Nathan: 3

 Hello, Friends, and Welcome Back to My Blog!

Today, I’m diving back into the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) world, but this time, I’ll be talking about Pre-Release Events. These events occur during the two weekends leading up to the release of a new expansion set, and today, March 16th, 2025, I attended a pre-release event for the highly anticipated new set, Journey Together. This set marks the long-awaited return of Trainer’s Pokémon, featuring several NPCs from the Pokémon video games who pair up with their Pokémon. For example, N and his partner Zoroark are featured in the set, with N’s Zoroark evolving from N’s Zorua.

What Is a Pre-Release Event?

A pre-release event offers TCG players the chance to get their hands on new cards up to two weeks before the set officially releases. It's an exciting opportunity to open brand-new packs and play with the upcoming expansion cards before they hit stores. Pre-release events differ from regular local tournaments in a few key ways:

• 40-card decks (instead of the usual 60-card decks)

• 4 prize cards required to win (instead of 6)

• No limit on how many copies of the same card you can use, unlike the standard limit of four copies in a deck

Each participant receives a pre-constructed 40-card deck and 4 packs (40 extra cards) to add to their deck.

My Pre-Release Kit

I received the kit featuring Iono’s Kilowattrel. There were four possible options, and I didn’t get the one I wanted—but that’s okay! I won’t go into detail about the pre-constructed deck because, honestly, it wasn’t great. Instead, I’ll focus on the four packs I opened and the changes I made to my deck.

I was planning to take a photo of each pack I opened, but I forgot and am not mad about it because I am very tired from a great Universal day yesterday.

In my 4 packs, I didn’t pull the one card I was hoping for: Hop’s Cormorant. This card is incredibly strong in pre-release events because you start with 4 prize cards, which means you can deal 120 damage right off the bat. Energy is abundant in these 40-card decks, so this card would have been perfect. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one.

However, I did pull an EX card that worked out well: Volcanion EX (the only screenshot I could find of the translation was a YouTube thumbnail but that ludicolo will be relevant later) This basic EX card doesn’t need to evolve, and its ability, “Scalding Steam,” lets me burn my opponent’s active Pokémon as long as Volcanion is active. That means my opponent will take 20 damage after each turn (if they flip tails). Its attack, “Scorching Cyclone,” does 160 damage, but I have to move energy from Volcanion to my bench. This isn’t a huge issue, though, since I can use it to set up other attacking options. The three energy cost is steep, but in this format, everyone’s decks aren’t very strong, so I have extra time to set up. I added Volcanion EX and 4 Fire Energy to my deck, and that was my main offensive strategy.

Round 1: Cramorant

Since it was a pre-release event, there were only three rounds. In round 1, I faced off against a guy in his 30s who had never played the game before. I thought to myself, “Let’s go, easy win.” We flipped over our starting Pokémon, and my opponent had—wait for it—Hop’s Cormorant! The card I had been longing for.

Unfortunately, my start was terrible. I couldn’t find my Volcanion, and worse, I only had two small basic Pokémon in my hand. Since I went first, my opponent had the opportunity to attack on his first turn, taking an instant prize card. I couldn’t draw another basic Pokémon to bench, so I lost in just two turns. Very disappointing, to say the least.

Round 2: Shiela

In round 2, I was paired with another first-time player: Shiela, a mother who was filling in for her 5-year-old son, Jack, who didn’t want to continue playing after losing round 1. Jack was incredibly annoying throughout the game—picking up our cards and just being a general nuisance. At one point, he flipped all my prize cards over and tried to hand them to me. I politely rejected and placed them back face down.

The game went much better for me. I started with Volcanion, went first, and was able to attach the necessary energy to attack on my third turn. From there, I just kept chaining attacks with Volcanion and won pretty easily. I wanted to go easy on Shiela, but Jack’s behavior was too much, so I ended the game quickly. Shiela was very nice, and she even apologized for her son’s behavior multiple times, to which I responded, “No problem,” though, in reality, I will despise that kid forever. (not really but that kid sucked)

Round 3: Justin

In the final round, I was paired against Justin, an older guy who was super nice. By this point in the event, I was exhausted and just wanted to get my 3 extra packs and write this blog. (I promise I was excited to write this blog) Thankfully, this round went much like round 2. I went first, started with Volcanion EX, and didn’t have to deal with the threat of Cramorant. I didn’t even bench any other Pokémon because I didn’t want to move energy away from attacking. Volcanion was able to take all my prize cards, and I won fairly easily.

THE PULLS!!!

The real highlight of a pre-release event is, of course, opening packs from the new set. Each player gets 7 packs guaranteed—4 from the build-and-battle kit, and 3 random packs selected from a booster box. In my first 4 packs, I pulled a full-art Salamence EX, but I couldn’t use it in my deck due to missing the evolution line. Still, I absolutely love this card. Salamence is one of my favorite Pokémon, and I’m pumped about the full-art version.

But it wasn’t over yet. You also get 3 random packs from the booster box. In a previous pre-release event for Surging Sparks, I pulled a Special Illustration Rare (SIR) from my 7 packs, which is one of the rarest types of cards. These cards are the most sought-after rarity, found in about 1 out of every 100 packs. You can usually spot an SIR by the textured borders, which don’t replace the guaranteed holographic card at the back.

I, along with everyone else, was really hoping to pull a new SIR. In my first pack, I pulled a regular holographic Snorlax—cool, but not what I was hoping for. The second pack gave me a holographic Ludicolo, which has awesome art, but still not what I was after. Then, in the third pack, I said a little prayer as I opened it, hoping for N’s Zoroark SIR. N is one of my favorite characters in Pokémon, and his Zoroark card is amazing.

As I went through the pack, I saw the textured border of an SIR, and I couldn’t believe it. My heart started racing. I slowly revealed the final card… and BOOM, it was N and his Zoroark! I pulled the exact card I wanted—THE card of the set! I was beyond ecstatic and may have screamed a little. I immediately sleeved it up before letting anyone else touch it, especially a kid’s grubby little fingers. This is my grail, and I’m not letting anything happen to it.

Conclusion

Thank you all for reading yet another long-winded blog post. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my pre-release experience, and maybe you learned something along the way. See you next time!