Hello everyone! The Pokemon Pocket community tournaments are thriving, with hundreds of players joining from around the world! Participants bring their favorite decks—or the latest meta choices—for a chance to win it all.
In this article, I'll break down the three largest tournaments held on November 9-10 (Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly #2, Pocket Legends League #6, and Pikaverse Pocket Cup #1), analyzing the meta distribution, the top performers, and the underdogs!
The Data
Deck Distribution:
Looking at the meta distribution, a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir might seem like the clear dominant deck in all three tournaments, having the highest meta representation. However, a1-96-pikachuex has four different versions being played in these tournaments, all using a1-96-pikachuex as the main win condition.
Players have different preferences when it comes to the supporting Pokemon in a1-96-pikachuex, choosing to pick between a1-106-zebstrika, a1-100-electrode, or a1-95-raichu.
So if we sum them all up, we'll find that a1-96-pikachuex is the actual meta-dominant Pokemon, with the highest representation across all three tournaments. But which version has the highest pick? a1-106-zebstrika and a1-100-electrode are usually the go-to picks, with a1-106-zebstrika having the edge over a1-100-electrode.
Although a1-76-starmieex had the highest hype around it, being a Water-type aggressive deck, the popularity of a1-96-pikachuex decks has had a huge toll on the Water-type archetype. It hasn't performed up to the standards players have put it on, and we see a huge decrease in players bringing the deck.
a1-36-charizardex a1-47-moltresex came in third place, a low in players compared to the top 2 decks.
Top 32 Decks
- a1-96-pikachuex a1-106-zebstrika and a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir are rivaling each other in all three tournaments. Pikachu ex Zebstrika had the edge here, taking more top 32 spots in Ursiiday's Pocket and Pocket Legends League tournaments.
- a1-100-electrode came in third place in the top 32 representations, followed closely by the a1-95-raichu version.
- a1-36-charizardex a1-47-moltresex is barely keeping up the top 2 most-played decks, it had 3 decks in Ursiiday's Pocket's top 32, but only 1 a1-36-charizardex a1-47-moltresex managed to sneak into the top 32 in both Pocket League and Pikaverse.
- Ursiiday's Pocket's top 32 comprises 22 a1-96-pikachuex decks! A clear meta-domination.
- Off-meta choices made it into the top 32 of Pocket League and Pikaverse Pocket! a1-41-arcanineex a1-47-moltresex, a1-153-marowakex a1-146-machampex, a1-165-arbok a1-177-weezing, and a1-146-machampex a1-203-kangaskhan.
Top 4 Decks
| Tournament | First Place | Second Place | Third Place | Fourth Place |
| Ursiiday's Pocket Weekly #2 | Pikachu ex Zebstrika | Mewtwo ex Gardevoir | Pikachu ex Zebstrika | Charizard ex Moltres ex |
| Pocket Legends League #6 | Mewtwo ex Gardevoir | Arcanine ex Moltres ex | Mewtwo ex Gardevoir | Pikachu ex Electrode |
| Pikaverse Pocket Cup #1 | Mewtwo ex Gardevoir | Pikachu ex Zapdos ex | Pikachu ex Electrode | Pikachu ex Zebstrika |
Alright, time to look at the real winners of these three tournaments!
- With 9 a1-96-pikachuex a1-106-zebstrika in the top 32 of Ursiiday's Pocket tournament, two of them made it into the top 4. One managed to win it all, while the other ended up in 3rd place. a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir took second place and a1-36-charizardex a1-47-moltresex finished fourth.
- Pocket Legends League looked a tad different, with a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir being on top, taking 1st and 3rd place. None of the a1-106-zebstrika versions made it into the top 4, but the a1-100-electrode version snatched 4th place. Remember the 1 a1-41-arcanineex a1-47-moltresex deck in top 32? Well, it managed to keep on winning until it finished in second place!
- a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir takes first place in Pikaverse Pocket Cup, but the other spots are all a1-96-pikachuex decks.
Overall, 6 a1-96-pikachuex decks are in the top 4 of all tournaments. a1-129-mewtwoex a1-132-gardevoir won first place in two of those tournaments, the best rival for the a1-96-pikachuex decks.
Fire-type decks had two representations in the top 4, a1-41-arcanineex a1-47-moltresex and a1-36-charizardex a1-47-moltresex.
Ursiiday's Pocket First Place
a1-96-pikachuex is the main carry in this deck, pushing up to 90 damage with Circle Circuit for only 2 Lightning Energy. You will have to fill up your Bench with Pokemon, so players will have different versions of the list depending on the supporting Pokemon they add.
a1-104-zapdosex is almost always an inclusion in the list, acting as a secondary win condition with Thundering Hurricane. a1-106-zebstrika is the most popular addition to the list, dealing a measly 30 damage with Thunder Spear, but it can target the opponent's Bench, giving you a tool to knock out a low-health Pokemon hiding on the Bench.
Pocket Legends League First Place
The a1-129-mewtwoex is crushing tournaments, using Psydrive to deal 150 damage, capable of knocking out most targets in its way. However, it can be costly, 4 Energy cards and you have to discard 2 Psychic Energy every time you activate it. This is why you need a1-132-gardevoir in the list, giving you an additional Psychic Energy on a1-129-mewtwoex with its Psy Shadow ability.
