brand new "mini-set" of cards for Pokémon TCG Pocket later this month.

The new set, codenamed "A2a," will likely have a similar number of cards to the Mythical Island set released back in December. While we don't know many details about the set, datamines indicate that the set will be released on February 27th, which conveniently coincides with Pokémon Day festivities. Assuming that Pokémon TCG Pocket hasn't changed any of its plans, we'll be getting a new set of cards in the coming days.

Giratina Looks To Be Focus Of New Set

Many Players Expect Giratina Ex To Make Debut In Next Set

There are some notable holes in Space-Time Smackdown, which focuses primarily on Pokémon from the Sinnoh region. Perhaps the biggest hole involves Giratina, the third Legendary Pokémon of the Sinnoh region. While Giratina has a normal Pokémon card, it's notably missing a Pokémon ex version, unlike its two other counterparts. It's widely expected that Giratina ex will be the mascot of the new set, with an appearance in booster set artwork similar to Mew in Mythical Island.

While normal Pokémon cards typically give some kind of clue as to their Pokémon ex's ability, Giratina is a frustratingly simple Space-Time Smackdown card. It has a Levitate ability that allows it to retreat for free if it has Psychic Energy on it and a Spooky Shot attack that deals 70 damage. Our guess is that Giratina ex, if released in the new set, will have much more power, with some kind of equivalent power to Palkia ex and Dialga ex.

Other Sinnoh Starters Deserve Chance to Shine

Torterra And Empoleon Both Deserve A Chance To Shine With New Pokémon Ex Cards

Two other Pokémon missing Pokémon ex cards in the next set are Torterra and Empoleon. While Infernape received an awesome card in Space-Time Smackdown, the rest of the Sinnoh Starter Pokémon were unfortunately hung out to dry in the set. This can be corrected with the next Pokémon TCG set, which only has room for a few Pokémon ex cards due to its likely small set size. Our guess is that the new set will introduce Pokémon ex versions of Torterra and Empoleon.

Both Torterra and Empoleon already have some interesting abilities in Space-Time Smackdown that could get "upgraded" in the new set. For instance, Empoleon's Aqua Jet deals damage to the Active Pokémon and one of the opponent's Benched Pokémon. Meanwhile, Torterra's Frenzy Plant deals a massive amount of damage but can't be used every other turn. We're curious to see whether either of these cards is used as the inspiration for the new sets.

Expect Big Shifts in Metagame

Some Cards Will Shape The Meta In Big Ways, Even If It Takes Time To Discover

One thing's certain: even a mini-set will shift Pokémon TCG Pocket's metagame in some way. Mythical Island introduced several surprisingly dominant decks, and we should expect the new set to have some similar cards that really shift everything around. Personally, I'm expecting to see some new Pokémon Tool cards. Tool cards made a big difference in the early days of Space-Time Smackdown and became a mainstay in many decks. I could see another Pokémon Tool becoming invaluable to players if introduced in the newest set.

Keep in mind that some cards may take some time to emerge as a dominant force. While new dominant decks emerge with the release of every set, it often takes time to figure out the right combination of cards to make them click, so something that seems weak might just fit into the meta in an unexpected way.

Gyarados ex was derided as an unplayable Pokémon card during the first couple of weeks after Mythical Island's release, but players later realized that it was actually a great card that could knock out almost every Pokémon currently leading the metagame. It wouldn't surprise me to see a similar trend emerge — a card lurks in the background until someone realizes how to utilize it in the best possible way.

Another thing to look out for is the beginning of power creep in Pokémon TCG Pocket. So far, we haven't seen much power creep within the game. However, anyone who has ever played a card game knows that power creep is inevitable, especially when releasing new cards every six weeks. One of these sets will gently push the barriers back a bit, either with cards with more HP or stronger attacks. Power creep also opens up new design space, so Pokémon TCG Pocket may have no choice but to evolve as the game grows.