Best Item & Tool Cards in Space-Time Smackdown

With the addition of Tools to Pokemon TCG Pocket, the Trainer Cards category is edging closer to matching the depth of the physical TCG. The only missing piece now is Stadium Cards, which will likely join the game in the future. For now, players must choose the most effective Tools and Items from a relatively small selection.

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Pokemon TCG Pocket: The Best Lightning-Type Pokemon in Space-Time Smackdown

Pokemon Pocket’s Space-Time Smackdown set introduced twelve new Lightning-type Pokemon, but these are the ones worth investing in.

Pokemon Pocket’s Space-Time Smackdown expansion adds six new cards—three Items and three Tools. But which of them deserves a spot in meta decks? Here’s a ranking to help players decide.

Ranking Criteria

This list ranks the new Item and Tool Cards based on their utility, synergy, and popularity in the meta.

• Utility: A key ranking factor was how effective these cards are in current meta decks.
• Synergy: Cards were also evaluated based on their interactions with other Pokemon cards to determine their overall usefulness.
• Popularity: The ranking takes into account the cards’ presence in the metagame, with more widely used cards placed higher.

5

Skull & Armor Fossils

Fossils Are Formulaic at This Point

• Text: Play this card as if it were a 40-HP Basic Colorless Pokemon. At any time during your turn, you may discard this card from play. This card can’t retreat.
• Utility: Evolution
• Pack: Skull is in Dialga packs, Armor is in Palkia packs

Space-Time Smackdown introduced two new Fossil-based Pokemon: Cranidos and Shieldon. Cranidos evolves into Rampardos, while Shieldon becomes Bastiodon. However, neither of these new cards are high-performing, making Skull and Armor Fossil cards unpopular in the current metagame.

Fossils were once used to counter Sabrina plays, but with Cyrus now in the meta, they are no longer a viable option. The rise of Bench-sniping decks has further diminished their utility, leaving them with no safe place on the board. Cards like Hitmonlee and Greninja can take out Fossils before they provide any real value, reducing them to mere evolution enablers with little impact beyond that.

4

Lum Berry

Special Conditions Are Not a Big Deal

• Text: At the end of each turn, if the Pokemon this card is attached to is affected by any Special Conditions, it recovers from all of them, and discard this card.
• Utility: Heal
• Pack: Palkia

Lum Berry is part of the first batch of Pokemon Tools introduced in Pokemon Pocket. This unique card serves as the game’s first direct counter to Special Conditions—debuffs inflicted by opposing Pokemon. When a Pokemon holding Lum Berry is affected by a Special Condition, the ailment is cured at the cost of discarding the Tool. And that’s where the problem lies.

If Lum Berry provided permanent protection against Special Conditions like Confusion, it would rank higher on this list. However, in its current form, it’s too fragile to be a reliable tech card. Most Special Conditions stem from an opponent’s Active Pokemon’s attack, meaning they can be inflicted repeatedly. Lum Berry, on the other hand, only removes them once, making its impact negligible in most cases.

Moreover, Special Conditions are not a major threat in Pokemon TCG Pocket’s current meta. Even if they were, most can be removed simply by benching or evolving the affected Pokemon, further diminishing Lum Berry’s relevance.

3

Rocky Helmet

Everyone Needs a Portable Druddigon

• Text: If the Pokemon this card is attached to is in the Active Spot and is damaged by an attack from your opponent’s Pokemon, do 20 damage to the Attacking Pokémon.
• Utility: Chip Damage
• Pack: Palkia

Rocky Helmet is another Pokemon Tool introduced in Pocket with the A2 expansion. This card grants a Pokemon an effect similar to Druddigon’s Rough Skin, dealing 20 damage to any attacker regardless of whether the Pokemon has Energy attached. It’s an ideal pick for stall strategies, turning bulky Pokemon into passive damage dealers.

One of Rocky Helmet’s biggest strengths is its synergy with Druddigon. When equipped, it doubles Druddigon’s chip damage, allowing it to deal 40 damage in retaliation. However, this unique Tool comes with a notable drawback.

Rocky Helmet is relatively easy to counter—opponents can simply avoid attacking the Pokemon wearing it. Even worse, it only works when the Pokemon is in the Active Spot, making it useless on the Bench. Despite these limitations, it has carved out a place in the meta, helping players enhance their tank strategies, which earns it a high ranking on this list.

2

Giant Cape

• Text: The Pokemon this card is attached to gets +20 HP.
• Utility: Heal/Buff
• Pack: Dialga

Giant Cape is one of the best Trainer Cards in the Space-Time Smackdown set, second only to Pokemon Communication in overall ranking. While its effect may seem similar to healer cards like Potion or Erika, it offers a far more impactful advantage that can shift the course of a match. Instead of restoring HP after an attack, Giant Cape increases a Pokemon’s max HP, allowing it to endure stronger hits.

Pokemon TCG Pocket players quickly recognized Giant Cape’s value, incorporating it into meta decks struggling with low HP stats. While an extra 20 HP might seem minor, it’s often just enough to survive an opponent’s ultimate attack for one more turn. And in Pocket, lasting one extra round can be the difference between knocking out an enemy and securing victory.

1

Pokemon Communication

The Future of Pokemon Pocket Item Cards

• Text: Choose a Pokemon in your hand and switch it with a random Pokemon in your deck.
• Utility: Search
• Set & Pack: Dialga

Deck manipulation has been one of the biggest challenges for Pokemon TCG Pocket players since its launch. Unlike the physical TCG, Pocket initially lacked cards that allowed players to search their decks for specific cards. Instead, options like Mythical Slab merely increased the odds of drawing certain cards. That changed with the introduction of Pokemon Communication, an Item Card that finally offers deck manipulation—albeit with a catch.

Pokemon Communication lets players return a card from their hand to the deck in exchange for one extra draw. While this doesn’t guarantee pulling the desired card (since draws are still RNG-based), it becomes a valuable tool as matches progress. With Pocket’s 20-card deck limit, players can often predict the top card after a few turns, making Pokemon Communication a calculated risk worth taking, especially when stuck with unhelpful cards.

Thanks to its immense utility, Pokemon Communication is undoubtedly the best Item Card in the Space-Time Smackdown set. In fact, many players are calling for more cards like it to further refine deck manipulation, highlighting just how well-received it has been in the community.

Game

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Experience the fun of collecting Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, an upcoming game for iOS and Android devices from Creatures Inc., the original developers of the Pokémon TCG, and DeNA Co., Ltd. In this game, you will be able to open two booster packs every day at no cost. You can collect digital cards featuring nostalgic artwork from the past as well as brand-new cards that are exclusive to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Be on the lookout for new “immersive cards,” which will make you feel as though you’ve leapt into the world of the card’s illustration.

Systems

Released

October 30, 2024

Developer(s)

DeNA, Creatures Inc.