The Slowpoke Drop event in Pokémon TCG Pocket introduces several Promo cards that players can obtain for free. With Ranked battles currently dominated by the Mega Shine meta, many players are wondering whether these event cards are actually useful in competitive decks.

Some of these Promos are surprisingly strong, while others are more situational. Below is a simplified breakdown of how each Promo card from the Slowpoke Drop event can be used effectively.

Slowpoke

Slowpoke is the highlight Promo of this event, mainly because it evolves into Mega Slowbro EX, one of the stronger EX Pokémon in the Mega Shine expansion.

Mega Slowbro EX has 200 HP and requires 3 Energy to attack. Its attack deals 90 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon, but the real strength lies in its bench damage effect. You flip three coins, and for every heads, the attack deals 20 damage to each Benched Pokémon. If all three coins land heads, that means 60 damage to every Benched Pokémon, creating a potential 270 total damage output across the opponent’s board.

Water decks are already powerful thanks to support cards like Misty and Irida, which provide Energy acceleration and healing. When paired with strong partners such as Suicune EX or Baxcalibur, Mega Slowbro EX can quickly overwhelm opponents and sometimes secure fast wins.

Haxorus

Dragon-type Pokémon can sometimes be difficult to use in Pokémon TCG Pocket because they often require multiple Energy types. Haxorus needs Fighting-type and Metal-type Energy icons, which normally makes setup tricky. However, cards like Orthworm can help provide Metal-type Energy, making it easier to build a Fighting + Metal Energy deck around Haxorus. Once fully set up, Haxorus delivers a powerful 170 damage attack, which is strong enough to knock out many EX Pokémon in a single hit.

The real combo comes from pairing Haxorus with the Iris Supporter card from the Mega Shine set. Normally, defeating an EX Pokémon gives 2 points, but Iris adds 1 additional point. That means knocking out an EX with Haxorus instantly reaches 3 points and wins the match. Because of this combo potential, Haxorus can become one of the most dangerous Dragon-type attackers in the game.

Electrike

Electrike evolves into Mega Manectric EX, but this Mega Evolution can feel somewhat weak compared to other Mega Pokémon.

Lightning-type Pokémon usually have lower HP but faster Energy requirements, which allows Mega Manectric EX to start attacking early. However, its damage depends on how many points you have already scored:

0 points: 80 damage 
1 point: 110 damage 
2 points: 140 damage

Because of this scaling mechanic, Mega Manectric EX performs better in the late game.

When choosing Electrike, the regular Mega Shine set version is generally better than the Promo. Both have 60 HP, but the regular card deals 10 damage with a chance to reach 40 damage on a coin flip.

The Promo version guarantees 30 damage, but it also deals 10 recoil damage to itself. Since Mega Manectric EX already has relatively low HP, losing extra health can be risky—especially because losing a Mega Evolution usually means an immediate defeat. You can still use the Promo if your deck includes healing cards, but in most cases the regular Electrike card is the safer option.

Varoom

The Varoom Promo is actually a very useful upgrade for decks that use Revavroom and Mega Scizor EX.

The Promo Varoom has 60 HP, requires only 1 Metal Energy to attack, and applies Poison to the opponent. It also has a retreat cost of 1 Energy. The standard Varoom from the Mega Shine set has 70 HP and deals 40 damage, but it needs 2 Energy to attack and 2 Energy to retreat.

This difference becomes important when using Revavroom, whose ability Metal Transport allows certain Metal-type Pokémon like Dialga EX or Orthworm to retreat for free and bring Mega Scizor EX into battle.

The strategy works like this:

Mega Scizor EX attacks for 150 damage 
Revavroom helps switch it out safely 
Mega Scizor EX returns next turn to attack again

Because Revavroom mainly stays on the Bench, you don’t want Varoom stuck in the Active position. The Promo version’s lower Energy cost and easy retreat make it the better choice. Overall, the Varoom Promo is clearly the stronger version to use.

Chatot

Chatot is essentially a reprint of the Mega Shine version, but it remains a very useful utility card. As a Colorless Pokémon, Chatot can fit into almost any deck. For 1 Energy, it deals 10 damage and lets you draw a card, helping improve your hand early in the game.

With 70 HP, it can usually survive at least two hits, giving you time to draw additional cards before switching to a stronger attacker.

Simple draw-support Pokémon like Chatot are always valuable in card games, so this Promo will likely see regular use across many deck types.