In the two weeks since its release, Pokémon TCG Pocket has already sucked in over 30 million players, causing many to obsess over digital goods to a somewhat concerning degree. While many are purely interested in the card collection aspect of this experience, if you’ve decided to hop online and test your mettle, there’s a high chance you’ve run into some surprisingly formidable decks, like those helmed by a particularly demonic electric rodent.
The good news is that it’s quite possible to build a formidable deck while being entirely free-to-play if you focus your in-game resources on specific cards. With all that said, let’s get into some basic deckbuilding tips alongside what the best cards in the game are and what they pair well with. These selections are largely based on recent tournament results, where two decks have been dominating with a splash of special guests.
Deckbuilding Tips and Cheap Staple Cards That Belong In Most Decks
Most of the time, it’s a good idea for your deck to consist of roughly 10 to 12 Trainer cards (these are Items or Support cards that are basically anything besides a Pokémon and are usually single-use) alongside eight to 10 Pokémon. Of course, this differs drastically depending on what you’re trying to do, like with a particular novelty deck that runs 18 Trainers alongside only two ‘mons, but generally speaking, this is the ratio you want to aim for. Basically, since you can only have a maximum of four Pokémon on the field at once, and because having too many critters in your deck makes it hard to draw what you want with Poké Ball, you’re better off using deck slots on cards that can bolster what you already have on the field.
Of those Trainer cards, there are roughly four Item/Supporter cards that fit exceptionally well in almost every deck, and the good news is that they can all be acquired either through the tutorial or for cheap with in-game currency. Usually, you want to run two of each, which means these account for eight out of the 20 cards in your deck. These cards are Professor’s Research, Poké Ball, Potion, and X Speed.
Professor’s Research and Poké Ball are good because they let you draw cards. Specifically, Poké Ball has you draw a Basic Pokémon from your deck, while Professor’s Research enables you to draw two cards. Drawing cards is a powerful tool in most TCGs, and that’s true here as well.
Potion is an Item that heals for 20 HP. Generally speaking, you only want to use these when the 20 HP gained will allow you to tank an additional hit. In other words, if your Pokémon has 10 HP and your opponent’s Pokémon will deal 70 damage with their next attack, there usually isn’t a point in healing with a Potion at that time because your guy will get knocked out regardless.
As for X Speed, it reduces the retreat cost by one, which can help you save Energy when you need to maneuver. Sometimes, depending on the deck, you’ll only run one Potion or X Speed, but most of the time, you’ll be running the maximum number of two of each.
Best Supporters
You can only use one Supporter per turn, but many of these cards have powerful effects that can change the flow of a match. Some only pair well with specific Pokémon or Pokémon of certain types, while others are universally strong and belong in most decks.
Honorable Mentions: Koga, Blaine, Lt. Surge
Misty is positively busted and dramatically bolsters any Water deck she’s in. When you play her, you pick a Water-type Pokémon and continue to flip coins until you get tails. For every heads, you give the Pokémon you chose a Water Energy. While half the time the card does nothing, occasionally you end up in situations where Misty goes ballistic and generates enough Energy on turn one or two for strong Pokémon like Articuno ex or Starmie ex to dish out attacks that will one-shot most early game Pokémon, which can basically win you the game outright.
Sabrina is an easy inclusion in almost every deck. When played, she forces your opponent to switch out their Active Pokémon to one on their bench. If used at the right time, this can put your opponent into checkmate situations by forcing them to put in a Pokémon you can knock out with your next attack to seal the game. Conversely, if you’re in a bad situation, you can use it to stall by forcing an opponent to switch from a Pokémon that’s ready to attack to one that has less Energy.
Giovanni is another Supporter who belongs in most decks. He lets you do ten additional damage with any attacks that turn. While ten damage doesn’t sound like a lot, it will sometimes be the difference between knocking out a Pokémon outright and requiring another turn to do so, which can make a decisive difference.
Erika is quite strong in Grass decks, as she lets you heal 50 damage to any Grass-type Pokémon. This pairs perfectly with Venasaur ex decks, which already have built-in healing.
Best ex Pokémon
Currently, many of the strongest cards in the game are ex Pokémon, and most meta decks have at least one pair, if not two. However, their main downside is that when they get taken down, your opponent scores two points instead of just one, meaning you need to utilize them carefully.
