Skip to main content

The best Space-Time Smackdown cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

The third major card set has been released for Pokémon TCG Pocket, featuring Pokémon from Gen 4 in 207 unique cards. Space-Time Smackdown has a ton of new cards to shake up the meta, whether they’re from the Dialga or Palkia pack.

If the 200+ cards are overwhelming for you, don’t worry. Just like with the Mythical Island cards, some are okay while others are extraordinary. To make the best new decks possible, here are the greatest Space-Time Smackdown cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

Recommended Videos

Best cards from Space-Time Smackdown in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Dialga ex

Dialga ex cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

As one of the two featured Pokémon in this set, Dialga ex shows how powerful it is through this new card. A Basic Pokémon with 150 HP is powerful in itself, but its Metallic Turbo move makes it stand out in a Steel deck.

This move not only deals 30 damage, but it also takes two Steel Energy from the Energy Zone and attaches it to one of your Benched Pokémon. While your Dialga slowly works its way up to its Heavy Impact move that deals 100 damage, it can help bring energy to other cards in the backline.

Mismagius ex

Mismagius ex cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Another great ex card is Mismagius ex. One stage above Misdreavus, this evolution has 140 HP and has one simple move that’s unique to Mismagius. Magical Delusion will deal 70 damage and cause your opponent’s Active Pokémon to be Confused.

During this status condition, the Confused opponent can attempt to attack you but they must first succeed a coin flip. If tails, they fail to attack and that ends their turn. Coin flips are always devious in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and it can win you the entire game if in your favor.

Garchomp

Garchomp cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Garchomp is the second stage from Gabite and Gible, and you’re going to want to pull this evolution line for your deck. Although it’s a Dragon type, its move Dragon Claw requires a Water and Fighter Energy to deal 100 damage.

It also has the ability Reckless Shearing which you can perform once during any of your turns. It allows you to discard an unwanted card in your hand to draw a new card. If you hate fishing for cards at the bottom of your deck, this is a great ability to have.

Manaphy

Manaphy cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Manaphy may seem like a forgettable card at first, but it’s much more useful than you realize. This Basic Pokémon has 50 HP and only has one non-damaging move called Oceanic Gift which allows it to give one Water energy to any two of your Benched Pokémon.

Having Manaphy in the Active spot at the start of a game can help you prepare cards with energy on the bench. It also only requires one Energy to retreat, so it’s easy to pull it out of danger and swap it with a better Pokémon who’s ready to perform a big move.

Cynthia

Cynthia cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Cynthia is one of the new Supporter cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket, and she’s extremely useful in specific situations. You can use your Cynthia card to deal 50 more damage as either a Garchomp or Togekiss.

So this is a very situational card, but with the right deck, it can give you the advantage quickly. And if paired with Togekiss’s Overdrive Smash move, if used all together you can deal a total of 170 damage in a turn.

Lickilicky ex

Lickilicky cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

This Normal-type Pokémon has a pretty fun move if you like to rely on the luck of the draw with coin flips. Stage 1 from a Lickitung, Lickilicky has 160 HP and can use the move Licking Fury which deals a base damage of 100.

With Licking Fury, you flip coins until you get trails. For every heads you get, the move deals 40 more damage. So even if you don’t get any heads you still deal 100 damage, making Lickilicky a powerful card to have.

Cyrus

Cyrus cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Another great Supporter card from Space-Time Smackdown is Cyrus. This spiky-haired guy allows you to switch in any of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon that already has damage on it to the Active spot.

You know when your opponent takes a bit of damage and switches that injured Pokémon into the backline to stay safe? Well, pull out Cyrus and it’ll prevent them from hiding on the Bench. Even just having one Cyrus in your deck can quickly turn the tides of battle.

Infernape ex

Infernape ex cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

Infernape ex is a Stage 2 evolution from Monferno and Chimchar, but it’s worth building up to. This Pokémon has 170 HP and it only requires two Fire Energy to enact Flare Blitz, dealing 140 damage to the enemy Pokémon.

The only downside to this powerful move is the fact that it’ll discard all the Fire Energy from the Pokémon after performing it. But within two turns you can deal another 140 damage, so it’s still a very powerful card to build a new Fire deck around.

Combee

Combee cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

While Combee may seem weak and useless like Manaphy, there’s a reason why this little honeycomb Pokémon is sitting on this list. Combee is a Basic Pokémon with 50 HP that can use any Energy type to Call for Family. This move will put one random Basic Pokémon from your deck onto the Bench immediately.

Although it’s the luck of the draw with Pokémon will be stuck on your Bench, having Combee in the Active spot can help you bring out your more powerful Pokémon faster. It also can use any Energy type so it can work with practically any deck.

Lucario

Lucario cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
The Pokemon Company

We finally have Lucario as one of the best cards in Space-Time Smackdown. This 100 HP Pokémon that evolves from Riolu has a decent move called Submarine Blow that dishes out 40 damage. This isn’t how it stands out though, as it has an ability called Fighting Coach.

This passive allows attacks used by all of your Fighting Pokémon to deal an extra 20 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon. So it won’t work if the Pokémon deals damage to anyone on the Bench, but having Lucario either in the Active spot or on the Bench can slightly improve the damage you’re dealing.

Anyka Pettigrew
Anyka is a new writer for Digital Trends covering gaming across a spectrum of genres. While she adores anything from the…
Pokémon Champions: everything we know so far
Two Pokémon clashing in Pokémon Champions.

Pokémon day is always full of fun announcements and updates for the beloved monster-catching franchise. We got a big update on Pokémon Legends: Z-A, of course, but also the reveal of a new upcoming Switch game. Pokémon Champions is focused purely on the thrill of battling your monsters in fierce competition, bearing a lot of similarities to the old Pokémon Stadium games. We don't know a ton about this upcoming video game yet, or if we will be playing it before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but this is all the information there is right now about Pokémon Champions.

It should come as no surprise that Pokémon Champions is not an upcoming PS5 game, an upcoming Xbox Series X game, or an upcoming PC game, but we have plenty of games coming to those platforms to look forward to.
Release speculation

Read more
Trading digital Pokémon TCG Pocket cards is a risky but lucrative business
Trade cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

After Pokémon TCG Pocket released its controversial trading feature, an odd sort of "black market" has arisen around some of the rarer cards. Some players have started to sell the digital cards on eBay, charging anywhere from $5 to $10 per card. Yes, it's a definite violation of the games' terms and conditions, but the real-money trades are difficult to prove and present little financial risk to the seller  — but don't think it's an easy to line your pockets.

The initial release of the trading mechanic was met with backlash from players. Developer Creatures, Inc promised changes to the way the system works, but provided few details regarding how or when those changes would take place — and while there are restrictions on how trading works, those restrictions haven't stopped players from finding workarounds.

Read more
After massive fan backlash, Pokémon TCG Pocket is changing how trading works
A beginning card collection.

Pokémon TCG Pocket finally added the trading feature after several months, but it was not well received by fans for its restrictive policies and new types of currency. Since adding the feature in a few days ago, TCG Pocket developer Creatures, Inc has changed its approach and said updates and improvements are on the way, although there is not a specific release window for when the game will implement those changes.

“Since releasing the first iteration of the trading feature a few days ago, we have received a large number of comments. Thank you all for sharing your feedback. The item requirements and restrictions implemented for the trading feature were designed to prevent abuse from bots and other prohibited actions using multiple accounts. Our goal was to balance the game while preserving the fun of collecting cards that are core to the Pokemon TCG pocket experience," the company said in a press release.

Read more