When does the Mythical Island expansion release in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

6 days ago 48

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Image: Creatures, DeNA/The Pokémon Company

Ari Notis (he/him) is a guides editor at Polygon, where he writes, edits, and shepherds service-oriented articles about the biggest games du jour. He previously worked at Kotaku.

Mythical Island is the first expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket, adding dozens of new cards that are sure to shake up the meta (and demolish even more friendships).

The expansion pack is tropical island-themed, features twists on cards like Magmar, Exeggcute, and Aerodactyl alongside newcomers like Snivy and Larvesta. A powerful Mew card, though, is the main draw.

Here’s when the Pokémon TCG Pocket Mythical Island expansion releases in your time zone, plus some details about what to expect from it.

Pokémon TCG Pocket Mythical Island expansion release time estimate

Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Mythical Island expansion releases on Tuesday, Dec. 17. As of this writing, developers Creatures Inc. and DeNa have not confirmed an exact release time.

That said, Pokémon TCG Pocket updates at 1 a.m. EST each day. Events — like the current Venosaur Wonder Pick event — also tend to roll out at that hour, so it’s a fair bet to assume the expansion will release around the same time.

Bearing in mind there’s no official confirmation, here’s when the usual update time (and thus, the likely Mythical Island expansion release time) in your time zone:

1o p.m. PST on Dec. 16 for the West Coast of North America
1 a.m. EST for the East Coast of North America
6 a.m. GMT for the U.K.
7 a.m. CET for Western Europe/Paris
3 p.m. JST for Tokyo

What to expect from Pokémon TCG Pocket Mythical Island expansion

The Mythical Island expansion adds more than 80 new cards to Pokémon TCG Pocket. The entire roster of cards hasn’t been revealed yet, but some of those teased thus far already look like legit game-changers. Keep an eye out for the following four cards come Tuesday:

Mew ex has 130 HP and a retreat cost of just one energy. And for three colorless energy, its Genome Hacking attack can copy an attack from your opponent’s active Pokémon.
Aerodactyl ex comes with an ability, Primeval Law, that prevents your opponent from evolving their active Pokémon.
An alternate version of Tauros has an attack that deals 40 damage by default, with an added 80 damage if you’re attacking an ex card.
Blue, a trainer card, reduces your incoming damage by 10 during your opponent’s next turn. Think of Blue as a Bizarro World Giovanni.

The new cards will be available via booster packs. So start hoarding your Pack Hourglasses now, and may the gacha gods be with you!