Kash Top 30 List: My Favourite Decks that I have played so far

It's Pokemon Day (Feb 27 2026 as I'm typing this but it may be released at a later date) and it's the 30th anniversary of the first Pokemon games, Red version and Green version which were released today 30 years ago in Japan (Feb 27 1996). As someone who has been playing the game ever since it first hit our shores overseas in 1999 and also playing the TCG since Base Set in 1999, you know it's always a fun time when Pokemon Day rolls around!

So I wanted to a do a short special Top 30 list of my favourite decks I've played so far. Not my best decks, not my most successful, but just the ones I've really liked playing. And well my most successful ones are the ones I liked the most I guess! 

30th - Arceus VSTAR/Charizard VMAX

List: 1st/57 - 8/2/0 - Online - LIGA INTER #1 - SEASON 2

Season: 2021-2022

Wins: 3 (Online)

I've only actually played this deck 4 times, 3 times online and once IRL with a bunch of proxies because I never did own Charizard V, Charizard VMAX or Charizard VSTAR but I still wanted to give it a try. But this deck, although it's probably not good, it was fun to play! 

I got to combine playing my new favourite card in Arceus VSTAR with one of my favourite mons! And it's kinda funny that I only played this deck 3 times online....and won all 3 events!

29th - Zapdos/Jolteon GX

List: 1st/8 - 3/0/0 - Project EXT Locals

Season: 2018-2019

Wins: 2 (IRL)

This deck was cool to play. I wished I had tried out Zap Beast more though, that deck looked really cool but for some reason I never played it much. But the whole combo of Jirachi finding your stuff, and then going into Zapdos to hit for big numbers was neat. You had loads of ways to switch Zapdos out to attack, 4 Guzma, 4 other item switch outs and even Acerola! 

Jolteon was nice attacker at times too and of course we can't forget the Tapu Koko package with the stadium, the Prism energy attacher and also Tapu Koko-GX for some big damage at the end of games! Cool deck.

28th - Miraidon ex

List: 1st/157 - 9/1/1 - Online - TOURNAMENT OF DOOM! WORLDS WORLDS WORLDS

Season: 2023-24

Wins: 4 (3 Online, 1 IRL)

When this deck works, it was actually a lot of fun to play. And this was the famous winning list where I was paying attention to what was happening at Worlds 2024 and also playing in Doom at the same time so I wasn't really paying much attention to my games....and still somehow won the whole event!

Generator makes the deck click and since you've got Iron Hands ex in this one, you can get an Amp You Very Much off turn 1! This deck also has one of my favourite VSTAR move of all time....from the Forest Seal Stone tool card! I didn't play Miraidon much but it was fun to mess around with it a few times.

27th - Lost Zone Box/Radiant Greninja

List: 1st/106 - 8/1/1 - Online - Pokémon Battle Park

Season: 2023-24

Wins: 4 (3 Online, 1 IRL)

I didn't always enjoying playing Lost Box but this version was at least bearable enough for me to try and actually have some fun with it. The deck had some many ways to take big KOs right off the bat, and even two prizes KOs from either Radiant Greninja, Dragonite V or if you're really lucky and you hit the nuts, a Turn 1 Sableye! 

And you had so many ways to get cards into the lost zone, be it from Comfey's ability, Colress and Lost Vacuum. Loads of different attackers too which for me is always fun because it gives you options to win in many different ways as possible and no two games are always the same! The deck can be frustrating to play too, sometimes you get two really important stuff from your Flower Selecting choices and you regret why you ever chose to play the deck.

26th - Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

List: 1st/17 - 5/0/0 - Online - PokeX Tag Bolt #5

Season: 2019-2020

Wins: 3 (2 Online, 1 IRL)

It's probably many others favourite Tag Team deck, it never was mine. It is a fun deck, and a very a good deck too! PikaRom was just such a good attacker that it can set up many different attackers, or set itself up for Tag Bolt GX, and that attack was scary if you got it off! 200 to the active and 170 to the bench if you got the 3 extra Lighting attach, and there's usually always a Dedenne-GX on your opponent's bench, this was the era where almost everyone did play it!

And there are some cool cards in this deck too. Of course it has Jirachi was my favourite card during that time for the consistency boost but also you had Reset Stamp. I still call Unfair Stamp as Reset Stamp by accident a few times, and there's a good reason for it! Your opponent drew cards equal to how many prizes they had and you had so many ways to get it, either from Jirachi or Volkner. This deck was one of the best Reset Stamp users during this time.

25th - Dragapult ex/Charizard ex

List: 26th/524 - 6/3/0 - 2024-25 Singapore Master Ball League @ Suntec City

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 1 (IRL)

I've always liked playing Charizard ex, Dragapult ex has always been strong no-matter who it was paired with and together, the deck always seemed good! Sure it's probably better as their own decks but I enjoyed playing it whenever I had the chance. I build this list when I was watching NAIC during my cousin's wedding in California and at that moment, I decided this was going to be my MBL list.

And I made top cut with it! Sure I lost right away in top cut but hey the deck worked with the little amount of practice I had, it was one of my best results last season too! And this deck did play Unfair Stamp, which is even better than Reset Stamp. Both shuffle, you draw 5, your opponent draw 2 so if they took an early KO, you could easily punish them and destroy their board in no time. I'm still enjoying playing this deck right now even though it's not as good as it should be I feel!

24th - Dragapult ex/Dusknoir

List: 67th/563 - 5/2/0 - 2025 Melbourne Regional @ Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 1 (Online)

I've gone from one Dragapult deck to another, and the one most people enjoy playing, and some might say their favourite deck. Or heck I could even say Singapore's favourite deck, everyone plays it here! It's just a really powerful deck that is prone to dead drawing, I should know. But when it works, it can actually be quite fun to play.

And I found this out when I chose to play it for the 2025 Melbourne Regionals. I didn't know what to play for the event and thought this deck might just be the one for me. I didn't know how to play it perfectly but I did enjoy learning how to play the deck on the fly and made Day 2 at the event! I will probably end up playing this more in the future since it will still be legal. Maybe it'll go up my list the next time I do it? Or not even on the list.

23rd - Dragapult VMAX

List: 2nd/154 - 8/4/0 - Online - Sunday Open

Season: 2019-2020

Wins: 3 (Online)

And we end this trio of Dragapult entries with the OG Dragapult! I always liked this one a bit better. It had a one energy Shred attack and the same attack as Dragapult ex, Max Phantom did 130 to active and 5 damage counters to your opponent's bench in any way you like. Sure now it's 200 and 6 but at that time, 130 + 5 was really good!

And this deck had so many ways to put damage counters on your opponent's board, the main one being Horror Energy. If your opponent's active hit it, 2 damage counters go back to them. Spell Tag puts 4 damage counters after the mon that has it gets KOed. Zigzagoon put one damage counters to anyone when played. And of course, the best part of the deck is using Shrine of Punishment to destroy these GX and EX mons. This deck was really fun to play, and a true spread deck! Oh and it's another deck that plays Jirachi too, plus points for me.

22nd - Lost Zone Box/Radiant Charizard

List: 1st/6 - 3/0/0 - Brick's Play Locals

Season: 2023-2024

Wins: 3 (2 Online, 1 IRL)

I know this wasn't the most favoured version of playing the Lost Box deck but personally, this was my favourite! I always felt this version of the deck was just more consistent and you can attack with Radiant Charizard really quickly too. Oh but what if it's prized? No worries, we have Hisuian Heavy Ball! (And if they are both prized, well that's just unlucky).

This deck also had TM Devo which was cool as you can set up numbers from hitting 110 with Cramorant or spreading damage around with Sableye and then go for a board wipe! And yes there is a Crisis Punch for some cheeky last turn KOs. But most of the time these are easy fodders for the Lost Zone with the double (sometimes triple) Lost Vacuum! I honestly wished I had played this deck more.

