What You Need to Know About Pokémon TCG Raging Surf

The hits just keep on coming for the Pokémon trading card community.

There have been plenty of amazing launches and previews in 2023 so far – ranging from holiday products like the Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle to the recent 151 set – and one of the latest announcements, the Raging Surf set, is already causing waves in the community.

Announced officially during the streams for the Pokémon World Championships, the Raging Surf set is looking like one of the most impressive TCG sets that collectors will be able to get their hands on this year. It’s even bringing back an old mechanic to the game that hasn’t been seen in quite a while, so it’s a good set to be mindful of if you’re a competitive player.

Here’s everything that you need to know about the Pokémon TCG Raging Surf set, including the known release dates and what makes it such a unique card set. 

The Cards Will Come Out in September 

There’s been some confusion over this set and when it will be available internationally. The current release date being thrown around is the 22nd of September, but it’s important to note that this is the release date for Japan, not other regions.

There currently isn’t a date set for an international release date or even pre-orders. It’s possible to hazard a guess at when it’ll be coming out based on previous releases, though. For example, Ruler of the Black Flame came out in Japan on the 28th of July and it came out internationally on August 11th in most locations.

Following this, it’s likely that international fans who don’t want to buy the Japanese version of this set will be able to get their hands on the Raging Surf set around the beginning of October. This is just a speculation, but it’s quite likely based on previous release patterns. 

Raging Surf is Bringing Back Technical Machine Cards

It’s always interesting to see a Pokémon TCG set reintroduce a mechanic that hasn’t been in the game for a while, and Raging Surf is bringing one back that’s likely to change how a lot of people play in matches.

Technical Machine cards haven’t been in any releases since the Rising Rivals set back in late 2008/early 2009, so it may be quite an unfamiliar concept for folk who have only just started collecting cards or playing the Pokémon TCG since then.

In a similar fashion to Technical Machines in the Pokémon video games, Technical Machine cards give Pokémon access to a move that isn’t in their usual move set. Unlike the games, though, Technical Move cards are temporary and get discarded after a set amount of turns. 

It’ll be interesting to see how Technical Machine cards affect popular set-ups in Pokémon matches- or, indeed, if they affect anything at all. The card list for Raging Surf has not been fully  announced or leaked yet, so it’s hard to say with certainty whether they’ll be powerful.

There Will Be Some Truly Unique Cards

Raging Surf is looking like an incredibly exciting set so far. The star of the show is the Garchomp ex card with a water Tera type. The art for this card is stunning, and the moves that it has (including Hydro Lander and Sonic Dive) will make this version of Garchomp an absolute game-changer in battles. 

Based on the pack artwork, other Pokémon that we can expect to play a significant part in the Raging Surf set include Gholdengo, Jirachi, Tapu Koko, and Groudon. There hasn’t been a full card list reveal yet, but the ones that we know of include:

• Energy Turbo Technical Machine
• Gabite
• Gible
• Gholdengo ex
• Groudon
• Larry Trainer Supporter
• Rika Trainer Supporter
• Snorunt 
• Sneak Attack Technical Machine
• Tera Water Garchomp ex
• Tera Grass Froslass ex

This isn’t even half of the card list, though. The Raging Surf set will be launching with a rumored 62 cards in total, and it’s sure to be exciting seeing card reveals as we get closer and closer to finding out official release dates.