Table of Contents
- Blaine’s Charizard/Parasect
- Brock’s Ninetales/Tyranitar
- Brock’s Sandslash/Clefable
- Light Dragonite
- Light Golduck
- Paint Lock (Smeargle/Murkrow/Dark Vileplume)
- Rocket’s Zapdos/Muk
- Sneasel/Aerodactyl
- Sneasel/Porygon2
- Typhlosion
- Venusaur
- Wigglytuff/Muk
Blaine’s Charizard/Parasect
💰 Expensive to Build
| Pokémon (17) | Trainers (30) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Blaine’s Charmander 2x Blaine’s Charmeleon 2x Blaine’s Charizard (Er.) 1x Igglybuff 1x Tyrogue 1x Moltres 1x Paras 1x Parasect |
4x Pokémon Tower 2x Focus Band 4x Lass 4x Energy Removal 4x Super Energy Removal 3x Computer Search 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 2x Warp Point 2x Nightly Garbage Run 1x Gust of Wind |
13x Fire Energy |
This deck’s strategy is to run the opponent out of Energy cards entirely. 4/4 Energy Removal & Super Energy Removal team up with Blaine’s Charmander’s Kindle to remove as much Energy as possible, while Pokémon Tower prevents Recycle Energy from returning from the discard pile. Parasect serves as a way to block attacks like Rocket’s Zapdos’s Plasma and Pokémon Powers like Typhlosion’s Fire Recharge from recovering these lost Energy cards.
Tip: Don’t evolve Blaine’s Charmander just because you can. Many times, you’re better off keeping Charmander in play for its Kindle attack.
Brock’s Ninetales/Tyranitar
| Pokémon (18) | Trainers (29) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Brock’s Vulpix 3x Brock’s Ninetales 4x Tyranitar 2x Voltorb 2x Electrode |
3x Healing Field 4x Gold Berry 3x Computer Search 3x Lass 3x Brock’s Protection 3x Item Finder 2x Professor Elm 2x Professor Oak 2x Super Energy Removal 2x Double Gust 1x Nightly Garbage Run 1x Scoop Up |
4x Double Colorless Energy 3x Recycle Energy 3x Darkness Energy 3x Rainbow Energy |
By first placing Brock’s Protection on Brock’s Ninetales, you can ensure the Tyranitar you’ll Shapeshift into is immune to Super Energy Removal, allowing you unleash Tyranitar’s impressive Trample attack. Electrode’s Buzzap helps you power up additional Tyranitars, but you’ll need to be careful not to bench too many Pokémon, as Trample can hit your own Bench too. To help mitigate the damage Tyranitar will deal to your own Bench, you’ll max out on Gold Berry and also play a Scoop Up to avoid an unnecessary Cleffa KO.
Brock’s Sandslash/Clefable
| Pokémon (20) | Trainers (28) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Brock’s Sandshrew 3x Brock’s Sandslash 3x Clefairy 3x Clefable 2x Doduo 2x Dodrio |
2x Broken Ground Gym 2x Focus Band 2x Gold Berry 4x Super Energy Removal 3x Lass 3x Brock’s Protection 3x Item Finder 2x Professor Elm 2x Professor Oak 2x Double Gust 1x Good Manners 1x Pokémon Center 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
9x Fighting Energy 3x Recycle Energy |
Brock’s Sandslash might not look like much, but when equipped with Brock’s Protection, it can be a pain for your opponent to deal with. Clefable serves as a perfect partner to deal with Sneasel, while Dodrio’s Retreat Aid allows you to easily retreat Clefable when facing Baby Pokémon.
Light Dragonite
| Pokémon (17) | Trainers (30) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Dratini 3x Light Dragonair 3x Light Dragonite 1x Elekid 1x Igglybuff 1x Scyther 1x Aipom |
2x Narrow Gym 4x Gold Berry 4x Lass 3x Computer Search 3x Item Finder 2x Energy Removal 2x Super Energy Removal 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 2x Gust of Wind 2x Good Manners 1x Warp Point 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
3x Grass Energy 4x Double Colorless Energy 4x Metal Energy 2x Recycle Energy |
Given how many decks rely on Darkness Energy & Metal Energy, Light Dragonite’s Miraculous Wind creates a lot of favorable match-ups in the Base–Neo format.
