Pikachu EX Card
Image: Nintendo Life

Pikachu isn't allowed to be bad in a Pokémon game, right? We’re pretty sure there’s a division deep within The Pokémon Company that makes sure everyone’s favourite electric rodent is top-tier.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is no different, with a deck designed around the EX version of Pikachu being one of the very best and most consistent. If you’re looking to win matches consistently, this deck is for you.

We've put together this comprehensive guide on how to build the best Pikachu EX deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket. We've also covered alternative strategies, budget options, and the deck's strengths and (few) weaknesses.

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Note: This guide has been updated to reflect the new cards introduced with the Mythical Island mini-expansion.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket - Best Pikachu EX Deck (Mythical Island)

As we mentioned above, Pikachu EX is one of the best decks to run in TCG Pocket. It's an S Tier in our opinion, which makes sense given that it headlines two different EX cards. It still maintains that status after the Mythical Island expansion. In fact, it might’ve gotten stronger.

You'll want to grab the following 20 cards to make the best possible Pikachu EX Deck. You'll be opening a lot of Pikachu Booster packs, particularly for the Pikachu EX and Zapdos EX cards, to create it before nabbing a couple common cards from Mythical Island. The complete deck will only use Lightning energy:

  • 2x Pikachu EX
  • 1x Raichu (Mythical Island)
  • 2x Zapdos EX
  • 2x Dedenne
  • 2x Voltorb
  • 1x Electrode
  • 2x Potion
  • 1x X Speed
  • 2x Poké Ball
  • 2x Professor’s Research
  • 2x Sabrina
  • 1x Giovanni

The win condition with this deck is to get Pikachu EX on the board with a full bench of Electric Pokémon behind it. Pikachu’s Circle Circuit attack does 30 damage for each benched Pokémon, making it do a consistent 90 damage for only 2 energy. As a result, you can steamroll opponents very quickly.

Zapdos EX is both a defensive tool and an alternate win condition. As a Basic Pokémon, Zapdos EX can be played first to allow you to place energy on Pikachu EX and find some Voltorbs to place on your bench. With 130 HP, it will survive most attacks early in the match. Zapdos EX also retreats for 1 energy, meaning you can swap in Pikachu EX easily or for free with an X Speed.

Furthermore, if you don't find Pikachu EX or it gets defeated early on, Zapdos EX’s Thundering Hurricane can do up to 200 damage for 3 Lightning energy.

A new addition to this deck is Dedenne, which for 1 Electric energy has the chance to paralyze your opponent, completely negating attacks and retreats on their next turn. This can give you the necessary time to find a full bench and set up Pikachu.

The Mythical Island Raichi is a nice addition to this deck as you can evolve a Pikachu EX to suddenly hit your opponent’s bench for 20 damage, along with a respectable 60 damage to the Active Pokémon.

Pikachu EX Best And Worst Matchups

This Pikachu EX & Zapdos EX deck does well against every other deck in the meta, especially decks that take a while to set up as you can overwhelm them quickly.

At the same time, Marowak EX decks can overwhelm Pikachu EX as Marowak EX requires only 2 Fighting energy and deals more damage, though it is less consistent.

Furthermore, Mewtwo EX will one-shot every Pokémon in this list, so you have to get your Pikachu EX and full bench going before your opponent gets Gardevoir to feed Mewtwo EX energy. This is an even matchup.

Pikachu EX Budget Options

If you haven’t pulled two Pikachu EX or Zapdos EX, then don't worry, there are a few alternatives! Pincurchin is a great choice as its Thundershock attack will paralyze an opponent’s Pokémon on heads. Otherwise, slotting in other Electric-type Pokémon like Blitzle and Zebstrika or Helioptile and Heliolisk to fill bench spaces.

For an alternate win condition, consider regular Pikachu with Raichu and Lt. Surge. With Lt. Surge, you can move all Lightning energy from your benched Pokémon to Raichu, which does 140 damage with Thunderbolt.

And that’s all you need to know to shock the TCG Pocket meta with Pikachu EX – don’t be afraid to make small changes in order to keep your opponents off guard.

Pikachu fans stay winning, right? Let us know if you enjoy using this deck, and have a look over our Tier List for more competitive options in Pokémon TCG Pocket.