Pikachu is one of the iconic Pokemon, and you can pull many variations of this Pokemon from the packs in Pokemon TCG Pocket. But the strongest version of this card is by far, the Pikachu EX variety. With a strong electric-type move, and a lot of potential, using it in the right deck can be quite a game changer. So, here is the best Pikachu EX deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Pikachu EX Best Deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket
If you want to build the best deck around the Pikachu EX cardhere is a complete breakdown of the cards you must have:
| Card | Priority | No. of Copies | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu EX | necessary | 2 | Pikachu EX is the core of this deck. The real potential of this card lies in having an electric Pokemon on the bench. It can deal up to 90 damage per move with the right setup and 120 damage with trainer cards. |
| Zapdos EX | Excellent | 2 | Zapdos EX provides strong backup and synergizes well with Pikachu EX. If your Pikachu faints, you can use your Zapdos as a replacement. |
| Voltorb | Replaceable | 2 | Voltorb acts as a hover card that you can use as your starting attacker, or a bench card to provide Pikachu with extra attack. |
| Electrode | Replaceable | 2 | Electrode is Voltorb’s evolution and provides a stronger attack, making them somewhat viable in the mid-game as well. |
The reason this deck only has 4 four Pokemon is to help you turn faster to your core card (Pikachu EX) and set up the necessary bench cards like Zapdos and Voltorb.
Best Budget Cards
If you don’t have all the cards for the ideal Pikachu EX deck, here are a few alternative cards for your deck that you can use as a replacement until you find the rest of the cards.
| Card | Replaces | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Magneton | Electrode | A viable replacement for Electrode, deals similar damage and can also attach extra energy orbs on itself when in the Active slot. The downside is that Magneton’s move requires four orbs instead of two. |
| Magnemite | Voltorb | Same as Voltorb, good as a starter, and can be used as a float until you set up Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX. |
| Pikachu | Zapdos | If you don’t have Zapdos, you can use the regular Pikachu card as a viable support for your Pikachu EX. |
| Raichu | Zapdos | Used to evolve a regular Pikachu in the mid-game, and can pretty much one-shot most opponent cards. But you will have to invest your energy orbs correctly for the most value, because they will be discarded after each move. |
Best Trainer Cards
This deck should have 20 cards, but to support your four main Pokemon cards, you’ll need 12 trainer cards in your deck. To help you make the best decision, here are the best trainers to choose for this deck:
| Card | Priority | No. of Copies | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni | necessary | 2 | You need to use this training card in conjunction with Pikachu’s move to pretty much one-shot any card, as it adds +10 damage to every attack. |
| Sabrina | Excellent | 2 | A strong trainer card that you can use to remove pesky Pokemon from your opponent’s active slot. |
| X Speed | Excellent | 2 | An extremely important trainer card to help you switch out your Active Pokemon when you’ve built your core card. |
| A potion | ok | 2 | A good option to have around that you can use to heal your important Pokemon. |
| Poke Ball | Replaceable | 2 | A floating support card that you can use to quickly turn to your core Pokemon. |
| Research by Professor | Replaceable | 2 | Similar to the Poke Ball, but draws two cards instead of one. |
How to play the Pikachu EX Deck
Like any other deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket, your deck alone will not be enough to help you win matches. You’ll need to set them right all the way from your starting hand to your late game setup. So, that’s all you need to know about it.
Starting Hand
This deck depends early-game dominancewhich means you will have to be aggressive from the start. So, when you get your first five starter cards, these are the ones you should try to get:
- Pikachu EX (important)
- Zapdos EX (recommended)
- Voltorb
As for trainer cards, most of them can be useful but you should try to have at least one Potion card to avoid letting your float pass out early and X Speed to turn off your Active slot when your setup is ready.
Early Game Setting
When you start a matchup in the first few rounds (one to five) try to set up one of your core cards, either Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX on the active slot with the other power types on the bench slots.
This allows you to create pregame pressure, as each of your core cards can take care of most of the starting Pokemon your opponent could play.
Late Game Setup
Regardless of what setup your opponent is trying to play, your main focus should be to eliminate whatever Active slot float your opponent is playing in the first five rounds. Pikachu EX and Zapdos are great at burst damage in the early rounds, so they can effectively disrupt most enemy setups before they can even reach their full potential.
Best and Worst Matchups
While using this deck, you will be up against other types of deck. Among all the decks I’ve used the Pikachu EX deck against, here are the best and worst matchups:
- Battle-Type Decks: Battle-type decks are by far the worst matchup against this deck. Since this deck is primarily based around Electric-type Pokemon, Fighting types like it Marowak and Machamp deal additional damage and take reduced damage due to their typical advantage. If you are against this type of deck, try to set up Pikachu EX as much as possible and keep switching your Pokemon to avoid fainting.
- Water-type Decks: Electric types have an inherent type advantage against water-type Pokemon. Because of this, the Pikachu EX deck is exceptionally strong against water-type decks, especially against meta picks like Articuno EX and Blastoise.
- Other Decks: This deck does well against the above two deck types. Due to its strong early damage attack potential, dealing with other deck types is relatively easy.
Weaknesses and Counters of Pikachu EX Deck
Not any deck is unbeatable in Pokemon TCG Pocket, which includes this Pikachu EX deck, which has some weaknesses and can be countered a bit if you take proper precautions. Here’s all you need to know:
| Card | Reason | How to Fight Back |
|---|---|---|
| Machamp EX | An insanely strong move that can deal 120 damage with just three energy orbs. | Switch Pikachu EX for Zapdos EX and maybe one-shot him, or interrupt the evolution. |
| Marowak EX | Similar to Machamp EX, can deal up to 240 damage in a single move. | Interrupt its evolution by targeting Cubone or using Zapdos EX with one shot. |
| Dragonite EX | Can attack the active and also bench slots at the same time. | Try to disrupt the evolution by using Sabrina to force a switch and take out Dragonair. |
| Dug trio | 50% chance to negate all damage done in a round. | Has low HP, all you need is a lucky shot in the early game. Prone to getting one shot. |
| Machamp | Slightly weaker than the EX version, but can deal significant damage due to a typical advantage. | Just like EX, target Machop or Machoke to stop the evolution or change into Zapdos EX. |
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, check out Best Mewtwo EX Deck – Pokemon TCG Pocket in Pro Game Guides!