Tip: Attach Metal Energy to Light Dragonite, as it will not reduce the damage it does. (However, it won’t reduce damage Light Dragonite takes, either.)
Light Golduck
| Pokémon (18) | Trainers (29) | Energy (13) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Hoothoot 4x Noctowl 3x Psyduck 3x Light Golduck |
3x No Removal Gym 1x Chaos Gym 3x Gold Berry 2x Focus Band 3x Professor Elm 3x Rocket’s Sneak Attack 3x Double Gust 3x Item Finder 2x Professor Oak 2x Good Manners 2x Super Energy Removal 1x Lass 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
5x Psychic Energy 4x Double Colorless Energy 3x Recycle Energy 1x Metal Energy |
Special Energy is ubiquitous in the Base–Neo format, so Light Golduck’s Core Blast can do some major damage. Noctowl’s Glaring Gaze and No Removal Gym will work together to protect your Light Golduck from Super Energy Removal, allowing you to repeat this deadly attack.
Paint Lock (Smeargle/Murkrow/Dark Vileplume)
| Pokémon (27) | Trainers (21) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Murkrow 3x Oddish 2x Dark Gloom 3x Dark Vileplume 3x Erika’s Bellsprout 2x Erika’s Weepinbell 3x Erika’s Victreebel 2x Smeargle 1x Sneasel |
1x Healing Field 4x Lass 4x Computer Search 3x Misty’s Wrath 3x Pokémon Breeder 2x Professor Oak 2x Warp Point 2x Pokémon Trader |
4x Darkness Energy 4x Rainbow Energy 3x Recycle Energy 1x Double Colorless Energy |
This deck aims to land a game-winning Mean Look by using Dark Vileplume to block your opponent’s only ways of escaping. Smeargle allows you to Paint your opponent’s Pokémon into Psychic-type, creating Mean Look targets, while Erika’s Victreebel ensures they can’t hide safely on the Bench. If nothing stands out as an easy target, though, you can always go for a Mean Look on Cleffa. (Just remember, you’ll have to flip any time you use Feint Attack with Cleffa active, regardless of what Pokémon you’re aiming to hit.)
Tip: One way a desperate opponent can remove their Mean Looked Cleffa is by attaching a Darkness Energy to it, using the Energy damage to knock it out. Paint a Cleffa Darkness type to prevent it from taking this damage, ensuring a Mean Look will permanently trap it.
Rocket’s Zapdos/Muk
🌠 Iconic Deck
| Pokémon (14) | Trainers (32) | Energy (14) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Tyrogue 3x Rocket’s Zapdos 2x Grimer 2x Muk |
4x Pokémon Tower 2x Gold Berry 2x Balloon Berry 4x Lass 4x Computer Search 4x Energy Removal 4x Super Energy Removal 3x Professor Oak 2x Gust of Wind 1x Professor Elm 1x Nightly Garbage Run 1x Warp Point |
9x Lightning Energy 4x Metal Energy 1x Double Colorless Energy |
Abusing the self-damage technicality on Metal Energy, Rocket’s Zapdos’s Electroburn becomes even stronger in Base–Neo. Not needing Recycle Energy, the deck can run Pokémon Tower & 4-4 Energy Removal/Super Energy Removal to deplete the opponent’s Energy cards.
Tip: Avoid opening with Rocket’s Zapdos whenever possible. Plasma’s 20 damage is just short of a knockout on Baby Pokémon and will not put enough pressure against Cleffa early in the game, leaving you susceptible to the Lass + Eeeeeeek combo.
Sneasel/Aerodactyl
🤑 Cheap to Build
| Pokémon (13) | Trainers (35) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Sneasel 1x Murkrow 1x Igglybuff 3x Aerodactyl |
2x Ecogym 2x Chaos Gym 2x Gold Berry 2x Focus Band 3x Lass 3x Computer Search 3x Item Finder 3x Energy Charge 3x Fossil Egg 2x Mysterious Fossil 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 2x Gust of Wind 2x Super Energy Removal 1x Nightly Garbage Run 1x Switch |
4x Darkness Energy 4x Rainbow Energy 2x Recycle Energy 2x Double Colorless Energy |
With an Aerodactyl out as quickly as Turn 1 thanks to Fossil Egg, any deck relying on Evolved Pokémon can quickly crumble to Sneasel’s Beat Up.
