Players have many deck-building options in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, but some decks are superior to others in battle. A classic build around the Pikachu ex card is a solid bet when it comes to executing power and efficiency in a deck. Trainers up against Water and Flying-type Pokémon can count on Pikachu and other Electric-type creatures to bring out all the lightning damage in battle. The Pikachu ex deck is an easy-to-build setup for players to create a powerful roster of lightning Pokémon in the popular mobile game. This will be particularly handy when ranked battles are introduced to the game in late March of this year.

Of course, Pokémon’s de facto mascot is a fan favorite in the franchise. However, players should take note of how to maximize the Pikachu ex card’s Circle Circuit move. This means that building a Pikachu ex deck needs to have a focused selection of lightning-type Pokémon that can increase damage while optimizing energy management in battle. This guide walks through how to build the best Pikachu ex deck in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, as well as strategies for winning battles with these Pokémon.

Updated on March 13, 2025, by Natasha Elder: Pokémon TCG Pocket has been going strong, releasing frequent updates. With the Triumphant Light and the introduction of tools, there are new facets to consider in crafting the perfect Pikachu ex deck. As such, we wanted to discuss how these new elements can contribute to making the best Pokachu ex deck possible.

When to Use a Pikachu EX Deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Electric Pokémon Are Strong Against Water and Flying Pokémon

A Pikachu ex deck is the optimal choice for any battle challenges that feature Water and Flying-type Pokémon because of its lightning elemental advantage against these types. For example, players will want to load up a Pikachu ex deck in Advanced Solo Battles against the Blastoise ex deck in the Genetic Apex expansion or the Gyarados ex deck in the Mythical Island expansion to reap these benefits. The water Pokémon in each of those decks have a lightning weakness, taking 20 additional damage on each hit. Prioritizing Pikachu ex against water Pokémon makes more challenging opponents like Starmie ex and Articuno ex a bit more manageable with the extra lightning damage.

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As a Basic Pokémon card, players do not need to worry about evolving Pikachu into Raichu. With only two lightning energy required for its main attack, Pikachu ex is a relatively efficient attacker. Avoiding a knockout for Pikachu ex is highly recommended, or else opponents will score two points. Luckily, players only need to spend one lightning energy in order to retreat their Pikachu ex card. Overall, Pikachu ex deals decent damage itself, but this card can struggle at later stages of the battle if opponents are able to evolve their Pokémon into stronger, higher-HP forms. Pikachu ex and all other Lightning-type Pokémon have a weakness to fighting attacks and will take extra damage on each hit from these types of Pokémon.

How Pikachu EX Works in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Build a Pokémon Deck Around Pikachu EX’s Circle Circuit Attack

Pikachu ex has a total HP of 120 and deals lightning-type damage. This Pokémon’s main attack, Circle Circuit, does 30 damage for each lightning Pokémon on the player’s bench, so it is important to include as many lightning Pokémon as possible in the deck. Players should ensure their Benched Pokémon slots are filled up when ready to use Pikachu ex’s attack. Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket players should note the ex rule at the bottom of the card: When Pikachu ex is knocked out by an opponent, they score two points instead of the standard one point. Though Pikachu ex can be a powerful card to play in battle with its multiplying damage effect, it is also a risky Pokémon to put up against high-damage opponent cards, so the timing of its use is essential for success.

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Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket players can obtain the Pikachu ex card with a lucky pull from the Genetic Apex Pikachu booster pack or by selecting a Wonder Pick from another player’s pack. Alternatively, players can spend 500 Pack Points to get the Pikachu ex card from the Pack Point Exchange menu. Pack Points are earned each time players open Pokémon booster packs, but the accumulation of these points is pretty slow, especially for free-to-play Pokémon TCG Pocket gamers. Still, if the odds are not working for booster pack pulls, players should open Genetic Apex expansions to earn 500 pack points for a Pikachu ex card. Only pulls from the Genetic Apex packs will count as Pack Points for the Pikachu ex card.

How to Build a Pikachu EX Deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Zapdos EX Can Provide a Powerful Role Until It’s Pikachu’s Time to Shine

All Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket decks must follow three rules:

• Have 20 cards in a deck
• Include at least one Basic Pokémon
• A deck can only have up to two cards with the same name

To build a Pikachu ex deck, it’s best to prioritize two Pikachu ex cards from the Genetic Apex booster pack and fill in high-impact lightning Pokémon like Zapdos ex, Blitzle and its Zebstrika evolution, and Dedenne from the December 2024 Mythical Island booster pack. It is useful to have two of each of these Pokémon cards, though players have some flexibility in having only one Dedenne or Zapdos ex card as they build up their complete Pikachu ex deck.

After the release of the Space-Time Smackdown booster pack and the Triumphant Light booster pack, Electrode and Electric Rotom have been added as viable options, as well. Although Electrode requires a Voltorb to be useful, it deals 50 damage while only using one energy. This allows fairly substantial damage to be dealt with ease while waiting for the Pikachu ex card to surface. The Electric Rotom card doesn’t deal quite as much damage on the surface, but it gives another advantage. The Triumphant Light booster pack didn’t just introduce Electric Rotom, but also Tools. Electric Rotom deals extra damage whenever a Tool is used on a Pokémon, making it a great counter to emerging new meta centered on Tools.

