The Trainer's Pokémon, a card gimmick from the earliest days of the game. These Pokémon cards are tied to specific trainers from the franchises and benefit from other cards and abilities that target that trainer's Pokémon. The original Trainer's Pokémon were limited to the Kanto gym leaders and Team Rocket, but the new sets will introduce trainers from more recent Pokémon games.

Recently, the Pokémon Trading Card Game revealed a new batch of cards from Battle Partners, a Japanese set that will be released in the US and internationally as Journey Together. As shown on PokeBeach, the new cards include several Trainer's Pokémon tied to Hop, the main rival character in Pokémon Sword and Shield. In addition to Hop having the Legendary Pokémon Zacian, the trainer will also bring a Dubwool, a Snorlax, and a Cramorant in the new set, all of which gain boosted damage thanks to various card synergies. The result is a set of surprisingly powerful cards that can one-shot most Pokémon in the current TCG meta.

Why Hop's Pokémon Are So Powerful In The Pokémon TCG

Hop's Pokémon Benefits From Multiple Synergies And Power Boosts

While none of Hop's Pokémon appear that impressive on the outset, they all receive major boosts thanks to several cards. For instance, Hop's Snorlax has an ability that gives all of Hop's other Pokémon a boost to their attacks. Additionally, the newly revealed Postwick stadium card also provides a 30 damage boost to all of Hop's Pokémon's attacks. The Hop's Choice Band item card also boosts the attacks of one of Hop's Pokémon and decreases energy costs for attacks by one.

All of these Hop's boosts stack, which means that a player can potentially boost any of Hop's Pokémon to give them 90 extra damage and a lower energy cost. That means that Hop's Cramorant can deal 210 damage for no energy, while Hop's Zacian ex can deal 330 damage for just 3 Metal energy. Hop's Zacian is also an easy counter to Budew, a Pokémon that has emerged as a must-have in new decks.

Our Take: Hop's Pokémon Are Surprisingly Powerful, But He's Still Annoying

Hop Isn't A Popular Trainer, But These Pokémon Are Too Good To Ignore

The inclusion of Hop as a featured trainer was always an odd one. While Lillie, N, and Iono are all popular characters in the franchise, Hop was always an annoyance who was always one step behind the trainer.

His inclusion in the new Pokémon TCG set seems mostly as an excuse to bring in Zacian, a powerful and popular Legendary Pokémon. Unfortunately, Hop's synergies look too good to ignore, which is why we'll likely see at least a few decks try to make use of his Pokémon's powerful attacks next year.

Source: PokeBeach