the new Duskull and old Dusknoir in the mix, as Dusknoir can suck in all the damage that Mega Altaria EX takes and keep the Mega healthy. Not to mention, Dusknoir’s attack of 70 DMG can OHKO Oricorio! 
Here, note that Duskull has 50 HP, and the new Lisia Supporter card can draw 2 50 HP cards from your deck and place them into your hand. Coincidence? I think not!
Even Indeedee EX can heal 20 DMG from your Active Pokémon, giving you another option. Have two Indeedee EX on the Bench, Rocky Helmet Mega Altaria EX on the Active Spot, and some healing options (includes 40 HP healing from 2 Indeedee EX), and you can use this passive aggressive means to drain down Oricorio as well.
There’s another sound plan to use, and that includes the Metal type Aegislash from Mega Rising. Essentially, Aegislash can be put on the Bench and, as a result, your Active Mega Altaria EX does +30 DMG with the former’s Cursed Metal ability. How amazing is that?!
Mega Altaria EX requires strategy to execute it right, and it can be a real menace to deal with in the right hands.
Mega Pinsir EX is a 170 HP Grass type, meaning it can go 200 HP with Leaf Cape, and heal 50 DMG from Erika. For 3 Energy (2x Grass, 1x Colorless), it does 80 DMG, and that goes to 150 DMG if you get heads from a coin flip (Will Supporter card, anyone?).
It’s also a Basic, so we can take advantage of that. A great deck is to pair Mega Pinsir EX with six Baby Pokémon, such as 2x Mantyke, 2x Pichu, 1x Smoochum, and 1x Tyrogue (hello, Oricorio). This 6:1 Basic ratio gives these Babies a higher chance to take the Active Spot in the beginning, and gives Mega Pinsir EX free Energy to fulfill the Colorless slot.
You can also pair Mega Pinsir EX with Leafeon EX for free Energy tech, but also account for something like Tyrogue or regular Pinsir for Oricorio.
Will is not mandatory as such, but it could win you games at the right moment. A fun card, right? Pairing a fearsome Bug with Babies! 
Whimsicott EX here is a niche hard counter to one of the scariest cards in the meta, Guzzlord EX. Its Grass Knot does 40 DMG and 30 more damage for the opponent’s retreat cost.
With 4 retreat cost for Guzzlord EX, Whimsicott EX deals 180 DMG to the Ultra Beast. While not an OHKO, it also does 120 DMG to Darkrai EX, weakening it tremendously. Note that the extra 20 DMG in these figures is because of the +20 super-effective damage.
You can add the new Lilligant card (which also has a Crown Rare in this set), whose ability adds 20 HP, and it’s stackable. So two Lilligant cards on the Bench add 40 HP, and add a Leaf Cape, making it a whopping +70 HP! This way, Whimsicott EX rounds up to 210 HP!
It’s not such a powerful card per se, but definitely useful.
There’s no other way of putting it, Rapidash EX is a poor EX card. In fact, you’re better off running Arcanine EX or Flareon EX. For 3 Energy, it does a meagre 110 DMG. Sure, the 20 snipe damage to one of your opponent’s Benched cards is nice, but not too meta. Two Sprinting Flare attacks, inflicting 220 DMG, don’t even KO a Mega Gyarados or Mega Blaziken with Giant Cape! Sad turn of events for our flaring horse. This EX card isn’t meant for the race course.
Fan favorite Greninja gets an EX card! Greninja EX is a neat card, nothing too great. 100 DMG for 2 Energy looks good, but it’s not too impactful. In fact, Water Shuriken Greninja is deadlier and adds more value to your game.
Its Shifting Stream ability is a free pivot, switching one of your Benched Pokémon into the Active Spot. This makes it a good pair with Suicune EX and with Elemental Switch in tow. Let Suicune EX deal damage, and just like Solageleo EX, Greninja EX makes Suicune EX retreat for free. Then, use Elemental Switch to grant a free Water Energy from Suicune EX to Greninja EX, all at a very good pace.
