Pokémon TCG Pocket manages to cram all of the excitement of the real Pokemon Trading Card Game onto your smartphone with a fun twist. In particular, TCG Pocket offers an interesting alternative take on the typical Pokemon TCG format, hoping to streamline battles for quick matches. You can only have three Pokemon on the Bench, Prize Cards are gone in favour of points, you get guaranteed Energy every round, and decks are comprised of only 20 cards. There’s a lot of difference but the strategy and skill of the original TCG is still alive, particularly in the new Pikachu EX deck.
Pikachu EX is one of the headlining EX Pokemon for Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first expansion, Genetic Apex, and it’s also one of the most interesting EX cards available. When compared to other EXs, Pikachu EX is weak offensively and defensively. However, despite this, it is still the core of an incredibly strong deck which focuses on speed and efficiency. If you’d like to try your hand at a relatively cheap deck which can dominate the early game, the Pikachu EX deck is for you.
Here’s how to make the best Pikachu EX deck in Pokemon TCG Pokémon.
If you’re interested in the Pokemon TCG and would like to read some other articles on it, you can find our Pokemon TCG guides here on KeenGamer:
- 10 Best and Most Expensive Pokemon Stellar Crown Cards
- 10 Best and Most Expensive Pokemon Twilight Masquerade Cards
- 10 Best and Most Expensive Pokémon 151 Cards | Pokémon TCG
- Pokémon TCG Gardevoir EX Deck Guide | How to Build and Play Gardevoir EX
- Pokémon TCG Miraidon EX Deck Guide | How to Build and Play Miraidon EX
Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokémon TCG Pocket Pikachu EX Deck List
The Pikachu EX deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket is a mono-Lightning deck which takes advantage of Lightning’s many Basic Pokemon, as well as several powerful Trainer and Supporter cards, to super-charge the deck’s namesake, Pikachu EX. Compared to some other decks in TCG Pocket, this deck is relatively easy and cheap to build, with only a few essential cards to keep in mind and a long list of substitute cards.
Firstly, let’s go over the essential cards required for this deck. These are the main core parts of your deck and should always be there no matter what.
- Pikachu EX x2 (Genetic Apex 096)
- Pikachu x2 (Genetic Apex 094)
- Voltorb x2 (Genetic Apex 099)
- Electrode x2 (Genetic Apex 100)
- X Speed x2 (Promo-A 002)
- Poke Ball x2 (Promo-A 005)
- Professor’s Research x2 (Promo-A 007)
Essential Cards
Then, we have the non-essential cards. These are extremely helpful aspects of the deck but are, by and large, additions rather than core aspects of it. If you cannot get your hands on all of these specific cards, you’ll still be able to pull off wins and make big plays: they just help with the process.
- Zapdos x1 (Genetic Apex 103) / Zapdos EX x1 (Genetic Apex 104)
- Potion x1 (Promo-A 001)
- Giovanni x1 (Genetic Apex 223)
- Sabrina x2 (Genetic Apex 225)
Non-Essential Cards
Then, lastly, we have the substitute cards. This is a list of Basic Lightning Pokemon which you can substitute for Pikachu, Voltorb and Electrode in the essential cards section. All of them play slightly differently but, in general, they are there to get on the Bench and power up Pikachu EX: so long as you have a good handful of readily available Basic Lightning Pokemon, your deck will be fine. Pick your favourites and stick them in.
- Magnemite x2 (Genetic Apex 097)
- Magneton x2 (Genetic Apex 098)
- Blitzle x2 (Genetic Apex 105)
- Zebstrika x2 (Genetic Apex 106)
- Helioptile x2 (Genetic Apex 110)
- Heliolisk x2 (Genetic Apex 111)
- Pinchurchin x1 (Genetic Apex 112)
Substitute Cards
Card Breakdown
Pikachu EX
Pikachu EX is the star of this deck and the main reason why it is so strong and so viable in Pokémon TCG Pocket. While far and away from the strongest EX Pokemon in terms of damage or HP, Pikachu EX is cheap, easy to build around, and can lead to some incredibly fast games if everything goes in your favour. If you were to look at it one way, the Pikachu EX Deck is a glass-cannon deck: you are pretty weak but very fast and able to pull off some cheeky knock-outs.
Pikachu EX is a Basic Lightning Pokemon with only 120 HP, making it the lowest HP EX in Pokemon TCG Pocket. It also only has one move at its disposal, Circle Circuit, which is a two Energy move that deals 30 damage for each of your Benched Lightning Pokemon. If you have the maximum amount of Lightning Pokemon on the Bench (which is three), Circle Circuit can hit for up to 90 damage, which doesn’t seem like a lot when compared to some of the other heavy-hitters like Charizard EX or Mewtwo EX.
