What is the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta in February 2025?

The Pokémon TCG Pocket meta should’ve just lately turned 30 — as a result of it’s lastly settling down!

Launched in late 2024, Pokémon TCG Pocket is a card-collecting recreation with a aggressive streak — a streamlined iteration on the traditional Pokémon buying and selling card recreation. There’s incentive to play battles, as successful earns you XP, which helps you degree up, which helps you open extra booster packs, which helps you construct higher decks to win extra battles. Ah, the nice cell recreation suggestions loop.

What follows is a abstract of the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta as of February 2025, together with the most effective decks and the most effective playing cards within the wake of the Area-Time Smackdown growth.

What’s the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta proper now?

The Jan. 30 launch of the Area-Time Smackdown playing cards launched a lot of wrinkles to Pokémon TCG Pocket. It added a bunch of latest ex playing cards (like Dialga, Palkia, Darkrai, and Weavile). Metallic-type and darkness-type decks are good now! Pokémon Instruments exist! For the primary time in TCG Pocket’s historical past, there’s some severe selection in how the sport is performed.

As soon as upon a time, in the event you didn’t have the cardboard(s) of the second, you have been finished for. That’s now not the case.

At launch, which solely featured the Genetic Apex growth, playing cards like Mewtwo ex and Charizard ex have been dominant. Following the December 2024 launch of the Legendary Island growth, Celebi ex clearly ran the desk. Now that there are three expansions out, whereas there are many highly effective new playing cards to concentrate on (Darkrai ex is a well-liked breakaway), Pokémon TCG Pocket is lastly in a spot the place the meta has some severe selection.

Pokémon TCG Pocket finest decks

Understanding the most effective playing cards of the second is one factor, however getting these playing cards is one other matter. Proper now, the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta is basically outlined by ex playing cards — high-power playing cards which can be additionally extraordinarily uncommon — however a lot of a playing cards that may enhance your vitality manufacturing are additionally fairly in style.

Just about each deck that has been dominant thus far continues to be highly effective, although you don’t see them round as regularly with the arrival of Area-Time Smackdown. To be clear, they’re good! They’re no much less efficient — only a bit passé. With that in thoughts, we’re preserving them on this checklist of the most effective decks, and are including the three latest additions to the highest — that means the eight finest decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket as of February 2025 are:

Although many dragon Pokémon are rising in viability (like Druddigon and Garchomp), you’ll see that the most effective decks are nonetheless constructed round a single vitality kind, to attenuate yet one more coin flip in battles. We’ll get into element about why these decks are so profitable under. And in the event you’re on a nasty luck streak with opening booster packs, it’s also possible to use pack factors or buying and selling the get the precise card(s) you’re in search of.

Listed below are the finest decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket, with the important thing playing cards for every deck highlighted in daring.

Darkrai ex is the stuff of nightmares. As an ex card, its stat line (140 HP and an assault that prices three vitality and offers 80 harm) isn’t significantly superb. However its means, Nightmare Aura, makes up for the deficit. Each time you connect a darkness vitality to Darkrai ex, you’ll mechanically deal 20 harm to your opponent’s energetic Pokémon.

That additional 20 harm is commonly sufficient to get rid of an opponent’s energetic Pokémon when mixed with an assault from yours. And in the event you’re apprehensive about Darkrai ex hogging vitality from the remainder of your group, you should utilize the Daybreak coach card, which lets you transfer vitality from a benched Pokémon to your energetic Pokémon.

Whereas Darkrai ex has synergy with hottest darkness-type Pokémon (like Weezing, Toxicroak, Arbok, or the Nido evolution chains), the hack right here is unconventional: Magnezone, with its highly effective 110-damage assault, Thunder Blast. Its earlier-stage evolution, Magneton, has a capability that permits you to add one lightning-type vitality to it per flip — no matter what vitality kind you’ve set to your deck. The result’s one Pokémon that accrues vitality all by itself and one other Pokémon that persistently offers harm just by current.

The addition of Dialga ex to TCG Pocket has singlehandedly turned metal-type decks from laughable to aggressive. It has 150 HP. Certainly one of its assaults offers 100 harm (albeit at the price of 4 vitality). However the secret weapon is its Metallic Turbo assault, which solely offers 30 harm however permits you to connect two metal-type vitality to any Pokémon in your bench.

