Pokémon Pocket: Deck Guide - Hitmonchan ex, Straight Up Beatdown!

Today, we'll show you how to play Hitmonchan ex/Rampardos, a tier-B list that has become a great answer to slow lists.

It deals a lot of damage early on and is very explosive in the late game, so it is great in nearly all moments of the match. Let's see how it works.

This list is the next step for the old Rampardos archetype. It essentially plays better cards in the early game.

One of these is Hitmonchan ex, an extremely simple Pokémon that deals a fair amount of damage and has a lot of HP. It is a great aggressive frontline option.

This updated version plays cards that deal with Magikarp and other fragile Pokémon that stay on the enemy bench. It also plays cards that prevent the opponent from progressing their game plan on the first few turns.

All of this makes this archetype a lot more diverse, as before it only played damage-based Pokémon. Now that it plays recursive Pokémon, you'll be ready to face a few difficult matchups.

The main idea behind this list is to deal damage to the opponent early on and keep pressuring them until turn 3 or so with Hitmonchan ex. Meanwhile, you'll set up Rampardos and get it ready to go into play when Hitmonchan ex is about to be knocked out or already has.

This game style is quite strong against decks that play low-HP Pokémon in the active spot early on, as most decks in the meta do.

Use Chingling to delay your opponent on the first turn and Hitmonlee to snipe basic Pokémon on their bench.

Always try to do as much as you can during your turn to make your Copycat more effective, and finish them with Sabrina or Cyrus.

This is definitely a tier-B list because it plays stage 2 Pokémon, so it also plays Rare Candy, and a "fossil" Pokémon.

Skull Fossil, the card that evolves into Rampardos, has 40 HP and is vulnerable to any Pokémon in the meta nowadays, as well as sniper effects.

Without Rampardos, this deck doesn't deal enough damage to knock out enemy late-game Pokémon.

Another weakness is that Rampardos actually deals damage to itself when it knocks out an enemy Pokémon. So, you need to master when to use it and get the timing just right to make sure it doesn't die.

Lastly, Hitmonchan eX doesn't apply weakness to enemy Pokémon, so it always deals 50 HP. Even if the enemy Pokémon is weak against Fighting Pokémon.

This will be awful in certain matchups, particularly against lists that are weak against Fighting Pokémon, naturally.

Only play Skull Fossil if you already have Rampardos in hand and can evolve it on the following turn. Rampardos only needs one energy to attack, so you won't lose any time if you do this.

Try to play Rocky Helmet on Hitmonchan ex. Eventually, the 50 damage it deals won't be enough to put pressure on the opponent, but, with Rocky Helmet, you'll have a better chance to knock out any enemy Pokémon.

Try to do as many actions as you can every turn to make your Copycat efficient.

Your opponent will probably do the same and play as many cards as possible. So, every once in a while, you can use Red Card to fill their hand instead of emptying it.

This list, in particular, only uses one Hitmonlee and Chingling. Depending on what you prefer, you may play two copies of one or the other, but never both together.

If you don't have any Pokémon to attach energies to, try to attach them to Hitmonchan ex. Don't attach any at all if you're facing an opponent that deals more damage according to how many energies your Pokémon have.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun and enjoyed reading this article.

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See you next time!