Pokemon Pocket’s newest mini-set, Extradimensional Crisis, introduces the interstellar Ultra Beasts to the app. Thanks to being Basic Pokemon, these creatures might look a bit unimpressive at first glance, but there’s some serious play to them once you dig deep. Armed with an incredible Lusamine Trainer card, here are the best Ultra Beasts in Pokemon Pocket.
Honorable Mention | Lusamine
Lusamine isn’t an Ultra Beast, but if Ultra Beasts end up being competitive, this Trainer card is going to be a big contributor to that. Attaching two energy to any Ultra Beast after your opponent scores a point, Lusamine helps satisfy the outrageous Ultra Beast energy costs a bit easier. This allows some Ultra Beast beaters to come online immediately, helping solve some of the other clunky aspects of the stronger Ultra Beast options.
4 | Guzzlord ex
Guzzlord ex is an incredibly toxic Pokemon, but it doesn’t really go in an established archetype. Grindcore is going to annoy a lot of Pocket players when it rolls high, completely disabling any chances of winning certain games. Players can simply choose to attach their Energy to benched Pokemon to compensate, but that won’t stop Guzzlord players from using Cyrus and Sabrina to force bad switch-ins. This card looks powerful at first glance, but it's not guaranteed that the card will be a problem.
3 | Buzzwole ex
Buzzwole ex wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for one important thing: an Ultra Beast higher than it on this list completely ignores Buzzwole’s downside. If Big Beat can be used every turn, Buzzwole turns into an incredible beater - and it can once you have the needed setup. Throw Lusamine into the mix, and you can play Buzzwole ex and use Big Beat in the same turn.
2 | Nihelego
This is a particularly spicy take on our list. Nihelego has some absolutely incredible potential, but this card won’t be good on release. Unlike all of the other cards on this list, Nihelego requires a deck that players don’t really know how to build yet. Poison decks have all the tools to succeed, like Poison Barb and Alolan Wooper, but knowing what Poison options are the best is tough.
+10 Poison damage might not seem like a big deal, but it adds up fast. There’s a reason why Crobat suddenly became meta-relevant after Rare Candy was introduced. 30 chip damage is a big deal, and since Nihelego’s static ability stacks, you threaten 60 chip damage per turn, as long as Poison isn’t healed. This is enough to consider Nihelego in a variety of different strategies - whether the whole deck is focused on Poison, or you just use Poison Barbs alongside Darkrai ex for extra chip damage.
1 | Celesteela
If Ultra Beast decks have a chance of working competitively, Celesteela is a big reason why. This Pokemon turns off the nasty retreat costs on cards like Guzzlord ex, allowing you to move around your Ultra Beasts with ease. This, most notably, also makes Buzzwole ex a whole lot better since it turns off the Pokemon’s downside. Celesteela allows Buzzwole ex to use Big Beat every turn. This is accomplished by retreating Buzzwole with its two retreat cost, and using Celesteela to switch it back in.
Continuous effects fade when active Pokemon switch out. We saw this with Crabominable ex from Celestial Guardians. If Crabominable switches out and back in, or if another Crabominable comes in, Insatiable Striking won’t retain the extra damage buff despite it being the same attack that was used.
Ultra Beasts certainly have a chance of seeing competitive play, but it’s hard to know for sure just how strong the cards will be. Despite all of the new shiny toys from Celestial Guardians having a metagame impact, Shining Revelry’s Giratina ex coupled with Darkrai ex continues to be the best deck at the time of writing. There’s no reason why Extradimensional Crisis would change that.