Guardians Rising Player's Guide (TCG)
| Guardians Rising Player's Guide | |
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| ISBN: | None |
| Pages: | 31 |
| Published: | 2017 |
| Publisher: | The Pokémon Company International |
| Author: | Wolfgang Baur |
The Guardians Rising Player's Guide is a booklet included within the Guardians Rising Elite Trainer Box detailing the Guardians Rising expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The booklet is written by Wolfgang Baur and was published by The Pokémon Company International in 2017. The content features strategy for the new cards introduced within the Guardians Rising expansion as well as a complete checklist for the expansion.
Contents
Welcome to the Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising Elite Trainer Box
This Elite Trainer Box contains a great combination of boosters, Energy cards, dice, card sleeves, and extras—congrats on stepping up your game to the Elite level. The Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising expansion adds more than 140 cards to the Pokémon TCG and continues the exploration of the sun-drenched Alola region!
Train hard, choose your Pokémon companions, and take the journey of an Elite Trainer! Join Kahuna Hala and Captain Mallow, and prepare your favorite Pokémon and Trainers for battle with the Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising expansion!
A Dozen New Pokémon-GX!
This expansion includes lots of all-new Pokémon and new Pokémon-GX! These power cards and their astonishing one-shot attacks can change the course of a game completely, so let's take a look at what's new in Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising!
The most powerful Pokémon of the Alola region are the Pokémon-GX. Each comes with a special GX attack, which is so powerful that you can only use one of them during the entire game. Each GX attack is unique, and some absolutely have the potential to be game winners.
As the second set to include Pokémon-GX in the Pokémon TCG, the Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising expansion features a full roster of 12 of these amazing the Pokémon: Turtonator-GX (18/145), Alolan Ninetales-GX (22/145), Wishiwashi-GX (38/145), Vikavolt-GX (45/145), Tapu Koko-GX (47/145), Toxapex-GX (57/145), Tapu Lele-GX (60/145), Lycanroc-GX (74/145), Metagross-GX (85/145), Sylveon-GX (92/145), Kommo-o-GX (100/145), and Drampa-GX (115/145).
- Turtonator-GX is a Basic Pokémon-GX with 190 HP and three great attacks. The first is Shell Trap for
, which only does 20 damage but sets up a scary situation for your opponent: if they damage Turtonator-GX with an attack on their next turn, the lingering effect of Shell Trap puts 8 damage counters on the Attacking Pokémon! Bright Flame does 160 damage for 
, and you have to discard 2 Energy from Turtonator-GX. Finally, Nitro Tank-GX attaches a blistering 5 Energy from your discard pile to your Pokémon in any way you like, the perfect way to power up for a crushing victory!
- Alolan Ninetales-GX is a Stage 1 and has 210 HP, plus three attacks. Ice Blade does 50 damage to one of your opponent's Pokémon—any one, so it's great for targeting the Bench! Blizzard Edge for
does 160 damage and discards two Energy from Alolan Ninetales-GX. Its GX attack is the amazing Ice Path-GX, which slides all the damage counters right off of Alolan Ninetales-GX and onto your opponent's Active Pokémon—what a turnaround!
- Wishiwashi-GX is a Basic Pokémon-GX with 210 HP and three attacks that range from kind of puny to really huge! There's a simple Water Gun attack, 20 damage for . Torrential Vortex costs , does 120 damage, and also discards a Special Energy from your opponent's Active Pokémon! Its Blue Surge-GX attack does 220 damage for the same Energy cost—and then you move all the energy from Wishiwashi-GX to your Benched Pokémon. Poor Wishiwashi-GX is just totally exhausted by that massive attack!
- Vikavolt-GX is a Stage 2 Pokémon with 240 HP. Its Charge Beam attack does 50 damage for each
and powers up Vikavolt-GX with an Energy card from the discard pile. Super Zap Cannon does 180 damage at the cost of plus discarding two attached Energy. Then there's the Gigatron-GX attack: for , it does 60 damage to each and every one of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. Total wipeout, multiple Prize cards—it can be quite the fireworks show when Gigatron-GX goes to town!
- Tapu Koko-GX has 170 HP and is a Basic Pokémon with the remarkable Aero Trail Ability. When you play Tapu Koko-GX from your hand onto the Bench during your turn, this Ability lets you move any Energy you have in play to Tapu Koko-GX', and then move Tapu Koko-GX' right into the Active spot to unleash that Energy in an awesome attack! Its Sky-High Claws attack delivers 130 damage for , and its Tapu Thunder-GX attack does 50 damage times the amount of Energy attached to all of your opponent's Pokémon: easily 100, 300, or even more damage!
- Toxapex-GX evolves from Mareanie into a powerful marine battler! Its Spike Cannon for
flips four coins and does 30 damage for each heads. The Super Intense Poison attack costs and does what it says on the tin—it leaves your opponnet's Active Pokémon Poisoned, and that Pokémon gets a whopping 10 damage counters between turns, instead of the usual 1! Finally, its Total Shelter-GX attack costs , does 150 damage, and shields Toxapex-GX from all attacks on the opponent's next turn. Not even damage gets through. Hit 'em hard and then hide really well is a winning strategy!
