Ruby/Sapphire – Power Keepers Decks

Legal Sets

• ex Ruby & Sapphire
• ex Sandstorm
• ex Dragon
• ex Team Magma vs Team Aqua
• ex Hidden Legends
• ex FireRed & LeafGreen
• ex Team Rocket Returns
• ex Deoxys
• ex Emerald
• ex Unseen Forces
• ex Delta Species
• ex Legend Maker
• ex Holon Phantoms
• ex Crystal Guardians
• ex Dragon Frontiers
• ex Power Keepers
• POP Series 1
• POP Series 2
• POP Series 3
• POP Series 4
• POP Series 5
• Nintendo Black Star Promos 001-040

First Turn Rules

• On their first turn, the player going first may not draw a card, and they may not play any supporters
• The player who wins the coinfilp must go first
• The coinflip occurs after the setup phase

Other notes:

• If a player has only a fossil in their opening hand, they must begin the game with it
• Fossils do NOT give up a prize card when KO’d
• Stadium cards are considered “Trainers” so anything that prevents you from playing stadiums (for example, Dragonite ex’s Deafen attack) will also prevent you from playing stadiums.

Ruby Sapphire-Power Keepers, also known as “RS-PK,” or the “ex era” format is a block-style format, containing all the sets from the ex-era block of pokemon sets. While this format was never an official format here in the United States due to the consistent rotation of older pokemon sets, it was the main standard format across the sea in Japan, with older ex-era sets not rotating until Diamond & Pearl sets started releasing. As a result, all of the decklists below were developed many years after these cards were tournament legal, by players like Jason Klaczynski, who decided to go back and explore block-style formats.

Due to the lack of tournaments like Regionals or Nationals to draw decklists from, many of the lists below were taken either from smaller, online tournament settings, or from the blog of Jason Klaczynski himself, who has developed over 50 unique decklists from this timeframe.

Many players consider RS-PK to be one of the most balanced format of all time, and the sheer amount of strategies in this format speak volumes about that as well. While each format will always have their own strong and centralizing strategies, almost everything in the format has counterplay that exists as well, which makes it one of the most enjoyable formats to look back on and play.

Arcanine/Houndoom

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Arcanine ex 4 Growlithe 1 Houndoom 1 Houndour 1 Lunatone (ex Deoxys) 1 Solrock (ex Legend Maker)	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Steven’s Advice 3 Mary’s Request 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Lass 1 Scott 4 Energy Removal 2 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Cursed Stone 2 Crystal Beach 1 Warp Point	12 Fire Energy 4 React Energy

Decklist Credit: Jay Hornung

Arcanine ex, which seems to be good in just about every format it’s legal, stands firm once again as one of the top decks in the format. By having a quick and consistent setup, Arcanine ex can use Overrun to place early damage effectively, while setting up KOs for later. Flame Swirl can be used to remove larger threats when necessary. In addition to the fast damage output the low number of slots dedicated to your attackers means you have plenty of room for disruptive strategies to keep opponents on the back foot – Energy Removal 2, Lunatone & Solrock, Houndoom, and Crystal Beach are all situationally incredible cards that have the potential to punish your opponent for spending their resources incorrectly. You do also have the option to use the Legend Maker Lunatone, which shuts down poke-powers from Fire-type pokemon, but given the low number of fire-type decks in the format, I went with the Lunatone from ex Deoxys. This gives Solrock free retreat, making it even more likely that you can start attacking on turn 2, while also giving you a potential free retreater after a Warp Point.

Armaldo ex

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Armaldo ex 1 Armaldo 3 Anorith 1 Aerodactyl (HP 35) 1 Aerodactyl (LM 1) 1 Groudon ex 1 Holon’s Magneton	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 Castaway 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Mary’s Request 2 Scott 1 TV Reporter 1 Copycat 4 Strange Cave 4 Potion 3 Oran Berry 1 Strength Charm 1 Crystal Shard 1 Buffer Piece 1 Warp Point	10 Fighting Energy 4 React Energy 2 Warp Energy 1 Scramble Energy

Decklist Credit: User “Lilslinky16” – 2nd Place Sunday Afternoon EX Double Elim

Lilslinky had quite the interesting deck for this Sunday Afternoon EX Double Elim tournament – it features only 1 basic pokemon in Groudon ex, which prevents opposing Rayquaza ex from attacking. As a basic, it also cannot be confused by Stantler, so you basically have an autowin against RayLer, since your ability to heal basically guarantees that your Groudon doesn’t ever die, and being the only basic means you ALWAYS start with it. Against other matchups, you do have a few options – Armaldo ex is a nasty attacker that has 2 types when React Energy is attached. The combination of Oran Berry, Potion, and Spiral Drain can also be extremely annoying for smaller-power attackers to deal with. Aerodactyl LM can stack React Energy on it to become a very tanky single-prizer, and Speed Stroke also prevents you from being Damaged by pokemon-ex. Holon Phantoms Aerodactyl thins your deck from energy, and makes sure you have energy for Groudon to discard.

