Table of Contents
Pokemon Pocket has been out in New Zealand for over a week now, and players are exploring the new cards, mechanics, and competitive strategies. With many "New Zealanders" diving into the game, we’re starting to see a competitive meta take shape, highlighted by decks like Mewtwo Gardevoir, which has already made an impact on the meta
I’ll be sharing 8 decks along with their game plans, which are perfect for those of you just starting. With Pokemon Pocket officially launching on October 30th, this article will be a great starting point to see which decks you can build with your collection!
Mewtwo Gardevoir
a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir is one of the top competitive decks in Pokemon Pocket, and although it's difficult to build for newcomers, it's important to familiarize yourself with the deck's capabilities.
This deck uses a1-129-mewtwoex as its main damage dealer, Psychic Sphere deals 50 damage, so two attacks will usually knock out most of the basic Pokemon on your opponent's side. However, a1-129-mewtwoex has a stronger attack, Pysdrive, dealing 150 damage which will knock out almost any of the opponent's Pokemon. Pysdrive is difficult to get online as it requires you to attach 2 Basic Energy and 2 Psychic Energy, and activating it will force you to discard 2 Psychic Energy.
So getting to use Pysdrive multiple times a turn can be challenging, and this is where a1-132-gardevoir comes into play, letting you attach a Psychic Energy to one of your Pokemon through its Psy Shadow ability. a1-132-gardevoir can also be used as an attacker with its Psyshot to deal 60 damage.
To get a1-132-gardevoir in play, you have to play a1-130-ralts, evolve it to a1-131-kirlia, and then evolve it to a1-132-gardevoir. We want to keep a1-132-gardevoir for as long as possible to gain value from Psy Shadow.
Starmie ex
This is an aggressive deck that uses a1-76-starmieex and a1-58-golduck as the main damage dealers, both need only 2 Water Energy to start pushing damage. You'll have to evolve them from a1-74-staryu and a1-57-psyduck, respectively.
a1-93-frosmoth is a stall Pokemon, putting the opponent Asleep with Powder Snow, buying you more time until you can knock out their Pokemon and have a1-76-starmieex or a1-58-golduck in play.
a1-76-starmieex is usually the best play since it deals 90 damage with Hydro Splash, easily knocking out low-health Pokemon, and requires two attacks to deal with higher-cost targets.
a1-220-misty is a key card in this deck, accelerating your Water Energy attachment on your Pokemon. You'll flip a coin until you get tails, and for every heads you got, you can attach a Water Energy to one of your Pokemon. So getting at least one heads should be enough to start attacking the opponent's Pokemon.
Dragonite Weezing
This deck relies on a1-185-dragonite as a win condition, a 160 health Pokemon with its insanely powerful Draco Meteor attack to unleash 50 damage, 4 times, at random targets. This attack also targets the opponent's Bench, so you can wipe out defenseless Pokemon to give you extra points and win the game. Usually, two attacks from a1-185-dragonite should be enough to seal the deal.
However, setting up a1-185-dragonite can take a while, as you'll need to play a1-183-dratini, evolve it to a1-184-dragonair, and then play a1-185-dragonite. On top of that, a1-185-dragonite needs 4 Energy to activate Draco Metero, so it can be a bit of a setup to start clearing out the opponent's Pokemon.
This is where a1-177-weezing comes to play, a high-health Pokemon that can stick for a while and can Poison the opponent's Active Pokemon through Gas Leak ability, slowly chipping away at its target's health. Once a1-185-dragonite is ready to carry the game, we can use a1-222-koga to put a1-177-weezing in our hand and get a1-185-dragonite in the Active spot to start unleashing Draco Meteor on the opponent.
Pickachu Zapdosex
a1-96-pikachuex's Circle Circuit is a powerful damage dealer that requires only 2 Lightning Energy to activate, dealing damage depending on the number of Lightning Pokemon on your Bench. a1-104-zapdosex is another Pokemon we can have in play early on, having high health, it doesn't get knocked out easily and you can use Thundering Hurricane to deal damage. However, Thundering Hurricane is luck-based, since you'll have to flip a coin 4 times and you deal 50 damage for each heads you get. So getting at least two heads should be enough to knock out most Pokemon.