21st - Gouging Fire ex

List: 1st/32 - 5/0/0 - 2024-25 Singapore Great Ball League S2 #12 @ Concept City

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 3 (2 Online, 1 IRL)

This was never the best deck, but I had so much fun playing it and I managed to win a 170-person Doom online event with this AND got my first GBL win last season with it too! This was one of the funnier aggro decks I played, using both the usual Entei and the old Entei aka Gouging Fire! 

Gouging Fire could hit for 260 for just 3 energies attached and we had easy ways to get these energies, be it Magma Basin or Sada or even Energy Switch! And of course we had Radiant Greninja to help not just get these energies into the discard pile but also help draw cards from it. Not the best deck to utilize Munkidori but it sure came up a number of times.

20th - Gholdengo ex/Energy Search Pro

List: 32nd/220 - 5/2/0 - 2024-25 Singapore Ultra Ball League S2 #1 @ Kreta Ayer Community Club

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 6 (3 Online + 3 IRL)

Ok I know I know, the Lunatone version is better. But come on now, how many decks can say they used every basic energy available in the format? Not many can and this Gholdengo ex deck not only did, but it was quite good too! I always liked playing this version more and Energy Search Pro is an amazing card, getting potentially 8 cards out of the deck was always quite valuable and helps to get some big KOs.

And with all these energies the options are endless. 2 Water energy meant we could do a snipe attack with Radiant Greninja, Dark on Munkidori to use Adrena-Brain and a few other lists later on played an extra Lighting energy for the new Levincia card in place of the rotated Greninja. Before this season, this got me my best UBL score!

19th - Terapagos ex/Dusknoir

List: 1st/63 - 8/1/1 - Online - Silver Squad Standard “Lille Regionals 2025”

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 2 (Online)

This deck was really cool. It works in a similar way to how Dawn Zard works, just a super aggro deck that uses Noctowl to piece up some combo plays. There's also Pidgeot to help us get any card we want each turn and with Double Turbo Energy, Terapagos only needs one energy attachment to start attacking.

And of course, we have Dusknoir in this deck and yes sometimes this deck could just board wipe some boards out of nowhere. Even big attackers are not always safe from the combo of Dusknoir and Terapagos. And of course we got the biggest combo card of them all, Briar! The more I talk about this deck, it's like I'm talking about Dawn Zard, aren't I?

18th - Arceus VSTAR/Inteleon

List: 1st/25 - 4/0/0 - Goodness Gracious Gaming Locals - Southern Island Qualifiers

Season: 2021-22

Wins: 4 (2 Online + 2 IRL)

This version of Arceus was super consistent and I really liked it. Your only target to power up other attackers from Arceus is other Arceus but hey that's all you need sometimes! And if Arceus isn't the preferred attacker, well we got the Inteleon line which pretty much makes this whole deck work so smoothly. 

We've got the Drizzle for Shady Dealings to get one Trainer card which is such a good ability, and sometimes more than enough to set up Arceus for the turn to use Starbirth to find any 2 cards. And Inteleon does the same, but for 2 Trainer cards. 

And we can re-use it all over again thanks to Scoop Up Net. Let's not forget about the other Inteleon with the Quick Shooting ability that just puts 2 damage counters on any of your opponents. Sounds familiar doesn't it? That is usually enough to help Arceus VSTAR take down any other V mons.

17th - Suicune V/Ludicolo

List: 1st/71 - 6/1/0 - Online - ATLAS - Turtwig Den Series Challenge 6

Season: 2021-22

Wins: 1 (Online)

We go from one Inteleon deck to another. This one is also a combo deck but with Suicune V now attacking almost everything. It hits for + 20 for as however many mons are in play which can go up to 220. Still missing some damage? No problem, we got Ludicolo that when played, lets our basic mons hit for an extra 100 damage that turn which is nuts.

And how this deck work so well? Yup it's because of the Inteleon line. The double Quick shooting helps Suicune to reach the numbers it needs or just set up plays for double KOs a turn. Melony is one of my favourite supporters, it's a bit like Welder, you attach a Water from discard to a V mon and draw 3 cards. 

And you're always drawing an extra card from Suicune's ability too. And let's not forget, Suicune can become an annoying threat to opponents to deal with because of Cape of Toughness giving it an extra 50 HP. I really liked this deck, I wished I had more success with it though. 

16th - Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX/Inteleon

List: 1st/37 - 7/1/1 - Online - Southeast Asia Open #26

Season: 2021-22

Wins: 4 (Online)

And yes we round up this trio of Inteleon decks with probably my 2nd favourite version of Inteleon to play, with Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX! It hits for 150 if it moves from bench to active which isn't very hard to do as we have the stadium that gives our Rapid mons -2 retreat cost and Escape Rope. 

But the real selling point is the second attack, G-Max Rapid Flow to hit 120 to two Pokemon at the cost of discarding all your energies. It does have an awkward energy cost but Rapid Strike Energy solves it and thanks to Melony and Octillery, you can get the attack up and ready in no time! 

And sometimes we can set up some numbers to be just perfect for the dreaded Yoga Loop from Medicham V, which puts 2 damage counters on anyone and if that mon is KOed, we get an extra turn which is really broken, think of Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR and how good their V-STAR attack was. The deck had so many ways to set up numbers, either from Urshifu's attack or from Inteleon's Quick Shooting ability.

15th - Ultra Necrozma-GX/Malamar

List: 6th/24 - 3/2/1 - Project EXT League Cup

Season: 2019-2020

Wins: 2 (IRL)

I know many people liked the pure Malamar version more but I always had a soft spot for the Ultra Necrozma-GX version, and it got me better results too anyway! Malamar's Psychic Recharge meant you could attach a Psychic Energy to one of your bench and if you had 2 Malamars, you'd get 2 charges! 

It's often paired with Giratina to have a scary 1 prize attacker and the scary part is it's ability, if it's in discard, you can put it on the bench and put 1 damage counter on two of the opponent's bench Pokemon. And with Ultra Necrozma's Sky Scorching Light GX attack, you can wipe out any 60 HP and with Giratina's help, 70 HP mons off the board, the catch is you can only use it if both players were still at 6 prizes. 

And there's plenty of one-off attackers for the eck to use, like a typical Malamar deck and it's been paired with so many different things, not just the ones in this picture. Stuff like Necrozma-GX, Tapu Koko, Lunala Prism Star to name a few. I always liked using Ultra Necrozma-GX because it hit for 80+ for all Psychic energy you had to discard, which can sometimes be up to 4 if we had 4 Malamar on board, and that's reach some big numbers, let alone 3, hitting 260!

14th - Tapu Bulu-GX/Vikavolt

List: 1st/7 - 3/0/0 - Project EXT Locals

Season: 2017-18

Wins: 3 (IRL)

Ah good ol' Vikabulu. Not the best deck I've played but it sure was one of my favourites. The game plan was simple, set up Vikavolt to use Strong Charge to attach a Grass and Lighting energy to anyone on board, usually Tapu Bulu-GX and it hits for some big numbers. And we're maxing out as many consistency cards in this deck to make sure we get enough to set up these Vikavolts, sometimes even 2. Later builds had Lillie to get up to 8 cards in hand going first!

Tapu Bulu-GX had a really good attack. If we discarded all energy attached to it, it would hit for 180. And that would become 210 with Choice Band, which is enough to KO guess who? Yup the format defining pokemon that was Zoroark-GX! There's also Tapu Koko-GX to get some big KOs especially with the GX move. There were a few one off attackers as well but it works because of Vikavolt! I had so much fun playing this, not much success but hey it's all good!

13th - Zoroark-GX/Lucario-GX

List: 1st/13 - 3/0/0 - Project EXT Locals

Season: 2017-18

Wins: 2 (IRL)

Now this is a deck I really wished I had played more of. Of the 3 times I played it for locals, I went 3-0 twice and 2-1 in the other event, it was that good especially since I wasn't really a good player at this time. We've got Zoroark-GX to just keep drawing us cards with trade, aka N's Zoroark ex for you current players. But Zoroark-GX was just better, it's attack hits for 20 for each pokemon on your side, so 120 for just one attachment.