Honorable Mentions: Articuno ex, Zapdos ex, Venasaur ex, Marowak ex
5. Starmie ex
Booster Pack: Charizard
Why They’re Good: Speed is the name of the game when it comes to many of the best cards in TCG Pocket, and Starmie ex is a perfect example of how potent a fast start can be. Their Hydro Splash deals 90 damage for just two Energy, which lets you one hit KO many early game Pokémon. Basically, if you’re ever able to evolve your Staryu into Starmie ex at the beginning of the game, it can be tough for your opponent to respond. While they don’t have the most health for an ex, they can at least survive one hit from Pikachu ex, which is the main concern. On top of this, they have a retreat cost of 0, which makes them an exceedingly versatile threat. Unfortunately, they have two downsides. The first is that while they’re very strong in the early game, you need to evolve a Staryu to get them out, which sometimes won’t happen until later when your opponent is already powered up, at which point Starmie’s 90 damage pales in comparison to some of the late game heavy hitters. The second problem, and the reason Starmie ex decks don’t do great in tournaments, is that they have an unfavorable matchup against Pikachu ex due to that deck’s slightly superior reliability and Starmie’s type disadvantage against Electric Pokémon.
Who To Pair Them With: Starmie ex is close friends with Articuno ex, another great card that takes a little longer to ramp up but that can hit opponents on the bench with their three Energy attack Blizzard. While Starmie’s 90 damage is quite good for two Energy, it won’t one-shot bulkier foes, which means your opponents will be retreating quite often, and Articuno ex’s capability to KO foes even after they’ve switched out is a great counterplay to this. Greninja is another useful partner for Starmie ex for similar reasons, as their main Ability lets them do 20 damage to any bench Pokémon even if Greninja is not currently Active. Lastly, if you’re running any kind of Water deck, you ideally want two copies of Misty, whose ability to generate Energy can win you the game outright.
4. Moltres ex
Booster Pack: Charizard
Why They’re Good: Pokémon TCG Pocket is a card game that gives you a set amount of Energy each turn, theoretically leveling the playing field between you and your opponent. Because of this, any cards that let you get ahead of your opponent on Energy are usually quite powerful. A perfect example is Moltres ex’s Inferno Dance attack. When used, you flip three coins and for each heads you can place a Fire Energy on any bench Fire-type Pokémon. Basically, Moltres ex allows you to quickly power up allies, which is particularly important for many Fire cards that need a lot of Energy to perform their devastating attacks. Add in its solid 140 HP and the fact that it’s a Basic Pokémon that doesn’t need to be evolved, and you have a near-perfect setup Pokémon for Fire types.
Who To Pair Them With: Charizard ex is the obvious partner for Moltres ex due to their absolutely crushing Crimson Dive attack, which deals a whopping 200 damage, the most in the game, but requires four Energy. Moltres ex also goes well with charging up Arcanine ex, which is usually used to counter Pikachu ex because their attack can one-shot that Pokémon for three Energy. Overall, Moltres ex’s Inferno Dance is so useful it will likely be a staple of Fire decks going forward.
3. Charizard ex
Booster Pack: Charizard
Why They’re Good: Speaking of big Fire-type bruisers that want Energy, Charizard ex is an absolute monster when fully charged, dealing a whopping 200 damage with Crimson Storm, which will one-shot every Pokémon in the game at the moment. Of course, this attack takes four Energy and requires you to discard two Energy each time you use it, meaning you almost certainly want to be playing it with Moltres ex, who can fuel these big blows. The other issue besides the potentially long setup time is that Charizard ex needs to be evolved twice, which can be unreliable. With all that said, if you manage to stock up for Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm attack, this will frequently end the game. They also have an extremely bulky 180HP, which helps them stay alive until they can start sweeping.
Who To Pair Them With: You virtually always want to be running Charizard ex with Moltres ex so you can afford Crimson Storm. Beyond this, people sometimes run Charizard ex with Ponyta/Rapidash because these can help deal damage in the early game if you don’t pull Moltres ex.
2. Mewtwo ex
Booster Pack: Mewtwo
Why They’re Good: Mewtwo ex may be the most complained about card in the game at the moment, which probably comes from them being both very strong and very popular. They’re difficult to deal with for a few reasons. For one, they don’t need to be evolved, which makes it reliable to get them on the field. On top of this, they’re relatively tanky, thanks to their 150 HP. That said, the main event is their Psydrive attack, which deals 150 damage for four Energy, which one-shots most Pokémon in the game. The downside is that, like Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm, you need to discard two Energy each time you use it. However, what makes Mewtwo ex decks so strong is that they benefit immensely from Gardevoir, who can provide enough Energy to Psydrive every turn once it’s set up, which is very difficult to stop once it’s going.