Many lists are adding the normal a1-128-mewtwo, it has less heal than the ex version and deals 120 damage with Power Blast, but when knocked out, it'll only give 1 Match Point to the opponent.
Two a1-129-mewtwoex players that made it to the top 4 are cutting out the normal a1-128-mewtwo for a1-127-jynx. a1-127-jynx can punish Pokemon with high-cost attacls. dealing an extra 20 damage for each Energy attached to your opponent's Active Pokemon.
Pocket Legends League Second Place
The a1-41-arcanineex that made second place in Pocket Legends Leader! This list uses a1-47-moltresex early in the game to attach Energy to a1-41-arcanineex with Inferno Dance.
a1-41-arcanineex only needs 3 Energy to start its attacks, dealing 120 damage, but also damaging itself by 20. So it's a double-edged sword, but place at a faster pace than the Charizard deck.
This list is running a1-210-aerodactyl, which can place the opponent's Active Pokemon back into their deck with Primal Wingbeat. It's a 50/50 shot at removing that Pokemon, and you won't get a match point, but you'll be slowing down the opponent's strategy. They'll have to set up another win condition in play and attach Energy to it, which can put them behind in the game.
Ursiiday's Pocket Fourth Place
The a1-36-charizardex deck heavily relies on a1-47-moltresex's Inferno Dance to accelerate its game plan. You usually want to have 5 Energy on a1-36-charizardex before it starts going for Crimson Storm. Crimson Storm will discard 2 Fire Energy, which means if you're at 4 Energy on a1-36-charizardex, you won't be able to activate it on the upcoming turn.
The 200 damage on Crismon Storm will knock out anything in its path, acting as an insane damage dealer, especially if the right target is in the Active spot.
Pocket Legends League Fourth Place
The a1-100-electrode is the second choice players go to when choosing their a1-96-pikachuex. You will need 2 Lightning Energy cards to attack with Electro Ball and start pushing 70 damage. But on the bright side, it doesn't have a Retreat cost, so even if you have it in the Active spot with no Energy cards, you can easily retreat it to the Bench for one of your attackers to carry the game.
Underdog Inclusions
5th Place Pocket Legends League Arbok Weezing
a1-165-arbok a1-177-weezing is a budget choice in these tournaments; even though it's not as popular as the top choices, it can go far in these tournaments! a1-165-arbok a1-177-weezing ended up in 5th place in the Pocket Legends League tournament.
a1-177-weezing is a bulky Pokemon, slowly damaging the opponent's Active Pokemon with Gas Leak and Tackle. You can also put it back in your hand with a1-222-koga, denying opponents an easy knock out on a damaged a1-177-weezing.
a1-165-arbok deals more immediate damage with Corner's 60 damage. However, its main strength is its ability to prevent opponents from retreating their Pokemon. This synergizes with a1-225-sabrina, forcing opponents to move a less threatening Pokemon to the Active spot, buying you more time and getting Match Points on easier targets.
12th Place Ursiiday's Pocket Rapidash Ninetails
The a1-43-rapidash a1-38-ninetales is one of the best choices for f2p players. This deck plays aggressively, using a1-221-blaine to deal extra damage with your a1-43-rapidash or a1-38-ninetales. a1-38-ninetales acts as the main threat, dealing 90 damage with Flamethrower. However, you have to keep giving it Fire Energy since Flamethrower discards 1 Fire Energy every time you activate it.
This list made 12th place in Ursiiday's Pocket tournament with 1101 players.
14th Place Pocket Legends League Marowak ex Machamp ex
The fighting deck made it to 14th place in the Pocket Legends League! a1-153-marowakex a1-146-machampex can deal some real damage but will need a couple of turns to set up.
a1-153-marowakex is the first to start dealing damage as you work on evolving Stage 2 Pokemon a1-146-machampex. a1-153-marowakex's Bonemerang can deal up to 160 damage if you're lucky enough, potentially knocking out high-health Pokemon. This can be a game-swinger on its own, but you might end with an unlucky attack, dealing 0 damage and putting you behind
a1-146-machampex is a tanky Pokemon going for those 120-damage Mega Punch attacks to carry the late-game.
19th Place Pikaverse Pocket Starmie ex Articuno
The a1-76-starmieex was one of the top choices among players, but it continues to fall in popularity. However, we still see a couple of players go far in these tournaments with a1-76-starmieex, despite it struggling to beat the Lightning-type decks.
This deck plays aggressively, thanks to a1-220-misty accelerating your Energy attachment, allowing you to attack with a1-76-starmieex and a1-84-articunoex on earlier turns. In some games, your opponent won't even have the time to set up their strategy as you start knocking out their Pokemon, bringing you close to closing out the game.
Closing Words
Pikachu ex decks are dominating the tournament scene with only Mewtwo Gardevoir capable of rivaling them in performance. However, we still see players bringing off-meta choices and going far in these tournaments. The a1-41-arcanineex deck is a great example, fighting off the popular meta picks and making it to second place!
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