That meant it was splashable with just about any attacker. One of my favourite pairing for Zoroark-GX was Lucario-GX. It would hit for 120 for just one attachment if it evolved that turn. 120 becomes 150 from Strong Energy and then 170 from Diancie Prism Star. If that's not enough, Professor Kuki draws us 2 cards and we do 20 more damage, so now we're up to 190. And if we're up against an EX or GX mon, we've got Choice Band to hit for 220. All from just one energy attachment!

Lucario-GX also had a great GX attack, hitting for 30x each damage counter on it. And there's plenty of ways to keep Lucario-GX attack for big damage, mainly from Acerola. And hey, this deck did play 4 Puzzle of Time which meant we can re-cycle an Acerola or another Strong Energy or another attacker back into the deck. Also this deck has one of my favourite cards of all time, Evosoda! You can evolved one of your Pokémon by searching for the evolution from deck! Can we please have this be reprinted sometime soon? This deck was really cool, I wished I played it more.

12th - Volcanion-EX

List: 1st/13 - 3/0/0 - Project EXT Locals

Season: 2017-18

Wins: 1 (IRL)

Speaking of decks I wished I had played more, good ol' Volcanion-EX. I didn't play it as much as I really should have, because it was so good! Both Volcanion just made the deck work. Volcanion's Power Heater did 20 while attaching two a Fire energy to two of your benched Pokemon. And how do we get those Fire energy in discard? Say it with me now, Steam up!

Volcanion-EX's ability was just too good. Steam Up lets us discard a Fire energy and our basic Fire pokemon does 30 more damage that turn. With two Steam Ups, Volcanion could hit for 80 while attaching those Fire energy we just discarded. And there was plenty of ways to use those Fire energies, be it Prof Letter (modern day Earthern Vessel), Energy Retrieval or just drawing from it from our supporters or supporting mon, even Starmie had an ability that was similiar to Energy Retrieval.

And Volcanion-EX isn't a bad attacker itself. 130 and you can't attack next turn which is no problem, since there are 4 Float Stones and 4 Guzma to constantly move around our attackers. And if we're not moving, we can hit for big numbers. Choice Band lets us hit 30 to EX and GX, and plus two Steam Ups, we're doing 220, and a 3rd for 250 which is knocking out most GX pokemon at that time! One of my favourite decks and it's not even in the top 10!

11th - Charizard ex/Dusknoir

List: 1st/14 - 3/0/0 - Inferno Gaming Locals

Season: 2024-25

Wins: 4 (2 Online + 2 IRL)

I always loved the pairing of Charizard ex and Dusknoir. Charizard does more damage for each prize card your opponent takes and how can we acheieve that if they're not taking prizes? From Dusclops' and Dusknoir's Curse Blast ability. Then your opponent has to take a prize because we knocked our own pokemon out while spreading some damage too, sometimes good enough for Charizard ex to take a big KO out of nowhere.

Sure it's mostly seen with the Pidgeot ex build but I did play around with just Charizard and Dusknoir for the longest time and honestly, it was some of the most fun times I've had playing Pokemon, just trying to reach for big combos and big KOs. We'd usually sit for a turn to get TM Evo up to get a Charmeleon or Dusclops ready and the turn after that, you could be taking 3 prizes just like that! One of my favourite fun decks of all time for sure and hey I got a couple of wins out of it too!

10th - Metagross-EX

List: 1st/17 - 3/0/0 - Qishan Locals

Season: 2016-17

Wins: 2 (IRL)

Ah Metagross-GX. Good memories from this one. This was the deck that made me go....wait maybe I can be good at this game after all! Took me about a year or so to win my first locals and it was with Metagross-GX. Geotech System was just such a good ability, letting you attach a Metal AND Psychic energy from discard to your Active Pokemon. And this is where the fun begins.

Oh I have to give a special shoutout to Alolan Vulpix, it had the attack Beacon for no energy cost, searching out 2 Pokemon! It was the best way to set up a Metagross while just sitting on Vulpix to seach out more stuff. Then we attack with Metagross-GX with Giga Hammer for 150 (180 with Choice Band) and can't attack next turn. No worries, we just retreat and go into the next Metagross-GX, fully charge it up from two use of Geotech System. 

And we often play a lot of Max Potion to heal up the damage Metagross we just retreaed and Max Potion would heal off all damage from a Pokemon at the cost of discarding all energy, see the combo we're doing here? Attack, retreat, heal, attack, rinse and repeat! And I haven't even mention it's broken Algorithm-GX attack, searching up for 5 cards and put into hand. Sure you are at the mercy of N but if your opponent doesn't disrupt your hand, you can build off some insane combos right after!

9th - Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX/Inteleon

List: 1st/105 - 10/1/1 - Online - Master Ball #13 Series #2

Season: 2021-22

Wins: 4 (Online)

When it comes to Inteleon decks, I think Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX will always be my favourite way to play the deck. Sometimes paired with Suicune V but it’s all about Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX’s attack Max Lance, hitting 10 +120 for one Water discarded or +240 for two. 

These numbers can go up thanks to Inteleon’s Quick Shooting and of course we got the Shady Dealing package in here to make the whole deck work. And you didn’t always need to use Max Lance, the first attack is already good, 10 +30 for each of your opponents benched mons.

I did forget to mention why that line works and it’s because of Sobble letting you search for other Rapid Strike mons and put them on the bench, making it easier to use Drizzle later on. And it was quite easy to set it up with 4 Level Ball and 4 Evo Incense. Max consistency, that’s why I really liked this deck.

8th - Zygarde-GX/Lycanroc-GX

List: 1st/15 - 3/0/0 - Project EXT Locals

Season: 2017-18

Wins: 3 (IRL)

Good ol' Zygarde. When I first read the card I thought....wait this could be good. And sure enough it was good. My friend Rauf built a list and I was the first victim of Zygarde-GX and I saw right away how good it truly was. So I, along with a few others, jumped on the Zygarde-GX train, one of them being Klive who went on a superb run of results that year, along with a Top 4 finish at Worlds!

Cell Connector does 50 and attaches 2 Fighting Energy to Zygarde-GX, meaning it can swing for 130 with Land's Wrath by Turn 2, or Verdict GX for 150 and Zygarde-GX can't be hit by damage the next turn! And how do we get those energies on board? We've got Ultra Ball and Scorched Earth to discard energies!

And because this is a fighting deck, the damage can go up even more! Strong Energy gives us +20, so does Diancie Prism Star, meaning with one Double Colourless Energy attachment, Zygarde-GX can already KO most basic mons with 70HP. And if it's not in active, Lycanroc-GX can gust around and we've also got Guzma. I really liked this deck.

7th - Zoroark-GX/Decidueye-GX

List: 4th/32 - 5/2/0 - Singapore Pro Circuit - 2018 Autumn Invitational

Season: 2018-19

Wins: 2 (1 Online + 1 IRL)

Easily my favourite way to play Zoroark-GX! I wished I had spent more time playing it, this was the deck that really made me see the game in a whole new level and I learnt so much even from my short time playing it. After seeing my friend Clifton get Top 4 at LAIC with this deck, I had to try it out. I had always liked Decidueye-GX with it's ability to just hit 20 damage anywhere and Zoroark-GX to draw but something always felt missing for this deck.

Then can Alolan Ninetales-GX, it's ability got us 2 Item cards, most of the time one of them would be Rare Candy. But it's not just a good support mon, it's also a good attacker. Snowy Wind hit for 70 to active and 30 to bench, and we have Decidueye-GX to ramp up those numbers. And this was a deck that did like to play from behind, with stuff like Counter Catcher and Counter Gain! 

