If there’s one thing that players love in Pokemon, it’s Dragons. This exceptionally powerful type has some incredible Pokemon in it, including Rayquaza, Dragapult, and Salamence. For the Pokemon TCG Pocket, your options are a bit more limited in what you can pick from when building your deck.
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As it stands, there are only three Dragon-type Pokemon cards to pick from, all in the Dragonite evolutionary line. We’re going to take a look at all three cards to see how they fare against some of the other popular cards in the game, along with a bonus look at an Illustration Rare you can find.
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Dratini – Genetic Apex
A Basic Pokemon With Big Dreams
Let’s start off with the Common (one diamond rarity) Basic Pokemon, Dratini. This cute little Pokemon is known as the Dragon Pokemon and has aspirations to evolve into one of the single most powerful Pokemon in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
At 70 HP, Dratini can withstand a hit or two from some of the stronger Basic Pokemon that are commonly found in decks, though you will quickly want to evolve it to Dragonair to keep it safe. Genetic Apex’s Dratini has just one attack, Ram, which deals 40 damage, which is at the top end for a Basic Pokemon’s attack range. The downside is that it costs two Energy, one Water and one Electric.
One of the better elements of Dragon-type cards so far is that they have no weaknesses, at least for the Dratini line in Genetic Apex. As more sets are released this may change, but so far, you should be safe from any bonus damage from your opponent’s attacks.
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Dragonair – Genetic Apex
Setting Up The Win
Evolving your Dratini into Dragonair gives you a huge upgrade in power, while also enjoying a nice HP boost. The Stage 1 card comes with 100 HP and a single attack, Tail Smack, which deals a respectable 80 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon.
Tail Smack only costs one more Colorless Energy than Dratini’s Ram attack, so it doesn’t take much to get there. If you’re able to follow up an attack with Dratini with Dragonair’s Tail Smack, you are likely KOing your opponent’s Pokemon, dealing a total of 120 damage. Unless your opponent has some of the higher HP EX cards or higher evolutionary lines, you are probably looking at a point.
The nice thing about Dritini and Dragonair is that they both have only a single Colorless Energy retreat cost. You can reduce this cost to zero using an X Speed Trainer card, letting you bounce them back to the bench to recover or stack more Energies on while another Pokemon tanks the Active spot.
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Dragonite – Genetic Apex
Master The Draco Meteor
Topping the Dragon-type cards currently available in Pokemon TCG Pocket, Dragonite is an extraordinarily powerful card that has an unparalleled attack. Draco Meteor costs four Energy, one Water, one Electric, and two Colorless, but can dish out a total of 200 points of damage. That damage is randomly split across up to four of your opponent’s Pokemon, both in the Active spot and on the Bench.
A single Pokemon can be picked more than one time, but generally, you are hitting two to three different Pokemon with Draco Meteor. Those enemy Pokemon take 50 damage each time they are chosen this way, which does a significant amount of damage across the board.
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Since Dragonite has 160 HP, you are likely able to get an attack or two in since there are not many Pokemon that can take it out with a single attack, even with a Giovanni Supporter card. While rare, it is entirely possible to score all three of your points in one attack depending on what your opponent’s board looks like.
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Dragonite Illustration Rare – Genetic Apex
Give Yourself Some Flair
There is no difference mechanically between the Illustration Rare Dragonite and the regular rare one, but it does look a lot nicer on the battlefield stomping your opponents. The illustration, by Pokemon TCG veteran Gemi, depicts the flying Dragon-type soaring over the ocean with the setting sun behind it, several boats crossing the sea, and a meteor shower overhead.
The big downside to the Illustration Rare Dragonite is that it has an incredibly low drop rate in packs, meaning pulling one won’t happen for a long time. Crafting one isn’t an option for most free-to-play players since it costs 400 pack points, which comes in at 80 packs you will have to open to earn those points.
All the cards in the Dragonite evolutionary line, and the Illustration Rare version of Dragonite, are only found in the Mewtwo packs of Genetic Apex, so if you’re looking to build a deck around it you’ll have to pull plenty of packs to get the cards you are looking for.