Who To Pair Them With: To feed Mewtwo’s greedy Psydrive, you want Gardevoir on the bench because their Ability lets them give Psychic Energy to the Active Pokémon once a turn. Basically, Gardevoir sits on the sidelines generating Energy for an Active Mewtwo ex, which both allows them to use Psydrive sooner and then also makes it so they can use it every turn after the fact. Beyond this, sometimes people will pair the Mewtwo ex deck with a single non-ex Mewtwo to tank some damage. Another potential partner is Jinx, who deals more damage based on how much Energy an opponent has, which is good against Charizard or Mewtwo ex decks.
1. Pikachu ex
Booster Pack: Pikachu
Why They’re Good: This infernal rat is the undisputed king of the current meta. While most people are complaining about Mewtwo ex because of its ubiquity, Pikachu ex has been absolutely dominating in tournaments, consistently wracking up wins and Top 8 appearances even at events where Mewtwo ex had more total entrants. To be specific, Pikachu ex won over half of the major tournaments in the last week, even though only 30% of entrants were playing the deck. The basic reason Pikachu ex is so strong is consistency: for a measly two Energy, they can fairly reliably dish out 90 damage. Circle Circuit deals 30 damage for each Benched Electric-type Pokémon, and while you may think this could be hard to get this going, a Reddit user ran a simulation of 100,000 matches and found that if you have enough Basic Pokémon in your deck, you will be able to hit for 90 damage the first turn possible the majority of the time. It is extremely difficult to succeed with your opponent dealing 90 damage reliably on turn two or three unless you’re playing a deck that’s similarly fast, and unfortunately Starmie ex, the second-best speedy deck, fairs badly against Electric attacks. Basically, while Pikachu ex doesn’t have a ton of health and doesn’t do as much damage as many of the best ex cards, their combination of reliability and speed allows them to get to their win condition quite effectively. I simply do not like playing against this high-voltage rodent!
Who To Pair Them With: The main rule when it comes to Pikachu ex decks is that you almost always want all your other Pokémon to be electric type (although some run Eve/Jolteon), but beyond that, there are a lot of Electric cards it can be played with. Zapdos ex is almost always paired with Pikachu ex because they offer an alternative win condition with their risky Thundering Hurricane attack, which for three Energy deals 50 damage for each heads from four coin flips. Alternatively, there’s a long list of other allies: some run Lt. Surge paired with a regular Pikachu/Raichu and Megnemite/Magneton because Lt. Surge lets you move Energy on the bench to Raichu in the Active spot, which can smoke opposing Pikachu exs. Others go for more simplified approaches with either Voltorb/Electrode due to their solid two Energy for 70 damage or Blitzzle/Zebistrika because the latter can snipe Pokémon on the bench. The most important decision with Pikachu ex decks is how many Basics you want to run. Having more makes it tougher to draw Pikachu ex but increases the chance they can perform a 90-damage Circuit Strike right away. Having fewer means you can draw Pikachu ex more consistently but may not be able to get as much damage out of their Circle Circuit.
Best Non-Ex Pokémon
While many of the best non-ex Pokémon were highlighted in the “Who To Pair With” sections, there are a few other one-offs that go well in many decks. Specifically, there are a few flexible Normal types that can go in many setups because they don’t require a specific type of Energy. For instance, Meowth is great for any deck that needs to sift through your deck because their basic attack lets you draw a card. Kangaskhan is very tanky for a Basic, non-ex Pokémon, with 100 HP. While their main attack is unpredictable because you flip two coins and get 30 damage for each heads, it deals an average of 30 damage for one Energy, which is quite solid. Their main drawback is they have a high retreat cost, so you usually keep them in the field until they get KO’ed or use X Speed to trade them out. Farfetch’d is another great Normal type because their main attack deals 40 damage for only one Energy, and you don’t have to evolve them. While they’re a glass cannon at only 60 HP, they can dish out some damage in the early game.
Beyond these, there are some solid decks that don’t rely on any ex Pokémon at all. While some of these are tailored to counter specific decks in tournament play, like Pikachu ex or Mewtwo ex, instead of squaring off against a slightly wider range of foes online, they are still worth highlighting because, if nothing else, they are quite cool.
One example is a deck centered around Weezing, Arbok, Koga, and sometimes Muk. Weezing has an Ability that lets them poison an opposing Active Pokémon, Arbok has an attack that prevents an opposing Pokémon from retreating, and Muk has an attack that deals 70 damage plus an additional 50 if the opponent is poisoned. Meanwhile, Koga lets you grab a Muk or Weezing from the Active spot and put them in your hand, allowing you to switch out these high retreat cost Pokémon at will. This deck is centered around trapping poisoned or weakened opponents with Arbok before finishing them outright or swapping in Muk for big damage. Dark is strong against Psychic, so this can work against Mewtwo ex, and Arbok is great for trapping Pikachu ex and two-shotting them. Even outside of being used with Koga, Weezing is frequently utilized in non-Darkness decks to stall until you can beef up your other Pokémon because they have good HP and an Ability that poisons opponents without needing any Energy.