And I'm sure you're looking at this picture, seeing that Magcargo and wondering...where the heck is Slugma? Well with Ditto Prism Star, we don't need it. Ditto Prism Star can evolve into anything, so most of the time it'll be Magcargo to fix our top deck but if we don't need Magcargo, it can just be an extra out to get Zoroark-GX or Alolan Ninetales-GX. Anytime there's a retro event in this format, this has always been my go to deck and I even won a retro online event with this deck!

6th - Charizard

List: 3rd/22 - 3/1/1 - League Challenge at 2019/20 Singapore SPE

Season: 2019-2020

Wins: 5 (IRL)

Yup, this is my favourite single-prize attacker of all time and nothing will ever change that. When I first read Charizard from Team Up I thought to myself....this cannot be real? I've finally see a playable Charizard card! Roaring Resolve attaches 2 Fire energy from deck to Charizard, while putting 2 damage counters to yourself to activate the ability. But that's not all.

The attack is stupidly good too. We have to discard all Fire energies attached and it does 30 +50 for each Fire energy discarded. And the ability already gets us 2, and with a manual attachment, we're swinging for 180! And if you play Welder to attach 2 fire energy from discard to Charizard, that number goes up to 280, KOing even the scary monster that is Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX (it's not on my list for a good reason). 

But this deck had some cool ways to play too. We had either Salazzle or Zebstrika to discard something from hand to draw cards, helping our Welder to be useful. If not that, we had Ninetales from Team Up with the awesome Nine Temptations ability, discard 2 Fire energy to gust anything up to the active. This will always be my favourite one-prizer deck, I had so much fun playing it, and I won 5 locals with it too and got Top 4 at a League Challenge that featured players from all around Asia too! 

5th - Charizard ex/Noctowl

List: 1st/32 - 3 different GBLs from 2025-26 season (S2 GBL4, GBL5 and GBL 8)

Season: 2025-26

Wins: 9 (4 Online + 5 IRL)

And here's my current favourite deck to play right now, it's Dawn Zard! When I first read Dawn, the lightbulb went off. I can get a Basic, Stage 1 and Stage 2? Charizard ex is my Stage 2, probably Charmander or Duskull or Fezandipiti ex is my Basic but who fills the roll for Stage 1? That's when Noctowl came in. 

This is where Dawn truly shines. After setting up with Fan Rotom, we can get Terapagos ex, Noctowl and either Pidgeot ex or Charizard ex to have our board set up perfectly in just Turn 2! The 3 Noctowl line was the perfect number for this deck to set up early game and also right at the end, especially for the Briar turn in combination with Dusknoir or Prime Catcher.

And sometimes we don't even need to attack with Charizard ex, Terapagos ex itself is a good attacker, especially since the deck played Area Zero Underdepths. And it's got the Dusknoir pieces to pull off some whacky combo and also Klefki, that little thing has helped me more times than I can remember. 4 online wins and 5 IRL, with 3 of them actually being GBL wins in the same week too, this deck will always have a special place with me from now onwards. 

4th - Arceus VSTAR/Giratina VSTAR

List: 1st/189 - 9/2/0 - 2022-23 Singapore Regional League Vol. 2 @ NTU Alumni Club

Season: 2022-23

Wins: 12 (8 Online + 4 IRL)

What more do I need to say about ArcTina? This is the deck that got me my first major win and set me up to get my first Worlds invite, and of course, I had to play it at my first Worlds Championship. Was it a good deck? Not really, it had never won a major event before the Singapore Regional, and funnily enough, after I won, my friend Landen Kaetler won in Portland with it too on the same day!

Arceus VSTAR has always been one of my favourite cards, Starbirth gets us any two cards and Trinity Nova hits for 200 while attaching 3 energies onto any of our V pokemon, be it another Arceus VSTAR or Giratina VSTAR which is usually the closer because Lost Impact does 280 while sending two energies into the Lost Zone (1 if you choose Double Turbo Energy). 

So how does this deck actually win? Well, we have 3 Path to the Peak to shut off other V Pokemon's ability and 4 Judge to constantly disrupt their hand. But it shuffles my hand too right? That is where our good buddy Bibarel comes in, drawing us cards until we have 5 in hand. But it gets better, if our cards were bad, we can just use Skwovet, shuffling our hand into the bottom of our deck and drawing one card, and combo-ing it with Bibarel, we can pretty much draw what we need if we played everything in the right order, especially with a Boss play. That's why I chose to play this deck for Worlds, mostly for comfort but I knew I could make it work. I was one win short...

3rd - Reshiram & Charizard-GX

List: 1st/19 - 4/1/0 - League Challenge @ Pokebar

Season: 2019-2020

Wins: 8 (IRL)

ReshiZard! Some of you might be surprised not to see it at #1 but there's good reasons for it. I mean for the longest time it was my favourite deck of all time but then two other decks showed up. I picked up this deck in time for the Singapore SPE, not really expecting much from the event and got my first ever top cut in a Major event with it!

And then came this turbo version of ReshiZard that was popularized by Tord Reklev at the 2019 World Championships, when I saw it, I jumped on it. Reshiram & Charizard-GX had 3 really good attacks! Outrage would hit 30+ whatever damage counters you had on ReshiZard. Flare Strike would hit for 230 and you couldn't attack the next turn which wasn't a big issue as we had Switch and Super Scoop Up. And then the big one, Double Blaze GX, 200 normally but with 3 additional Fire energy, it would do 300 damage instead and ignore all effects on the other side.

And now you're wondering, why are we playing 18 Fire energies here. Well this is a turbo deck and it's finest. Ninetales with the broken Nine Tempations discards two Fire energies to gust. Heatran-GX can jump into the active when played and hit for 130, or with Hot Burn GX, 50x each Fire energy on it, and that number can go way up especially in the late game. We also had two really good stadiums. Giant Hearth gets us 2 Fire energy from deck at the cost of discarding one card, sometimes another Fire energy. Heat Factory Prism Star is similar to the previously mentioned Scorched Earth stadium, but now we can only discard Fire to use it, but we draw 3 cards! 

And then we have the MVP of this deck, Victini Prism Star. Infinity, appropriately named btw, hit for 20x each Fire energy in our discard, which can sometimes go up to 15, aka hitting for 300 from a single prizer! And then you shuffle the energy back into the deck but sometimes you just need it for the end game. And I really enjoyed playing this deck, it got me my first and only League Challenge win, my first Singapore Invitational win, 6 other local wins, a Top 8 at the Singapore SPE with an older build, my only ever Top 4 finish at a League Cup event and a whole bunch of CP earnt with it, at least 200!

2nd - Centiskroch VMAX

List: 1st/209 - 10-2-0 - Online - Hegster Season 3 - #16

Season: 2020-21

Wins: 10 (Online)

Ah yes my ol' pal Centiskorch VMAX, the deck that made me well known during the pandemic. This was a card when I read it, I thought....hang on this could actually be good right? G-Max Centiferno hits for 40 +40 for each Fire energy on Centiskroch VMAX. So with the two needed to attack, we're already doing 120 base damage. But it gets better, if we did damage, we get to attach a Fire energy onto it, so the damage output goes up!

And it goes up even more considering we play the absolute best Supporter card ever printed, Welder! Attach 2 Fire energy from discard to any pokemon and draw 3 cards! So we can reach up to 280 with 6 energies on Centiskorch VMAX and it's not that hard to do, especially if we started with Volcanion Turn 1 going 2nd and use Flare Starter to attach 3 Fire energies to Centiskorch V! 

And this deck had a lot of support. We had the Jirachi to find any Trainer card from the top 6 of our deck, Dedenne-GX to discard and draw 6, Crobat V to draw up to 6 (why is it all 6?), Eldegoss V to get a Supporter card from discard back into hand and it's usually to use Welder again or for Boss, which is why I called it Eldeboss! And let's not forget big bag Heatran-GX, that could do way more damage because of Centiskorch VMAX and Welder piling alot of energies on the field. 

