After an underwhelming (but admittedly cute) June update, Pokémon TCG Pocket is back with a vengeance. July’s booster pack, Ruler of the Skies, brings Mega Rayquaza to the digital card-collecting game in an exciting update for fans of the Hoenn region. With some meta-altering cards to collect and a few great quality-of-life changes, Ruler of the Skies gives players plenty of reasons to log in again.
But the best part about it? It’s a great reminder that Pokémon’s third generation contains the best legendary monsters the series has ever made. Sorry, Mewtwo.
It all started with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire in 2002, which kicked off the Game Boy Advance era with a heap of memorable monsters. The RPGs dug into the mythology of the Pokémon universe with a story about ancient weather-controlling titans, Kyogre and Groudon, whose long rivalry threatens to plunge the water-logged Hoenn region into a climate disaster. The legendary cover stars made a splash thanks to their prehistoric designs and vibrant colors that popped on the box art lining store shelves. The real star, though, was Rayquaza, a green serpent that was undoubtedly the coolest monster design the series had at that point. And it only got cooler when Rayquaza got an overpowered Mega form over a decade later that sent the competitive world into a tizzy.
Ruler of the Skies pays its proper respects to the Weather Trio, giving them some of Pokémon TCG Pocket’s best-looking cards to date. The big chase card, Mega Rayquaza ex, is fierce as hell, as is its gorgeous portal variant. Groudon’s new card is a big upgrade over its Mega Shine version, putting the big guy in a fire-breathing action pose. The best of the bunch, in one Sapphire owner’s humble opinion, is a new full art Kyogre that captures the legendary’s elegance with a rich blue card. Don’t you just want to turn this thing into a beach house rug?
All of those monsters make for aesthetically pleasing cards for a good reason. The Pokémon team was at the top of its design game in 2002, especially when it came to big monsters it could capture with more detailed sprite art on GBA. You’ve got the otherworldly Regi trio, which experimented with an unusual rock/ice/steel dynamic. Deoxys stands tall as an underrated powerhouse with spindly DNA for limbs. I have a soft spot for Jirachi, if only because its bright yellow highlights pair nicely with the Weather Trio’s colors. Even the weakest legendaries of the bunch, Latios and Latias, still have playful designs that are hard to forget. Hoopa could never.
More important than how they look, though, Gen 3’s legendaries have some truly metal backstories. A killer whale that creates oceans? A god-like dragon that lived in the ozone layer for millions of years? An alien virus that got buff because someone hit it with a laser? Hell yeah, dude. You just can’t beat the mix of natural wonders and sci-fi horrors that come together to build Gen 3’s universe-melding story. That’s where Pokémon’s larger-than-life mythology is at its best.
If you haven’t popped into Pokémon TCG Pocket in a while, it’s worth picking it back up just to collect a few of those monsters and ogle at their designs. Even beyond the Weather Trio, Ruler of the Skies highlights some other all-time great Hoenn monsters like Mega Sharpedo, Metagross, and Mawile. You just can’t beat that squad.