This instantly lowers the beforehand prohibitively excessive vitality price for highly effective metal-type playing cards like Melmetal. However as a result of colorless-type Pokémon can use any kind of vitality, it’s additionally useful. Because of this, Dialga ex pairs simply as properly with Pokémon like Regigigas (whose damage-scaling Raging Hammer assault requires 4 vitality), Wigglytuff ex (whose Sleep Tune assault places energetic Pokémon to sleep), and Pidgeot ex (whose Scattering Cyclone assault offers extra harm primarily based on how full your opponent’s bench is).

With the prevalence of dark-type decks today, fighting-type decks have emerged as a pure counter. And Lucario is a vital inclusion for fighting-type decks.

Lucario isn’t precisely nice by itself deserves. It solely has 100 HP and its assault, Submarine Blow, solely offers 40 harm. However its means, Preventing Coach, is arguably the strongest help means within the recreation proper now. When in play, Lucario will increase the harm output of your fighting-type playing cards by 20 — and it stacks, too! If the luck of the draw lands such that you could get two copies of Lucario in your bench, your entire fighting-type playing cards will deal an extra 40 harm per assault.

So whereas Lucario isn’t value constructing a deck round, it’s completely value slotting into any of your current fighting-type decks. Machamp ex, for example, might deal as much as 160 harm per assault. Kabutops turns into nigh unstoppable with a 90-damage assault (that additionally heals 90 HP). Golem, already fairly evil when paired with Brock’s energy-ramping methods, turns into one of many hardest non-ex playing cards within the recreation.

Celebi ex has held quick because the strongest grass-type deck within the recreation. Celebi ex’s assault, Highly effective Bloom, prices two vitality. For each vitality hooked up to Celebi ex, you flip coin — and for each heads you get, you deal 50 harm. Stack sufficient vitality on Celebi ex and also you gained’t even want luck in your facet to take out actually any Pokémon within the recreation with a single hit.

There are two playing cards that assist you energy up Celebi ex. Lilligant’s (which evolves from Petilil) Leaf Provide assault permits you to connect a bonus grass-type vitality to any Pokémon in your bench. Serperior (the third-stage evolution of Snivy) has a passive means, Jungle Totem, that causes any grass-type vitality hooked up to a grass-type Pokémon to depend twice. With each of these playing cards in play, you may energy up your Celebi ex right into a monster that may predictably deal 250 harm (or extra) per flip.

You’ll additionally wish to have an Erika or two on this deck. Erika, a supporter card, heals 50 HP for any grass-type Pokémon — far more than the 20 HP you’d get from a Potion card. Given Celebi ex’s glass cannon nature, preserving its well being full is vital.

Charizard ex and Moltres ex deck

Fireplace-type decks are a pure affirmation to Celebi ex’s terror. And the Charizard ex deck stays TCG Pocket’s strongest fire-type deck.

The Charizard ex deck is contingent on utilizing one Pokémon to generate vitality for an additional. The important thing right here is to open with Moltres ex. With its Inferno Dance assault, you flip three cash, and for each heads you get, you may apply one bonus fireplace vitality to a Pokémon in your bench. You possibly can load up a Charmander or Charmeleon with with as much as three vitality per flip.

When your Charmeleon is able to evolve into Charizard ex, it’ll hopefully have sufficient vitality to make use of Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm assault, which prices 4 vitality and offers 200 harm, but additionally discards two vitality per use. Pull off this combo appropriately, and your Charizard ex card ought to have sufficient vitality to persistently use Crimson Storm. Charizard ex additionally has 180 HP — sufficient to outlive successful from a number of the strongest assaults, like Mewtwo ex’s Psydrive.

Articuno ex and Lapras ex deck

Galaxy mind right here, however if you wish to counter the Celebi ex counter, run a water-type deck. The Articuno ex deck has confirmed powerful to beat, significantly when it features a card like Lapras ex.

Lapras ex was launched through Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first battle occasion, and goes hand-in-hand with Articuno ex. Each playing cards are basic-stage, so you may play them instantly, and each playing cards have highly effective assaults. Articuno ex’s Blizzard assault offers 80 harm to your opponent’s energetic Pokémon and 10 harm to any playing cards on their bench, so you may conceivably knock out any weakened Pokémon in your opponent’s again row. Lapras ex’s assault, Bubble Drain, offers 80 harm to your opponent however heals 20 HP to itself.

