Hi there. In this Pokemon TCG blog post, I share my experience at a Destined Rivals Prerelease tournament I attended. This was on May 19, 2025.
Images are mostly Proxy images as Destined Rivals officially releases on May 30, 2025. (You will see some Youtubers/store owners get early with content on this set.)
About Prerelease Events
Pokemon Prerelease events are tournament events where players can get cards and packs before the official release date. Stores registered with the Pokemon Company International and have official liscensing and status (if I am not mistaken) can host pre-release events. Different stores will have their own pricing and own allocation of prizing. Participants in prerelease tournaments receive one Build & Battle Box. In the box you get 4 booster packs and a set of playable pre-constructed cards that you can use for your 40 card deck.
In terms of gameplay, you start with 4 Prize Cards when setting up instead of the usual 6. Decks are 40 cards instead of 60 cards in pre-release events. Prerelease events is a limited sealed format. You build decks based on the randomized cards you get from the box kit plus packs. In theory you can get some nice art cards or playable cards.
A & C Games In Toronto + Tournament Format
For this Pokemon Destined Rivals prerelease event I head to A & C Games near Toronto's Chinatown and near the University of Toronto. A & C Games is my main store I go to when I visit Toronto for tournaments + shopping around.
The cost of entry is 40 CAD plus tax. You get a build and battle box plus 2 booster packs. For every win you get one extra booster pack. There are 3 best of one rounds. Attendance was a maximum of 24. Us Pokemon TCG players had to share tables with the Yugioh players there.
Only one other place I know of which was cheaper was 401 Games. It was 35 CAD for the entry fee. The prizing was different as you needed at least 2 wins to get extra packs. (It used to be 2 packs for each win.) I tried to register for this cheaper one but they were sold out after 1.5 hours. Madness there.
My Deck
In this tournament you can only build your deck from the Build and Battle kit you receive. The extra 2 packs upon entry are given after the first round. This is to prevent people leaving before the tournament starts. Not getting the extra 2 packs does limit your card pool for building your 40 card deck.
From my build and battle kit, I got the Ethan's Typholosion + Team Rocket's Weezing combo. I was happy with getting the Typhlosion cards as I will definitely use them after the event for playtesting. Ethan's Typhlosion is a decent deck on its own and it can be used an alternate attack in Gholdengo ex decks.
 |  |
 |  |
I had to keep the Team Rocket's Weezing stuff to synergize with the Team Rocket supporter cards.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
I wanted the Koffings in the deck as the ability can bring other Team Rocket Koffing's from deck to Bench. This is to thin out the deck.
Round One
Before the games started I was deckbuilding and practicing against one of the regulars I get along with there. When the matchups were announced we both found out we were facing against each other. Both of us had an internal lol moment. The practice partner is the round 1 opponent.
Her deck was based on the Team Rocket's Tyranitar.
 |  |
I don't want to get into many details as it makes this post long. Her setup was slower than mine so I ended up attacking and winning. In terms of prize cards it was kind of close. I took all 4 of mine while she took 3 of 4.
Round Two
My round 2 opponent was someone I faced before on a regular basis. I don't know how I feel about playing against regular opponents. You know that they are good so the games won't be easy. On the other hand the pace of the games will be kind of fast compared to a new player. You don't have to worry about running out of time. If you tie here then both players don't win a pack. You have to win to earn your pack.
My opponent had Ethan's Typhlosion + Team Rocket's Tyranitar. It was a mirror match.
| |
I was playing well until he used Judge. The game was overall back and forth. I was close to losing then close to winning. I lost in the end from his Team Rocket's Giovanni targeting my 10 HP Ethan's Typhlosion. The next day I think that was an invalid play as he only 1 Team Rocket's Pokemon in play. Ah ****. I think I should've won that. Gotta read the cards more carefully.
 |  |
This loss was annoying as I played well. He played well too but he somehow got 2 copies of Judge from his packs and has Team Rocket's Giovanni. I only saw one Judge and one Team Rocket's Giovanni. Those two pivotal cards got him the close win. This round two felt like a high level match instead of a more casual pre-release match. Yikes.
Round Three
I am 1 win and 1 loss here. The next opponent played Team Rocket's Tyranitar. This opponent is new to me. Not sure if he is a regular player or not. Regardless, don't let your guard down.
This game was just bad luck for me. He had kind of a fast setup while I led with the Team Rocket's Koffing. Team Rocket's Tyranitar deals 20 damage in between turns on Basic Pokemon.
There was this one turn that was too pivotal, RNG based and kind of tilting. I use the first attack from Team Rocket's Murkrow to fetch a Supporter card to setup the next turn. On the opponent's next turn he playes Judge. Shuffle hands back to deck and draw 4 cards. I get a non-workable hand. Then in the next few turns I lose.
| |  |
This loss was brought to you by bad luck. 🙁
Post-Tournament + Prizing + Other Notes
I ended with 1 win and 2 losses. Although I would have liked 2 wins at least, 1 win is better than 0 wins. Looking back my deckbuilding was not optimal. Why did I not put in Team Rocket's Weezing?
I get one extra Destined Rivals booster pack plus a surprise Prize Pack Series 5 booster pack. The organizer had some leftover Prize Pack Series 5 packs to give away.
Here were some of the pulls I got.
 |  |
 |  |
Before waiting for the prizes I was talking with one of the other players at the event. She was an owner of another gift shop store that also sold Pokemon cards. We were talking about crazy demand of cards, higher pricing due to higher demand of cards, supply issues, distributor issues plus tariffs. Prices of Pokemon cards since Surging Sparks in November 2024 have shot up. Booster packs used to be around 5 or 6 CAD but are now at 10 plus CAD per pack. (Too costly for me for gambling for pulls.)
This owner wanted to play at this prerelease event to try it out. She was a fairly new player. I did not play against her but she had connections with my round 2 opponent. (Acquaintance or friend, not sure) The owner player is from the store called Interesting Things. It is a shop that was open for a year. After this event I decided to check it out as it was nearby in the Kensington Market area near Toronto's Chinatown.
The shop inside is not a big store but it did showcase a lot of different gifts. There were plushies, toys and binders of Pokemon cards. I got a Japanese Fezandipiti ex for 3 CAD plus tax. This was for playtesting against my brother.
More to come.
Thank you for reading.