Next for the museum is the adorable yet tough Rockruff. This common card is from the highly sought-after high-class set VMAX Climax and features a special gameplay mechanic, marked by the prominent “Ichigeki” or “Single Strike” banner on the artwork.
Card Details
- Pokémon Name: Rockruff (イワンコ)
- Set: VMAX Climax (s8b)
- Year: 2021
- Card Number: 086-184
- Rarity/Edition: Common (Single Strike)
- Artist: Yuu Nishida
- National Pokédex No.: 744
Card Text & Attacks
- Type: Fighting
- HP: 70
- Attack 1:
- Japanese: かみくだく
- Romaji: Kamikudaku
- English: Crunch
- Cost: [Fighting][Fighting]
- Damage: 30
- Effect: Flip a coin. If heads, discard an Energy attached to your opponent’s Active Pokémon.
- Weakness: Grass x2
- Resistance: None
- Retreat Cost: [Colourless]
- Pokédex Entry:
- Japanese: 首の 岩を こすりつけてくるのは 親愛の 証。 ただし 岩は 鋭いので かなり 痛いぞ。
- Romaji: Kubi no iwa o kosuritsukete kuru no wa shin’ai no akashi. Tadashi iwa wa surudoi node kanari itai zo.
- English: When it rubs the rocks on its neck against you, that’s a sign of affection. But the rocks are sharp, so it’s quite painful.
Collector’s Notes
This Rockruff is a Common card from the Japanese high-class pack VMAX Climax (s8b), a very desirable set for collectors due to its massive number of secret rare and character rare cards. The charming artwork by Yuu Nishida depicts a playful Rockruff splashing happily in snow or water, a delightful contrast to its tough nature.
A key feature of this card is the “Ichigeki” (いちげき) or “Single Strike” banner. This was a major gameplay mechanic introduced in the Sword & Shield era, focusing on delivering powerful, decisive attacks. Cards with this tag could be used in conjunction with specific Trainer and Energy cards to create potent, knockout-focused strategies. For collectors, these cards represent a specific and popular period of the game’s meta.
As a pure Rock-type in the video games, Rockruff is a foundational Geological Pokémon. Its friendly but sharp nature is humorously noted in its Pokédex entry. As is standard in the TCG, its Rock typing is represented by the Fighting type.
