March 19, 2021—The latest expansion for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Sword & Shield—Battle Styles, from The Pokémon Company International has released, introducing the new Battle Styles mechanic that will shake up gameplay strategies for the Pokémon TCG. The set is now available at participating retailers around the world.
Battle Styles are inspired by the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games and consist of Single Strike Style, which delivers powerful, hard-hitting attacks that can Knock Out an opponent in a single blow, and Rapid Strike Style, which uses sneaky, technical attacks that allow a player to attack their opponent when least expected. Single Strike and Rapid Strike Styles appear on certain Pokémon, as well as Trainer and Energy cards, which tend to assist Pokémon of that particular Battle Style and allow players to build a Single Strike or Rapid Strike deck.
Available in booster packs, Elite Trainer Boxes, and special collections, the Sword & Shield—Battle Styles expansion includes 60 Battle Style cards such as Single Strike Urshifu V, Rapid Strike Urshifu V, Single Strike Urshifu VMAX, and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. In addition, Trainers can build their decks and play with the following cards:
- 12 Pokémon V and 16 full-art Pokémon V
- Six Pokémon VMAX
- 19 Trainer cards and six full-art Supporter cards
- Two Special Energy cards
For additional information about the Pokémon TCG, visit Pokemon.com/TCG.