Each playing cards are highly effective in a vacuum, however to benefit from this deck, you’ll wish to use a Misty coach card. Once you play Misty, you flip a coin repeatedly till you get tails. For nonetheless many heads you get, you may connect that quantity of water vitality to considered one of your Pokémon. If luck is in your facet, you may totally energy up Lapras ex or Articuno ex in a single flip.

Starmie ex, with its 90-damage assault and free retreat, is a stable card to run on this deck. However the secret weapon is the Legendary Island model of Vaporeon (which evolves from Eevee). Its Wash Out means permits you to transfer water-type vitality out of your benched Pokémon to your energetic Pokémon.

Gyrados ex, launched within the Legendary Island growth, has emerged alongside Articuno and Lapras as one other uber-powered water-type ex card. It has 180 HP — one of many highest within the recreation — and its assault, Rampaging Whirlpool, offers 140 harm — sufficient to get rid of the overwhelming majority of playing cards in a single hit — plus removes one vitality from a randomly chosen card on the board, which might screw up your opponent’s technique.

Rampaging Whirlpool prices 4 vitality. However as with Articuno ex, you should utilize Misty or the Legendary Island Vaporeon to stack a Gyarados ex with vitality. (For those who haven’t drawn Gyarados ex, Magikarp, its fundamental stage, has an assault that permits you to reteat with out spending vitality.) Sure, you want a number of issues of likelihood to tilt in your route to line up this technique. However in the event you’re in a position to get a powered-up Gyarados ex on the sphere within the first few turns, you’re unstoppable.

Electrical-type decks are the strongest counters to Articuno ex decks. Proper now, the most effective one continues to be headlined by Pikachu ex, who would possibly as properly be Ash Ketchum’s uncannily super-powered Pikachu.

Pikachu ex isn’t a part of an evolution chain, so in the event you draw it, you’re immediately able to play it. Its assault, Circle Circuit, additionally solely prices two electrical vitality and offers 30 harm for each electric-type Pokémon in your bench. Stack all three slots in your bench with electric-type Pokémon, and also you’re dealing 90 harm per flip.

Electrical-type playing cards generally are inclined to have decrease retreat prices (Electrode has a free retreat, for example), permitting you to simply swap out playing cards as wanted, preserving your bench — and Pikachu ex’s assault energy — at full capability. This deck additionally works properly with Zapdos ex or Jolteon as backup attackers; each have assaults that may deal as much as 200 or 160 harm respectively.

Mewtwo ex and Gardevoir deck

Mewtwo ex dominated the Pokémon TCG Pocket meta at launch — because of its Psydrive assault, which offers 150 harm — and continues to be an imposing and broadly used deck. Few Pokémon have 150 HP to outlive such successful, however the assault prices Mewtwo ex 4 vitality to make use of and additional discards two psychic-type vitality with every use.

The trick right here is to lean on Gardevoir. Gardevoir’s means, Psy Shadow, permits you to add an additional vitality to no matter Pokémon you’ve gotten within the energetic spot — and you should utilize it even with Gardevoir in your bench. This combo permits you to recoup the 2 vitality you burn with every use of Psydrive (one out of your flip naturally and one Gardevoir’s means), basically guaranteeing 150-damage assaults with no drawbacks.

Finest playing cards to incorporate in any meta deck

Lastly, each meta-viable deck proper now options at the very least one copy of every of the next coach playing cards:

Cyrus is principally a laser-targeted model of Sabrina. The place Sabrina forces your opponent to change out their energetic card, Cyrus permits you some management over the selection: You possibly can swap in any Pokémon that’s not at full HP, successfully nullifying makes an attempt your opponent makes at retreating a broken card. By the identical metric, the Nice Cape Pokémon Software is only a stronger model of Potion. Relatively than therapeutic 20 HP, it will increase your card’s complete HP by 20, which in some circumstances can forestall your Pokémon from getting knocked out in a single hit.

At launch, the X Pace card (which reduces your retreat price by one vitality) was important for any deck, permitting you to drag a card with low HP again to your bench in a pinch. Leaf is principally a greater model of that card: It reduces the retreat price of your energetic Pokémon by two at some stage in your flip.

Professor’s Analysis allows you to draw two playing cards, capitalizing on the common card recreation idea that means, the extra playing cards you draw, the higher your possibilities of victory. It’s one of many first playing cards you get, and one of many easiest. Doesn’t imply it’s not, to at the present time, among the finest.