Another important priority is ensuring that the additional Pokémon are Electric-type, as Circle Circuit deals additional damage with this typing. Moreover, having Pokémon with low retreat costs can be beneficial, as they guarantee that the Pikachu ex card can be swapped in without too high a retreat cost. To this effect, X Speed item cards are particularly useful, as they lower the cost of retreating a Pokémon to the bench.

In terms of Trainer cards, the Pikachu ex deck can benefit from a variety of different options. Of course, players should make sure their Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket deck slots have two Poke Ball items to put a random Basic Pokémon into their hand as well as two Professor’s Research Supporter cards to draw two cards. Though only one Supporter card can be used each turn, players should also hold one or two Giovanni, Sabrina and Blue cards to rotate in battle for assistance. The remaining slots in a Pikachu ex deck can go towards Potion item cards to heal Pokémon from damage and, of course, X Speed item cards.

Pokémon Tools were introduced in the Triumphant Light booster pack. At the time of this pack’s release, there are only three Tools: the Rocky Helmet, Giant Cape and Lum Berry. These Tools help close the gap between overpowered Pokémon TCG Pocket decks and more balanced decks. While the Lum Berry deck is fairly circumstantial, both the Rocky Helmet and the Giant Cape Tools offer their own, consistent advantages. As such, both of these cards are worthy of consideration when building the Pikachu ex deck.

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The Giant Cape Tool is a good alternative to the Potion item card, as Potions require Pokémon to already be injured, but the Giant Cape Tool can be attached even to fully healthy Pokémon. This is helpful when wanting to play a Pokémon that has an attack that does slightly more damage than a Pokémon’s base health. For example, the Pikachu ex card has 120 hp and the Moltres from the Genetic Apex Charizard booster pack deals 130 damage. With the Great Cape Tool attached, the Pikachu ex card is able to weather an attack and launch one in return. If the Moltres is already damaged, this could be the deciding blow in the battle.

While the Pikachu ex card already deals additional damage for every benched lightning Pokémon, the Rocky Helmet Tool gives the card the opportunity to deal even more. Every time the opponent’s active Pokémon attacks, it will take 20 damage, itself. Seeing as the Pikachu ex card has 120 hp, and is therefore fairly bulky, there is a lot of time for incidental damage to be dealt. This makes it easier to take down Pokémon with amounts of health. Additionally, if put in the unfortunate position of having to put a Pokémon in the Active Spot that doesn’t have the required energy to use their own moves, the Rocky Helmet allows for damage to be dealt, anyway.

Best Strategies and Tips for Pikachu EX Deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket

Pikachu EX Deck’s Lightning Pokémon Need to Deal Damage as Quickly as Possible

Deck pulls depend on some random luck, but in general, Pokémon TCG Pocket players should select either Pikachu ex or Zapdos ex as their starter Pokémon. Zapdos can work well for dealing quick damage with its one lightning energy Peck attack for 20 damage. After gathering three energy for Zapdos ex’s Thundering Hurricane attack, players can attempt to deal massive lightning damage. However, this approach relies heavily on chance and players need to land as many head flips as possible for a maximum of 200 damage.

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If Pikachu ex is selected as the starter Pokémon​​​​​​, then it will likely take some damage from the first opponent’s attack. As long as players have potion items to heal Pikachu, they should be able to build up two lightning energy to activate the Circle Circuit attack. To maximize damage, players need to fill as many bench spots as possible with lightning Pokémon cards from the deck. When all three benched Pokémon spots are filled with lightning Pokémon, Pikachu’s attack deals 90 lightning damage, with a super-effective 110 damage to water- and flying-type Pokémon. Regardless of the starting card, Pokémon TCG Pocket players should pay careful attention to the ex card’s health and swap out Zapdos or Pikachu if either is in danger of getting knocked out.

Dedenne and Blitzle are decent starters if neither Pikachu or Zapdos ex cards are available in the first hand. Dedenne does not deal as much damage as Blitzle but has a chance to paralyze the opponent’s Pokémon. Blitzle’s Stage 1 Pokémon, Zebstrika, has a move that can deal damage to low-HP bench Pokémon for quick point scores if needed. Players can strategically use Supporter cards like Giovanni to deal an additional 10 damage to take out opponent Pokémon or Sabrina when they have an opportunity to take out a lower-HP Pokémon from the bench. With an easy setup and luck of the draw, Pikachu ex is one of the best Pokémon TCG Pocket decks that players can build in the game, especially when playing against strong water or flying Pokémon.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a free-to-play mobile adaptation of the classic TCG, developed by Creatures Inc. and DeNA, and published by The Pokémon Company. Released on October 30, 2024, for iOS and Android devices, it allows players to collect digital cards, build decks, and engage in battles against others.

Systems

Released

October 30, 2024

Developer(s)

DeNA, Creatures Inc.

Publisher(s)

The Pokemon Company

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

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