Be prepared to Mulligan a lot with this deck – it plays the max copies of Rocket’s Admin so you can mitigate the damage somewhat, but generally assume your opponent’s hand will be loaded for the first turn or two.

Banette ex/LunaSol

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Banette ex 1 Banette (ex Crystal Guardians) 2 Solrock (ex Legend Maker) 2 Solrock (ex Deoxys) 2 Lunatone (ex Deoxys) 1 Jolteon Star 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 TV Reporter 3 Holon Mentor 2 Castaway 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 1 Professor Elm’s Training Method 1 Scott 4 Holon Transceiver 3 Warp Point 4 Crystal Beach 2 Buffer Piece 1 Strength Charm	7 Psychic Energy 4 Rainbow Energy 2 Fighting Energy 1 Warp Energy

Decklist Credit: Jay Hornung

I’d like to give an extra shoutout to Jay Hornung – he is already such a phenomenal deckbuilder and player, but his aggressive “turn 2” style decks from the ex-era are always such strong contenders in their respective formats. This style of deck is very often pretty straightforward in play, and in construction, but Jay does a truly impressive job at maximizing their potential and consistency.

This Banette ex list comes from an RS-PK tournament in which Jay placed in the top 4, and I think it does a great job at shoring up Banette’s weaknesses in the format. It has all the usual pieces you would expect to see in a Banette list to get its Shadow Chant going as quickly as possible, it has the Crystal Guardians Banette to play around decks that rely solely on ex attackers, as well as some extra pieces like Jolteon Star that can potentially push you over the edge.

This deck does still contains the disruptive combo of Solrock and Lunatone to shut down opposing Pidgeots, but it also contains the Lunatone from ex Deoxys (similar to the Arcanine list above) which means you can REALLY abuse Warp Point with no worries about getting your attacker back into the active spot. In addition, the inclusion of not just 1, but FOUR copies of Solrock means that Lunatone itself can become an extremely functional attacker. The chip damage (as high as 60, before modifiers!) would be relevant in any matchup, but it serves an extra purpose here of hitting BombTar’s Dark Tyranitar for weakness, giving you the potential to score a one-hit KO against a deck that likes to put all its eggs into one basket. Solrock can also utilize its Reflected Beam attack to set up sneaky KOs for later, epspecially when combined with Banette’s Shady Move.

BombChamp

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Machamp 2 Machoke 4 Machop 2 Jirachi 2 Pidgeot 2 Pidgey 2 Electrode ex 2 Voltorb	4 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Steven’s Advice 2 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 4 Windstorm 3 Pow! Hand Extension 1 Pokemon Retriever 1 Solid Rage	4 Fighting Energy 4 React Energy 3 Heal Energy 1 Rainbow Energy

Decklist Credit: Kanten – 1st Place October EX Mega Battle, Top 8 November EX Mega Battle

Similar to BombTar, BombChamp aims to use Electrode ex’s Extra Energy Bomb to power up a strong single-prize attacker in Machamp, while simultaneously disrupting your opponent by leaving them with fewer cards after a Rocket’s Admin. Machamp has a few notable advantages over Dark Tyranitar – First off, Fighting Typing is always relevant. In this format in particular, it hits opposing Dark Tyranitar for weakness, and more importantly, it hits Stantler for an OHKO, even with just Derail. React Energy with Swift Blow will also not be shut down if you happen to catch up to your opponent on prizes, unlike Scramble. Derail is also an EXTREMELY good attack – automatically discarding special energy in a format where they run rampant in almost every single deck can completely change the outcome of a game. Machamp does sacrifice the ability to spread damage around, however, and its damage potential isn’t completely uncapped (it can only hit 140, assuming you don’t prize any React Energy), so there are definitely positives to both decks.

