Tinkaton ex – Shining Revelry
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Note: I selected Tinkaton ex mostly because I just kind of like the Pokémon. Yes, I say that a lot; if I didn’t at least like most Pokémon, I probably wouldn’t be here now, would I? Later in the article, I will be spoiling some of Celestial Guardians (Set A3). When this happens, it will clearly be noted, and will not affect the final score. So you can just skip that section and read the rest of the review, if you want the new set’s content to be a surprise.
Tinkaton ex (A2b 054, 086, 094) is a Metal-Type Stage 2 Pokémon ex that evolves from Tinkatuff. She has 170 HP, (R) Weakness, (C)(C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Terrific Thumping”. Priced at (M)(M)(C), this attack lets Tinkaton ex do 80 damage to the opponent’s Active, plus flip a coin. If “tails”, the attack just does the base damage. If “heads”, Terrific Thumping does 80 + 80 damage (160 total). Tinkaton ex is available as a ♦♦♦♦ rare, with two versions available at the ★★ rarity.
Let’s break down the Metal Type. There is one anti-Metal card1 but it rarely sees use. The only (M) Type support is Adaman (A2a 075, 090), whose offers a turn of damage reduction. Adaman has seen some success. There are also some useful (M) attackers worth mentioning. Dialga ex (A2 119, 188, 205, 207) has great stats and its first attack provides valuable (M) Energy acceleration to Pokémon of any Type. Skarmory (A2 111; P-A 039) is a useful, single Energy attacker for (M) Energy using decks.
As a Stage 2 Pokémon, you’ll have to run and evolve from Tinkaton ex’s Basic and Stage 1. This means an equivalent Basic not only can hit the field two turns sooner, but also enjoys two extra “slots” in their deck that can be used for Trainers or other Pokémon. Though unlikely to matter, Aerodactyl ex (A1a 046, 078, 084) still exists and can prevent your Active from evolving.
Tinkaton ex has 170 HP, which it needs given it’s a Stage 2 Pokémon ex. It’s not easy to OHKO, and only a handful of Stage 2 Pokémon ex have more than 170 HP. (R) Weakness might be a concern. Charizard ex (A1 036, 253, 280, 284) doesn’t normally need it to score a OHKO2, but if it has to use its first attack, or the other (R) Types in its deck are attacking, then it might matter.
Tinkaton ex’s Retreat Cost of (C)(C) is good. While not easy to pay, neither is is brutally difficult. It’s one less than Tinkaton ex’s attack cost, and Leaf (A1a 068, 082) can zero it out. Speaking of attacks, Terrific Thumping’s cost is “okay”. Three Energy isn’t easy on its own, but if you can hide behind meatshields or utilize Dialga ex, it’s manageable. But is it worth the effort?
80 damage per turn is not what it once was. Still, it’s enough to 2HKO most other Pokémon, at least before we factor in protective effects and healing. Of course, that’s also before we consider getting “heads” on the required coinflip. 160 for three Energy is a very good deal, though just a bit shy of what is needed to OHKO the likes of Gyarados ex (A1a 018, 076), or Tinkaton ex’s fellow Stage 2 Pokémon ex. Combos, even common and simple things like Giant Cape or Red (A2b 071, 090) can shift things either way, or just end up canceling each other out.
Let’s talk the rest of the line. There’s only one version each lower Stage in Pocket right now: Tinkatink (A2b 052) and Tinkatuff (A2b 053). Both are Metal-Type Pokémon with (R) Weakness and just one attack. Tinkatink is a 60 HP Basic with a (C) Retreat Cost, who can use “Corkscrew Punch” for (M) to do 20 damage. Tinkatuff is a 90 HP Stage 1 with a (C)(C) Retreat Cost. For (M)(M) She can use “Tenacious Hammer” to flip a coin; “tails” means the attack does 30 damage, while “heads” means 60.
Sadly, lower Stages that really contribute to the line are still rarities, but at least these two aren’t worse. Based on the results you can find over at LimitlessTCG, players have tried to find a competitive use for Tinkaton ex, but so far, it hasn’t worked. You can see Pokémon Zone’s take on a Tinkaton ex deck here. The gist of it is to use a low Energy attacker – in this case, Skarmory – to occupy your opponent while building Tinkaton ex on your Bench.
I could see using Dialga ex as a lead-in. The biggest reason not to applies to Skarmory as well: there are proven alternates to Tinkaton ex that work much better. If you just want to use Tinkaton ex, though, while the deck is slow starting, Dialga ex is enough of a threat on its own your opponent usually cannot ignore it. Dialga ex only has to use its Energy accelerating attack once on a Benched Tinkaton ex (or one of her lower Stages); a single manual Energy attachment after that finishes the prep.
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Spoiler Time; skip the next paragraph if you want to avoid them!
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Celestial Guardians contains many cards I have not yet seen, so this speculation is just about one particular card that seems quite relevant. That card would be Rare Candy. It appears it will works the way it has since the Black & White era; it lets you play a Stage 2 Pokémon directly on its Basic, skipping the Stage 1. When paired with Dialga ex, this might make Tinkaton ex’s setup reliable enough to break into the competitive sphere. Or it might improve too many other Stage 2s for it to matter here.
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Rating: 2/5
Tinkaton ex is close to being a functional, competitive Pokémon. Even though Stage 2 Pokémon tend to be slow, I think the real concerns here are quickly supplying the needed Energy and the fact that coinflips can be, as intended, random. Even if you prove lucky and flip more “heads” than “tails”, there’s the issue of the “heads” arriving when it will matter. It can be frustrating to regularly do 160 damage to Pokémon with 80 (or less) HP remaining.
1Mawile (A2a 056), whose attack does extra damage to (M) Pokémon.
2A Tinkaton ex with a Giant Cape A2 147) equipped and under the protective effect of Adaman will still be OHKO’d by Charizard ex’s second attack, thanks to Weakness.
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