Another piece I liked in this deck was Scoop Up Net, it was one way for us to re-use Jirachi, or to use Galarian Zigzagoon to put 1 damage counter on any of your opponent's Pokemon or to re-use Giratina to discard special energies. PokeComm is another card I've really missed in current format, swapping a Pokemon for another Pokemon, what a great effect. I managed to get 10 online tournament wins with this deck which is quite a huge number for me, as I don't often win events in the first place! I really wished I got to play this deck IRL, what could have been.

1st - Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex

List: 92nd/647 - 5/3/0 - 2025-26 Singapore Premier Ball League @ Suntec City

Season: 2025-26

Wins: 17 (11 Online + 6 IRL)

And here it is, my favourite deck to play of all time and it just had to be this deck right? I couldn't in good faith put Centiskorch VMAX first for the lone reason that I only got to play it online. I did paly Zard Pidgeot online a lot too, heck I got more online wins with it with 11 but I played it a lot in IRL as well (and 6 wins but sadly no GBL or UBL wins with it so far). For starters I can use a Charmander, my favourite Pokemon! 

But the main part of the deck was Charizard ex, with a good ability that self-charges energy and an attack that can keep doing more damage, sounds familiar? Yup when I read I thought....wait this is a better version of Charizard from Team Up and I played that deck all the time! Infernal Reign lets us attach 3 Fire energy from deck to anyone when Charizard ex is played. Burning Darkness does 180 +30 for each prize your opponent has taken. 5 prize taken from them means it's 330 damage done! Or 380 with Max Belt, that's KOing Mega Venusaur ex!

But what if our opponent chooses not to take prizes? Well have the Dusknoir line to force them to take prizes due to Curse Blast from both Dusclops (5 damage counters) and Dusknoir (13 damage counters). This I felt was the missing piece the deck needed to make it insanely good. And I haven't even mention the engine that runs this deck, Pidgeot ex! Quick Search lets us get any card each turn. ANY CARD. EACH TURN! Which is why most of the time I'm trying to get Pidgeot ex up first before doing anything else. 

And because Charizard ex is a Tera pokemon, that means we can use Briar when they're down to 2 prizes to take an extra prize, and we have ways to make sure they are down to 2 prizes thanks to the Dusk family. I've had the most fun playing this deck and there's a good reason why I've played Charizard ex from the moment it was released till the day it rotates. And right now it's quite un-playable with Dragapult ex being the best deck in the ASC format....and I'm still playing Charizard ex because I still believe I can make it work, even in this sea of Pults. 


Those are my favourite decks I've played so far for the last 10 years or so, hope I did most of them some justice at the very least. Thanks for reading!

Kash Top 25 List: Best Pokemon cards released in 2025 (stats based)

It’s almost the end of 2025 and it’s a good time to look back and reflect on the year, and in this instance we’re looking at cards that were released in 2025. Loads of cards were introduced this year, including the return of not one but two different mechanics, Trainer’s Pokémon and Mega Evolution Pokémon (now with a different ruling).

So as per the yearly tradition now, I wanted to rank the best cards released this year and that will be based on stats from results of big major IRL events and also online events featuring 256 or more players. And I wanted to use a points system to rank these cards.

The way I did the points was quite simple:

• 1st - 5 points
• 2nd - 3 points
• 3rd and 4th - 2 points
• 5th to 8th - 1 point

And if you see the average points and was wondering how I calculated it, quite simple:

• Points scored from each set (termed as S1 to S5)/Events in each set
• The total of the average/how many sets they were played in = Average Points Scored per Sets

The tournaments included in these are any event that is recorded on Limitless for this year that had cards released this year (so no Korean League Season 2, Rio de Janerio, Birmingham and San Antonio). Also included are any Play Limitless online tournament that hit 256+ players. If I had included 128 like I used to, there would be too many and it might dilute the information, and there were just enough to make everything look perfect as S3 and S4 were lacking in IRL tournaments, so online had the most events, especially in S4, to help make the numbers more event. If anyone was wondering:

• S1 (BRS to PRE)
• 8 IRL events
• 4 Online events
• S2 (SVI to JTG)
• 15 IRL events
• 6 Online events
• S3 (SVI to DRI)
• 6 IRL events
• 7 Online events
• S4 (SVI to BLK/WHT)
• 6 IRL events
• 28 Online events
• S5 (SVI to MEG)
• 9 IRL events
• 16 Online events
• S6 (SVI to PFL)
• 5 IRL events
• 8 Online events

Results are as of December 24th, so any online events that were to happen between then and 31st, unfortunately I just don't have enough time to update it all and I don't think it will change this list much anyway.

For the results:

• Wins are wins, pretty easy
• Top 4 will be results from 2nd, 3rd or 4th, not including wins
• Top 8 will be results from 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, and nothing from the above included

Some cards just missed out and honestly it wasn’t that much of a miss. Cards like Flareon ex, Maractus, Tool Scrapper, Team Rocket’s Petrel, Battle Cage, Mega Lopunny ex and Mega Mawile ex all just missed out on this list.

And with that, here are the best 25 cards released in 2025, not done by any sort of opinion or favoritism, just good old statistics and numbers, my favourite! And why just 25? 2025, that's why. We need to keep the gimmick going. Again. For another year. Because why not, I love it!

As for the "saw play in" sector for the cards, I will keep it to 5, not to make the list any more messy than it might already be. For the ones latter on in the list, I usually put the top 5 decks that used it the most from lists on Limitless.

#25 - Team Rocket's Watchtower - Destined Rivals (DRI)

Type: Stadium

Total Points: 44 (26th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 0.61 (26th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - 11 / Avg - 0.84
• S4 - 9 / Avg - 0.26
• S5 - 14 / Avg - 0.56
• S6 - 10 / Avg - 0.77

Wins: 3

Top 4: 8

Top 8: 12

Saw play in:

• N's Zoroark ex
• Dragapult ex/Charizard ex
• Gholdengo ex
• Cynthia's Garchomp ex
• Iron Thorns ex/Crustle

We start off with my least favourite stadium card in the game right now, Team Rocket's Watchtower. Its sole purpose is to slow down decks utilising colourless Pokémon as their engine. The good news is that there are loads of decks who are very reliant on the likes of Pidgeot ex, Noctowl, Squawkabilly ex and Mega Kangaskhan ex just to name a few. And let’s not forget the new Meowth ex coming soon which has the same ability as Tapu Lele GX and Lumineon V.

But it’s not just the engine, some attackers are affected by it too. Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex cannot use it’s ability to pay less energies to attack when Watchtower is live. On the flip side, Slaking ex can attack as its ability will be canceled out by Watchtower.

#24 - N's Zoroark ex - Journey Together (JTG)

Type: Stage 1 Pokémon ex

Total Points: 55 (21st)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 0.47 (30th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - 11 / Avg - 0.52
• S3 - 5 / Avg - 0.38
• S4 - 23 / Avg - 0.67
• S5 - 13 / Avg - 0.52
• S6 - 3 / Avg - 0.23

Wins: 3

Top 4: 12

Top 8: 14

Saw play in:

• N's Zoroark ex
• Gardevoir ex
• Archaludon ex
• Gholdengo ex

A Zoroark ex card with the Trade ability is back, but it's not the same as the previous one. That one was amazing with a great attack, this one copies attacks from your bench. And they aren't all that great to be fair but still enough for N's Zoroark to have some presence in the meta. 

The one good thing about N’s Zoroark ex is it’s very flexible deck, it can play just about any techs and one list won’t look like the other, with so much room to play the game differently, be it a slow controlling game or keeping tempo wit your opponent or even going aggressive to run them off the game.

