Pokémon Pocket: Deck Guide - Dragonite ex, the One Punch Dragon!

Today, let's explore a deck that is definitely not the best in the meta but is certainly one of the most fun and interesting in the entire game: Dragonite ex.

This list is really similar to Buzzswole ex archetypes but is a bit slower. Dragonite ex's attack Knocks Out all Pokémon in the meta, though, so it makes up for being so slow.

Let's see how it works.

Dragonite ex: Main Strategy and Pros

Dragonite ex has one of the strongest attacks in the game, but it comes at a very high cost: after you use it, this Pokémon can't attack on the following turn.

If you've ever played Buzzswole ex, then you already know how this type of effect works and that there are ways to go around it. For instance, if you retreat the Pokémon that can't attack and put it in your active spot on the same turn, you'll cancel it out.

That's how it will be able to attack on the following turn, even after using this type of attack.

Lyra is the trainer who enables this combo. She lets you retreat a damaged Pokémon from the active spot for free, so you should use her to retreat Dragonite ex. As you can retreat most of the Pokémon in this list for 1 or 0 mana, you won't have any issue putting Dragonite ex back into the active spot on the same turn.

To make this combo even easier to execute, this list plays lots of card draw, as well as 2 Sylveon ex and Pichu as the main way to set up.

If you can't find Dragonite ex, you can just use Dragonite A1-185, from the first set ever released in Pokémon Pocket, as an alternative win condition.

If you do manage to play the combo, though, you'll 100% Knock Out two Pokémon in a row, which, with so many Pokémon ex in the meta nowadays, means winning the game most of the time.

Cons

Because this list centers around Stage 2 Pokémon, you may brick a bit and, in some matches, end up not finding Dragonite ex.

You'll also be a bit vulnerable to Sabrina and Cyrus, which are the most powerful cards in the meta right now. This is one of the main reasons why this list isn't sitting at the top of the meta.

Furthermore, this deck is a bit conditional. To win, you'll have to do two things: first, you'll need to attach Electric and Water energies to your Dragonite ex, and second, you'll need to play Lyra with a Pokémon you can retreat for just a few energies, like Pichu.

If you can't do these two things, you'll probably lose, no matter what happens.

If you don't really enjoy all the RNG surrounding Dragonite A1-185, you can swap it for any Dragonair you want. This will make this list more consistent, as you'll be able to evolve Dragonite ex more often.

Please note you must use Electric and Water energies in this strategy.

If you can't draw any Pokémon, you might benefit from attaching one energy to Eevee A4-134. All you need to do to draw a random Pokémon is attack with it, so don't worry about delaying your setup.

Don't leave Dratini in your active spot, as Dragonite ex and Dragonite A1-185 are your only win conditions. You can't really attack with Sylveon ex, either.

Try to attach energies to all your Pokémon so you can play your combo more easily and not rely so much on Pichu. This may seem a bit complex early on because it will actually delay your setup, but whenever you notice you have time to attach energies to your Benched Pokémon, do it.

Lyra only works if your active Pokémon is damaged. This is good and bad at the same time. If your opponent knows you're playing her, they might avoid dealing damage to your Pokémon on purpose and focus on setting up instead. However, as this deck isn't that popular, this will rarely happen. Lyra will simply give you a card back for free.

Silver is one of the strongest trainers in terms of setting up, as he can delay a Sabrina or Cyrus. He could give you a win because of this.

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

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!