BombTar (also known as “PowTar”)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Dark Tyranitar (TRR 19) 4 Dark Pupitar (TRR 41) 2 Larvitar (TRR 63) 2 Larvitar (DS 73) 2 Electrode ex 2 Voltorb 2 Jirachi (DX 9) 1 Lapras	4 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Professor Elm’s Training Method 1 Holon Scientist 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Pow! Hand Extension 2 Swoop! Teleporter 2 Rocket’s Poke Ball 2 Windstorm 2 Cessation Crystal 1 Pokemon Retriever	4 Darkness Energy 4 Scramble Energy 3 Heal Energy 2 Fire Energy 2 Holon Energy FF

Decklist Credit: username “Frosty”, 2nd place October EX Mega Battle

The beast returns with a vengeance in RS-PK – BombTar is widely regarded as one of the strongest decks in the format. Blowing up your own Electrode ex, followed by playing Rocket’s Admin. can be extremely difficult for a lot of decks to answer, and Dark Tyranitar has the potential to use Grind to remove opponent’s strongest threats, or to use Spinning Tail and clean up several KOs at once. Electrode ex giving up 2 prize cards also means that your Pow! Hand Extention cards will likely be active for the entirety of the game, ensuring that you can gust up and KO whichever pokemon you want.

Some versions of this deck utilize Dump and Draw Magmar to set up their early game, similar to the version that did well at 2006 worlds, although Jirachi is generally preferred since it digs deeper without the prerequesite of discarding energy. At the recent “EX Brawl at the Florida Mall” tournament (hosted by none other than Jason Klaczynski himself), Isaiah Cheville opted for Holon Energy GL instead of FF – this gives up your ability to forego weakness, but ensures that Dark Tyranitar will almost never be afflicted by special conditions.

CamLer

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Stantler 3 Camerupt 4 Numel	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 Castaway 2 Scott 2 Pokemon Fan Club 2 Steven’s Advice 2 Celio’s Network 1 Mary’s Request 4 Pow! Hand Extension 4 Energy Removal 2 4 Cessation Crystal 2 Fluffy Berry 2 Team Aqua’s Hideout 2 Cursed Stone 1 Desert Ruins	10 Fire Energy 3 Heal Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, 2nd Place November EX Mega Battle

Camerupt/Stantler is one of 2 Stantler variations that also dominate the RS-PK format. Stantler does a small amount of damage while also ripping trainer cards out of your opponents hand – it’s important to note that “Trainer” didn’t just mean “items” until Diamond and Pearl released, so this attack can also hit Stadiums and Supporters. Your opponents will essentially be forced to attack into your Stantler in order to protect their ability to advance their board state, which turns on your Pow! Hand Extensions, allowing you to trap something in the active, and Split Bomb your opponent into oblivion.

If this initial strategy doesn’t manage to trap anything active, late game you have the ability to use Rocket’s Admin. to reduce your opponent’s hand size, and potentially rip away their only playable cards. Cessation Crystal further shuts down your opponents, taking away their ability to use important poke-powers like Quick Search. Theoretically a similar strategy could be employed with Exeggutor from Holon Phantoms, but Camerupt is preferred due to its higher HP, as well as its Backburner attack, which gives you resilience against other control strategies that might try to remove your energy from play.

Dark Slowking

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Dark Slowking 2 Slowking 4 Slowpoke 1 Girafarig	4 Mary’s Request 3 Professor Birch 3 Steven’s Advice 3 Castaway 2 Rocket’s Admin. 4 Great Ball 3 Rocket’s Poke Ball 2 Pokemon Retriever 3 Crystal Beach 4 EXP.ALL 1 Mysterious Shard 1 Crystal Shard 2 Cessation Crystal	4 Darkness Energy 10 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro TCG Blog

Dark Slowking employs an aggressive early set up, using Dark Slowking’s Litter attack to pile the Pokemon Tools into your discard pile – 70 damage might seem a bit underwhelming, but the Special Darkness energy bolsters this a bit, and it is often enough to take a lot of early KOs. Dark Slowking also has sneaky good offensive typing, hitting for weakness against Banette ex, Lugia ex, Exeggutor Delta, and more. The Unseen Forces Slowking works double-duty here, being able to search your deck for Pokemon Tools early in the game, while batting cleanup late in the game with a clean attack for 80 damage. Slowking UF also ensures that you can get your 2 crucial 1-of Pokemon Tools when they matter most – Crystal Shard is exceptional against Dark Tyranitar, Dark Dragonite, and Delta Dragonite (the electric one), while Mysterious Shard can really turn the tides against ex-heavy decks like Banette or Arcanine. This deck is a fantastic choice to anybody who might be new to the format, and gives great insight to what a fast start & aggressive deck should be looking to accomplish.