#23 - Crustle - Destined Rivals (DRI)

Type: Stage 1 Pokémon

Total Points: 51 (23rd)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 0.49 (27th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - 7 / Avg - 0.53
• S4 - 25 / Avg - 0.73
• S5 - 17 / Avg - 0.68
• S6 - 2 / Avg - 0.15

Wins: 3

Top 4: 11

Top 8: 12

Saw play in:

• Crustle
• N's Zoroark ex
• Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant

There will always be an annoying card like Crustle in the format, we just cannot escape it. Crustle is one of those decks that simply asks one question, “do you have an out to KO Crustle?”. Honestly there’s not much to talk about this, you either have an answer or you just lose to it.

#22 - Levincia - Journey Together (JTG)

Type: Stadium

Total Points: 54 (22nd)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 0.49 (27th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - 00 / Avg - 0.00
• S3 - 2 / Avg - 0.15
• S4 - 45 / Avg - 1.32
• S5 - 2 / Avg - 0.08
• S6 - 5 / Avg - 0.38

Wins: 3

Top 4: 11

Top 8: 13

Saw play in:

• Gholdengo ex
• Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box
• Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex

The 2nd of two stadium cards on this list and it only really got good when Gholdengo ex got better in the latter half of the year. It is a good way to recover energies without relying on Superior Energy Retrieval, especially when you can’t use it under item lock from either Budew or Frillish.

I’m surprised it’s not seen more play in other decks using Lighting Energy, recovering 2 for free from a stadium is good value. Gholdengo still makes the best use of this because it does want to have as many energies as possible in hand.

#21 - Charmeleon - Phantasmal Flames (PFL)

Type: Stage 1 Pokémon

Total Points: 26 (30th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.00 (13th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - Not Released
• S6 - 26 / Avg - 2

Wins: 1

Top 4: 6

Top 8: 7

Saw play in:

• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Charizard ex/Noctowl
• Dragapult ex/Charizard ex

Hang on, what is a normal looking Charmeleon doing on here? It's attack only does 40 damage, what's so special about it you ask? Well, the 110 HP is quite big for a Stage 1 Pokemon! 

And so far all Charizard ex decks, be it the Pidgeot ex build, the Noctowl build or even the Dragapult ex build, they’ve all preferred to use the 110 HP Charmeleon and this likely to stay until rotation in April.

#20 - Hoothoot - Prismatic Evolutions (PRE)

Type: Basic Pokémon

Total Points: 83 (15th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 0.68 (25th)

Points

• S1 - 00 / Avg - 0.00
• S2 - 38 / Avg - 1.81
• S3 - 17 / Avg - 1.31
• S4 - 18 / Avg - 0.52
• S5 - 9 / Avg - 0.36
• S6 - 1 / Avg - 0.07

Wins: 5

Top 4: 15

Top 8: 22

Saw play in:

• Tera Box
• Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
• Flareon ex/Noctowl

You might be asking, what the heck is a Hoothoot doing on here? If you remember from last year's list, Jewell Seeking Noctowl just missed out because it came out late and Tera-style decks didn't do much last year. It sure has made an impact this year, especially in the current format. 

So why this Hoothoot? 80 HP protects it from being KOed by the combination of Hawlucha and Dragapult’s Phantom Dive which is only 70 damage. And you need the Hoothoot to stick around to get Noctowl going so it’s perfect for it’s role.

#19 - Jellicent ex - White Flare (WHT)

Type: Stage 1 Pokémon ex

Total Points: 75 (18th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.31 (21st)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - 15 / Avg - 0.44
• S5 - 30 / Avg - 1.2
• S6 - 30 / Avg - 2.31

Wins: 7

Top 4: 12

Top 8: 12

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex
• Dragapult ex

Jellicent ex is another one of those item-locking mons but it's not from an attack this time, it's from its ability while in active, and it also locks Tools cards! So it’s a very difficult 270 HP mon to deal with under both item and tool lock. The only way to get out of it is KOing it or gusting around it. 

The attack is not bad too, 80 for 2 energy or 160 energy for 4 energy. And with those stats and numbers in mind, it was always bound to be a natural partner with Gardevoir ex and Munkidori. 

Garde helps to charge it and Muncie moving damage around all whilst your opponent might not be doing much because of the double lock. It is a scary threat to deal with.

#18 - Dawn - Phantasmal Flames (PFL)

Type: Supporter

Total Points: 31 (29th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.38 (10th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - Not Released
• S6 - 31 / Avg - 2.38

Wins: 2

Top 4: 6

Top 8: 8

Saw play in:

• Charizard ex/Noctowl
• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Alakazam/Dudunsparce
• Mega Venusaur ex

Maybe my favourite supporter card released this year not named Lillie's Determination. I knew Dawn was good the moment I read it. Basic, Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokémon search, it had to be good right? So I knew what deck I wanted to build around it, Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex but the Stage 1 was the missing piece and then it hit me, Noctowl! 

But I wasn't the only one with that idea, Oscar Madsen also had the same idea and we know the story now, Dawn Zard won Stuttgart Regional! Dawn is the main engine for that deck. 

But it’s also a great tech card for stuff like Pult Dusk, Zara Pidgeot and Mega Venusaur. It’s also the perfect card for a deck like Alakazam. While Dawn Zard uses Noctowl to set up the deck, Dudunsparce helps to draw more cards for this deck that wants as many cards in hand as possible.

#17 - Genesect ex - Black Bolt (BLK)

Type: Basic Pokémon ex

Total Points: 109 (13th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.5 (20th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - 55 / Avg - 1.62
• S5 - 34 / Avg - 1.36
• S6 - 20 / Avg - 1.53

Wins: 6

Top 4: 21

Top 8: 31

Saw play in:

• Gholdengo ex/Lunatone
• Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box
• Gholdengo ex

What is it with Genesects and it always getting playable tech cards haha! This version pretty much flipped the fortunes for one Gholdengo ex. 

It was always a decent deck but once Genesect ex was released, it pretty much became one of the top tier decks in the format and as of writing, it is still one of the top decks of the current format going into it’s final few months of Gholdengo.

Being able to just search our two evolution metal Pokémon is just a great ability which is why Gholdengo as been thriving so far. I do think Genesect can find a place in annother evolving metal decks for the next few years but none of them might be as good as Gholdengo ex.

#16 - Mega Absol ex - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Basic Pokémon Mega Evolved

Total Points: 78 (17th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.87 (16th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 61 / Avg - 2.44
• S6 - 17 / Avg - 1.31

Wins: 5

Top 4: 16

Top 8: 13

Saw play in:

• Mega Box
• Tera Box
• Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant
• N's Zoroark ex

Mega Absol ex was initially overlooked by many upon release but not by the legend Tord Reklev who introduced to us the brand new Mega Box deck which is one of the most powerful decks in the current format. And it’s got two incredibly good attacks too. 

Terminal Period may look awkward needing 6 damage counters on your opponent’s active Pokémon but let’s not forget that Munkidori exists which makes it easy to get those 6 damage counters onto their active Pokémon. 

Claw of Darkness is probably the big selling point, as you can not just look at your opponent’s hand and then discard one card, and if they have a small hand size, especially after an Iono, it could be a game ender. 

#15 - Frillish - White Flare (WHT)

Type: Basic Pokémon

Total Points: 101 (14th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.81 (18th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - 15 / Avg - 0.44
• S5 - 44 / Avg - 1.76
• S6 - 42 / Avg - 3.23

Wins: 8

Top 4: 20

Top 8: 15

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex
• Pidgeot ex Control
• Mega Box
• Dragapult ex

Wait hang on we just saw Jellicent ex, why is Frillish ahead of it? Quite simply, it's the Psychic version of Budew and spoiler alert, it's quite high up on this list for a good reason. And more decks can simply just use one Frillish for the item lock, and you don’t need Jellicent ex. 

In fact, I dare say Frillish is a better item locker than Jelicent ex. Garde decks often likes to use Frillish to keep the item lock going along with Munkidori moving damage to make it really tough for your opponent to set up with all that in mind. If it was a Jellicent, all you need is a gist to play items again, same can’t be said for Frillish.

