The best deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket is a hotly contested accolade. Gyarados ex is winning a lot of tournaments. Celebi ex is everywhere in the game’s PvP modes. Meta staples like Pikachu ex and Mewtwo ex aren’t going away any time soon.
But my favourite deck isn’t particularly popular. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve encountered a mirror match in my 100+ Pokémon TCG Pocket versus battles.
This deck is, of course, my Team Rocket-themed deck, featuring Weezing and Arbok. Throw in a couple of Kogas and sprinkle some other thematic spices to taste, and you’ve got a deck that can comfortably go head to head with the very best. It’s a hard counter to Mewtwo ex (and, now, Mew ex), but it can handle Pikachu easily enough, too.
I’ve played this deck more than any other and it’s not only good, it’s fun. But when Mythical Island released, I found a way to improve on perfection, and crafted my Team Rocket deck into something even better.
Scolipede Makes Everything Better
The most obvious change to the deck is swapping Arbok for Scolipede. While Arbok can trap opponents in the active spot to deal a sweet 70 damage a turn (including that delicious poison damage), it’s too frail to hold its own for any length of time. What good is trapping your opponent in with you if they can simply knock you out before you can capitalise on their entrapment?
Scolipede is a little trickier to get up and running, as a three-stage monster, but once you’ve evolved it on your backline, it’s the perfect sweeper. Venoshock deals 70 damage for just two Darkness-type energy, but if the opposing Pokémon is poisoned that increases to an impressive 120.
Combine this with the deck’s impressive manouevrability thanks to Koga and new addition Leaf, and you can surprise opponents with startling efficiency. 120 damage is enough to KO Pikachu ex. With type weaknesses and that 10 poison damage, Scolipede also one-hit KOs Mewtwo ex.
There’s another benefit of using Scolipede over Arbok. Whirlipede, the first stage evolution of Venipede, is a great backup for Weezing if you can’t draw it. Poison Sting also poisons your opponent, setting up perfectly for you to evolve into Scolipede next turn.
Tweaks And Changes
I’ve shifted a few other elements of the deck to accommodate Scolipede. As a three-stage evolution, it takes up two extra spots in your deck. I’ve also added Leaf, another Mythical Island card that helps with positioning.
I’ve also added one basic Pokémon to aid consistency. You could use Mew ex here, but I like that this deck never gives up more than one prize. Druddigon would also work, but I opt for a lone Salandit. It faints quickly, but occasionally its 50 damage Venoshock can win a game.
As such, the deck now looks like this:
- Salandit
- 2x Koffing
- 2x Weezing
- 2x Venipede
- 2x Whirlipede
- 2x Scolipede
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Koga
- 2x Leaf
- Sabrina
And it works a treat. This has carried me through the latest PvP event and puts in work against the AI as I try desperately to unlock that gorgeous Blastoise alt art (although this is a great place to get really weird because even the highest difficulty is a breeze).
There are no coin flips in this deck, there is the utmost consistency, there are no ex cards, and yet it can take all comers. I never thought I’d be able to improve on the best Pokémon TCG Pocket Deck, but it turns out that even perfection can be bettered.
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