The Best Cards To Support Any Pokémon TCG Pocket Deck

Starting this list is Persian, which might initially sound like a tough sell. Not only does its Shadow Claw attack require two Colorless energy and only deal 40 damage, but it’s a stage-one Pokémon and will require you to evolve a Meowth just to bring it out. What makes it worth it, however, is the Shadow Claw’s ability. You’ll flip a coin with every attack, with heads forcing your opponent to discard a random card from their hand. This effect can greatly disrupt any player’s plans when you remember every deck is only 20 cards.

Additionally, Meowth isn’t a bad card itself. Its Payday attack might deal a measly 10 damage, but its effect lets you draw a card with each attack. Both this ability and the one from its evolution can be pretty handy.

Next is the only Pokémon on the list that isn’t a Colorless one. Heliolisk is a stage-one lightning-type Pokémon that evolves from Helioptile. Its Quick Attack, which uses two Colorless energy, makes this an attractive inclusion for a deck. It’s a pretty unique attribute. So many evolved Pokémon require at least some energy that matches their type. The attack also does a base 50 damage, with a coin flip potentially adding an extra 40 if you land a heads.

Heliolisk’s biggest problem is its pre-evolution Helioptile. It’s only a basic Pokémon and its Tail Whap attack requires one Lightning energy. If your deck doesn’t have enough Lightning types to necessitate that energy, Helioptile will essentially be worthless for you before it can evolve it.

Sometimes your deck needs a tanky Pokémon that can stall while you build up your main strategy. Kangaskhan is one of the best at this approach as a basic Pokémon with 100 HP. Just as impressive is its Dizzy Punch attack. For just one Colorless energy, you can flip two coins and inflict 30 damage for each one that lands heads.

Luck can be a tricky thing with this card, however. Getting two tails and dealing no damage at all isn’t a great situation. However, the chances of dealing 30 or 60 damage are worth taking in my opinion. This is especially true when you consider the high HP and low energy cost. If you haven’t received this card yet, which is likely given its low offering rate, you might want to try crafting it through the Pack Point Exchange system.

There are quite a few Item cards that feel necessary for specific kinds of decks or situations, but some will work just about anywhere. A fantastic example of this is Poké Ball, which adds one random Basic Pokémon from your deck to your hand.

This card doesn’t have any downsides. The only bad use for it is if it’s played late enough into a game when you no longer have anything to properly target. Things might change as new cards are added in future expansions, but it’s currently the kind of card that belongs in every deck.

Just like Item cards, Supporter Cards often have very specific use-case scenarios but some are useful to anyone.. Professor’s Research falls into the latter category, thanks to its simple effect of letting you draw two cards.

Read More: The Best Cards from Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Genetic Apex Expansion

We consider this one of the top cards from the Genetic Apex Expansion, and its versatility earns it a spot here too. Drawing an extra card or two is always appreciated in these quick-paced matches. I’m not sure if there’s a deck that wouldn’t benefit from having one or two copies of this.

Next up is the sole stage-two Pokémon on this list, but we promise it’s worth building up for. Pidgeot has the Drive Off ability, which allows you to switch out the opponent’s Active Pokémon once per your turn. The opponent will be able to choose which of their benched Pokémon will take the new active spot. It’s basically like using a Sabrina card for each turn.

Drive Off is a separate ability that doesn’t rely on its attack. Speaking of, a 70-damage dealing Wing Attack isn’t too bad for two Colorless energy either. You can comfortably use Drive Off whether Pidgeot is in the Active spot or on the Bench. Still, how useful this is depends on personal preference. You’ll need to include both of its pre-evolutions just for the chance to benefit from the ability. No matter how beneficial and disruptive the ability is, that’s a lot to accommodate for.

We could not have a list like this without including one of the most helpful cards. Farfetch’d is a simple, basic Pokémon that can hit hard thanks to its 40-damage Leek Slap. What separates this attack from everything else added so far is that it only requires one Colorless energy.

That isn’t to say the card is completely OP. Farfetch’d is less likely to survive a turn once some ex or stage-two Pokémon are out on the field. They’re typically more effective during the initial few turns. That being said, I have come across situations where bringing in this vegetable carrying bird to dish out a quick 40 damage was helpful for closing matches.

Poké Ball isn’t the only Item card to keep in all of your decks. Potion has the simple and effective ability to heal 20 damage for one of your Pokémon. There aren’t as many healing options currently, so this is a pretty essential card to have.

Obviously, the main setback is that 20 damage isn’t that much. It can feel more effective when weaker Pokémon are attacking each other, instead of stronger ones that can easily deal closer to 100 damage. An easy way to get help with that is to include more than one copy in your deck. Again, healing isn’t that common of an effect during this first expansion. Potion is an essential card that’s even better when you have two of them.

Many consider this to be the best card in Pokémon TCG Pocket so far, and a big part of that is how useful it can be for any deck. Sabrina is a Supporter card that switches your opponent’s Active Pokémon with one that they choose from their bench. It’s identical to the Pidgeot ability, except you don’t need to bring out two other cards to play it.

This card can be used almost any time during a match. The obvious choice is to switch out a tough Pokémon in hopes of one that’s easier to knock out. In the early turns, where there sometimes isn’t much on the field, you can also use it to take out a basic Pokémon that you know your opponent will want to evolve. Even when your opponent has a full bench of options, causing a switch like this is bound to be a hindrance to their game plan.

Adding these cards to an incomplete deck is sure to round it out and give it some better legs to stand on. There is a better chance to get most of these before finding the right ex card for your meta build. If it’s the Expert solo battles you’re having trouble with, you might also find success by unlocking and using Rental Decks.