Pokémon
Say goodbye to Speed X: Shaymin in Pokémon TCG Pocket is one of the most useful tools in the new meta
Shaymin comes to Pokémon TCG Pocket with Triumphant Light, an Ability that reduces the Retreat Cost of the Active Basic Pokemon by 1.
On February 28th, the new Triumphant Light miniset for Pokémon TCG Pocket debuted, bringing with it many new cards that have changed the meta. Among them is one that has gone largely unnoticed, despite its great utility: Shaymin. One of the new Pokémon introduced in this expansion, Shaymin has an extremely useful Ability that reduces the Retreat Cost of our Basic Pokémon in the Active Station by 1, making it a solid and viable alternative to Speed X.
What is Shaymin’s strategy in Pokémon TCG Pocket? How do you get her card?
Shaymin is a card that can be randomly obtained by opening envelopes in the Triumphant Light set, and we can get both the basic and full art versions. If we have no luck opening envelopes, we can buy each regular copy directly for 150 Pack Points, and each full art copy for 400 Pack Points. Keep in mind that each opened envelope gives us 5 Pack Points, which we can only spend on cards from this expansion.
The strategy to follow with Shaymin is very simple, and it can easily give us a resource advantage (Energy), allowing us to retreat a Basic Pokémon in trouble. The only thing we have to do is place Shaymin in Bench, and its continuous effect will be applied to any Active Pokémon as long as it is Basic, that is, it is not Evolved or has no Evolution. This is an effect that is limited to Basic Pokémon, but it gives us another option to facilitate the removal of Pokémon that might be in trouble with other cards with similar effects, such as Speed X and Leaf.
This effect is especially advantageous with powerful Pokémon, such as certain Basic Ex Pokémon. In particular, Mew ex and Celebi ex take full advantage of this beneficial effect, as they already have a Retreat Cost of 1, allowing them to return to the bench and trade for a partner immediately, without having to pay Energy as a cost as if they were other “faster” Pokémon such as Starmie ex or Electrode. This resource-saving may seem trivial, but it can be a decisive advantage in the long run.
Advantages and disadvantages of Shaymin in Pokémon TCG Pocket
The following lists the advantages and disadvantages of Shaymin in Pokémon TCG Pocket:
- Advantage: Its continuous effect, which is applied when it is in Bench, allows us to get a Basic Pokémon in the Active Station out of trouble by reducing its Retreat Cost by 1. This has the potential to save us resources in the form of Energy we would have to spend without Shaymin, which can be decisive in the long run.
- Advantage: Shaymin can work in virtually any strategy that uses Basic Pokémon, including powerful Ex Pokémon like Mew Ex or Celebi Ex. Since they have a Retreat Cost of 1, they can come out of Active Stall immediately, giving the deck more speed and the ability to surprise the opponent.
- Advantage: This card can potentially replace Speed X in our deck. Or we could use two copies of Shaymin along with two copies of Speed X and Leaf to further increase our deck’s ability to rotate Pokémon between the Bench and the Active Station.
- Advantage: Shaymin’s Ability opens the door to strategies that allow us to rotate multiple Basic Pokémon to the Active Station that can use their different Abilities in the same turn, even resulting in FTKs.
- Disadvantage: Shaymin only has a 30-damage attack that requires two Energy of any color, so its mediocrity as an attacker reinforces its role as a support Pokémon. We should never use it in battle, but keep it on the bench so that its effect is applied to the active Pokémon.
- Disadvantage: Shaymin’s effect only applies while it is in the Bench. Cards like Sabrina or Cyrus - assuming Shaymin is wounded - can bring this Pokémon to the Active Bench, not only negating its continuous effect, but also making it vulnerable to attacks from the opponent’s Active Pokémon.
- Disadvantage: Shaymin can be hit and weakened even when it is in the Bench by Pokémon such as Hitmonlee or others with effects that allow them to hurt a selected Pokémon, not just the one in the Active Stall.
Shaymin is a toolbox card. While it may not be powerful enough to be considered one of the most common and used cards after the arrival of the new meta, its usefulness is undeniable, as it can add versatility to certain types of decks and strategies. Its ability to reduce the Retreat Cost of our Basic Pokémon gives us more flexibility when rotating them with their bench companions, which can lead to multiple victories when all seemed lost. Want to try it in your decks?
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