Pokemon TCG Pocket is laden with promotional events that give players new cards and other goodies, and one such event that’s providing players with a relatively good Psychic-type card is the Cresselia ex event. Taking part in solo battles against the Pokemon gives you promo packs, and with some luck, you’ll pull enough Cresselia ex’s to attempt building the ‘mon into your own deck.
Cresselia ex, admittedly, isn’t quite as strong as other ex Pokemon. They’ll easily crumble when faced with hard-hitters given their 140HP, but there are some ways – thanks to the many Trainer Cards – that we can try and counter this. Here’s our Pokemon TCG Pocket Cresselia ex deck guide and card list.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Cresselia ex deck guide and card list
The best Cresselia ex deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket is capable of healing up Pokemon consistently while dishing out attacks. Though, this deck is still under threat from hard-hitters such as Charizard ex, Gyarados ex, and Palkia ex given Cresselia ex’s 140HP. We’ve found a few ways to try and prevent Cresselia ex from being knocked out before the battle has truly begun, though.
- 2x Cresselia ex
- 2x Gardevoir (can be swapped for Dusknoir evolution line)
- 2x Kirlia
- 2x Ralts
- 1x Shaymin
- 2x Poke Ball
- 2x Professor’s Research
- 2x Giant Cape
- 1x Potion
- 2x Pokemon Communication
- 1x Sabrina
- 1x Leaf
First and foremost, you ideally want Cresselia ex in the Active Spot from the beginning of the battle and to begin stacking Energy onto them as soon as possible. On top of that, you want Shaymin on the bench, and to begin building Ralts/Kirlia/Gardevoir on the bench.
Provided you have them in hand, you want to use your Poke Ball Item cards, your Pokemon Communication Item card, and Professor’s Research Supporter cards to try and ensure this to the best of your ability. The Pokemon Communication card in particular can be helpful for finding the Gardevoir evolution line, letting you swap a spare Ralts for Kirlia and so forth.
Whenever a Giant Cape Tool card appears in-hand, you then want to attach this to Cresselia ex to turn their 140HP into 160HP. We’re then also bringing along a single Potion Item card just for the sake of it, just in case we need to heal Cresselia ex for some additional damage, though you could consider swapping it for another Shaymin, Potion, or whatever Trainer Card you fancy.
Whenever Gardevoir is fully built, you can use their Ability — Psy Shadow — from the bench to attach a Psychic-type Energy to any Psychic-type Pokemon in play. This could be as soon as turn three, and you may even have Cresselia ex built by then, but you can then use the Ability to stack Energy onto Gardevoir as well as another Cresselia ex.
Don’t bother putting any Energy on Shaymin, as they’re a Grass-type Pokemon and we are not bringing any Grass-type Energy along with us. Instead, we’re using Shaymin for their Ability — Fragrant Flower Garden — which they can also use while benched; this heals all Pokemon in play by 10HP.
Now, the goal of this deck is simple; use Cresselia ex to deal 80 damage to the opposing Pokemon, and don’t forget that their Ability — Lunar Plumage — will heal them for 20HP whenever an Energy from the Energy Zone is attached to them. So, even when fully built, you want to attach Energy to Cresselia ex to heal them by 20HP and use Shaymin to heal them by another 10HP. You can then use Gardevoir to attach Energy to themselves, or another Cresselia ex.
If things are on the ropes and your Active Cresselia ex is low on HP finally, you can then use the Leaf Supporter card — or simply discard Energy — to retreat them, and pop your second Cresselia ex into the Active Spot. In a pinch, you can use Gardevoir to attack, but Cresselia ex is our primary attacker in this deck.
There are a few alternative ways to play this deck. If you fancy, you can swap one of your Trainer Cards for Mew ex, because why not? They’re a Psychic-type who slots into many decks quite nicely, and can copy the attack of an opponent’s Active Pokemon. The downside of Mew ex, however, is their attached Energy-type needs to match that of the opponents. This means Mew ex is only really useful when going against fellow Psychic-type decks or colourless decks, so you could be in luck when facing Mewtwo ex, Pidgeot ex, or Lickilicky ex. Otherwise, Mew ex isn’t going to be useful.
Similarly, you can also consider swapping the Gardevoir evolution line for the Dusknoir evolution line. Dusknoir is another Stage 2 Pokemon whose Ability — Shadow Void — allows them to transfer any damage from another Pokemon onto themselves.
This means we can use Dusknoir to take the brunt of any damage done to Cresselia ex and keep the Pokemon attacking. You do need to be careful of the opponent using Sabrina to switch Dusknoir in and knock them out, but ultimately, it’s better that the opponent knocks out Dusknoir for a single Prize Point rather than Cresselia ex for two Prize Points. You’ll miss out on Gardevoir’s Energy-stacking Ability, but give both decks a whirl and see what suits your playstyle better!
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, take a look at our list of the best decks in the game, as well as how to complete all of the Secret Missions available. They have some pretty good rewards!