"Shining Revelry Expansion Coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket This Month"

I find my interest in Pokemon TCG Pocket comes in waves. I'm always super involved when a new set arrives and keep playing while there are Emblems to earn for racking up 40-odd wins. Beyond that, I log in, open my packs, do a Wonder Pick for the craic, and forget about it until the next day. That cycle will begin anew when the latest expansion, Shining Revelry, arrives on March 27th.

Shining Revelry will introduce 110 new cards to TCG Pocket, including a mix of new Ex Pokemon, Trainers, and all those beautiful art cards we've come to love. Most excitingly, for those who haven't figured it out from the expansion name, it includes Shiny Pokemon! If you're unfamiliar, these are different colored variants of all your favorite critters. For example, Lucario is yellow rather than blue, while Pachirisu sports a fetching pink stripe.

The trailer, which you can check out below, only gives us a mere taste of what to expect, but let's dig into it. A new Shiny Charizard Ex will arrive with 180 HP and an attack called Steam Artillery, which deals a whopping 150 damage. The catch? It requires five energy. Five! Fortunately, its other move, Stoke, allows you to add three Fire Energy in one fell swoop.

Another new Ex on the block is Lucario. Having played more of a supporting role in the Space-Time Smackdown expansion, this version of the Aura Pokemon is better equipped to wade directly into battle. While 150 HP is nothing too exciting, Aura Sphere could prove a potent attack. Not only does it deal 100 damage for three Fighting Energy, it also hits one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon for 30.

The trailer also gives us a glimpse of other cards that won't move mountains but are still great, nonetheless. Shiny Wiglett, Pachirisu, and Varoom are all on their way and look fabulous. Meanwhile, there's a beautiful-looking Tatsugiri art rare I simply must have in my digital collection.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is available on the App Store and Google Play, where it's free to play with in-app purchases. If interested, you can download it for your preferred platform using the buttons below.