Catchphrase
- If you were looking for the catchphrases in Pokémon Battle Revolution, see Battle Pass → Catchphrases.
In Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, catchphrases are one of the Avatar Customizations. Unlike most of the Avatar Customizations prior to December 13th, 2024, catchphrases did not cost coins. Players can select two catchphrases, each from a separate menu. One of these catchphrases is picked in the Intro menu and is used before any match of the Trading Card Game. The other catchphrase is from the Victory menu and is used when the player wins; the loser of a match does not display any catchphrase. Catchphrases are paired with the Pose selected from the same menu, also divided into "Intro" and "Victory" displayed in the exact same circumstances.
On June 4th, 2024, Pokémon TCG Live First Annivsary Summer Bash event added a number of water themed catchphrases.[1] These catchphrases are usually puns, using italics to emphasize the word given the double meaning. On August 16th, 2024, more catchphrases were added to coincide with the 2024 Pokémon World Championships. Each is themed around competitive play, or tournaments, or the Pokémon World Championships.[2] Both sets are split off from the earlier catchphrases by a divider.
There are more catchphrases in the "Intro" menu than the "Victory" menu.
Intro
| Catchphrase | Notes |
|---|---|
| It's you and me, but victory is MY destiny! | References the Pokémon Theme |
| Win or lose, gaining knowledge is always a victory! | |
| I could win with half of my deck tied behind my back. (Wait, but then my deck wouldn't be legal...) | Decks are strictly 60 cards in normal Standard and Expanded games. A 30 card deck would not be legal. However, the 30-Card format allows players to use 30 card decks. Such a deck is called a Half Deck. The format is not in TCG Live. |
| I'm on a roll. I haven't lost all day! | |
| I'm not doing so well. I haven't won all day... | |
| I hope I play well. | |
| Having fun is all that matters. But winning is even more fun. | |
| The time has come for us to battle. | |
| Do you even Splash, bro? | Pun based on the phrase, "Do you even lift?" and Splash. |
| Don't you just love Mudkip? | Possibly a reference to the meme "So i herd u liek mudkipz?" |
| We're going to do this. You and me. | |
| Always treat your Pokémon with care and compassion. | |
| What do you think of my dress? It has pockets. | |
| I have a good feeling about my deck | |
| How's your grammar? Because a M-A-T-C-H spells victory for me. | |
| I play only the coolest basic Energy cards | Despite this game only leaving beta after the release of Paldea Evolved, post the templating change in Scarlet & Violet that captializes "Basic" in "Basic Energy" in all circumstances, this catchphrase's of "basic Energy" remains uncapitalized. |
| I just ate a whole bottle of ketchup. | Possibly a reference to the occasional propensity Ash's Pikachu is shown to have for ketchup. |
| Prepare yourself! | |
| I'm wearing my comfy shorts! | Possibly tied to the phrase "I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!", a often referenced phrase from Pokémon Red and Blue Versions. That phrase is from Youngster Ben dialogue from Route 3. |
| I suppose I could use a warm-up round. | |
| I don't need luck. | |
| I can feel it... my lucky star is shining today! | |
| I've defeated everyone who's up here at my level. I guess all that's left is you. | |
| ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... |
The character Red is known for "speaking" in this manner, as an interpretation of him as a silent protagonist. |
| I always give my all for every match! | |
| I never underestimate my opponent. | |
| Strength is no match for wisdom. | |
| It's more important to master the cards you're holding than to complain about the ones your opponent has been dealt. | Direct quote from the character Grimsley. |
| So you're my next opponent? Interesting. | |
| When you have lemons, you make lemonade; when you have Pokémon cards, you build great decks. | A common English phrase is "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". This applies it to the Trading Card Game. |
| Are you ready to blast off? | Famously, the Team Rocket trio is almost always defeated by using an attack that launches them into the air and off into the distance, which the characters mention in past tense as "We're blasting off again!" |
| I'm like a Magikarp. I don't look tough, but never underestimate what I can become! | Magikarp is a extremely weak Pokémon, but it evolves into Gyarados, a very strong Pokémon. |
| The top spot is mine for the taking. Think you can stop me? | |
| Entries below were added on June 4th, 2024 for the Pokémon TCG Live First Anniversary Summer Bash | |
| Water you think about having a match? | When spoken quickly, "water" sounds similar to "what are" |
| How high have you ridden the wave of the Ranked Ladder? | |
| I sea a new challenger! | The words "see" and "sea" sound similar. |
| You want to play a match? We shore can! | The words "sure" and "shore" sound similar. |
| Even if you beat me, I won't harbor a grudge. | Holding a grudge can sometimes be referred to as "harboring a grudge", and harbors are places where ships dock at. |
| If you're going to just barge in here, we have to battle! | A barge is a type of boat, but the word is also a verb that means "entering forcefully". |
| A challenger off the starboard bow! | |
| Where do fish keep their money? In river banks! | Banks are used to store money, and river banks are the edges of rivers |
| What keeps a dock floating above water? Pier pressure! | "pier" and "peer" sound similar. |
| What did one ocean say to the other? Nothing. They just waved! | |
| What is a sailor's least favorite vegetable? Leeks! | "leek" and "leak" sound similar |
| A Pokémon TCG Match? Sure, let's dive in! | |
| There was once a game that put to sea, by the name of Pokémon TCG! |
This catchphrase is imitating the pop culture concept of a sea shanty. |