Dark Steelix

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Dark Steelix 4 Onix 1 Electrode ex 1 Voltorb	4 TV Reporter 3 Rocket’s Mission 2 Mary’s Request 2 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Castaway 1 Professor Elm’s Training Method 1 Steven’s Advice 4 Rocket’s Poke Ball 4 Cessation Crystal 4 Life Herb 3 Great Ball 1 Pokemon Reversal 1 Pokemon Retriever 2 Rocket’s Hideout	4 Darkness Energy 4 Metal Energy 4 Heal Energy 4 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Dark Steelix is another clean, simple, and easy to understand Stage 1 deck, although this one takes the opposite approach of Dark Slowking. Set up a Dark Steelix as quick as you can, and try to keep it alive. Metal Energy reduces the damage you take while Life Herb can potentially remove some damage counters. Rocket’s Hideout adds extra HP, although be wary of turns where your opponent might try to take 2 KOs at once by removing your stadium to lower your HP. This functions somewhat similar to Primal Groudon from the XY Era, although you aren’t as likely to be streaming several one-hit KOs in a row against higher HP Stage 2 decks.

Destiny

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Rayquaza ex 4 Exeggutor 4 Exeggcute 2 Jirachi ex 1 Latios ex 1 Latias 1 Mew Star 1 Mew 1 Holon’s Castform	3 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Mary’s Request 3 Castaway 2 Lanette’s Net Search 2 Holon Adventurer 1 Steven’s Advice 4 Cursed Stone 3 Cessation Crystal 2 Balloon Berry 2 Warp Point 2 Pokemon Retriever	6 Lightning Energy 3 Multi Energy 3 Psychic Energy 2 Fighting Energy 1 Scramble Energy

Decklist Credit: Ogawa, Top 4 World Rainbow Cup

The World Rainbow Cup was an EX-Era tournament held in Japan, at a league that regularly plays the RS-PK format! The above decklist finished top 4 in the event, and a deviation listed below also made an appearance at the event. The above list is somewhat similar to the 2007 Version run by Jimmy Ballard – it focuses primarily on attacking with Rayquaza and Exeggutor, spreading damage around and KOing important threats when necessary. 4 Copies of Cursed Stone lets you double down on this damage in a lot of matchups, as the damage on pokemon with poke-powers adds up very quickly. Cessation Crystal gives you an easy way to play around Dugtrio CG as well. Jirachi ex functions as a solid backup attacker – sometimes Shield Beam is just powerful enough to shut down your opponent’s set up, and keep them out of the game. Mew Star and Mew Pop 5 are situationally amazing, hitting Arcanine ex or Scizor ex for weakness. You can also potentially set up situations where Rainbow Wave is useful – spreading damage to multiple Rayquaza ex, Metagross Delta, or Exeggutor at once, for example.

Remember when playing this deck that while Balloon Berry can be attached to anything, Cessation Crystal specifies that it cannot be attached to ex-pokemon, so Rayquaza cannot make use of the pokemon tool.

Dragonite ex Delta

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Dragonite ex 2 Dragonair 4 Dratini 2 Lunatone (Legend Maker) 1 Solrock (Legend Maker) 1 Latios ex 1 Latias 1 Girafarig 4 Holon’s Castform 2 Holon’s Voltorb	4 Rocket’s Admin 2 Scott 2 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Swoop! Teleporter 1 Pokemon Retriever 2 Crystal Beach 2 Cursed Stone	4 Delta Rainbow Energy 4 Warp Energy 2 Grass Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Dragonite ex Delta in a vacuum is arguably the strongest attacker in the format – it has a gargantuan 150 HP with no weakness, and its Deafen attack deals 40 damage and shuts off all trainer cards an opponent can play with the exception of Supporters. This is massive in a format where the Holon Transceiver engine is so prominent, and it also allows Dragonite to lock in either one of its powerful stadium cards – Crystal Beach to shut down energy, or Cursed Stone to spread damage around. Dragon Roar can also be used to close games out – it allows you to place extra damage counters from a KO onto the bench, but most of the time you will want to be locking items.