So, if Pikachu EX is so weak offensively and defensively, what makes it so good? Well, compared to a lot of other decks and strategies, Pikachu EX is incredibly cheap in terms of investment. Circle Circuit only costs two Lightning Energy to use and, so long as you Pokemon on the Bench, you can be swinging for 90 damage on your second turn. In the early stages of a match, this is a game-changer as there aren’t many Basic or even Stage 1 Pokemon who can tank a 90-damage attack.
Pair this with Pikachu EX’s low retreat cost and you have a fast, assassin-style deck. You want Pikachu EX to get out onto the field with three other Lightning Pokemon as fast as possible so that you can start taking down potential threats before they even arise: if you can take out a budding Stage 1 Pokemon before your opponent gets their evolution or EX, you’re almost guaranteed the win. In battle, Pikachu EX is excellent at dominating the early game and only gets weaker the longer the match drags on.
Pikachu EX, The Headlining Act
Pikachu and Other Basic Lightning Pokemon
For Pikachu EX to do, well, anything effective or meaningful, it needs to have a full roster of Lightning Pokemon on your Bench. As such, Basic Lightning Pokemon are the backbone of this entire deck as, without them, you just have a weak EX who isn’t a threat to anyone. Fortunately, the Lightning type is full of viable candidates and, as we mentioned earlier, almost all of them can work in this deck.
All of the Basic Lightning Pokemon tend to play the same way: they have around 60 HP, are weak to Fighting, and have an attack which deals around 20 damage. However, you need to remember that they are primarily here to bolster Pikachu EX. Your Basic Pokemon don’t need to be strong in and of themselves, they just need to be there and you’ll see results.
With that in mind, though, each Basic Lightning Pokemon does present slightly different playstyle opportunities based on their evolutions:
- Magneton is an extremely solid backup attacker who you can reliably build up in the background thanks to its Volt Charge Ability. While it doesn’t hit extremely hard, you can be safe knowing that you have an attacker waiting in the wings while you use your dedicated Energy each turn to build up other Pokemon like Zapdos.
- Electrode mainly has utility thanks to its zero Retreat cost, allowing you to switch it in for the deck’s heavier hitters like Pikachu EX and Zapdos without needing to use up Energy or an X Speed Trainer card.
- Zebstrika lets you hit your opponent’s Benched Pokemon for 30 damage and, while that isn’t a lot, it can be enough to finish off tankier targets who switch out after being hit by Pikachu EX and Zapdos or weaker targets like Tynamo.
- Heliolisk is one of the more offensive Stage 1 Lightning types, capable of dealing 80 damage on a two Energy attack if you get lucky with your coin toss.
We recommend focusing on Voltorb and Electrode as the latter’s zero Retreat Cost, paired with its solid 70 damage, make it a great Pokemon in both the early and mid-game. However, at the end of the day, this is mainly down to personal preference and you should play around with the Lightning types at your disposal to see which suits your specific niche the best.
Basic Lightning Pokemon, The Backbone
Zapdos or Zapdos EX
Even though Pikachu EX is the star of this deck, we cannot solely rely on it as our main attacker, especially because so many other EX Pokemon can counter it. As such, we need to bring in a heavy hitter to combo with Pikachu and, for that job, we recommend choosing either Zapdos or Zapdos EX.
Regular Zapdos is the safer, if slightly less powerful, option of the two. As a 100 HP Basic, Zapdos can double as a strong attacker and an easy Pokemon to slap onto the Bench in the early game to power up Pikachu EX. Its main attack costs a hefty three Energy but deals 100 damage in return, which is more than Pikachu EX can deal without Giovanni or Weakness. The main downside of this attack, of course, is that it deals 30 damage to one of your Benched Pokemon but, with Basics being a core part of the deck, this shouldn’t be a huge issue,
On the other hand, there’s Zapdos EX, a much stronger and riskier option. Zapdos EX has 130 HP and two moves to choose from: Peck, a one Energy cost move which deals 20 damage, and Thundering Hurricane, a three Energy move which can deal up to 200 damage if you get lucky with coin tosses. And that’s where the problems with Zapdos EX come in: you need to get lucky for it to perform well. Zapdos EX can knock out any Pokemon in the game with one move, but how often is that going to happen?
Both Zapdos cards are very strong and certainly belong in this deck as additional attackers who can back up and empower Pikachu EX. If you’d prefer a safer, more reliable attacker, go with regular Zapdos. If you’d rather try your luck and pair Pikachu EX with an attacker capable of taking out its greatest counters, at the cost of randomness, go with Zapdos EX, instead.
Zapdos and Zapdos EX, Heavy Hitters
Professor Oak and Poke Ball
Now that we’re done looking at the Pokemon in this deck, let’s move on to the Trainer Cards we’ll be using to support them, beginning with Professor Oak and the Poke Ball. Both of these cards are here as draw support so we can give ourselves the best chance of rolling Pikachu EX, as well as plenty of other Basics, as early as possible.
