Build Guide
Chapter 7

Switching and Mobility

Getting your Pokémon in and out of the Active spot — switch cards, pivot Pokémon, retreat cost, and denying prizes through mobility.

Switching and Mobility

Your opponent attacks whatever is in your Active spot. If the wrong Pokémon is stuck there — a setup Pokémon with no attacks, a damaged attacker about to go down, or something that can't respond to the current threat — you're in trouble. Switching cards let you control what's Active.

Retreat Cost

Every Pokémon has a retreat cost — the number of energy you must discard from it to manually move it to the bench. This is the baseline switching mechanic, but it's expensive:
  • 0 retreat cost — Free to move anytime (rare and valuable)
  • 1 retreat cost — Manageable, one energy investment
  • 2-3 retreat cost — Painful, losing energy you need for attacks
  • 4+ retreat cost — Effectively stuck without switching cards
Your main attacker's retreat cost matters. If it's 3 and it gets damaged but not KO'd, you're paying 3 energy just to move it — energy that could've gone to your next attacker.

Switch Cards

Switch cards bypass retreat cost entirely. They move your Active Pokémon to the bench without discarding energy:
  • Basic Switch — Move your Active to bench, promote something else. No cost, no restrictions.
  • Switch with a bonus — Switch plus heal damage, draw a card, or search for something. More value per card slot.
  • Scoop Up effects — Pick up a Pokémon entirely (returns to hand). Removes all damage and attached cards. Extreme mobility but you lose your energy investment.

How Many Switch Cards?

Depends on your deck's mobility needs:
  • Free retreat attackers: 0-1 switch cards (your Pokémon naturally move)
  • Low retreat (1-2): 2-3 switch cards (for key moments)
  • High retreat (3+): 3-4 switch cards (you literally can't function without them)
  • Decks that want to loop attackers: 4+ switching effects (your strategy requires constant rotation)

Pivot Pokémon

A pivot Pokémon is a benched Pokémon with free (or near-free) retreat cost whose job is to be promoted when your Active Pokémon is KO'd, then immediately retreated so your real attacker can come up.
Without a pivot, when your attacker is knocked out, whatever Pokémon you promote might get stuck Active if it has high retreat cost. A pivot with free retreat lets you promote it, then retreat it for free to bring up whatever you actually want Active.
Good pivots:
  • Have 0 retreat cost (or 1 with a retreat-reducing tool)
  • Provide some additional utility (draw Ability, energy acceleration)
  • Don't give up too many prizes if caught and KO'd

Prize Denial

Mobility enables prize denial — preventing your opponent from taking prizes they've set up for:
  • Switching a damaged Pokémon to bench — Opponent spent resources to do 200 damage? Switch it out and let them try again on something fresh.
  • Scooping up a damaged Pokémon — Remove it from play entirely. All that damage wasted.
  • Healing after retreating — Some cards heal benched Pokémon. Move your damaged attacker back, heal it, send it in again later.
Prize denial is especially powerful for multi-prize Pokémon. If your opponent sets up a KO on your two-prize attacker and you deny it, they wasted an entire turn of offense.
Key Concept
Every prize your opponent doesn't take is a turn you gained. Prize denial through mobility extends games in your favor.

Active Spot Trapping

The flip side — your opponent has switching options too. Some disruption strategies try to trap the opponent's Pokémon Active:
  • Gusting up high-retreat Pokémon then disrupting their hand (no switch card, no energy to retreat)
  • Path-blocking effects that prevent retreat or switching
When building your deck, consider how vulnerable you are to being trapped. If your setup Pokémon has 3 retreat cost and no switching cards in hand, one gust effect can shut you down.

Putting It Together

Your mobility package answers:
  1. How do I get the right Pokémon Active every turn? (Switch cards, low retreat costs)
  2. What happens when my Active gets KO'd? (Pivot Pokémon to bridge the gap)
  3. How do I deny my opponent's setup KOs? (Switch out, scoop up, heal)
  4. Am I vulnerable to being trapped? (Enough switching options to never get stuck)