Pokémon TCG Pocket has taken the mobile gaming world by storm. However, as more players get diminishing returns on their daily packs, their focus has turned to the game’s online battles. It might seem like there are endless deck-building opportunities, as the game has over 200 unique cards in the Genetic Apex season. The list of useful cards becomes smaller if you want to rack up victories.
We scoured the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta to find the best decks in the game. There’s plenty of variety here, so you don’t have to stick with the same deck for every Versus battle. Sit back, load up Pokémon TCG Pocket on a big screen perfect for gaming, and get ready to win some battles.
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4 Venusaur ex
Key Cards: Venusar ex, Lilligant, Erika
Venusar ex has the highest health of any Genetic Apex card, giving it fantastic staying power from the start. On top of this, you can heal 100 damage a turn from the Pokémon using its Giant Bloom attack (healing 30 damage), Erika (healing 50 damage), and a Potion (healing 20 damage). Unless your opponent has a Charizard ex, they need multiple turns to knock out your Venusar ex while you deal 100 damage with every attack. Lilligant is crucial here as it can attach an extra energy to Venusar ex and inflict a respectable 50 damage for two energy.
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How to beat: Play high HP non-ex cards
Venusaur ex’s impressive healing is frustrating, but the trade-off is that it does relatively little damage for an ex Pokémon. This means you can soak up the damage with non-ex cards while stacking up energy cards on your heavy hitters. Use Red Cards to disrupt your opponent’s healing strategy.
3 Pikachu ex
Key cards: Pikachu ex, Zapdos ex, Electrode
The Pikachu ex deck is the strongest Genetic Apex deck, at least for the first few turns of a battle. As long as you draw a Pikachu ex card in the first or second turn, you can reliably deal 90 damage in a turn with Pikachu ex’s Circle Circuit attack without relying on coin flips or Supporter cards. Backed up by cheap and powerful Electric-type cards like Zapdos ex and Electrode, this deck packs a devastating punch that can win you games by turn six.
To win with this deck, get Pikachu ex in your Active position as fast as possible using cards like Professor’s Research and Poké Ball. It only needs two energy to attack, so use your subsequent turns to stack up energy on Zapdos ex or another Pikachu ex when your first Pikachu ex inevitably gets knocked out.
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How to beat: Be patient and don’t concede
The biggest drawback to the Pikachu ex deck is that it can’t hold its own after the first few turns. 90 damage is pathetic compared to the attacks dealt by other ex cards, and with only 120 HP, Pikachu ex is relatively easy to knock out. If you constantly lose to a Pikachu ex deck, include a couple of cards like Snorlax or Chansey in your deck to soak up the damage while you stack energy on your heavy hitters.
2 Charizard ex
Key cards: Charizard ex, Moltres, X Speed
The Charizard ex deck is more devastating than the Mewtwo ex deck, but there’s a greater chance of things going wrong. It requires you to evolve a card twice and draw an ex card, and forces you to rely on the luck of coin flips. To win with this deck, you must play Moltres ex as early as possible and use Inferno Dance to help you stack six energy on a benched Charizard ex. When you reach this number, swap in Charizard ex with an X Speed card and start knocking out your opponent’s cards with one attack each (No Pokémon card in the Genetic Apex list has enough HP to survive Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm attack).
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How to beat: Disrupt your opponent early on
Assuming they take the second turn, draw the correct cards, and get perfectly average coin flips, your opponent needs four turns to stack six energy cards on Charizard ex. But that’s with perfect card draws and average coin flips. This calculation doesn’t account for cards like Sabrina or Red Card disrupting your opponent’s plans. Knock Moltres ex back to the bench with Sabrina to waste your opponent’s energy, bringing it back into the fight as, unlike Gardevoir, it’s useless there.
1 Mewtwo ex
Key cards: Mewtwo ex, Gardevoir, Sabrina
You’ll come across this deck if you play Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Versus mode for a few games. It’s a fantastic all-rounder deck that excels in the late game but has enough staying power to make it through the first few turns. It revolves around Gardevoir’s Psy Shadow ability, which lets you attach a single energy to your Active Pokémon on top of the single energy you can attach in a turn. Combined with Mewtwo ex’s Psydrive attack, which deals 150 damage but discards two energy, you can deal astonishing amounts of damage every turn.
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How to beat: Take the early game advantage
The biggest disadvantage of this deck is that it takes time to set up. Your opponent needs to evolve Ralts twice and must draw a Mewtwo ex. Even a single unlucky draw by them can let you take the advantage by chipping away at Mewtwo ex’s health early on. Sabrina is invaluable against this deck, as you can force your opponent to put Gardevoir in the Active position, rendering its ability nearly useless.
Honorable mentions
Misty, Articuno, Starmie ex, Blastoise ex
A deck built with these cards can deal devastating amounts of damage early on, but it relies heavily on luck to reward you with consistent victories. Retreating Starmie ex for free gives you plenty of time to stack up energy on your Blastoise ex without handing your opponent points.
Machamp ex
Machamp ex is a straightforward card with a single three energy, 120 damage attack. However, there are no Fighting-type cards to help you stack energy quickly, so you’ll need to play carefully to avoid losing the advantage early on.
Dragonite, Weezing
Using Weezing to poison your opponent’s Pokémon is hilarious and gives you plenty of time to stack energy cards on your Dragonite. When you’re ready, swap Dragonite in to start dealing colossal amounts of damage to your opponent at random. However, this strategy relies heavily on luck, and the high energy cost of Dragonite’s Draco Meteor attack can leave you in an awkward position if it gets knocked out.
You don’t need to win battles to open packs
These decks are a great way to help you rack up player XP, but outside the limited-time events, there’s not much to be gained from grinding out battles in Pokémon TCG Pocket. Open packs at your leisure, and try out some of our other favorite card games while you wait for your next chance.