Professor Oak is a solid Supporter who lets you draw two additional cards. This is great for giving you more chances to pull important Pokemon like Pikachu or Zapdos, but it also grants you the ability to pull powerful Trainer Cards like X Speed, Giovanni, or Sabrina, all of which can completely change the game. While not as reliable as the Poke Ball, Professor Oak is equally important and a great help in this deck.
Meanwhile, the Poke Ball is an Item which draws a random Basic Pokemon from your deck. Considering that our deck is primarily composed of Basic Pokemon, the Poke Ball can draw anything from Magnemite and Voltorb to Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX. In most circumstances, whatever the Poke Ball draws will be a huge boon: if you already have Pikachu EX, it gives you additional Basics to put on the Bench; if you’re lacking Pikachu EX, it allows you to get it into your hand.
Prof. Oak and Poke Ball, Draw Support
Sabrina and Giovanni
Alongside Professor Oak, this deck contains two other Supporter cards in the form of Sabrina and Giovanni. Compared to Oak’s draw support utility, Sabrina and Giovanni are both offensive Supporters which can swing the results of a round considerably.
Sabrina is Pokemon TCG Pocket’s version of Boss’ Orders: by playing it, you force your opponent to switch their active Pokemon for one of their Benched Pokemon. While you don’t get to choose which Pokemon gets brought up, Sabrina is great for disrupting your opponent or taking an easy knock-out on weak targets, especially with Pikachu EX in the early game. In many instances, Sabrina can be used to force a Basic or Stage 1 Pokemon into the Active when they aren’t ready, setting you up wonderfully for the rest of the match.
Then we have Giovanni. His Supporter card increases the damage dealt by your attacks this turn by 10. While a measly 10 damage doesn’t seem like a lot, it can be invaluable for this deck against specific cards. In the case of Pikachu EX, Giovanni lets it hit for 100 damage on a full Bench, allowing it to knock out certain pesky Stage 1 Pokemon who would usually just escape its reach. While not as universal as Sabrina, Giovanni is a powerful trick to have up your sleeve and well worth having by your side.
Sabrina and Giovanni, Offensive Supporters
X Speed
The final major card we’ll discuss is X Speed, an interesting Item card which reduces the Retreat Cost of your Active Pokemon by 1 for this turn. Almost all of the Pokemon in this deck have a Retreat Cost of 1, essentially allowing them to Retreat for free when X Speed is active.
This is a massive boon for our deck because of how fragile it is. In the early game, having Pikachu EX in the Active is dangerous as, while you are building up to Circle Circuit, it will steadily take chip damage which can prove fatal in later rounds. Having X Speed allows you to keep Pikachu EX on the Bench during the first two rounds, feeding it Energy while a regular Basic takes all the heat: once Pikachu is ready, pop X Speed and bring it without needing to dedicate a single Energy to your Active Pokemon.
X Speed, Easy Switch-Ins
How to Play the Pikachu EX Deck
As detailed earlier, the Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu EX Deck is a glass cannon deck which wants to hit hard and hit early, stunting your opponent’s growth and getting rid of threats before they become apparent. You’ll want to get Pikachu EX onto the field as soon as possible alongside three other Lightning Pokemon so that Circle Circuit can deal as max damage early. To this end, the Poke Ball and Professor Oak Trainer Cards are here to give you more opportunities to draw additional cards.
Once you get Pikachu EX onto the field, you’ll want to keep it safe until you can use Circle Circuit as, with only 120 HP, any chip damage Pikachu suffers can prove disastrous in later rounds. Pikachu EX excels at taking out Basic or Stage 1 Pokemon in one attack and those will be your main targets while playing this deck. In particular, you’ll want to use Sabrina to force your opponent to bring up Pokemon that they are currently in the middle of setting up: if you don’t get rid of them before they evolve, they become much tougher for Pikachu to face down.
If you get unlucky and Pikachu EX is evading you or you run into a solid counter for Pikachu, such as a high-HP Pokemon, you’ll want to use Zapdos or Zapdos EX, instead. Both are strong and capable of dealing a lot of damage, potentially clearing the field of high-value targets and making it safe for Pikachu EX to return. Depending on your choice of Basic Lightning Pokemon, you might also have some good One Point attackers that you can use to chip away at chunkier targets, softening them up for a big hit from Pikachu or Zapdos.
In short, Pikachu EX works best at the start of battle when you and your opponent are setting up, or at the end of battle when your opponent’s big investment has gone to the discard pile. No matter what, you want to avoid a situation where Pikachu is going toe-to-toe with other EX Pokemon as they often have larger HP pools and more potent attacks which will likely take out Pikachu EX (as well as your other Pokemon) in a single hit.
Pikachu EX Deck
That was how to build, and play, the Pikachu EX Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
