Pokémon Pocket: Improve your Deckbuilding + Best Decks!

Are you having trouble building decks in Pokémon Pocket? Don't worry! Today, we prepared a guide for you so you can learn everything you need to know about deckbuilding in this game.

I, "Total", have been playing Pokémon Pocket since it was released. I'll do my best to teach you and all other beginners how to improve your decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

Decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket only have 20 cards, so they're quite consistent. However, as some cards in this game are different from their regular TCG version (like Professor Oak), the game, in itself, is quite different. For instance, you won't draw cards as often and "explosively" in this game as you do in the regular physical version.

So, you must add more consistency to your deck by using less Pokémon.

If you're used to regular Pokémon TCG, you know that typically decks include 6 to 8 different Pokémon (counting evolution Pokémon). In Pokémon Pocket, we use 2 to 3 different Pokémon, or 4, at most.

Filling your deck with multiple Pokémon is useless, as you won't play half of them during your matches and won't even have space on your board to put them in play. Matches, in general, are quite fast, and playing more than 4 Pokémon (counting evolution Pokémon) can be quite harmful for your strategy.

Please note: In Pokémon Pocket, you'll always draw at least 1 basic Pokémon at the beginning of the game.

"Staple" is how we call cards that are so strong they must be included in all decks. These cards must be in your deck, regardless of which strategy you're playing.

They are:

So, when you start building your deck, start with them. Put two copies of each in it, and then fill the rest with your Pokémon or something that supports your strategy.

In Pokémon Pocket, you can attach one energy to your Pokémon per turn. How many energies your Pokémon needs to use an attack defines how fast your deck is.

If your Pokémon only needs 1 energy to attack, it is a fast Pokémon. Fast Pokémon attack with only 1 to 2 energies: they don't need a "set up" and are self-sufficient. They're usually great to dominate the game early on, but don't have a lot of HP and don't deal a lot of damage.

If your Pokémon needs 3 energies to attack, it is an average Pokémon in terms of speed. They are common and work with a very standard turn progression. Pokémon that evolve 3 times usually need 3 energies to attack, as you'll need 3 turns to set up their attack and evolve them anyway.

If your Pokémon needs 4 or more energies to attack, it is a slow Pokémon. These Pokémon have, in general, the strongest attacks, and win the game on the spot if you manage to use them. So, they need a specific, and usually slow, "setup" to work. They also typically have a lot of HP and deal a lot of damage - often enough to knock out an enemy Pokémon with a single blow.

Cards That Don't Follow the Energy Rule Are Meta

There are a few cards that go around the energy rule (which states you can only attach 1 energy to your Pokémon per turn) and let you attach more energies to your Pokémon besides the one energy you get each turn.

Here are a few of them:

You'll see them a lot as you play.

Let's see which are the best Pokémon nowadays so you can understand the metagame a bit better.

Mewtwo ex & Gardevoir

Gardevoir is one of the cards that go around the energy rule. Its ability lets you attach one energy to your active Pokémon, and this is great with Mewtwo ex.

Mewtwo ex forces you to discard 2 energies from it whenever you use its attack, Psydrive, to deal 150 damage. However, with Gardevoir in play, you can use this attack every turn because you can attach 2 energies to your Pokémon each turn by using its ability.

Charizard ex & Moltres ex

Charizard ex works almost the exactly like Mewtwo ex: you'll play one Pokémon to attach energies to your main Pokémon, and then attack your opponent with everything you have. You'll also have to discard energies from your main Pokémon as you attack.

The difference is that this deck is much slower than Mewtwo ex because Moltres ex needs to be your active Pokémon if you want to attach energies to Charizard ex. Furthermore, Charizard ex needs to evolve 2 times.

The good thing is that its attack, Crimson Storm, is currently the only attack that knocks out any Pokémon in the game at once. Charizard ex also has a lot of HP - way more than other Pokémon.

Pikachu ex

This is one of the most popular lists in the game, as well as one of the strongest.

Pikachu ex is a basic Pokémon that only needs two energies to attack and can deal up to 90 damage to enemy Pokémon, so it's a fast Pokémon.

However, this deck needs a relatively slow "setup". To deal 90 damage with Pikachu ex's ability, you'll need to play 3 Electric Pokémon on your bench. You may not be able to do this consistently because you'll need to include at least 3 basic Pokémon in your deck.

This deck uses the 3 best Electric Pokémon in the game: Electrode's retreat cost is zero, so you should use it as a tank. Use it to absorb enemy damage until you set up Pikachu ex or Zapdos ex on your board.

Zapdos ex is one of the strongest Pokémon in the first few turns. It doesn't deal a lot of damage, but it dominates the game early on because it has a lot of HP and stops slower strategies from using basic Pokémon as their active Pokémon. It will always deal damage to enemy Pokémon.

As for Pikachu ex, it is this list's main finisher, as well as one of the best Pokémon in the game in terms of HP and damage. It is only behind Starmie ex in that sense.

Starmie Ex

This list is only the second-best list in the game right now because it is weak against Electric Pokémon, which are more popular nowadays.

It is extremely simple and fast. "Starmie ex" is the best card in the game in terms of HP and damage, as it has 130 HP and its attack deals 90 damage.

It is a great list to control slower strategies because "Starmie ex" knocks out most basic Pokémon in the game with a single blow.

This Pokémon also has enough HP to handle most Pokémon in the meta, so you'll always be ahead of your opponents when you play it.

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!