A new Pokémon TCG Pocket card serves as a surprising answer to several of the dominant cards in the current metagame. Today marks the release of Celestial Guardians, a major new Pokémon TCG Pocket set. The new set introduces Pokémon from Pokémon Sun and Moon and also adds a powerful new Tool card - Rare Candy. However, one surprising card could make a major splash in the metagame thanks to a powerful new ability.

The new Electric-type Oricorio card serves as a perfect counter to Giratina ex decks and other decks that solely use Basic Pokémon ex cards. The new card has an ability, Safeguard, that prevents it from taking any damage from a Pokémon ex's attacks. While not every meta-relevant deck can be stopped in its tracks by Oricorio, the new card adds an unexpected wrinkle to the new Celestial Guardians set with Redditors noting that it's a powerful tech card. "Seriously, imagine your Giratina ex and Darkrai ex pairs getting shut down by a silly little birb," wrote u/mc_kenna_xc.

Why Oricorio Is So Powerful In Pokémon TCGP

Oricorio Can't Be Harmed By Pokémon Ex Attacks

On its surface, Electric-type Oricorio doesn't look very impressive. With only 70 HP and an attack that deals 50 damage, Oricorio looks like it could slot into some Electric-type decks as a secondary attacker. What makes Oricorio invaluable is its Safeguard ability, which is perfectly suited to shut down many of the top attackers in the game. Basic Pokémon are particularly susceptible, as a player can't use a pre-evolved form to knock out Oricorio.

Considering that there's a trend of players building decks with only two Pokémon cards and 18 Trainer cards, Oricorio could be a real pain. Some particular decks that could be affected include the decks like Charizard ex and Pikachu ex are less likely to be impacted, although they could still be countered by Oricorio's Safeguard ability.

Our Take: Oricorio Provides A Hard Stop To An Annoying TCG Pocket Trend

Oricorio Completely Shuts Down Giratina Ex Decks And Other Meta Decks

One of the more frustrating deck builds in Pokémon TCG Pocket is the decks that only use two Pokémon cards. There's nothing illegal about this deck build - only having two Pokémon cards (preferably of the same type) guarantees that a player will have their desired Pokémon in play when the game starts. All of these deck builds rely on Pokémon ex cards, which makes Oricorio a powerful counter. Oricorio is a must-have tech card that counters a ton of powerful Pokémon in it, meaning that it should get used in a lot of decks.

Source: mc_keena_xc/Reddit