Folks, it’s begun again – the Pokémon TCG has unveiled a brain meltingly exciting new (dual) set in Black Bolt and White Flare; pre-order queues are catching fire (not literally); and brand new card reveals are flowing. Thursday brings us a small but mighty pair of Lightning Types: itsy bitsy spider Joltik, and its bigger sibling Galvantula. Unassuming they may seem, but Galvantula is going to cook.
Revealed by the Pokemon Company and shown off by fansite Pokébeach on Thursday, May 8, the new Joltik and Galvantula are the first official card reveals since Black Bolt and White Flare went live for pre-orders on Wednesday.
Per our complete guide to all Pokemon sets, the dual sets will be released in English on Friday, July 18 – but until then, we’ll see a lot more card reveals to whet our appetite. Speaking of, let’s start with the main event: Stage 1 Pokémon Galvantula.
With thanks to Pokébeach, here’s the card translation:
Galvantula – Lightning – HP90
Stage 1 – Evolves from Joltik
[L] Discharge 50x damage: Discard all [L] Energy from this Pokémon. This attack does 50 damage for each card you discarded in this way.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: None
Retreat: 1
Now there’s a wolf in spider’s clothing – a one prize Pokémon you can get out fast, and pop back to the bench for a measly one energy if you need to. That Discharge attack depends entirely on how much energy you can load up, and how quickly, but you have many tools on hand to make it happen.
Electric Generator, Crispin, Energy Switch, or even Iono’s Bellibolt could do a fine job of charging up Galvantula’s shocking pincers. For extra value, use Journey Together’s Levincia Stadium to recycle that lost energy for the discard pile, speeding your deck up even more!
The new Joltik is just a means to bring out Galvantula, really – but look how cute:
Joltik – Lightning – HP40
Basic Pokémon
[L] Surprise Attack: 30 damage. Flip a coin. If tails, this attack does nothing.
Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: None
Retreat: 1
You’re not going to be playing this Joltik, though – you’re going to want to play the other one. Stellar Sparks’ Joltik is already a super powerful energy accelerator, and it’ll pair gorgeously with the new Galvantula to load up masses of zap, ready to drop a nuke on your opponent’s big nasty.
The hype train has well and truly started rolling for Pokémon’s first English language double set, with a bewildering 156 Illustration Rares – one for every single Gen 5 Pokémon. If you, like us, are currently raiding the back of the sofa to order some boxes, come join the Pokémon TCG discussion in Wargamer Discord community and tell us the ‘Mons you’re most hoping to nab!
Alternatively, you can always catch up with our guides to the most expensive rare Pokémon cards in the world, or our honor roll of the best Pokémon cards in the game right now.
Source: Wargamer
