The most meta decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket at the time of writing tend to feature ex Pokemon, with the likes of Starmie ex and Pikachu ex being two of many ex Pokemon that are very popular in PvP battles. What if you could create a counter-deck, however, that uses none of these Pokemon? That’s where this Alakazam deck comes in.
This Alakazam deck is capable of punishing opponents that require multiple Energy, which is great for going against the likes of Charizard ex, Mewtwo ex, or even standard Pokemon that require three or more energy such as Machamp or Gyarados. Without further ado, here’s our guide to the best Alakazam deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Pokemon TCG Pocket best Alakazam deck – card list and guide
The best Alakazam deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is incredibly versatile given that the Pokemon only requires one Psychic Energy. This means that although we have chosen to accompany Alakazam with Hypno in this particular deck list, you can easily switch these out for different Pokemon types if you’d prefer.
The goal with this deck is to find the Alakazam evolution line as soon as possible and begin building it, and evolve Drowzee into Hypno as soon as possible. Alakazam can take a while to set up, which is where Drowzee’s evolution, Hypno, becomes useful. Whether they’re on the bench or in the Active Spot, Hypno is able to flip a coin every turn that determines whether your opponent is afflicted with the Asleep status or not.
We ultimately rely on Hypno inflicting the Asleep status so that we have enough time to put three Energy on Alakazam. Once they’re ready, you can use their Psychic attack to dish out a damage value that depends on the opposing Pokemon’s attached Energy. This means Alakazam can do 180 damage to a Mewtwo ex that has four Energy attached, which is more than enough to knock the opponent out, and makes them a significant counter to most decks that use powerful ex Pokemon.
- 2x Abra
- 2x Kadabra
- 2x Alakazam
- 2x Drowzee
- 2x Hypno
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Sabrina
- 2x X Speed
- 2x Potion
As mentioned above, Alakazam only requires one Psychic Energy, meaning we can pair them with Pokemon other than Drowzee and Hypno with ease.
Before we talk about other Pokemon types though, let’s talk about Clefable and Clefairy. These are Psychic-type Pokemon who require just one Energy to dish out 30 or 40 damage respectively, which is great for chipping away at the HP of an opposing Pokemon while we build Alakazam.
Normal-type Pokemon that perform the same function as Clefairy — dishing out damage for just one Energy — are Kangaskhan and Farfetch’d. Kangaskhan can deal between 30 and 60 damage depending on their coin flip attack, and boasts 100 HP. Farfetch’d sadly only has 60 HP, but they can still dish out 40 damage per attack!
Snom and Frosmoth are great Water-type alternatives, with Frosmoth guaranteed to put an opposing Pokemon to sleep with their Powder Snow attack, which simultaneously dishes out 40 damage. Being able to guarantee an opponent is put to sleep is great, but this means we have to have Frosmoth in the Active Spot with two Energy attached, unlike Hypno who can afflict the Asleep status from the bench, every turn, without any Energy.
Koffing and Weezing are Dark-type alternatives that are capable of inflicting opposing Pokemon with the Poison status effect while chipping away at their HP, giving us just enough time to build Alakazam with some luck. Weezing’s Ability — which requires just one Energy — allows them to inflict Poison every single turn while in the Active Spot before following up with the 30 damage Tackle attack. It’s worth noting that if you do choose to bring this Dark-type pair, you should also bring along at least one Koga Supporter Card, if not two. You can swap an X Speed for this.
If you happen to have Normal-type Pokemon Wigglytuff ex in your card collection, you could also consider them and Jigglypuff as an alternative. Wigglytuff ex, similarly to Frosmoth, can put opposing Pokemon to sleep every turn using their attack, but they must be in the Active Spot to do so. The downside of this is that they can’t inflict the Asleep status from the bench like Hypno, and require three Energy to attack, but they do dish out 80 damage which is significant.
Last, but not least, Pincurchin is a basic Electric-type Pokemon that deals 40 damage with their two Energy attack, but they will also flip a coin that determines if the opponent is Paralysed or not. This can be incredibly useful in preventing opponents from attacking or retreating. Considering Pincurchin doesn’t need to evolve either, you could bring along the likes of Zapdos ex for some back-up if you have them.
All in all, I’d argue that Alakazam is best run alongside Drowzee and Hypno, or Koffing and Weezing, for the best results from this deck. Both sets of Pokemon require minimal Energy, so we can focus on building Alakazam as soon as possible while afflicting the opponent with either the Asleep or Poison status effect. Experiment with Alakazam though, and see what you have the most fun with!
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, take a look at the best decks you can try to build, as well as how to craft cards, and how to add Flair to your cards.