Blaine decks can also be cheap to build and are quite satisfying. They’re ultra-quick and centered around using Ponyta/Rapidash and Vulplix/Ninetales combined with Blaine’s Supporter ability that lets him beef up Rapidash or Ninetales’ damage by 30 for a turn. This makes it so that Rapidash can deal 70 damage for one Energy, and Ninetales can do 120 damage for two, which kills Pikachu ex in one hit. Of course, the downside is that both Rapidash and Ninetales have low health, and if your opponent weathers your initial storm, you’re kind of done for. But it’s a fast and fun deck that will grant unearthly pleasure as you bait a Pikachu ex into KOing your Rapidash, only to then swap into Ninetails and nuke them in one blow.
Then there’s Aerodactyl, who sets up the funniest win conditions in the game. For two Energy, their attack Primal Wingbeat has you flip a coin. If it’s heads, your opponent shuffles their Active Pokémon back into their deck. This is obviously great for getting rid of a charged-up foe that’s about to demolish you, but it also means that if you manage to hit a few heads in a row, you can actually entirely clear your opponent’s playfield and win the game without knocking out a single foe. If a player doesn’t have any Pokémon to switch in from their bench, they lose outright, allowing Aerodactyl to eke out some odd wins.
Lastly, Alakazam is an interesting card because their Psychic attack deals 60 damage plus 30 more for every Energy on the opposing Active Pokémon. Basically, this lets you blow up Mewtwo ex, Charizard ex, or any other Pokémon that wants to stack Energy to perform big attacks.
Closing Thoughts
To summarize, here are a few maxims for deckbuilding: there are a few Item/Supporters cards you basically always want in your deck (Poke Ball, Professor’s Research, Potions, X Speed), some Supporters you usually want to include (Sabrina, Giovanni), and Supporters that are more situational but are incredible in certain decks (Misty, Erika, Blaine, Koga). Additionally, ex cards, like Pikachu ex, Mewtwo ex, Charizard ex/Moltres ex, Starmie ex/Articuno ex, Venasaur ex, and Marowak ex, are the lynchpin for many of the most powerful decks in the game.
With all this said, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. For starters, if none of these meta decks seem fun to you, then you shouldn’t play them! There isn’t a ranked mode yet, and while there are online events that give rewards for racking up wins, the threshold to acquire these seems pretty low so far—for example, you don’t need to get a single win to get the best rewards in the current ongoing event, you just need to participate in 10 matches. On top of this, one of the joys of TCGs is crafting your own deck, so don’t be afraid to do that. Honestly, the most fun I’ve had with the game was when I had to craft homebrew decks to overcome single-player challenges that introduced restrictions that forbade meta loadouts.
Admittedly, Pokémon TCG Pocket isn’t the best game for creative deckbuilding at the moment due to the presence of so many meta-defining cards that seem designed to pair perfectly with specific combinations (i.e., Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir or Moltres ex and Charizard ex), alongside the fact that there are eight or so cards that basically every deck should include. But even still, there is still some room for experimentation.
If you do decide to go the meta route, keep in mind that it’s exceedingly possible to build at least one strong deck before you run out of the initial burst of free resources from completing introductory missions and the single-player objectives. If you focus on the specific booster packs with the cards you want, utilize Wonder Picks effectively, and spend your Bonus Points wisely, you will almost certainly be able to make at least one formidable deck early.
And even if you started pulling from a bunch of different packs before you knew how everything worked or don’t want to play in such a precise way, honestly, that’s fine too, because you’ll be able to get the cards you need through the two free booster packs a day with time. Not to be preachy, but the most important thing is to avoid the psychological trap they’ve set where, after running out of initial resources, you feel compelled to spend money on the game. If you’re someone who tends to spend compulsively, it may be a good idea to avoid this one altogether because, like any game in this style, it’s trying to swindle a handful of people into spending big. And looking at the rates, doing things this way is exorbitantly expensive and not at all worthwhile.
In short, don’t let the Pikachu or Mewtwo exs of the world force you into decisions you may regret: if you’re not having fun with online play, stock up some cards and come back later. Or, honestly, maybe just play something else that’s a little more balanced or that doesn’t want to psychologically manipulate you into spending money.
Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11 and on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.