#14 - Lunatone/Solrock/Fighting Gong - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Pokémon / Item

Total Points: 75 (18th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.92 (14th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 52 / Avg - 2.08
• S6 - 23 / Avg - 1.77

Wins: 3

Top 4: 15

Top 8: 27

Saw play in:

• Gholdengo ex/Lunatone
• Ceruledge ex
• Bloodmoon Ursaluna/Lunatone
• Mega Lucario ex/Hariyama
• Raging Bolt ex/Teal Mask Ogerpon ex

The first of two shared entries on this list and there was no reason to separate Lunatone, Solrock and Fighting Gong. Apart from Cynthia's Garchomp, any deck playing one of those cards are likely to play the other two. 

Fighting Gong lets you search for either a Fighting energy or a Fighting Pokemon. And most of the time, if it’s not for the energy, it’s either for Lunatone or Solrock. Lunatone draws you 3 extra cards by discarding a Fighting energy while Solrock was on the board. Solrock does 70 damage if Lunatone was on board. 

So they’re all connected! 3 great cards all working well together, and decks that made the most of these 3 cards were Gholdengo and Ceruledge. And yes Gholdengo has now become one of the top decks of the game because of firstly Genesect and now all 3 cards here. Because of them, Gholdengo can now play other Ace Spec cards and have an alternate attacker in Solrock, sometimes on Turn 1!

#13 - Mega Diancie ex - Phantasmal Flames (PFL)

Type: Basic Pokémon Mega Evolved

Total Points: 46 (25th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 3.53 (6th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - Not Released
• S6 - 46 / Avg - 3.54

Wins: 4

Top 4: 8

Top 8: 6

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex

A Psychic-type attacker that isn't weak to Dark? Yup Mega Diancie might have been the missing piece for Gardevoir ex. One of Gardevoir’s biggest issue was not being able to keep up with some Dark decks (which honestly is not true, it still had so many other counter-play).

Diancie is effectively a 300 HP basic thanks to its ability and with Bravery Charm, it becomes 350 HP! Garland Ray is also a great attack, hitting 240 for just the cost of discarding 2 Psychic. And let’s not forget, Gardevoir is a deck that loves their energies in discard pile. And with Munkidori, Diancie can get some big KOs, even on 300 HP mons.

#12 - Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex - Destined Rivals (DRI)

Type: Stage 2 Pokémon ex

Total Points: 130 (9th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.64 (19th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - 36 / Avg - 2.77
• S4 - 42 / Avg - 1.23
• S5 - 39 / Avg - 1.56
• S6 - 13 / Avg - 1

Wins: 7

Top 4: 27

Top 8: 33

Saw play in:

• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex

It's another good Dark-type attacker in this Gardevoir-dominated year we've seen but Marnie's Grimmsnarl sure sticks out more than the rest. Technically I could have put Spikemuth Gym on here too since it only really works with this deck but I have too many shared entries already on here.

A Stage 2 mon hitting for 180 and 30 to another bench mon, sounds familiar? Yup it’s kinda like the old Darkrai EX that would hit 90 and snipe 30. And with the likes of Munkidori and Froslass, you can keep adding these numbers to either board wipe your opponent or set up enough numbers for a TM Devolution plays.

#11 - Mega Kangaskhan ex - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Basic Pokémon Mega Evolved

Total Points: 83 (15th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.08 (12th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 60 / Avg - 2.4
• S6 - 23 / Avg - 1.77

Wins: 5

Top 4: 17

Top 8: 17

Saw play in:

• Mega Box
• Tera Box
• Pidgeot ex Control
• Mega Kangaskhan ex/Bouffalant
• Mega Lopunny ex/Dusknoir

Mega Kangaskhan ex is not just a good draw supporter for many decks, it can also be a tanky attacker too, usually in it's own deck or Mega Box. And with stuff like Latias ex, you can easily draw 2 cards and then retreat into any other attacker. That’s the drawing bit.

The attacking bit? 200 +50 for each heads you flipped until you hit tails, which means it can do 500 damage if you’re really lucky. But even with the first tail flips, 200 is already a lot of damage. 

And it could be 230 thanks to Munkidori. And with cards like Bouffalant, Bravery Charm and Jumbo Ice Cream, it becomes a near untouchable monster to deal with, with effectively 410 HP!

#10 - Brock's Scouting - Journey Together (JTG)

Type: Supporter

Total Points: 203 (6th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 1.85 (17th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - 57 / Avg - 2.71
• S3 - 35 / Avg - 2.69
• S4 - 88 / Avg - 2.59
• S5 - 14 / Avg - 0.56
• S6 - 9 / Avg - 0.69

Wins: 12

Top 4: 38

Top 8: 53

Saw play in:

• Dragapult ex
• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box
• Dragapult ex/Charizard ex
• Flareon ex/Noctowl

Any Supporter card allowing you to search for Pokemon is always worth a look, just like Jacq, Hilda, the previously mentioned Dawn or stuff like Bridgette or Korinna from back then. Brock's Scouting is the latest to join the list, and it gives you the option to search for 2 Basic or 1 Evolution Pokemon.

For decks like Dragapult, it’s great early game to get a Budew or Dreepy down even after Itchy Pollen is in effect, or one Drakloak to get your engine going. For Joltik decks, they tend to go for Latias ex and Miraidon ex which in turn gets Joltik and another lighting attacker to set their whole board up. 

#9 - Yveltal - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Basic Pokémon 

Total Points: 115 (11th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.71 (9th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 93 / Avg - 3.72
• S6 - 22 / Avg - 1.69

Wins: 8

Top 4: 23

Top 8: 22

Saw play in:

• Mega Box
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass
• N's Zoroark ex
• Froslass/Munkidori
• Crustle

Initially Maractus would have made this list but then Yveltal showed up later in the year and it's now the preferred choice for the retreat-lock attack. 

And perhaps the one thing it has over Maractus, apart from the bigger HP amount, is simply Yveltal having free retreat! That works perfectly with Pecharunt ex in mind, giving you a free out for…oddly enough…another retreat lock attack! Or decks that need to retreat to use it’s attack again, this could work with them.

#8 - Ralts/Kirlia - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Basic Pokémon / Stage 1 Pokémon

Total Points: 114 (12th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 3.17 (7th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 66 / Avg - 2.64
• S6 - 48 / Avg - 3.69

Wins: 10

Top 4: 18

Top 8: 21

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex

So yeah we got a new Ralts and Kirlia and they're both better than the previous ones we started with at the start of the year. Ralts two attacks are nothing special but you got the choice of either drawing one extra card, or doing 10 damage.

As for Kirlia, it’s also got two good attacks but most of the time, if it’s used, it will be the first attack. Call Sign let’s you search for 3 Pokémon and put it into your hand so you can set up the perfect board the next turn, with one of them surely being Gardevoir ex which is what the deck needs to get going!

#7 - Hilda - White Flare (WHT)

Type: Supporter

Total Points: 165 (7th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.3 (11th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - 79 / Avg - 2.32
• S5 - 55 / Avg - 2.2
• S6 - 31 / Avg - 2.38

Wins: 13

Top 4: 28

Top 8: 30

Saw play in:

• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Flareon ex/Noctowl
• Alakazam/Dudunsparce
• Conkeldurr
• Dragapult ex

As mentioned for Brock's Scouting earlier, any Supporter card that searches for Pokemon is usually very good. But Hilda doesn't just do that. While it does search for an Evolution Pokemon, it also search for an Energy card. Not just Basic, any energy card! 

So for decks like Dragapult, it can search out Dragapult ex AND Neo Upper Energy, allowing Pult to attack right away. It also work for decks like Flareon to get the missing energy for Flareon or whoever might be attacking. 

The new Mega Lopunny ex decks is also very reliant on Hilda to get Mega Lopunny or Dusclops/Dusknoir and with Jet Enegy, it can destroy and opponent’s board right away.

