Hey everyone! a1a-45-golem shocked everyone at a recent Pokemon Pocket tournament by taking first place, defeating some of the most popular meta decks along the way! The Fighting deck stands out because it doesn’t include any Ex Pokemon, making it an affordable option for F2P players in the Mythical Island meta.
a1a-45-golem serves as the deck’s primary win condition, supported by multiple Pokemon that help you control the early game while setting up your Stage 2 a1a-45-golem. Since the deck has no Ex Pokemon, opponents must knock out three of your Pokemon to get the win. This gives you extra time to establish your win condition and take control of the match.
In this guide, I’ll break down the tournament-winning deck list and explain how this a1a-45-golem strategy works. Let’s dive in!
Gameplan
This deck only uses Fighting Energy. Since we're running a1a-56-druddigon, make sure you don't have Fire and Water Energies selected when you're done building the deck. Having Water and Fire Energy will ruin your attacks with a1a-45-golem, a1a-47-marshadow, and a1-154-hitmonlee.
We want to have a1a-56-druddigon in the Active early in the game to tank early hits. A Stage 2 a1a-45-golem requires time for us to play, so a1a-56-druddigon is perfect with his 100 health and Rough Skin ability. We aren't trying to attack with a1a-56-druddigon's Dragon Claw, but more so have it tank hits and deal back passive damage.
When the opponent's Pokemon attacks a1a-56-druddigon, they'll take 20 damage from Rough Skin. This isn't supposed to knock out an opponent's Pokemon but weaken it for a1a-45-golem or your other Pokemon to knock out.
a1a-45-golem is a Stage 2 Pokemon, which means we have to evolve a1-147-geodude into a1a-44-graveler before we get to evolve into a1a-45-golem. So we have a couple of steps to do to make sure our win condition is in play. promo-5-poke-ball is perfect in the early game to increase our odds of finding a1-147-geodude and having him on the Bench as early as possible.
We prefer having a1-147-geodude on the Bench and using a1a-56-druddigon to tank the early turns. Once we evolve into a1a-45-golem, we can move him to the Active spot. We have a1a-68-leaf to lower the retreat cost of our Active Pokemon and move it to the bench, this is also preventing the opponent from knocking it out and getting a Match Point.
a1a-45-golem is a tough Pokemon to knockout with its 160 health, but also Guard Press attack adds a defensive layer by weakening the opponent's attack. Guard Press deals 120 damage and the opponent's attack will deal 30 less damage to a1a-45-golem, making it harder for them to knock it out. Guard Press's 120 damage + a1a-56-druddigon is more than enough to knock out most Pokemon you'll come across, especially with a a1-223-giovanni backup.
You'll need two attacks from a1a-45-golem to knock out higher-health Pokemon, and with its tankiness, you should, in most cases, manage to get those attacks through.
a1a-45-golem's Guard Press requires 4 Energy to activate, so we need to use a1-224-brock to speed things up. a1-224-brock can give 1 Fighting Energy only to a1a-45-golem, allowing us to attack with him on earlier turns.
Support Damage
a1a-47-marshadow only shines when one of your Pokemon was knocked out during your opponent's last turn, increasing its Revenge attack from 40 to 100 damage. 100 damage is a massive attack from a1a-47-marshadow, especially if the opponent just knocked out a a1a-56-druddigon. Rough Skin will deal 20 damage to them, making them an easier target for a1a-47-marshadow to knock out.
a1-154-hitmonlee's Stretch Kick targets the opponent's Bench, dealing 30 damage and threatening to knock out low-health Pokemon. Since a1-154-hitmonlee's Stretch Kick needs only 1 Fighting Energy to activate, you can make use of it early in the game as you evolve into your a1a-45-golem win condition.
a1-154-hitmonlee can also be played in the late-game if you need to attack a damaged Pokemon hiding on the Bench, giving the Match Point you need to win the game.
Other Pokemon
If you're missing an early Basic Pokemon, a1-155-hitmonchan is an option to add. Needing only 1 Fighting Energy to attack with Jab, a1-155-hitmonchan isn't a bad option for early damage. It can also retreat for 1 Energy only, making it perfect to move it out of harm's way and have a1a-45-golem take its place.
Golem Druddigon Weakness
- Since a1a-45-golem is a Stage 2 Pokemon, you might have games where you struggle to evolve it as early as possible.
- Heavily reliant on support cards a1-224-brock and a1a-68-leaf. You can't play both of them in one turn.
- Take +20 more damage from Grass-type decks.
Closing Words
a1a-45-golem caught players by surprise, exceeding expectations in Pokemon Pocket tournaments. This is a great budget deck to build and get wins in versus mode. If you're a fan of tanky Pokemon that force opponents to attack multiple times to get the knock out, then the a1a-45-golem Fighting deck is perfect to pick up!
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