Wugtrio ex – Shining Revelry
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Wugtrio ex (A2b 019, 081, 109) is a (W) Type, Stage 1 Pokémon that evolves from Wiglet. Wugtrio ex has 140 HP, (L) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Pop Out Throughout”. This attack selects one of your opponent’s Pokémon three times. Each time a Pokémon is selected, it takes 50 damage. There are three versions of this card available; one at the ♦♦♦♦ rarity, and two at the ★★ rarity.
The (W) Type has a lot of support, all of which has proven at least somewhat competitive. Irida (A2s 072, 087), Manaphy (A2 050, 162; P-A 048), Misty (A1 220, 267) and Vaporeon (A1a 019, 072). They also have several notable members, to the point it can become a detriment as a (W) Pokémon has to either outperform them, or find their own niche to be competitive. There are anti-(W) effects – Piloswine (A2 032) and Mamoswine (A2 033, 160) – but they haven’t seen any competitive success.
As a Pokémon ex, Wugtrio ex is worth an extra point when KO’d. Red (A2b 071, 090) provides a quick +20 damage for attacks made against an Active Pokémon ex, while Meowscarada (A2b 007, 073), Sudowoodo (A2a 036, 079), and Tauros (A1a 060) each have an attack that does extra damage to an opponent’s Active Pokémon ex. The attacks each have different Energy costs, names, and damage done, and while the cannot stack with each other, anything that damages the Active Pokémon works with Red.
As a Stage 1, you’ll have to not only run Wiglet, but successfully field it, then keep it alive at least one turn so you can evolve on your next turn. Assuming Wugtrio ex is in hand by then. Aerodactyl ex (A1 046, 078, 084) can prevent an Active Wiglet from evolving, via Aerodactyl ex’s Ability. According to the data over at LimitlessTCG, Aerodactyl ex is rarely going to be an issue, as it’s all but extinct.
Wugtrio ex has 140 HP, a decent, and typical amount for a Stage 1 Pokémon ex. A full force heavy attack will OHKO it, and that’s a pretty likely occurrence among the better decks. 2HKOs are even more likely. (L) Weakness does matter, but because it allows a Magnezone (A2 053) to score a OHKO with a little help (like Red). Wugtrio ex’s Retreat Cost of (C) is good! Especially with the Energy acceleration available, retreating should be doable most of the time.
Let’s discuss how Pop Out Throughout actually works. While it randomly picks a Pokémon three times, it can pick the same Pokémon more than once. If your opponent has three or four Pokémon in play, you might hit three different opposing Pokémon for 50 damage, one for 50 and another for 100, or just one for 150. The attack becomes more predictable the fewer Pokémon your opponent has in play; just one and it’s a guaranteed 150 to that target.
If your opponent’s Active Pokémon is selected at least once, and is (W) Weak, it will take +20 damage. Likewise, if an Active Pokémon ex is hit the same turn you use Red, it would take +20 damage. Protective effects work normally as well, which can makes card like Adaman (A2a 075, 090) and Blue (A1a 067, 081) more effective when Pop Out Throughout is hitting multiple targets. I could be mistaken, but I do not believe these effects are applied to each “hit”, when the same Pokémon is selected more than once.
Pop Out Throughout has a great name… and a great effect, even when priced at (W)(W)(W). Well, not as much if you lack Energy acceleration, and/or luck. It’s only decent if you lack one of those, and it’s bad if you lack both. If we just look at damage-to-Energy, 150-for-three is hard to beat… but without at least some Energy acceleration, Wugtrio ex has to wait too long to use it. Without luck, it may not matter when you use it. You can overkill something, wasting damage. You can also just hit the Pokémon that won’t ultimately make a difference.
Wiglet (A2b 018, 101) is a (W) Type Basic Pokémon with 60 HP, (L) Weakness, Retreat Cost (C), and the attack “Spring Out”. For (W), Spring Out randomly selects an opponent’s Pokémon and does 30 damage to it. 60 HP is low enough you’re some risk of a Turn 1 donk, and a slightly larger risk of it turn 2. Beyond that, as with Pop Out Throughout, Spring Out is all about your luck since it’s target is chosen at random.
Pokémon Zone classifies Wugtrio ex decks as “promising”: the deck has shown some potential, but there’s not enough data to prove they’re good. Either because the deck is so new, the deck is underplayed, or both. You can see their build for the deck here. There are many variants listed in the results at LimitlessTCG, but besides some that seem like they ought to be classified as the same deck, many are barely played variants (instances in the single digits).
The main version, and the one covered in that Pokémon Zone link, utilizes Manaphy and Palkia ex (A2 049, 182, 204, 206). I’ve also encountered some builds using just one or the other. I even tried the deck out myself, though only a little. It’s basically a summary of what I’ve mentioned; when setup and luck favors, it’s amazing! When only one of those two are present, it can still be decent. When neither are in your favor, it’s just depressing.
Rating: 3/5
The score could easily vary up or down in the weeks to come. Overall, you can think of Wugtrio ex as the easier Dragonite (A1 185, 244). Dragonite’s attack has a similar mechanic, even hitting harder but also requires more time, effort, and luck to get going. If you just enjoy this kind of mechanic or are at a point where you’re ready to have luck matter more than usual in your games, give Wugtrio ex a go. I could even be mistaken, and there’s no more luck involved than usual, just skill I haven’t developed.
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