Pokémon Pocket - 5 Budget Decks With No Pokémon ex!

In this article, we'll show you 5 decks for Pokémon Pocket that don't use Pokémon ex!

They can be considered "budget" lists because they only include common cards that are easier to get. But don't be mistaken: they might use more common cards than other meta lists, but they're strong and can compete, to a certain point, with the best decks in the meta.

I highly recommend these lists if you are a beginner and don't have many resources to build the lists with the most expensive cards and Pokémon ex.

The cards in the images below are organized by packs. Above them, you'll find "Charizard", "Pikachu", "Mewtwo", Promo-A, and "Genetic Apex", which are the names of the packs they come in. After "Genetic Apex", you'll find the cards that come in every booster, and cards after Promo-A can be found at the shop or event tabs in the game.

Mankey Promo - 017 is one of the most recent cards to be released in the game, and seems terrible at first because it deals damage to itself with its attack.

However, because its evolution, Primeape, deals an extra 60 damage with its attack if it is damaged, Mankey Promo - 017 has quickly become incredibly strong in the meta.

These Pokémon also don't need many energies to attack, so they're extremely fast and can punish your opponent's basic Pokémon quite a lot. You'll be able to deal 100 damage to them with Primeape very early on.

This deck also includes Diglet and Dugtrio, which are fast and absorb a lot of damage throughout the game. They buy you some time until you can draw the cards you need.

Use Hitmonchan to knock out any Pokémon your opponent retreated to their bench to save them from Primeape's attacks.

This is one of the easiest lists to build, considering you can find all of these cards in Mewtwo's boosters, and Arbok and Evans come in every booster available in the game.

The main idea behind this deck is to Poison your opponent's Pokémon with Weezing and then lock them on the board with Arbok, as its attack doesn't let enemy Pokémon retreat. This means your opponent won't be able to heal their Pokémon from your Poison.

Use Weezing as your active Pokémon and absorb as much damage as you can with it until you can attach 2 energies to Arbok. Then, if possible, use Koga to return your Weezing to your hand, and put Arbok in the active spot.

You'll buy a lot of time this way, as your opponent won't be able to retreat their Pokémon after you use Arbok's attack. Like so, you should have enough time to set up your Muk, which will be your finisher if all else fails.

This is one of the slowest and hardest lists to pilot in the entire game, but it is cheap and extremely fun.

It is difficult to master because you'll have to work with 3 different energies, so, once in a while, you won't be able to get the energy you want, and this will force you to think outside the box.

Weezing is one of the best "stall" cards in the game because it has a lot of HP and can Poison enemy Pokémon - which will force them to retreat.

As for Dragonite, it is your main finisher. Its attack deals 50 damage randomly to 4 Pokémon, so it can deal up to 200 damage in total, as well as deal damage to a Pokémon more than once. It is extremely strong when it hits the right targets, but can be a bit frustrating when it misses them.

In any case, with Dragonite, you can "snipe" Pokémon on your opponent's bench, or simply obliterate, with just one attack, a single Pokémon ex that has a lot of HP.

The only problem is that you'll need a lot of time to set up your Dragonite. First, you'll have to evolve it twice and then attach 4 energies to it - on top of it all, you'll need an Electric and a Water energy.

You can build a budget version of the best deck in the format if you use regular Mewtwo instead of Mewtwo ex.

The difference is that you'll need more than just 2 energies to use its attacks; you'll need 4 energies to use its main attack, and it will deal 30 damage less than Mewtwo ex. It also has 30 HP less than Mewtwo ex.

However, if your opponent removes it, they won't get 2 points.

This deck uses the same setup as the ex version: you'll play a "tank" Pokémon, like Kangaskhan, on your active spot, and then evolve your benched Gardevoir. Eventually, you'll have attached enough energies to your Mewtwo and be able to knock out most basic Pokémon in the game with a single blow. With two attacks, you'll be able to knock out any Pokémon in the game.

It is quite simple to understand and play, and is a great option if you enjoy Mewtwo but don't have two Mewtwo ex yet.

You can also play this deck with one regular Mewtwo and one Mewtwo ex.

Lt. Surge is a great budget option if you have only opened Pikachu boosters so far, as nearly all cards in this deck come in this booster.

The main idea is to use Electrode as a tank early on, and eventually retreat it to put Raichu in the active spot.

Meanwhile, you must evolve your Magnemite into Magneton and use its ability to attach energies to it.

Once Raichu is in your active spot, use Lt. Surge to move all the energies on your bench to Raichu. Then, you'll be able to attack and deal 140 damage to an enemy Pokémon, which is enough to knock out most basic Pokémon in the meta.

Retreat your Raichu, stack energies again, and play the combo again to win the game.

In the image above, we included Pikachu Promo - 015, but you can use any Pikachu you have.

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!