Perhaps the biggest announcement at Pokémon Worlds last weekend was that of the mysterious Pokémon ex star. Thrown up right at the end of the show, in the Worlds closing ceremony, this looks to be the TCG's newest mechanic. But apparently, it's also a new series for the game after we move on from Mega Evolutions
The ex star symbol was shown off alongside the legendary Pokémon Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, suggesting these beasts will be the first to showcase the new mechanic. While we don't know what that mechanic will be just yet, we can perhaps make some educated guesses.
First up, the least exciting version: perhaps it's just the ex equivalent of Pokémon VSTAR. This would mean cards that Pokémon ex can evolve into, possibly giving them unique attacks. Straightforward and simple, but not particularly splashy.
A take on Pokémon star would be more of a gamechanger. This practically ancient mechanic from the early 2000s added shiny rare Pokémon cards, which you could only use one of in your deck. Essentially, this would be the Pokémon card equivalent of Ace Specs, and with these trainers rotating out of play in 2027, it would seem a fitting time to introduce the concept.
While the fact that there's a star symbol rather than just the word might support this idea, one thing that counts against it is that the Raikou, Suicune, and Entei in the trailer had their regular coloration: they weren't shiny.
If this is the route the Pokémon TCG is going, one thing that we absolutely must hope is that these cards won't be as rare as those early-2000s star cards were. There's really no reason to think they would be, it's pretty established by now that we get regular versions of everything with rarer, prettier stuff reserved for the chasers. But it would be disastrous if it happened, creating a relationship between price and playability that the TCG has never had before.
It's intriguing that the YouTube video's description calls ex star a new Pokémon TCG series. This must mean the Mega Evolution series is coming to an end pretty sharpish. We know there's the Japanese set Aura Seeker coming soon, followed by Mega X Mega Parade in the new year. Could these be the final two Pokémon TCG sets of this truncated era?
And if Pokémon ex star is the next series for the TCG, where does that leave Winds and Waves? It's traditional for Pokémon games to launch in November, and the corresponding TCG era to kick off in February/March of the next year. If this pattern continues, that means this is going to be an extremely short series, more of an episode than an era, squeezed in between the end of Mega Evolutions in 2027 and the start of Winds and Waves in early 2028.