Pokemon TCG Pocket decks tier list (April 2025): Best decks to use now (Including Shining Revelry)

Since its release on October 30, 2024, Pokemon TCG Pocket has quickly become a favorite among trading card game enthusiasts. The game’s engaging mechanics and dynamic metagame have led players to craft innovative and competitive decks. Whether attempting to win event emblems or playing casually, knowing the best decks can elevate your experience.

This tier list highlights the game's strongest decks and provides insights into their performance. Let’s dive into the tiers to see which decks dominate the meta.

Pokemon TCG Pocket decks tier list (April 2025): Incuding Shining Revelry

S-tier decks

🚨 Calculate how strong your evolved Pokémon will become with our newly launched Pokemon GO Evolution Calculator 🚨

S-Tier decks are the pinnacle of the metagame, excelling in both consistency and power. These decks are user-friendly and highly efficient, making them the best options for players aiming for top results.

Deck	Pros	Cons
Arceus ex	Completely Immune to status conditions and adapts well with other types	Highly dependent on other cards
Leafeon ex	Its HP, decent damage and 2x energy acceleration make it a great offensive and supportive. Cards like Potions, Shaymin and Erika increase the deck's survivability	Depends on other cards to give out higher damage output. Highly depends on Eevee to lead and survive
Weavile ex and Darkrai ex	Maintains pressure with consistent chip damage and sets up quickly	Does not have high burst damage, chip damage can be recovered with Potion, Irida and Erika
Darkrai ex and Magnezone	2x energy generation and constant chip damage	Relies highly on chip damage until higher burst damage is ready
Mewtwo ex	Great HP, damage and energy acceleration without any need of evolution	Highly depends on Gardevoir for consistency of damage output
Gyarados ex	High burst damage with energy disruption	Its 4 energy requirement makes it highly dependent on Misty and Manaphy
Dialga ex	Fast energy setup with consistent damage. Pokemon Tools enhance this deck further	Highly dependent on Dialga ex to take the lead
Palkia ex	High burst damage while chip damaging the benched cards as well. Deck is enhanced with Irida and Cyrus included	Its high energy requirement makes it dependent to other Support cards like Manaphy and Misty
Infernape ex	Unique hit-and-run playstyle with high consistent damage output	Depends too much on Moltres ex to take the lead to setup and stall
Garchomp ex	Great consistent damage output with excellent bench pressure	Takes time to setup and requires Lucario to stay alive, resulting in having a strong stall wall almost essential for this deck to work
Celebi ex	Low energy needed and the has the highest damage potential per turn in the game	Highly relies on coin flips and Serperior being set up
Pikachu ex	Sets up fast dealing decent damage for low energy cost	Highly depends on the bench to be full
Giratina ex	Great energy acceleration and synergy with Darkrai ex with a solid 130 damage	It requires a lot of energy to do burst damage after it is in play, has to be protected until then. The 20 damage to itself could also put you in a tight spot

Also read: Pokemon TCG Pocket Shining Revelry: All cards, types, and rarities

A-tier decks

A-tier decks are formidable and capable of competing at the highest levels but require more finesse or face competition from the S-tier options. These decks are powerful but may demand a bit more effort to master.

Deck	Pros	Cons
Charizard ex	Highest consistent damage in the game of 200 per turn	2 stage evolution takes time resulting in it being highly dependent on Moltres ex for stall and setup
Articuno ex	Consistent damage and has the potential hit hard turn 1 with Misty	If misty fails it may take time to set up
Pidgeot ex	Highly disruptive and has versitile synergy due to its Colorless requirement	2 stage evolution takes times to setup. Depends on your bench being full
Aerodactyl ex	One of the highest damage potential among the fighting decks. Aerodactyl's ability is great for disruption as well	Aerodactyl evolves from Old Amber cards which can't be pulled from PokeBall, so setting this up can be inconsistent
Yanmega ex	Sets up fast and applies immidiate pressure	Because one energy being discarded every time you attack, it restricts you to only focus on Yanmega ex
Gallade ex	Great counter to high energy running decks and gets bonus damage with Lucario on the bench	Takes time to setup and requires Lucario to stay alive, resulting in having a strong stall wall almost essential for this deck to work
Probopass ex	Has highest defensive and sustainable potential the game while maintaining decent damage output	Damage output somewhat falls short compart to other decks in the meta. Giant Cape and healing gives the opponent more space to out live Probopass ex's damage
Beedrill ex	Sets up quickly, requires minimal energy and disrupts opponent's energy generation. Exeggutor ex and Erika provides great support	80 damage is the highest damage this deck can go to. Beedrill ex's 2 stage evolution might be hinder to your set up
Lucario ex	Deck puts get pressure on your opponent's active and bench cards. Synergies well Cyrus, regular Lucario and Sudowoodo	Lucario ex's 100 damage might be underwhelming for 3 energy in the current meta. Its 150 HP make it depend on Giant's Cape to out live many others' attacks
Bibarel ex	100 damage and 30 heals per turn provide solid damage with decent sustainability. This deck becomes even better with Pokemon Tools, Potions and Pokemon Center Lady	Highly depends on Dialga ex to the lead and assist it to generate energy
Tinkaton ex	Even its minimum 80 damage applies decent amount pressure for oppenents to spend their resources on them	Depends on Dialga ex to set up and coinflips to have its maximum damage output
Charizard ex (Shining Revelry)	This variant of Charizard ex is self reliant and quickly generates energy. With 180 HP and a solid 150 damage, it is strong core offensive card.	Charmander and Charmeleon are weak and they can't generate energy until final evolution; relies on Moltres ex to stall until then
Pikachu ex (Shining Revelry)	Does a solid 150 damage for a basic card and does well against Water decks which are popular in the meta	Pikachu ex's Thunderbolt discards all energy which forces you to swap it out making you strategically reliant on other cards