As for a1-95-raichu, he's the game finisher, dishing out 140 damage with Thunderbolt, perfect to knock out high-health Pokemon and win the game on the spot. Since a1-95-raichu needs three lightning Energy to activate Thunderbolt, we can use a1-226-lt-surge to move Lightning Energy from Benched Pokemon to a1-95-raichu and set up the winning attack. This works better because a 140-damage attack to get the last point will be worth the setup rather than relying on two attacks to win the game, which could give the opponent a shot at winning the game.
Charizard ex
This deck wants to have a1-47-moltresex in the Active spot early into the game, giving you a high-health Pokemon that can take a couple of attacks for the opponents to knock out. a1-47-moltresex's Heat Blast isn't too bad in the early game, helping you knock out early Pokemon and set the stage for a1-36-charizardex to carry the game. However, a1-47-moltresex's true value lies in its ability, Inferno Dance, flipping a Coin 3 times and attaching a Fire Energy to your Benched Pokemon equal to the number of heads.
a1-36-charizardex is what we're trying to set up for the late-game, evolving a1-33-charmander into a1-34-charmeleon and then get a1-36-charizardex in play. As we're evolving, we'll use a1-47-moltresex's Inferno Dance to get Energy on the Benched Pokemon so a1-36-charizardex can start attacking when it goes onto the Active spot.
a1-36-charizardex's Slash attack can be cute with its 60 damage, but Crismon Storm is where the real damage is at. 200 damage will knock out anything on the opponent's Active spot, ensuring you remove their threat and set the stage to win the game.
Marowak Dugtrio
The a1-140-dugtrio a1-153-marowakex heavily relies on the luck factor, as you'll be flipping lots of coins playing this deck.
a1-153-marowakex's Bonemerang flips a coin twice and deals 80 damage for each heads. So getting at least one head can knock out most basic Pokemon, but hitting two heads enables you to knock out higher-health targets that pose a threat. However, you can still low-roll and end up hitting tails twice, leaving the opponent's Pokemon undamaged.
As for a1-140-dugtrio, they can stall out the game with Dig, shutting opponents from inflicting damage to them. For 1 Fighting Energy, you can start activating Dig to deal 40 damage and toss a coin. If you hit heads, you get to prevent the opponent from damaging a1-140-dugtrio, buying you more time to continue pushing more damage and gaining points as you knock out their Pokemon.
If you're feeling lucky, this is likely the deck for you. Both a1-140-dugtrio and a1-153-marowakex don't require a lot of Energy to start attacking and with a1-140-dugtrio's stall capabilities and a1-153-marowakex's high-power damage, you can make the game miserable for the opponent as you knock out their Pokemon.
Alakazam
The a1-117-alakazam can take a bit to get the ball rolling since you need to evolve a1-115-abra to a1-116-kadabra before getting a1-117-alakazam on the board. Additionally, a1-117-alakazam's Psychic requires you to attach three Energy to him to start dealing damage, so it does require time to activate. Psychic 60 damage and will deal 30 more for each Energy attached to the opponent's Pokemon. This can be a game-winner against Pokemon with multiple attached Energy, allowing you to knock them out earlier and remove a threat from play.
a1-203-kangaskhan is the early Pokemon we'll play as we work on getting a1-117-alakazam ready to join the battle. a1-203-kangaskhan is a 100-health Pokemon, so he can stick for a while in the Active spot, and his attack, Dizzy Punch, lets you flip a coin twice to deal 30 damage for each heads.
Venusaur Exeggutorex
We're trying to set up a1-23-exeggutorex as early as possible by evolving him from a1-21-exeggcute. a1-23-exeggutorex's Tropical Swing deals 40 damage, but you also flip a coin, if it's heads, Tropical Swing deals an extra 40 damage. This makes life easier when trying to knock out the opponent's Pokemon. The 160 health on a1-23-exeggutorex and Tropical Swing requiring only 1 Grass Energy ensures we can get multiple attacks through before the opponent manages to knock it out.
a1-3-venusaur is the late-game carry, which will need to evolve through a1-1-bulbasaur and a1-2-ivysaur. a1-3-venusaur's Mega Drain isn't pushing lots of damage, but it is healing a1-3-venusaur for 30 damage, so if the opponent is relying on a mediocre power attack to knock out a1-3-venusaur, it will take them a while to get there.
Closing Words
Pokémon Pocket has been a blast, and while some cards can be hard to collect, it's still possible to build a competitive deck that can hold its own. Even before the global launch, players are already brewing exciting decks with diverse strategies. I can't wait for the official release, and as the game evolves and new cards are introduced, we'll have even more room for innovation!