This list is very close to Jason’s from his retro website, but it does contain a couple of small differences – mine drops a Swoop! Teleporter for an extra copy of Dragonair – a common trend I’ve noticed in some of his lists is a very minimal count of Stage 1s in the stage 2 decks – a bold strategy when many of the decks rely on locking trainers (like this one) or on discarding them (like Stantler decks). I also dropped a Holon Farmer for a Pokemon Retriever, which I did see in one of Jason’s decklists from a tournament.

DragTrode

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Rocket’s Sneasel ex 2 Dark Dragonite 3 Dark Dragonair TRR 31 3 Dratini 2 Dark Electrode 1 Voltorb RG 85 1 Voltorb LM 68 1 Rocket’s Scyther ex	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 2 Steven’s Advice 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rocket’s Poke Ball 2 Warp Point 1 Windstorm 1 VS Seeker	4 Darkness Energy 4 Dark Metal Energy 4 Rainbow Energy 3 R Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

DragTrode was one of the most iconic decks out of the 2006 season, and it’s very strong in RS-PK as well. Rocket’s Sneasel ex gives the deck a very easy way to disrupt opposing Stage 2 setups, as well as additional ways to play around Cessation Crystal. From the online tournaments I was looking at, DragTrode was one of the decks that seems to stand up the best to the different variations of Stantler decks – Drag Off may have a big impact in how those matchups play out, as well as the higher counts of the lower stages of evolution. DragTrode doesn’t rely on multiple counts of Rare Candy like some of the other Stage 2 decks might, and the Dark Dragonair itself can search out evolution cards, so you have a bit of an easier time setting up without trainers. Once set up, Electrode accelerates your dark energy into play, while Rocket’s Sneasel ex can easily hit upwards of 100 damage – not a feat that many decks can accomplish. Rocket’s Scyther ex is very crucial here as an alternate attacker against Queendom and other Fighting decks, as its Grass typing let it hit Nidoqueen for weakness, and its resistance let it soak up damage more efficiently.

Flygon Delta

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Flygon 2 Flygon ex 2 Vibrava (DF 42) 4 Trapinch 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 1 Mew Star 1 Latios ex 1 Chimecho 3 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Magnemite	3 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Researcher 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 4 Windstorm 1 Pokemon Retriever 1 Warp Point 1 Giant Stump	4 Delta Rainbow Energy 4 Warp Energy 3 Psychic Energy 1 Metal Energy

Decklist Credit: Alex Brosseau, 2nd place August EX Mega Battle, 1st Place Sunday Afternoon EX Double Elim

Flygon Delta has always been an interesting case, as its done well with such a wide array of pokemon. This version is a bit diferent than both the versions that placed highly in 2007 – you do still rely on the Holon’s Castform engine to get rolling, but you have Pidgeot to use as a mid-late game consistency engine as well. Rather than relying on a wide array of anti-meta attackers like R-gon did in 2007, Flygon itself appears as the main attacker. Similar to Dragonite ex above, Flygon ex is another 150 HP threat with no weakness, and its Sand Damage poke-body in addition to its Psychic Pulse attack will quickly rack up damage on the opposing bench.

The few tech options in this build do still serve a pretty important purpose – Latios ex can potentially protect you from ex pokemon, and it’s also a secondary Water-type attacker which can matter against Arcanine, although its mostly just functions as a basic pokemon with free retreat, which makes it easy to pivot around Warp Point or to get Castform into the active spot early. Mew Star’s ability to copy any pokemon on the field is useful in a variety of situations (Lugia ex, for example!) and Delta Supply combined with Holon’s Castform makes this a very real possibility. Chimecho lets you pull important energy cards back into your hand which can be crucial against some of the more controlling strategies. Also don’t forget that Pidgeot can attack too! Clutch can trap something in the active, and it also hits opposing Flygon and Dark Dragonite for weakness!