Also read: Best cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket Shining Revelry expansion, ranked

B-tier decks

B-tier decks are solid performers but typically require more skill to compete effectively. They’re ideal for seasoned players who can leverage their potential fully.

Deck	Pros	Cons
Dragonite	200 damage per turn is highly disruptive to opponents' strategies	Requires too much of setting up; lacks impactful supporting cards to stall. Dragonite's random targeting makes it difficult to have battle control
Venusaur ex	With Giant Bloom, Potion and Erika, this deck has one of the highest healing potential	Its 2 stage evolution and 4 energy requirement takes time, making the stall go for 3 turns atleast
Golem (Mythical Island)	High consistent damage and sustainability potential	Takes time to setup with not many great supporting stall cards' synergy
Lucario	2 Lucario cards essentially lets you stack on the damage output	Depends highly on other cards as Lucario's damage by itself is not that great
Volkner	Can potentially have high burst damage	Requires a lot of systematic steps. If it gets disrupted its hard to creatively adapt to given situation
Koga	Your Darkness cards survive well and put instant pressure on the opponent	No high burst damage giving enough time for the opponent to set up their bench
Paldean Clodsire ex	This deck is Energy friendly, making it an easy, quick and disruptive set	Has underwhelming damage and relies highly on the opposing card to be poisoned
Wugtrio ex	Sets up quickly and does consistent 150 damage per turn. Applying damage to random target can apply decent pressure	The damage might be underwhelming compared to many others in the meta. Additionally the random targeting can also backfire not hitting the intended target

Also read: Rarest cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket Shining Revelry expansion

C-Tier decks

C-tier decks are niche options, excelling at countering specific threats but require highly skilled pilots to succeed. They’re not as consistent as higher-tier decks but can be rewarding in the right hands.

Arbok Lock (Pidgeot) Deck
Zapdos ex Deck (18 trainer deck)
Blastoise ex Deck
Gengar ex Deck
Machamp ex Deck
Wigglytuff ex Deck
Melmetal Deck
Koga Deck
Omastar and Articuno ex Deck
Lapras ex and Butterfree Deck
Poliwrath Deck
Tentacruel and Greninja Deck
Victreebel and Exeggutor ex Deck
Gengar ex and Golbat Deck
Persian and Mawile Deck
Lickitung and Primeape Deck
Exeggutor ex and Alakazam Deck

Also read: Is Pokemon TCG Pocket releasing new packs too frequently?

D-tier decks

D-tier decks are PvE-friendly and can still perform well but are often outclassed by higher-tier decks. They’re great for beginners or players looking for specific niches.

Frosmoth and Articuno ex Deck
Gyarados Deck
Centiskorch and Moltres ex Deck
Grapploct and Pidgeot Deck
Cinccino and Weezing Deck
Brock Deck
Kabutops Deck
Eeveelutions and Ditto Deck
Lickitung Deck
Articuno Deck
Zapdos Deck
Moltres Deck
Venusaur Deck
Charizard Deck
Blastoise Deck

Also read: Pokemon TCG Pocket Ranked Matches: Rules, rewards, and all you need to know

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to Pokemon TCG Pocket, choosing the right deck can make all the difference in your matches. The S-tier decks provide consistency and power, while lower-tier decks offer unique strategies for creative players looking for challenges. Experiment with different combinations and find the one that best suits your playstyle.

Check out our other articles on Pokemon:

🚨 Calculate how strong your evolved Pokémon will become with our newly launched Pokemon GO Evolution Calculator 🚨

Edited by Adarsh J Kumar