Not to mention, Suicune EX helps with Greninja EX’s drawing. There’s Irida to help with healing. So overall, Greninja EX is neat and does its best when paired with something like Suicune EX. Regular Greninja is still superior, taking out Oricorio and also sniping the Bench regularly.
Eeveelutions continue to make waves in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and the latest to join the fray is Jolteon EX, a card with one of the most broken abilities seen in the game and a buffet for Cyrus.
The cad itself is okay, bearing a decent 140 HP with 80 DMG for 2 Energy. Now, that’s kind of expected since Lightning types tend to have lower HP than their peers, but do hard and fast damage.
What makes it truly exciting is its ability Electromagnetic Wall, which does 20 DMG to an opponent’s Pokémon whenever they attach Energy to them. Moreover, this damage adds up, so if your opponent gets lucky with Misty and attaches, say, 10 Energy, it OHKOs itself!
During this process, Jolteon EX should be Active, and that’s understandable. The downside is that its damage output is quite low, but that’s only to keep it balanced.
The Lightning-type meta needed a big threat, and Jolteon EX is a mighty fine addition!
Mega Evolutions are truly the showstoppers of the Mega Rising set, and Mega Ampharos EX lives up to that hype with a superb performance.
It pairs successfully with a multitude of Pokémon, including Pichu, Zeraora, Raikou EX, and especially with Oriciorio.
Aside from 100 DMG or 3 Energy, it chooses one of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon randomly three times, and each time, it does 20 DMG. This makes it very unpredictable to play against, and more often than not, it throws their strategies out of the window.
The dance with Oricorio is actually quite a threat, where you can use the bird to halt opposing EX cards, and bring in Mega Ampharos to hit their Bench, making the job easier for Oricorio. Pichu is a great inclusion as it supplies free Lightning Energy.
It may not be as insane as the star Megas of this set, but it is undoubtedly a fun addition to the meta that can win you many battles.
Ladies and gentlemen, here’s your surprise package from the Mega Rising set: Indeedee EX! For starters, let’s talk about its ability Watch Over, which heals 20 DMG from your Active Pokémon every turn, and its stacks. So, pair it with Oricorio, Mega Altaria EX, or even the infamous DarkTina set… 40 DMG worth healing is divine.
Coming to its offensive prowess, for 2 Energy, Psychic does 30 DMG plus 30 more damage for each Energy attached to the opponent’s Active mon! This spells disaster for cards like Charizard EX (especially with the Genetic Apex variant going wild with Flame Patch), Stoke Charizard EX, OHKO’s non-Caped Giratina EX, and, in general, punishes any card that collects a lot of Energy.
Indeedee pairs really well with Espeon EX, annoying the opponent with their healing shenanigans. Seriously, you can expect this duo to gather steam in this season’s Ranked mode, and it can even be seen with the famed Giratina EX itself (“Indeed Tina” lol).
Ultimately, being a Baic really helps its cause, putting in work right off the bat. A perfect way to give love to a less popular Pokémon via a tacky EX card.
The Kanto region’s One Punch Mon is the only Fighting-type EX, and it’s meh. Hitmonchan EX deals 50 DMG for one Energy, making it a good card to start with. But, there’s a catch. Its attack doesn’t consider weakness! So, even when you hit Eevee, Oricorio, Arceus EX, or Type: Null, you’re doing only 50 DMG, and that’s bad (and hilarious).
This card has no reason to see play and is more of a filler EX, so pass.
Welcome to the dark side! The Darkness type has gotten better with each new expansion, and Mega Absol EX is the newest powerhouse in the meta. It boasts an impressive 170 HP (190 HP with Giant Cape) and deals 80 DMG for two Energy. This move also comes with in-built Silver Supporter tech (but better), wherein it hits with 80 DMG and also forces your opponent to reveal their hand, makes you pick a Supporter, and discard it (unlike Silver, who just shuffles it back into their deck).