| Stay hydrated out there! | |
| Let's have some fun in the sun with Palafin! | Palafin was the first of the Pokémon featured in the Pokémon TCG Live First Anniversary Summer Bash. The PalaFUN ex deck was provided during the event, and this catchphrase appears to be in direct relation to it. |
| We current-ly have no option but to battle! | A "current" is the quick movement of water. It is being combined with "currently". |
| I'm out to make a splash with my new deck! | |
| Nice to make your aquaintance! | "acquaintance" is being combined with "aqua" |
| Batten down the hatches-it's time for a battle! | |
| My purpose in life is to battle together with my piers! | "piers" and "peers" sound similar. |
| Entries below were added on August 16th, 2024, promoting the then upcoming 2024 Pokémon World Championships. | |
| I want to be the World Champion someday! | |
| We’re the feature match! | A feature match is a match that gets put on a live stream of the event. |
| This is my first time on stage! | |
| I hope our friends tune in! | |
| I didn’t see pairings go up! | In a tournament, players do not know who they have to play against in each round until pairings go up. Thus, this phrase can be used as justification for not being on time to a match. |
| Catch me on the big screen! | |
| Time to test my deck for any weaknesses. | |
Victory
| Catchphrase | Notes |
|---|---|
| My shorts are so comfy! | Possibly tied to the phrase "I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!", a often referenced phrase from Pokémon Red and Blue Versions. That phrase is from Youngster Ben dialogue from Route 3. |
| That went better than expected! | |
| I guess that's it, then! | |
| Oh, yeah. Feel the burn! | |
| What an egg-cellent battle. | |
| Looks like you couldn't take the heat | |
| Don't feel too bad. Nobody escapes my Full Blitz | Pikachu & Zekrom-GX have an attack named Full Blitz. This is the only catchphrase directly naming an attack. |
| I am the maddest partier in the game | The cards Galarian Mr. Rime, Dedenne, Bunnelby, and Polteageist. have an attack named Mad Party. They were all printed in Darkness Ablaze, with Mad Party's self referential mechanics forming a deck archtype named after the attack. |
| My strikes were just too rapid. | Rapid Strike is a label used on many cards in the Sword & Shield series, representing a propensity for this style of combat. |
| A single strike is all it takes for me to win. | Single Strike is a label used on many cards in the Sword & Shield series, representing a propensity for this style of combat. |
| Don't be mad that you lost. Be happy that I won! | |
| I always play to win! | |
| I believed in my deck, and it believed in me. | |
| Smart players can play a poor hand well. | |
| Thanks for the practice with my new deck. | |
| You have a good deck, but that's only half the battle | |
| My brilliant strategy paid off! | |
| We must all learn to be gracious in defeat. | |
| Thanks for the match! | |
| I guess that match speaks for itself. | |
| GG! | An abbreviation of "Good game," commonly used in the context of competitive games |
| You win some, you lose some, But the important thing is not to give up. | |
| On my way to being the very best! | References the Pokémon Theme |
| Smart tactics brought home the win. | |
| It's like I had Victini on my side! | Victini's Pokédex entries state that a trainer with Victini is guaranteed to win any conflict. |
| I'm tweaking my deck to make it even better next time! | |
| All right! | |
| What's the matter? Persian got your tongue? | "Cat got your tongue?" is an idiom used to mock nervousness. "Persian" displaces "cat". |
| Looks like you didn't have enough air in your Drifloon. | |
| My deck has the perfect flow! | |
| Entries below were added on June 4th, 2024 for the Pokémon TCG Live First Anniversary Summer Bash | |
| That was a fun match. I wish we'd played schooner! | The words "sooner" and "schooner" sound similar. |
| Well played! That was a ferry impressive battle! | The words "very" and "ferry" sound similar |
| The intensity of that match almost made me keel over! | "keel" is primarily used for boats tipping over, but it can be used to describe a person. |
| Good thing that battle didn't go overboard! | |
| That was a Wailord of a good time. | "having a whale of a time" is an idiom meaning "to enjoy yourself very much"[3] "whale" is being replaced by "Wailord". |
| All's well that ends well. | |
| That match is water under the bridge now. | |
| That was unfathomable! | |
| Our match made some serious waves! | |
| I somehow waded through that match! | |
| What a neat and tide-y match! | "Tide" is being combined with "tidy". |
| That was a tidal wave of a match! | |
| Entries below were added on August 16th, 2024, promoting the then upcoming 2024 Pokémon World Championships. | |
| I think my deck is ready for my next tournament | |
| I playtested all night! | Playtesting during the night before a tournament is commonplace, though Daniel Altavilla advises getting sleep over playtesting at that time.[4] |
| Let’s play again in the top cut! | After the Swiss rounds of a tournament, the competitors with the best win-loss records are placed in an elimination bracket which determines the winner of the event. This is often called “top cut” |
| Table 1, here I come! | |
| I didn’t break my win streak! | |
| I guess my deck doesn’t have any weaknesses. | Directly linked to an Intro catchphrase about testing for weaknesses. |
| Another one down. When’s the next tournament? | |
| I’m a shoo-in for World Champion! | |
References
- ↑ PTCG Live Summer Bash Has Started!, uncomonfossil, YouTube, Jun 4, 2024
- ↑ a:File:Summer 2024 Announcement TCG Live.png Alola Trainers!, Summer 2024, in game announcement
- ↑ have a whale of a time, Cambridge Dictionary
- ↑ Keeping Your Tentacool, Daniel Altavilla, Six Prizes, 29 Apr 2014
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This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |