Get ready to take your Pokémon Trading Card Game collection to the next level with the upcoming Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies expansion. It contains over 200 cards to discover, including some powerful new Pokémon V, Pokémon VMAX, and Single Strike and Rapid Strike cards. Dragon-type Pokémon are also returning in a big way in this expansion, so be on the lookout for them. Join us for a peek at some of the great cards you’ll find, and prepare for the expansion’s release on August 27, 2021.

Eevee

Considering this expansion has the word “evolving” in its name, is it any surprise that it includes Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon? The adorable little Pokémon may not be a heavy hitter on its own, but its Vee-Search attack lets you search your deck for up to 3 Pokémon V that you can put into your hand. What do you think? Could this expansion also include Eevee’s many Evolutions? Keep reading, friends! Oh, and who’s that soaring through the skies above Eevee? Keep reading even further, friends!

Umbreon VMAX

Yes, indeed, all eight of Eevee’s Evolutions are in Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies. Interestingly, the Pokémon V incarnations of these Evolutions are Basic Pokémon, so they don’t evolve from Eevee itself. Once you get Umbreon V in play, you’ll be able to evolve it into Umbreon VMAX, which, like Umbreon V, is a Single Strike Pokémon. When you do, you might want to take advantage of its Dark Signal Ability, which lets you pull 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon into the Active Spot when you play Umbreon VMAX. Follow that up with a Max Darkness attack, which hits for 160, and your opponent could be in a lot of trouble.

Sylveon VMAX

Eevee can also help you get the Rapid Strike Pokémon Sylveon V into play, and you can use its Dream Gift Ability to search your deck for an Item card to bring into your hand. You’ll see a card below that would be great for this situation, especially when you evolve Sylveon V into Sylveon VMAX (which is also a Rapid Strike Pokémon). Sylveon VMAX interacts with your Benched Pokémon a lot, so it would be ideal to play this Pokémon when you have a full team ready to go. Its Precious Touch attack not only lets you attach an Energy card from your hand to a Benched Pokémon, but it will also heal 120 damage from that Pokémon. Its Max Harmony attack only does 70 damage initially, but it adds an extra 30 damage for each different type of Pokémon on your Bench. Hmm…Eevee’s Evolutions have lots of different types, right…?

Moon & Sun Badge and Ribbon Badge

As we’ve seen, Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies is filled with Eevee’s many Evolutions, and as cool as they are, this expansion also has some great Trainer cards that will make them even more useful in battle. Take, for example, the Moon & Sun Badge. Attach this Pokémon Tool to a Pokémon V with “Espeon” or “Umbreon” in its name, and when your opponent plays a Supporter card from their hand, it prevents all effects of that card done to that Pokémon. As hinted at above, the Ribbon Badge is perfect for Pokémon V with “Sylveon” in their name. If the Pokémon it’s attached to is Knocked Out by damage from an attack by your opponent’s Pokémon, your opponent has to take 1 fewer Prize card. And yes, Pokémon VMAX are Pokémon V, so the effects of these cards still apply after Evolution!

Rayquaza VMAX

It’s not all Eevee and Eevee-adjacent cards in Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies, though. As we mentioned in the intro, Dragon-type Pokémon are back! Just check out this incredible Rapid Strike Rayquaza VMAX. It comes with a mighty 320 HP and an Azure Pulse Ability that lets you discard your hand and draw 3 cards once per turn. Used properly, this could help set you up for victory. Rayquaza VMAX’s Max Burst attack requires just one Fire Energy and one Lightning Energy, but it only does a paltry 20 damage. However, the attack also allows you to discard any amount of basic Fire or basic Lightning Energy from the Pokémon. For each card you discard, the attack does an additional 80 damage. Load Rayquaza VMAX up with Energy before it attacks, and you can do some massive damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon.

Duraludon VMAX

Single Strike Duraludon VMAX is another dynamic Dragon-type Pokémon, and it sports a towering 330 HP. If your opponent is fond of using Special Energy, Duraludon VMAX’s Skyscraper Ability will prove invaluable. The Ability prevents any of your opponent’s attacks from damaging this Pokémon if they have any Special Energy attached. You can then counter with the G-Max Pulverization attack. It hits for a whopping 220 damage while also guaranteeing that the attack’s damage isn’t affected by any effects on your opponent’s Active Pokémon.

Rapid Strike Scroll of the Flying Dragon and Single Strike Scroll of the Fanged Dragon

Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies includes a pair of scrolls that can be attached to a Rapid Strike Pokémon or a Single Strike Pokémon to grant them a new attack as long as they have the necessary Energy to use it. Rapid Strike Scroll of the Flying Dragon (which is for Rapid Strike Pokémon, of course) contains the Meteor attack, which does 90 damage to any 1 of your opponent’s Pokémon. You must discard 2 Energy from the Pokémon to use the attack, but it could be useful if you’re looking to target your opponent’s Bench. Single Strike Scroll of the Fanged Dragon (for Single Strike Pokémon, natch) provides access to the Superstrong Slash attack, which lives up to its name by hitting for 300 damage. However, it does require one Fighting Energy, two Metal Energy, and two more Energy of any type to perform, and you must discard all Energy from the Pokémon once you use the attack. Still, if you need to hit your opponent hard, this could turn the tide of battle.

These are just a few of the incredible cards you’ll find in Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies. See what other cool cards you can discover when the expansion releases on August 27, 2021.