Tip: If your opponent plays Igglybuff, you’ll need multiple Aerodactyl to prevent them from evolving Pokémon. In order to do this, you’ll need to play Fossil Egg to get your second Aerodactyl out, as Mysterious Fossil cannot evolve once Aerodactyl is in play.
Sneasel/Porygon2
| Pokémon (16) | Trainers (32) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Sneasel 4x Porygon 2x Porygon2 2x Dark Porygon2 |
2x Ecogym 2x Chaos Gym 1x Pokémon Tower 3x Gold Berry 2x Focus Band 4x Lass 3x Good Manners 3x Professor Elm 3x Item Finder 2x Super Energy Removal 2x Professor Oak 2x Gust of Wind 1x Double Gust 1x Erika’s Kindness 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
5x Fire Energy 4x Darkness Energy 3x Rainbow Energy |
Being limited to four Darkness and Rainbow Energies in your deck, Sneasel has always been vulnerable to Super Energy Removal. With Porygon2’s Energy Conversion, you can convert Basic Energy cards to Darkness type, ensuring you have enough Darkness Energy to survive Super Energy Removal and keep the Beat Up attacks coming. As an added bonus, Dark Porygon2 fits nicely in the deck, allowing you to easily maintain useful Stadium Cards in play, like Ecogym or Chaos Gym.
Typhlosion
🤡 Fun to Play 💰 Expensive to Build
| Pokémon (19) | Trainers (29) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 4x Cyndaquil 3x Quilava 4x Typhlosion 2x Blaine’s Charmander 1x Igglybuff 1x Moltres |
4x Pokémon Tower 1x Gold Berry 3x Lass 3x Computer Search 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 4x Super Energy Removal 4x Energy Removal 2x Nightly Garbage Run 1x Gust of Wind 1x Warp Point 1x Pokémon Center 1x Super Potion |
11x Fire Energy 1x Metal Energy |
While the main idea is to attack with Typhlosion’s Heat Tackle, the inclusion of Blaine’s Charmander and one Moltres gives this deck the option to shift gears into a stall deck that can run the opponent out of Energy.
Venusaur
🤡 Fun to Play
| Pokémon (18) | Trainers (30) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Bulbasaur 3x Ivysaur 3x Venusaur 2x Doduo 2x Dodrio 1x Igglybuff |
3x Energy Stadium 3x Focus Band 4x Lass 3x Computer Search 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 2x Super Energy Removal 2x Double Gust 2x Pokémon Center 2x Item Finder 1x Gust of Wind 1x Pokémon Breeder 1x Pokémon Trader 1x Good Manners 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
12x Grass Energy |
The classic Pokémon Center & Energy Trans combo continues to work in the Base to Neo format, mostly thanks to Solarbeam’s ability to score a one-hit KO on Sneasel. Energy Stadium offers the deck a new weapon against Super Energy Removal, while Dodrio allows you to easily fall back to Cleffa and Eeeeeeek when you find yourself in a pinch.
Wigglytuff/Muk
🤑 Cheap to Build
| Pokémon (16) | Trainers (32) | Energy (12) |
| 4x Cleffa 3x Jigglypuff 3x Wigglytuff 2x Grimer 2x Muk 1x Tyrogue 1x Aipom |
3x No Removal Gym 2x Focus Band 2x Balloon Berry 4x Lass 3x Gust of Wind 3x Energy Charge 3x Item Finder 2x Super Energy Removal 2x Professor Oak 2x Professor Elm 2x Computer Search 2x Good Manners 1x Warp Point 1x Nightly Garbage Run |
2x Grass Energy 4x Double Colorless Energy 4x Recycle Energy 1x Metal Energy 1x Potion Energy |
Baby Pokémon are perfect for filling your Bench to boost Wigglytuff’s Do the Wave damage, as their free retreat make them poor Gust of Wind targets for your opponent. Another thing Wigglytuff gains from the Neo sets is Recycle Energy, which reduces its vulnerability to Super Energy Removal.
Tip: Don’t wait to play Balloon Berry on a benched Muk. That way, if your opponent uses Gust of Wind, followed by Lass, Muk will not be stranded Active.