- Tapu Lele-GX has the Wonder Tag Ability, which kicks in when you put the Pokémon onto your Bench during your turn and lets you search your deck for any Supporter card you need. Its Energy Drive attack for does 20 times the amount of Energy attached to both Active Pokémon. Finally, the Tapu Cure-GX attack lets you heal all of the damage from 2 of your Benched Pokémon. Three great powers to keep your Pokémon battling!
- Lycanroc-GX has the Bloodthirsty Eyes Ability—when it evolves from Rockruff, it fixes its glowing red eyes on one of your opponent's Benched Pokémon and pulls it into the Active spot, ready for battle. The Claw Slash attack does 110 damage for
, and its Dangerous Rogue-GX attack for does 50 damage times the number of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. Sometimes it's better not to have a lot of friends!
- Metagross-GX is a Stage 2 Pokémon with 250 HP and an iron constitution! First off, its Geotech System Ability lets you attach a or
Energy from your discard pile to your Active Pokémon every turn. The Giga Hammer attack does 150 for but can't be used on the following turn. The super-versatile Algorithm-GX attack for lets you search your deck for up to 5 cards and put them into your hand. Any. Five. Cards.
- Sylveon-GX has 200 HP and the Magical Ribbon attack, which lets you search your deck for up to 3 cards and put them into your hand. Fairy Wind does 110 damage for
. The Plea-GX attack does something really different: for , it takes two of your opponent's Benched Pokémon and all the cards attached to them, and puts them back into your opponent's hand. Of course, that could put a Mega Evolution Pokémon or a fully loaded and energized Pokémon back at square one!
- Kommo-o-GX is a Stage 2 Pokémon with 240 HP and three very strong attacks. Adamantine Press for is the simplest: it does 30 damage, and Kommo-o-GX takes 30 less damage from attacks next turn. The Shred attack is tougher to pull off with , but it does 130 damage to the opposing Pokémon and ignores any effects. Finally, the Ultra Uppercut-GX attack for does a huge 240 damage—just enough to Knock Out almost any Pokémon!
- Drampa-GX has 180 HP and the Righteous Edge attack for , which does 20 damage and discards a Special Energy from your opponent's Active Pokémon. Its Berserk attack for does 80 damage plus 70 more if your Benched Pokémon have any damage counters on them at all—powerful stuff for the midgame. The Big Wheel-GX attack lets you shuffle your hand into your deck and draw 10 new cards. That's usually enough to get you what you need!
Eight Awesome Combos!
The Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising cards offer great new tools for power combos, especially when combined with cards from the earlier Sun & Moon expansion! Here a five combos using Pokémon-GX, plus three more general combos that anyone can use.
- Cannon Charge
- Vikavolt-GX's Super Zap Cannon does a lot of damage, but you need to discard 2 Energy every time you use it, so it runs out of steam fast. Use Vikvavolt's (Sun & Moon, 52/149) Strong Charge ability to refuel the attack every turn. Because Vikavolt-GX and Vikavolt both evolve from Charjabug, this is really a pretty easy combo to pull off.
- A Legendary Steelworker
- Solgaleo (87/145) can use its Fangs of the Sunne attack for an astonishing 170 damage for , but its not quite enough to deal with the Pokémon-GX or Pokémon-EX that have 180 or 190 HP. Dhelmise (59/145) has the Steelworker Ability, which fixes that problem by adding 10 damage to your Pokémon's attacks. If you have multiple Dhelmise, that's 10 extra damage for each one in play!
- A Natural Partnership
- Metagross-GX and Solgaleo-GX (Sun & Moon, 89/149) look like they were meant to work together. When Solgaleo-GX's Sunsteel Strike attack discards its Energy, Metagross-GX's Geotech System Ability can get one out of the discard pile to start reattaching it. Metagross-GX's Giga Hammer attack can't be used in consecutive turns, but Solgaleo-GX's Ultra Road Ability allows you to switch your Active Metagross-GX to the Bench to clear the effect. If you switch it out for a Pokémon with no Retreat Cost, you can then retreat and get Metagross-GX Active again so it can use Giga Hammer with no drawback.
- Lunar Energy
- Lunala's (61/145) Wings of the Moone attack requires you to move all of its Energy to your Benched Pokémon, and that can seriously slow down your momentum. This combo gets around this by using Lunala-GX's (Sun & Moon, 66/149) Psychic Transfer Ability to move those Energy right back to Lunala—and then Lunala can use Wings of the Moone again on the following turne... er, turn. Even better, when the time is right, you can move all your Energy to Lunala for a massive Shatter Shot attack. It's a great combination that sends Energy flying around in all directions!
