Volkner Guide (Decks, Synergies, Strategies)

Pokemon TCG Pocket introduced several new Supporter cards, each with unique abilities that could shape the meta. Among them, Volkner stands out for his perfect synergy with the Lightning-type archetype.

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Despite his strong potential, Volkner has been somewhat overlooked in the current metagame, likely due to the dominance of non-Lightning decks. However, if you’re looking to give him a shot, we’ve compiled three of the best-performing deck shells built around him. But before exploring them, let’s take a quick look at what Volkner does in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

Volkner joined Pokemon TCG Pocket with the Space-Time Smackdown expansion. His effect lets you drag and drop him onto either Luxray or Electivire on the board—whether in the Active Spot or not. Once played, he searches the Discard Pile and retrieves two Discarded Lightning-type Energies, attaching them to the Pokemon you placed him over.

Discarded Energy refers to Energy that has been used or lost during the match. Three actions can discard Energy: Knockouts, retreats, and attacks—whether from you or your opponent.

Best Deck Shells for Volkner

Volkner requires you to include either Electivire or Luxray (or both) in your deck, as his effect applies exclusively to these cards. With that in mind, we believe the three best deck shells for him are: Electivire & Magnezone, Luxray & Yanmega ex, and Electivire & Luxray. Here’s how each setup works.

Electivire & Magnezone with Volkner

Best Trainer Cards for the Shell

• Cyrus
• Sabrina
• Lt. Surge
• Dawn
• Pokemon Communication

One of the most reliable shells for Volkner is the Electivire & Magnezone setup. The strategy is straightforward: Charge up Magneton on the Bench, generate Energy with Electabuzz in the Active Spot, then evolve them into Magnezone and Electivire to start dealing damage. If you’re short on Lightning-type Energy for their attacks, Volkner can retrieve two from the Discard Pile.

Together, Magnezone and Electivire can dish out up to 230 damage, and Volkner’s ability helps sustain their offense by recovering used Energy. This allows you to execute back-to-back high-damage moves that would normally take at least two turns to repeat.

Luxray & Yanmega ex with Volkner

Best Trainer Cards for the Shell

• Leaf
• X Speed
• Erika
• Cyrus
• Sabrina
• Pokemon Communication

Yanmega ex has perfect synergy with Volkner decks. Despite being a Grass-type Pokemon, it requires only Colorless Energy, meaning you can build the deck with the Lightning-type Energy without having to worry about charging Yanmega ex. Meanwhile, Luxray delivers 120 damage to any enemy Pokemon of your choice, and together, this duo can wipe out opponents in just a few rounds.

The main drawback of Luxray is that it discards all its Energy after each attack. To offset this, it has no retreat cost, making it a perfect partner for Yanmega ex. The strategy is simple: attack with Yanmega ex’s 120-damage move, then switch into Luxray on the next turn. Use Volkner to recover two discarded Energies, attach them to Luxray, and grab another from the Energy Zone. This allows you to launch another 120-damage attack immediately.

Electivire & Luxray with Volkner

Best Trainer Cards for the Shell

• Cyrus
• Sabrina
• Pokemon Communication
• Leaf
• Lt. Surge
• Giant Cape

One of the early shells for Volkner was the Electivire & Luxray combo. The main advantage of this setup is that it doesn’t include any ex Pokemon, making it a solid choice against current meta decks like Darkrai ex and Magnezone lineups.

In this deck, your goal is to deal as much damage as possible with the self-sufficient Electivire while also building up Luxray on the Bench to snipe the enemy’s Benched Pokemon—especially their ex cards within the 120-140 damage range of Luxray.

Volkner plays a key role in this strategy. After using Luxray’s attack and discarding all your Energy, your opponent might underestimate Luxray’s threat and play recklessly. That’s when you use Volkner the next turn, recover three Energies, and prepare Luxray for another 120-damage attack, taking advantage of their overconfidence.

Currently, the most popular deck for Volkner is the Magnezone & Electivire shell, with a ~47% win rate. The interesting aspect of this setup is its strong performance against one of the meta decks from the previous expansion: Gyarados ex and Greninja.

Recent matchups show that Volkner’s Magnezone & Electivire deck has won 62% of the time against Gyarados ex & Greninja, which is impressive.

That said, the meta is not looking great for Volkner. The rise of Darkrai ex (and its variants with Magnezone and Greninja) has diminished the presence of most other creative decks, especially those in the Lightning-type archetype.

However, thanks to his versatile and easy-to-trigger effect, Volkner will undoubtedly remain a staple Supporter in competitive decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and we can expect to see more powerful setups leveraging his potential in the near future.

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Experience the fun of collecting Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, an upcoming game for iOS and Android devices from Creatures Inc., the original developers of the Pokémon TCG, and DeNA Co., Ltd. In this game, you will be able to open two booster packs every day at no cost. You can collect digital cards featuring nostalgic artwork from the past as well as brand-new cards that are exclusive to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Be on the lookout for new “immersive cards,” which will make you feel as though you’ve leapt into the world of the card’s illustration.

Systems

Released

October 30, 2024

Developer(s)

DeNA, Creatures Inc.