If I asked you your favourite Pokemon type, you’d probably say Dark. If that was correct, I’m honestly astonished, because I just said a random type that people probably like and had a 1/18 chance of getting it right. People like Tyranitar and Umbreon, right?
Anyway, if you asked 100 people their favourite Pokemon type, how many do you think would say Lightning? Very few, I’d wager, as even those who love everything electrical would probably call it Electric-type, as it’s known in the video games, rather than its Lightning label in the TCG. No, I don’t know why they decided it needed to be different either.
But I am one of those Electric- or Lightning-type lovers. At the moment, when I’m playing more Pokemon TCG Pocket than any other Pokemon game, I’ll shift my vocabulary appropriately. I love Lightning-types. My favourite Pokemon as a kid was Jolteon (although Gengar is a close second). My favourite Legendary is Raikou. You get the picture. While I’ve never been a Pikachu fan, there’s a piece of me warmed by the fact that Pokemon’s mascot is a Lightning-type.
My love of Lightning-types has taken me to some strange places. I always attach myself to Electric-type gym leaders in the games, and I even played a mono-Electric Nuzlocke of Pokemon Shield because of the early availability of Yamper, who acted as my starter. I ran an Electropower Zapdos deck the last time I actually played the TCG. If there’s an option to add an electrical current to my Pokemon play, I’ll choose it.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Zapdos ex Deck
Naturally, I gravitated towards Zapdos ex when I first launched Pokemon TCG Pocket. Luckily I was able to pull two of the coveted cards quickly, and built the rest of my deck from there. Initially, I opted for an incredibly cheesy, RNG-based deck that relied entirely on coin flips. It was inconsistent, but immensely satisfying.
- 2x Zapdos ex
- 2x Giovanni
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x Potion
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Hand Scope
- 2x Pokedex
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Red Card
This cheeses Pokemon TCG Pocket’s opening hand mechanic, which guarantees you pull a Zapdos ex off the bat. From there, you’ve just got to hope that your opponent can’t set up in the time it takes you to draw three energies and flip a bunch of heads. There’s nothing funnier than absolutely whiffing a coin flip, seeing four tails staring up at you as your opponent’s 20HP Mewtwo finishes you off – it’s at this point you need Marvel Snap’s emotes. You know you could have Pecked to win the game, but that’s not the point.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Pikachu ex Deck
After a few hours of coin flipping fun, I graduated to a more consistent deck. I tried Electrode thanks to its absence of a retreat cost, which works well; Zebstrika thanks to its cheap moves that can apply pressure while you set up your bench; Pincurchin for some paralysis hacks; and even Jolteon just because he’s the best boi.
But the answer is, and always has been, Pikachu. The series mascot has an overpowered ex card that I’d been trying to avoid until I pulled the 2* rare Full Art version. With a card as cute as this, I could hardly leave him languishing in my inventory. Thus, I joined the masses and began Circle Circuiting my way to victory – with a few coin flips thrown in for good measure.
- 2x Voltorb
- 2x Electrode
- 2x Pikachu ex
- 2x Zapdos ex
- 2x Potion
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Red Card
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Sabrina
While you’re not guaranteed one of your powerful ex cards out of the gate here, the abundance of Poke Balls and drawing cards combined with Electrode’s versatility means you can easily power up a Pikachu even if you draw it late. You want to fill your bench up and deal 90 damage a turn from Pikachu ex, before X Speeding it to retreat for free and use Electrode, Zapdos ex, or your other Pikachu ex to sweep up. It’s simple, it’s effective, it’s boringly meta, but it’s great.
I’m just happy that my beloved Lightning-types are getting their chance to shine. There’s a lot of monsters with really cool designs that are overlooked because of their typing. Tapu Koko is easily the coolest of that Legendary quartet, Alolan Raichu is one of the finest examples of an alternate form ever designed, and Eelektross had the best sprite in all of Gen 5 – which is saying something, because Black & White had some excellent designs.
Sure, we have the most overrated Pokemon in Luxray, but it’s the exception that proves the rule.
We can do cute (Toxel), we can do powerful (Zekrom), we can do meta (Thundurus), we can save your Kaizo run (Lanturn). There’s a reason why I want more Lightning-types featured in the game’s new missions and why I want a Raikou card or three when the next Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion drops. There’s so much more to Lightning-types than your typical glass cannons, and Pokemon TCG Pocket is showcasing them in the best way. I would have built a Lightning-type deck whether it was any good or not, but the fact I’m winning battles is a shock to the system.