- Whiscash & Mallow
- This combo sounds a bit like a TV detective duo from the '80s—and just like retro TV, it's a really wonderful team-up! The premise is simple: Whiscash's (71/145) Landslip attack has the potential to be powerful, but it's a little unreliable because you don't know what the top 3 cards of your deck will be. Thanks to Mallow (127/145), you can put 2 Energy cards on top of your deck, guaranteeing at least a 200-damage attack!
- Flash Those Eyes Again
- It's no secret that the Supporter card Lysandre (XY — Ancient Origins, 78/98) is a game—changing card, and Lycanroc-GX's Bloodthirsty Eyes Ability has the same effect without using up your single Supporter card for the turn. Now add in Devolution Spray (XY — Evolutions, 76/108): you can put Lycanroc-GX back into your hand, allowing you to play it again on the following turn. Presto, you can use this incredible Ability twice in a row—your opponent might sound a howl of frustration!
- Punching Up
- Are those pesky Pokémon-GX or Pokémon-EX in your way? Then this combo is for you! Attach a Choice Band (121/145) to Golisopod (9/145), and then use its Resolute Claws attack to wallop those power Pokémon for 180 damage!
- Watery Fate
- Aqua Patch (119/145) is a great way to speed up any Pokémon's attacks, and it works even better with Primarina-GX's (Sun & Moon, 42/149) Bubble Beat attack. Get a bunch of Energy in play, and dish out some big damage. Simple but effective!
Top Trainer Cards
Sure, Trainer cards don't have big HP and pulse-pounding attacks—but a Trainer's role is vitally important! Items, Supporters, and other cards give you the margin of victory. Here are some of the cards to watch out for in the Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising expansion!
- Altar of the Moone (117/145)
- The moonlight altar reduces the Retreat Cost of any Pokémon that has or
Energy attached by . Suddenly your Pokémon are practically gliding around on moonbeams!
- Altar of the Sunne (118/145)
- Guarantee a sunny disposition for your and Pokémon with this Stadium, which removes their Weakness.
- Aqua Patch (119/145)
- If you remember Dark Patch (Black & White — Dark Explorers, 93/108), you'll know this card is just ridiculously good, because it lets you effectively attach multiple Energy in a single turn. A huge boon to Water decks everywhere!
- Brooklet Hill (120/145)
- Once a turn, each player can fetch a Basic or a Basic Pokémon from their deck, and put it on the Bench. Awfully useful to find a power Pokémon or a keystone card your deck depends on!
- Choice Band (121/145)
- When the Pokémon who has this Tool attacks a Pokémon-EX or Pokémon-GX, that attack does 30 more damage. Hitting harder is a good thing!
- Energy Loto (122/145)
- The Energy Loto card can find any Energy you want, even Special Energy like Double Colorless, from the top 7 cards of your deck. One Energy goes directly to your hand. Dare we call that... handy?
- Field Blower (125/145)
- Finally, a way to discard Pokémon Tool and Stadium cards—two at a time! This sort of powerful counter card should see play in a few tournament decks to break up opposing combos.
- Hala (126/145)
- This one is going to require careful play; you can shuffle your hand into your deck and draw 7 cards if you've used your GX attack, but only 4 if you haven't. You can save it to draw a whole new hard after using that big attack, or cash it in early if you just need cards!
- Mallow (127/145)
- A little patience is often rewarded! Mallow lets you pick any two cards from your deck and put them on top of it in any order. A nice way to plan ahead!
- Multi Switch (129/145)
- Multi Switch has a couple of differences from the popular Energy Switch (Sun & Moon, 117/149). Both cards let you move Energy around on your team. Multi Switch limits how you do that—the Energy has to move from a Benched Pokémon to your Active Pokémon—but unlike Energy Switch, this one lets you move Special Energy, too!
- Rescue Stretcher (130/145)
- Are you sad when a key Pokémon is Knocked Out? Wish you could just visit the Pokémon Center to bring it back? Well, Rescue Stretcher is a super-flexible way to recover Pokémon from the discard pile! You can bring 1 Pokémon directly to your hand, or shuffle 3 Pokémon back into your deck: your choice!
Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising Card List
This section lists the 145 cards in the Guardians Rising expansion, and their rarities, as well as the 24 secret cards. Decidueye-GX, which is card number 146, is mislabled as card number 147.
Credits
Original Japanese Game
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English-Language Version
The Pokémon Company International
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Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon — Guardians Rising Showcase
Hidden Moon Theme Deck
- Dark Wings of Mystery!
- Hurtling across the sky on purple wings, Lunala leads a firey crew of Pokémon! Keep your Pokémon evolving and bide your time until you reveal the power of the Hidden Moon theme deck!
Steel Sun Theme Deck
- Bright Light of Victory!
- A Pokémon of firey power: Solgaleo! This well-tempered deck puts both Metal and Psychic power in your hands—and tests your opponent's mettle. Stay sharp with the Steel Sun theme deck!
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This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Merchandise, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise. | 
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