Imprison (Gardevoir Delta)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Gardevoir 2 Gardevoir ex 2 Kirlia 4 Ralts 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 1 Regirock ex 1 Jirachi ex 1 Jirachi 4 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Holon Mentor 2 Professor Elm’s Training Method 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Researcher 4 Holon Scientist 4 Rare Candy 4 Windstorm 1 Swoop! Teleporter 1 Warp Point	6 Psychic Energy 3 Warp Energy 2 Metal Energy

Decklist Credit: Yosha Riley, Top 4 EX Brawl at the Florida Mall

Gardevoir ex’s Imprison poke-power has the potential to completely turn a game around. After an Imprison counter is placed on a pokemon, it can no longer use poke-powers or poke-bodies for as long as it remains on the field – even if Gardevoir ex is KO’d! Permanently locking Powers or Bodies can really slow down opponents that are trying to close out the win, and it combines exceptionally well with a late Rocket’s Admin. to lower your opponent’s hand size. Since the ability lock is built into Gardevoir itself, the deck doesn’t need to waste slots on Lunatone/Solrock or Cessation Crystal like other decks might, which opens up the door for a strong consistency engine in Pidgeot and Jirachi, and some neat techs in Regirock ex and Jirachi ex.

Gardevoir ex delta is a pretty formidable attacker – 80 damage while conserving energy is almost on the same level as Yveltal EX from the XY era. The real star of the show here, though, is the non-ex Gardevoir. Black Magic is a savage attack, hitting for up to 110 damage if your opponent doesn’t limit their bench accordingly, and Psychic Rage can potentially snipe even higher-hp targets off of the opponent’s bench. Gardevoir’s Energy Jump poke-power can also bump ANY energy card around your side of the field, so you can move Holon’s Castform around to easily power up the Regirock when needed.

Legend Toolbox

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Stantler 2 Rayquaza ex 2 Jirachi ex 1 Mew Star 1 Mew 1 Regirock ex 1 Latios ex 1 Mewtwo 3 Holon’s Castform	3 Castaway 3 Mary’s Request 3 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Holon Adventurer 2 Lanette’s Net Search 1 Steven’s Advice 1 Mr. Stone’s Project 3 Cessation Crystal 2 Pokemon Retriever 2 Balloon Berry 1 Windstorm 1 Pow! Hand Extension 1 Warp Point	8 Lightning Energy 3 Fighting Energy 2 Psychic Energy 1 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Tomioka, World Rainbow Cup

This take on Rayquaza is exceptionally creative – it has a strong attacking option in just about every matchup, and it also has the ability to play slower and more controlling with Stantler and Rayquaza when needed. Tomioka, the creator, wrote a fantastic article detailing their choices, which can be found here. The article is in Japanese, so if you do not speak Japanese, you will need a way to translate it in order to read it, but if you have this capability, I highly recommend giving it a read!

Many different attackers server different purposes depending on the matchup – Regirock ex is fantastic against Stantler, as it cannot be confused, and it hits for weakness even with a low bench. Regirock ex by itself is also very nice against RaiEggs. Both Mews hit different decks for weakness – Mew Star hits Arcanine ex and Camerupt, while Mew Pop 5 hits Metagross, Sceptile ex, and Scizor ex. Rainbow Wave is also useful sometimes – enough that Tomioka chose to include a basic Water Energy to make it easier to use. Jirachi ex is strong against a variety of evolution decks, shutting down their ability to use Set Up pokemon like Pidgeot.

The list above differs only slightly from the list Tomioka used at the tournament – Tomioka noted in their report that the event was Open Decklists. As a result, they included 2 copies of Pow! Hand Extension – using fewer copies would make it easier to play around. They noted that anywhere from 0-2 was probably fine, and one of the cards they thought about adding was Mr. Stone’s Project, noting that it could be very strong against decks that have a lot of energy hate. I swapped 1 Pow! Hand Extension for the 1 copy of Mr. Stone’s Project, since many of our tournaments in America revolve around CamLer and RayLer as 2 of the strongest decks in the format.

LudiCargo

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Ludicolo (DX 10) 1 Ludicolo (DX 19) 2 Lombre 4 Lotad 2 Magcargo (DX 20) 1 Magcargo (UF 41) 2 Jirachi 1 Celebi ex 1 Umbreon Star 1 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Voltorb	4 Celio’s Network 4 Lanette’s Net Search 3 Rocket’s Admin. 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 4 Rare Candy 2 VS Seeker 2 Windstorm 1 Warp Point 1 Solid Rage 1 Pokemon Retriever 1 Pow! Hand Extension 3 Battle Frontier	6 Water Energy 4 Double Rainbow Energy 2 Scramble Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