#6 - Shaymin - Destined Rivals (DRI)

Type: Basic Pokémon 

Total Points: 222 (5th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 2.95 (8th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - 80 / Avg - 6.15
• S4 - 69 / Avg - 2.03
• S5 - 54 / Avg - 2.16
• S6 - 19 / Avg - 1.46

Wins: 14

Top 4: 42

Top 8: 52

Saw play in:

• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Gardevoir ex
• Ethan's Typhlosion

We finally got a bench protector back in the game but with a bit of a catch this time around. Shaymin protects your benched Pokémon from attack, sounds like the old Mew or Manaphy or Mr Mime right? 

Well not quite, it only protects Pokémon without a Rule Box, so your Pokémon ex are not protected. A nice change I’d say and hey Shaymin has saw play in loads of decks. The irony being that the one that used it the most is a deck that attacks the bench too, that being Grimmsnarl. 

And with the likes of Scream Tail, Fezandipiti ex and Wellspring Ogerpon ex still such a big threat in the current meta, Shaymin will continue to be an answer for decks suffering from snipe attacks.

#5 - Psyduck - Promo (PR)

Type: Basic Pokémon 

Total Points: 144 (8th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 3.66 (5th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 102 / Avg - 4.08
• S6 - 42 / Avg - 3.23

Wins: 9

Top 4: 33

Top 8: 22

Saw play in:

• Mega Box
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass
• Crustle
• N's Zoroark ex

Probably the hardest card to find on this list, because I myself do not own one of these. Psyduck was released as a 3-pack blister when Mega Evolution so it was tough to find. And it was super playable too with the top deck in mind during that time.

Psyduck shuts down ability that has Pokémon knocking itself out to use the ability and guess who takes the hit from this? Yup Dusclops and Dusknoir, the main thing helping Dragapult ex. Charizard Pidgeot is another one but the irony being it also using Psyduck, some of them habe started cutting Dusknoir as a way to help with the Pult matchup so Psyduck was the answer for them too.

#4 - Lillie's Clefairy ex - Journey Together (JTG)

Type: Basic Pokémon ex

Total Points: 433 (4th)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 4.07 (4th)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - 145 / Avg - 6.90
• S3 - 40 / Avg - 3.08
• S4 - 119 / Avg - 3.5
• S5 - 82 / Avg - 3.28
• S6 - 47 / Avg - 3.61

Wins: 30

Top 4: 77

Top 8: 104

Saw play in:

• Gardevoir ex
• Tera Box
• Joltik Box
• Gardevoir ex/Jellicent ex
• Flareon ex/Noctowl

Lillie's Clefairy ex has been a welcomed addition to many decks this year and it's just a generally good card. The ability is already so good, giving your opponent’s Dragon Pokemon, a typing known to have no weakness, now having Psychic weakness when Clefairy on board meant stuff like Gardevoir ex now had an easier way to deal with Dragapult ex. 

But it’s not just the ability, the attack is amazing too. The last time we saw a Rondo attack was with Entei, Suicune and Raikou Vs, all theee of them seeing play at one point or another during their time. You hit for as many Pokemon on both boards and adding Clefairy, if both boards are full, that’s an easy 220. 

And that number can keep going up if Area Zero Underdepths is in play, and with your board full, it goes up to 280 which can knock out many big attackers like N’s Zoroark ex and Ceruledge ex. And if your opponent’s board is full, that means Clefairy does 340, enough to KO even Charizard ex! 

And it’s quite splashable, just needing a Psychic and colourless to attack and there’s plenty of ways around that. Clefairy is here to stay and will always be relevant since Dragapult isn’t going away anytime soon.

#3 - Budew - Prismatic Evolutions (PRE)

Type: Basic Pokémon 

Total Points: 673 (1st)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 5.87 (3rd)

Points

• S1 - 95 / Avg - 7.92
• S2 - 161 / Avg - 7.67
• S3 - 98 / Avg - 7.54
• S4 - 202 / Avg - 5.94
• S5 - 77 / Avg - 3.08
• S6 - 40 / Avg - 3.07

Wins: 46

Top 4: 115

Top 8: 172

Saw play in:

• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Dragapult ex
• Gardevoir ex
• Dragapult ex/Charizard ex
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass

Yup, Budew. You know it. You either love it or hate it. A 30 HP mon that hit for 10 and item lock for free and has free retreat, how can it not be good? It’s been the perfect partner for decks that like to play the comeback game but building their board and playing the slow game initially, mainly Pult, Garde and Grimm.

It’s the perfect turn 1 attack for most of these decks to stop your opponent from setting up by preventing them from using cards like Poffin, Nest or Ultra Ball and also Rare Candy. Speaking of which, one thing Budew has over Frillish (apart from the energy cost and the retreat cost) is that it is searchable through Buddy-Buddy Poffin, something the 80 HP Frillish is not.

But it’s not just a great early game attack, it’s also a great late game attack to stop your Gholdengo opponent from using Superior Energy Retrieval or other decks from using Prime/Counter Catcher. We will keep seeing Budew until it rotates, we won’t be able to escape it. It’s Itchy Pollen season!

#2 - Air Balloon - Black Bolt (BLK)

Type: Tool

Total Points: 465 (2nd)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 6.12 (2nd)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - 239 / Avg - 7.03
• S5 - 164 / Avg - 6.56
• S6 - 62 / Avg - 4.77

Wins: 23

Top 4: 96

Top 8: 128

Saw play in:

• Gholdengo ex/Lunatone
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass
• Gholdengo ex
• Gholdengo ex/Joltik Box
• Tera Box

Air Balloon is back and if not for the next card, might have been the best card released this year! It’s just a great pivot card and many decks have made good use of it. A lot of decks that used to rely on Rescue Board all swapped to Air Balloon since its release. 

Two decks that have made the most of it are Gholdengo ex decks and decks that are reliant of Munkidori, be it Marnie’s Grimmsnarl, Froslass/Budew, Mega Kangaskhan/Bouffalant or even Gardevoir. 

It makes the most sense in Gholdengo as you can make the most use of it’s Coin Bonus ability as it draws an extra card while being in the active and with Air Balloon, you cam draw up to 4 cards which is always a good thing.

#1 - Lillie's Determination - Mega Evolutions (MEG)

Type: Supporter

Total Points: 464 (3rd)

Average Points Scored per Sets: 11.97 (1st)

Points

• S1 - Not Released
• S2 - Not Released
• S3 - Not Released
• S4 - Not Released
• S5 - 318 / Avg - 12.72
• S6 - 146 / Avg - 11.23

Wins: 31

Top 4: 86

Top 8: 106

Saw play in:

• Dragapult ex/Dusknoir
• Gardevoir ex
• Charizard ex/Pidgeot ex
• Mega Box
• Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex/Froslass

Of course it had to be Lillie's Determination and for the first time since I started doing these lists back in 2019, it's not an Item card that tops the list. Well there's a good reason for that, there were no real good item cards released this year. But they did print perhaps one of the best Supporter cards ever in Lillie's Determination.

Shuffle and draw 6 is nothing new to us, we got that in older cards like Professor Oak's New Theory and Cynthia. What makes this better is that if you have not taken a prize card, it becomes 8 cards instead so now there is an incentive to not take prize cards but instead build your board state by seeing more cards in hands, which is why the slower set-up style decks have all used it, especially the 5 mentioned above.

A lot of these decks like to build their board first, sit behind one or two Budews, use Lillie’s for about 2-3 turns to get the perfect set-up and then launch an attack. It’s not bad in the late game too. With Iono you’re limiting yourself to maybe 2-3 cards. Lillie gets you 6 which is sometimes just enough to get you to a winning position. 

That’s all I got for the cards released this year and that’s it for me this year too! I wish you all the best for the upcoming new years in 2026. Thanks for reading and enjoy the new years!