Ultra Beasts are likely coming to Celestial Guardians set are the Ultra Beasts, powerful Pokémon that hail from different dimensions than our own. The Ultra Beasts were a critical part of Pokémon Sun and Moon, so their absence in Celestial Guardians was a mild surprise. It's likely that the Ultra Beasts were held back so they could be fully featured in the next mini-set, which will likely come out near the end of the month.

Pokémon TCG Pocket and the physical Pokémon Trading Card Game are technically different games, even though both use some of the same card art. While both games use some overlapping mechanics, certain abilities and attacks from the Pokémon TCG can't cross over into Pokémon TCG Pocket. While the arrival of Ultra Beasts are hotly anticipated, they almost certainly won't bear any similarity to their Pokémon TCG equivalents, as the Ultra Beast's initial gimmick is wholly incompatible with Pokémon TCG Pocket.

Why Ultra Beasts Gimmick Needs To Be Different In TCGP

Ultra Beasts Had Abilities Tied To Prizes In Physical Pokémon TCG

Ultra Beasts have a unique gimmick in the Pokémon TCG that has remained true through multiple Sun & Moon sets. Each Ultra Beast has abilities that manipulate prize cards, either by allowing players to take extra prizes or by dealing extra damage when certain prize conditions are met. For instance, Buzzwole's Sledgehammer attack deals 90 extra damage when an opponent has 4 Prize cards remaining. More powerful cards can either add more prizes to an opponent's hand or allow players to take an extra prize under certain conditions.

The major issue with this gimmick is that Pokémon TCG Pocket doesn't have prizes per se. The game uses a point system and are designed to be much shorter. It's extremely unlikely that players will be able to manipulate points in Pokémon TCG Pocket, simply because a game could be over very quickly if a player added even one point to their total. Additionally, cards tied to point total wouldn't make as much sense, simply because there are far fewer point conditions (players can have either 0 points, 1 point, or 2 points without triggering a win) in the game.

What We Could See From Ultra Beasts in Pokémon TCG Pocket Instead

Abilities Tied To Beast Boost Is Far More Likely

If Pokémon TCG Pocket wants to keep the spirit of Ultra Beasts alive in the game, they could opt for a version of the Beast Boost instead. All Ultra Beasts in the Pokémon video games have a Beast Boost ability, which raises their highest stat whenever they knock out a Pokémon. Ultra Beasts could have a version of the Beast Boost, where their attack strength or HP is increased with every Pokémon they knock out. This would create a cascading effect with many Pokémon (as they get stronger as the game progresses) while remaining true to the game.

Whether they lean into the Beast Boost ability or opt for an entirely different gimmick instead, we could see our first true subclass of Pokémon cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket when Ultra Beasts arrive.

While tying card abilities to points in Pokémon TCG Pocket doesn't make a whole lot of sense, there's still a lot of interesting room to make Ultra Beasts feel very thematic. Whether they lean into the Beast Boost ability or opt for an entirely different gimmick instead, we could see our first true subclass of Pokémon cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket when Ultra Beasts arrive. I'm really curious what the Pokémon TCG Pocket has in store for Ultra Beasts, especially as they'll be the focus of an entire set, either in May or in a future mini-set release later this summer.