Pair this with the dreaded Darkrai EX, and the opponent is in for a ride. Discarding a useful Supporter is insane, and with Red in tow, Mega Absol EX does neat damage. A Darkrai EX | Mega Absol EX deck has garnered popularity early in the meta, and it actually includes Pichu and Oricorio in the mix (only one Darkrai EX, that too).
This sneaky Mega Evolution is a fierce attacker that is supported elegantly by Darkrai EX. Definitely one to watch out for, and that which will make you exclaim, “Hello Drakness, my old friend!”
The Darkness meta in Pokémon TCG Pocket is defined largely by Darkrai EX and also by another gimmick: Poison. This started with Weezing from Genetic Apex and reached its peak during the Celestial Guardians set, where Nihilego and Naganadel took the forefront. Now, we have an EX card with the same schtick, Dragalge EX.
This card is designed with an automatic Poison Barb tech, poisoning the Active Pokémon that inflicts damage on it. Normally, the Toxic status robs the target of 10 HP, but with a Nihilego on the Bench, it goes to 20 HP, and with another Nihilego, it’s a ridiculous 30 HP lost every turn.
As an added bonus, let Darkrai EX take the other Bench position, hitting for 20 chop damage with its ability. Once Dragalge EX is set up with 2 Energy, it attacks with 80 DMG, poisons to add 10 extra damage (30 with 2x Nihilego), and another 20 DMG from Darkrai EX.
So, Dragalge EX effectively does anywhere from:
- 110 DMG (with Darkrai EX)
- 120 DMG (with Darkrai EX and 1x Nihilego)
- 130 DMG (with Darkrai EX and 2x Nihilego)
Since it’s already equipped with Poison Barb’s effect, you can give it Rocky Helmet for an additional 20 DMG. As such:
- 150 DMG (with Rocky Helmet, Darkrai EX, and 2x Nihilego)
Dragalge EX is an underrated card that can truly flip matchups and destroy the best of decks. Such is the case with Darkrai EX anyway, so consider switching one Nihilego for Giratina EX, giving rise to a new brand of the notorious DarkTina set (DragDarkTina, anyone?). 
Metal types have gained prominence in recent times, starting with Dialga EX, Skarmory (regular and EX), and Solgaleo EX. Now, Melmetal EX joins the party and does 80 DMG for 3 Energy and 150 DMG for 4 Energy if it has a Tool attached.
Dialga EX can give Melmetal all the Energy it wants in two turns once it starts using Metallic Turbo. Then, arm Melmetal EX with preferably a Steel Apron, and take Adaman’s help to keep it bulky. This card could end up being quite the juggernaut and is overall useful, adding value to the Metal-type lustrous armor. Include Magearna to deal with Oricorio, and you’re all set!
Most Colorless cards tend to find their place in the meta solely due to their ability to fit in decks of any type. Tauros EX is actually quite good in that regard, doing a respectable 90 DMG for only 2 Energy. Put this with a Baby Pokémon that supplies free Energy from turn 1, and you basically have a 140 HP card ready to hit 90 DMG on your turn 2! It does 180 DMG in two consecutive turns, enough to KO any non-Mega EX (sometimes with Red’s or Giovanni’s help).
The flip side of 30 recoil damage from getting tails out of a coin flip is fine. You could pair it with Mantyke and use Irida’s help to heal 40 DMG. Tauros EX may not see much usage, but it is definitely a strong Pokémon that can bring you quick wins.
Mega Rising is destined to be a superb addition to the game’s meta, with the Mega Evolutions laying the foundation as to how the next one year would possibly look like. These cards are overall fantastic and meta-defining, with the non-Mega EX cards having more niche uses. These make the set a huge hit!
Happy collecting and battling, Pokémon TCG Pocket-ers!
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