LudiCargo is yet another staple from the 2005/2006 season, although this is one of the few that probably isn’t quite as powerful in RS-PK. The abilities for many decks to use Cessation Crystal to shut down ALL powers and not just the Magcargo really hurts this deck’s ability to function in the mid-game, and I’m sure Rayquaza ex hitting for weakness doesn’t do you many favors either. That being said, it’s not all bad for LudiCargo – If you can get going quickly enough, you can abuse a quick Magcargo + Ludicolo to always keep a Windstorm in your hand, and you can also sneakily leave it on top of your deck to keep it safe from Stantler as well. If you max out your bench, the lower-hp Stage 1 & Basic pokemon will be hard-pressed to fight back against your onslaught of big hits. An interesting new tech inclusion by Jason – Umbreon Star in combination with either Rocket’s Admin. or Briney’s Compassion can potentially be used to rip away crucial cards from a lower hand size, which can be especially useful against opponents who might be hanging onto important trainers like Rocket’s Admin. or Pokemon Retriever.

Lugia/Blastoise

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Blastoise ex 1 Wartortle 2 Squirtle 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 2 Lugia ex 1 Dugtrio 1 Diglett 1 Jirachi 1 Ditto 1 Latios ex 1 Kyogre ex 1 Chimecho 1 Aipom 1 Jirachi 1 Alakazam Star 4 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 2 Rocket’s Admin. 1 Professor Elm’s Training Method 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 2 Power Tree 1 Giant Stump 3 Pokemon Retriever 2 Warp Point	5 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Tord Reklev, 1st Place EX Brawl at the Florida Mall

LBS was the deck to beat in 2006, and even though it drops Steelix ex in its RS-PK equivalent, Lugia/Blastoise is another extremely strong contender in this format. The sheer amount of tech options and shenanigans that Energy Rain + Holon’s Castform enables is pretty unparalleled, as you can literally power up any pokemon as long as its attack takes no less than 2 off-color energy to attack. Pidgeot is still the main search engine in this deck, and multiple copies of Lugia ex protect you from having them prized. The list above is mostly Tord’s list with a few small changes – Tord has some pretty wild tech options, so let’s talk about them a little bit:

Kyogre ex is similar to Steelix ex, but it’s easier to set up as a basic pokemon. It only does 70 damage, but most of the time this is more than enough as it will KO basically any non-fully evolved pokemon. Dugtrio, hilariously protects you in the mirror match – it prevents opposing Kyogre ex (or Steelix ex!) from dealing damage to your benched pokemon. Ditto RG is a really neat inclusion here – it allows you to re-use attackers from your discard pile, although it can do other cute things as well, like swapping out for a Squirtle and then immediately evolving. Alakazam Star was the gold star of choice here – I’ve personally always had more success with Latias Star, but Alakazam is more versatile – especially since you can combo it with Ditto to get whatever you discarded back. Overall, there’s just so many options when playing this deck – it is one of the toughest to navigate, but the reward is definitely worthwhile.

Medicham ex

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Medicham ex 2 Meditite (DR 37) 2 Meditite (DR 55) 4 Jirachi 1 Wobbuffet 1 Holon’s Magneton	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Mary’s Request 2 Steven’s Advice 2 Scott 4 Pow! Hand Extension 4 Swoop! Teleporter 4 Energy Removal 2 3 Island Cave 1 Team Aqua Hideout	6 Fighting Energy 5 Psychic Energy 4 Metal Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Medicham ex has one of the most disheartening poke-bodies to play against. Wise Aura completely shuts down any poke-powers from non-ex pokemon, and since most of the draw and search engines in this format are from non-ex pokemon, setting up is becomes extremely difficult. This deck plays maximum consistency to try and get Medicham out on turn 2 – even if you start with Jirachi or Wobbuffet, there’s always the option to use Swoop! Teleporter to immediately evolve on the following turn into Medicham. Smart damage placement from Pure Power will take KOs on basics when necessary, and can set up KOs for later in the game. Don’t be afraid to avoid taking KOs early as well – this deck plays 4 Pow! Hand Extension to take advantage of being behind, and you can potentially trap something active and spread damage around, similar to the Camerupt/Stantler deck above. Also don’t be afraid to attack with Jirachi – this deck plays 4 Metal Energy for a reason!

