For the first time, a Pokémon TCG Pocket card will carry two types. Mega Mewtwo X ex is both Psychic and Fighting, while Mega Greninja ex is Water and Darkness. Until now, every card in the game has had a single type.
The news came through a video on Pokémon’s official YouTube channel. The next TCG Pocket expansion, Dual Fusion, brings dual-type Pokémon to the mobile game. If the idea later spreads past TCG Pocket, the rest of the card game could feel major consequences.
Pokémon leaned into the wordplay in the video description: “Double your fun with dual-type Pokémon in the upcoming Pokémon TCG Pocket expansion, Dual Fusion! Discover Mega Mewtwo X ex, a Psychic and Fighting dual-type Pokémon, the Water and Darkness dual-type Mega Greninja ex, and other exciting Pokémon! Available October 29.”
What a second type changes
In play, the effect is easy to grasp. One dual-type card can exploit two different weaknesses. Mega Mewtwo X ex threatens anything weak to Psychic or Fighting, and Mega Greninja ex does the same against Water and Darkness weaknesses.
Packing that much coverage into one card is a big deal. As far as this first wave goes, these two look like the only dual-types, which suggests Pokémon wants to test the mechanic before adding more.
Players who want to try the new cards before committing can use the six rental decks included with Dual Fusion. Two of those decks are dual-type builds centered on the new cards, so you can judge their strength without sinking your own resources into a deck that may fall flat. Anyone still struggling with deckbuilding will likely get the most out of the rentals.
Other cards in the set
The two dual-types aren’t the whole story. Dual Fusion also contains Mega Dragonite ex, Fuecoco ex, Pikachu ex and Mew ex. For collectors, there are SIR versions of three originals: Venusaur, Charizard and Bulbasaur.
The set lands just as TCG Pocket reaches its second anniversary. The app has been the more casual entry point to the hobby, the version that lives on your phone. The anniversary brings changes as well. New packs will now come out every six weeks, a slower release pace than before.
Part of a larger celebration
All of this falls within Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, and the physical TCG has received the biggest share of the attention. Its anniversary set mixes new cards with returning versions of some of the most famous cards from years past.
The final products for that set arrive in November, when the Ultra Premium Collections release for the first time. Those are always in demand with collectors. It’s unclear whether the excitement will last until then, though so far it hasn’t faded.
Some background for newcomers: Pokémon was created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori and launched in 1996 by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures. As Trainers, players catch, battle and trade the creatures across video games, trading cards, animation, films, merchandise and competitive events. The franchise ranks among the highest-grossing in entertainment history, and TCG Pocket’s first dual-type cards go live on October 29.