A 380 HP Pokémon just showed up on a trading card, and it’s not a typo. The Pokémon Company’s new trailer for the Mega Evolution series puts Mega Venusaur ex front and center, alongside the TCG debut of Mega Latias ex and the return of fan-favorite Supporters Lillie and Wally. It’s the clearest signal yet that the Mega mechanic is back in a big way for the Pokemon TCG.
What the trailer shows: cards, mechanics, and fan-favorite returns
This is the first expansion in the newly announced Mega Evolution run, and the trailer wastes no time setting the tone: big numbers, big attacks, and a toolkit built for aggressive plays and clever pivots. We already knew Mega Gardevoir ex and Mega Lucario ex were coming. Now we’ve got Mega Venusaur ex — the tank of the group — and Mega Latias ex making its first appearance in TCG form.
Mega Venusaur ex is the headline. At 380 HP, it sets a new high-water mark for printed Pokémon durability. Its Jungle Dump attack hits for 240 damage and heals 30 HP, which means Venusaur isn’t just trading blows — it’s shaving damage off while threatening two-hit knockouts across the board. More interesting is its Solar Transfer Ability, which lets you move Basic Energy between your Pokémon. That opens up a lot of lines: reload a fresh attacker after a knockout, shift energy off a damaged target before you heal, or build a surprise threat on the Bench without telegraphing it.
Mega Latias ex lands as the newcomer. The trailer doesn’t spell out its entire kit, but Latias historically leans into speed, mobility, and control angles. Expect a card that meshes with high-tempo builds or plays cleanup behind bulkier Megas, depending on its final text.
Two familiar faces are back in the Supporter slot. Lillie and Wally return after years away from Standard tables, and both could reshape early- and mid-game sequencing. Lillie is best known as a straightforward draw engine that helps stabilize shaky openers. Wally, in past printings, accelerated evolution lines. We’ll need the official card text to confirm exactly how these reprints function in today’s rule set, but their presence alone hints at faster deck setups and smoother turns.
The trailer also nods to a Hariyama with a gusting effect. For newer players, “gusting” means forcing your opponent to switch their Active Pokémon with one on the Bench — the kind of effect that picks off fragile support pieces or strands an underpowered attacker in the Active. Whether Hariyama’s gust is an attack, Ability, or conditional effect matters a lot for deck building, but any reusable gust pressure can warp how people position their boards.
Collectors get a small tease too: ultra rare Item and Pokémon Tool cards are coming. Items and Tools in higher-tier treatments usually signal premium chase slots in packs and, sometimes, gameplay-defining effects. If any of those cards become staples, expect both demand and prices to follow.
- Mega Venusaur ex: 380 HP, Jungle Dump for 240 with 30 heal, Solar Transfer for energy movement.
- Mega Latias ex: first time in the TCG as a Mega, exact text not fully shown.
- Supporters back: Lillie (draw) and Wally (evolution acceleration in earlier versions), with reprint wording to be confirmed.
- Hariyama: gusting effect teased, potentially changing board control dynamics.
- Ultra rare Items/Tools: collectible appeal with possible meta impact.
How this could change the meta: damage benchmarks, tempo, and resource loops
That 380 HP number isn’t just marketing. It shifts damage benchmarks. Decks that rely on clean one-hit knockouts will need higher multipliers, more resources per attack, or weakness hits to get there. Otherwise, you’re looking at two-shot lines against a Pokémon that heals mid-swing and can move energy off itself to dodge resource loss. If Venusaur operates inside a shell with healing Items, damage prevention, or steady draw, it becomes a true “tank-and-pivot” anchor.
Solar Transfer is the enabler. Energy movement is one of the strongest effects in the game because it turns every attachment into a flexible investment. Attach to the safest target early. Shift to the correct attacker when the window opens. After a knockout, redeploy the same energy to keep tempo. The more you can reuse your energy, the less you’re punished for losing a board piece. It also makes multi-attacker lists far more resilient against targeted gust KOs.
If Hariyama’s gusting is reliable, it’ll pressure those same pivot strategies. Being able to drag up support Pokémon forces the tank deck to keep switching tools, pivoting effects, or protective abilities ready. It also rewards players who plan one turn ahead on board placement — where you put your evolving Basics and how many Bench slots you reserve for backup attackers will matter.
The Supporter reprints could smooth openings. A consistent draw Supporter like Lillie can reduce mulligan pain and help stabilize awkward hands without overcommitting items early. If Wally retains any form of evolution acceleration, Stage 1 and Stage 2 lines get a real shot at keeping pace with aggressive Basic-centric plans. Faster set-up plus tanky Megas is a scary mix if the format doesn’t have strong ability lock, item denial, or energy disruption options to keep it honest.
Power creep is the obvious question. Mega Venusaur ex’s ceiling suggests heavier swings and chunkier boards. That doesn’t automatically break the game. It usually pushes formats toward two patterns: either high-HP tanks grind incremental advantages with healing and switching, or glass-cannon decks lean on explosive damage and targeted gust plays to keep up. Tech slots — from damage caps to resource denial — become the difference between falling behind and staying even.
For builders, start by mapping damage math. Can your main attacker hit 240 cleanly or reach it with a single modifier? How many turns does it take to stick that damage twice if your opponent heals 30 in between? What happens if energy slips off the damaged Pokémon before your cleanup swing? Those answers decide whether you race, control, or pivot into a midrange plan.
For players, prepare for longer games when Megas hit the table. You’ll need tight sequencing: attach, move, swing, heal, and sometimes retreat — and you can’t afford to waste a resource. On the other side, if you’re the aggressor, your line is simple: find gust, isolate key pieces, and collapse the board before energy movement and healing stabilizes the match.
The trailer doesn’t give a release date or set list, so a lot remains open. But the tone is clear: Mega Evolution is back with modern card templating, oversized stats, and tools to support both heavy hitters and tempo strategies. Expect more reveals to lock in the finer points — attack costs, weakness spreads, and the full text on Lillie, Wally, and Hariyama will decide the first wave of decks people test.
Until then, the smart play is to sketch shells. A tank build around Mega Venusaur ex with healing and switching. A tempo list that pivots between multiple Megas using Solar Transfer. A control-minded approach that leverages gust pressure and resource denial to poke holes in those plans. The trailer didn’t just hype the return of a beloved mechanic — it handed players a blueprint for the next arms race at the table.