Aerodactyl ex (A3a #101) in Pokemon TCG Pocket hits for a steady 80 and its Primeval Law stops your rival evolving their Active, wrecking slow decks while staying quick to switch.
If you've been cracking Extradimensional Crisis packs hunting for something that actually shifts games in Pokemon TCG Pocket, Aerodactyl ex-A3a is the kind of card you might scroll past once, then regret later. It plays like a blunt tool with a lockpick hidden inside. It has 140 HP, which buys you time, and that matters in a format where one bad turn can snowball. If you're the type who keeps tweaking lists between matches, even grabbing extra resources from places like EZNPC can help you test more builds faster without waiting around to grind.
What It Does On The Table
Land Crush is simple, and that's the point. For one Fighting and one Colorless, you swing for 80. No coin flips, no weird conditions, just pressure. You'll notice how often 80 lines up as "two hits and you're done," especially into mid-HP Basics that are trying to buy time for an evolution chain. The retreat cost being just one is huge too. You can poke, pull back, and reset your Active without tossing your whole energy plan in the bin, which is usually where slower decks fall apart.
Primeval Law And The Awkward Turns It Creates
The ability is the real hook. Primeval Law says your opponent can't evolve their Active Pokemon from their hand while Aerodactyl ex is in play, even if Aerodactyl is just sitting on the Bench. In real games, this feels nasty in a very practical way. A Charizard ex player opens Charmander Active and suddenly they've got to choose: burn a retreat to evolve safely on the Bench, or stay put and take hits while they draw into an answer. People mis-sequence into it all the time. They'll attach, they'll plan an evolution, then realise they're stuck. And once they're stuck, you get to decide the pace.
Deck Building Around Old Amber
The catch is setup. You're not searching for a Basic Pokemon; you're hunting Old Amber first. So you need to build like you mean it: 1) run 2 to 3 Old Amber, 2) pack serious draw like Professor's Research so you actually see it, and 3) have a backup attacker that doesn't care if Aerodactyl arrives late. Primeape fits nicely as a straightforward cleaner, and Marshadow can give you angles when the opponent hides key pieces on the Bench. Just don't pretend the lock wins every matchup. Into basic-heavy rush lists, Primeval Law is basically blank text, so you're playing honest 80-damage trades and trying not to get blown out by Lightning weakness.
Playing The Matchups Without Getting Cute
The best Aerodactyl games are the ones where you keep it boring. Get it down, make their Active awkward, and keep swinging. Don't over-chase the "perfect" lock; sometimes you're meant to pivot, take a knockout, then reapply pressure the next turn. If you're planning to commit to the archetype and want a smoother start to testing different lines and techs, having access to Pokemon TCG Pocket Accounts can make it easier to jump into games and iterate without all the downtime.