Meganium/Blastoise

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Meganium 2 Bayleef 2 Chikorita (HL 55) 1 Chikorita (DF 44) 2 Blastoise ex 1 Wartortle 2 Squirtle 1 Pidgeot 1 Pidgey 1 Latios ex 1 Mew 1 Lugia ex 1 Jirachi 1 Zangoose 1 Latias Star 2 Holon’s Castform 2 Holon’s Magneton 1 Holon’s Magnemite	2 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Steven’s Advice 2 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 2 Windstorm 2 Warp Point 2 Power Tree 2 Pokemon Retriever 1 Pow! Hand Extension	8 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Unknown

This deck is a different take on the traditional Lugia/Blastoise build – isntead of using Pidgeot as its consistency and search engine, this deck relies on the explosiveness of Meganium Delta, which allows you to grab not just one, but THREE pokemon from your deck upon evolution. If you are lucky enough to chain multiple together, you can really push your board state ahead, and quickly snowball your advantage. Meganium Delta itself is also not a bad attacker – with fighting typing, it hits Dark Tyranitar and Stantler for weakness, threatening to cleanly OHKO both. Its first attack also comes with a neat damage reduction ability, which can potentially slow down an opponent that is trying to take a quick lead on prizes. One other unique tech in here is the Zangoose from ex Sandstorm – its 2nd attack hits evolution pokemon for 60 damage, which means it can take one-hit knockouts against Dark Dragonite, Dragonite Delta, and Flygon delta.

MetaNite

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Metagross (DS 11) 1 Metagross (DX 11) 2 Metang 4 Beldum 3 Dragonite 1 Dragonair 3 Dratini 1 Mew 1 Jirachi 1 Rayquaza Star 2 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Voltorb	3 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Celio’s Network 1 Holon Researcher 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 2 Warp Point	10 Lightning Energy 4 Metal Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

MetaNite can struggle a bit against the decks that lock up abilities, but against other stage 2 decks, it can be a real problem to deal with. The uncapped damage potential of Metagross means you can take one-hit knockouts on anything in the format, and Metagross’s ability to use Special Metal Energy can sometimes make it difficult to KO. Metagross also has a nice built-in consistency engine – not only can you use Holon’s Castform to draw cards early, but Beldum’s poke-body potentially gives it free retreat, making it very easy to get your Castform draws going as quickly as possible.

The low amount of Castform may seem odd given the deck’s reliance on it to get going, but Metagross’s attack only gets 20 more damage for each energy card that is discarded, which means Castform only counts as 1 if it is ever discarded. A tip when playing this deck – it is typically better to set up Metagross first before Dragonite. Metagross’s Delta Control poke-power gives you a better chance of getting future evolutions set up more quickly. Don’t be afraid to give up a prize or two when setting up either – Metagross’s big damage and Rayquaza Star’s “Holy Star” attack can close games out very quickly when utilized properly!

PoliStall

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Politoed ex 3 Poliwhirl 3 Poliwag 2 Dunsparce 1 Dugtrio 1 Diglett 1 Holon’s Magneton	4 Root Fossil 4 Mysterious Fossil 4 Claw Fossil 4 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Steven’s Advice 2 Island Hermit 2 Copycat 2 Scott 2 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Great Ball 4 Battle Frontier	8 Water Energy 4 Holon Energy WP

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

PoliStall is a pretty underappreciated deck – it probably was one of the best decks in 2007 until the release of Diamond/Pearl changed how Fossils work. In the ex era, they do NOT give up a prize card when KO’d, so Politoed can play the hit-and-run game with fossils for the entire match. Dugtrio is a nice inclusion in this format, as it protects you from sniping attacks like Shiftry ex and Kyogre ex. Holon Energy WP is also a nice inclusion – while it won’t protect the Politoed ex itself (the energy’s effect excludes ex-Pokémon), it protects the lower evolution stages from all effects of attacks. The most common of these would be the effect of placing damage counters – this is considered an EFFECT of an attack, not outright dealing damage. This is a very common workaround to pokemon like Dugtrio, but Holon Energy WP means you’re protected from this. (It also protects you from other random effects, like Roselia LM’s Flick Poison, for example).

Unfortunately for Politoed ex, the biggest issue it has to contend with in this format is that unlike in 2007, there are very reasonable ways to force Politoed into the active position – Pow! Hand Extension, and various pokemon with the Drag Off attack being the most common. Make sure to time your Rocket’s Admin. cards well, and try to keep your opponent off-balance to prevent them from consistently gusting your 2-prize pokemon active! This deck could also consider playing a Poliwrath from Unseen Forces – it shares the evolution like with Politoed, and hits evolution pokemon for some pretty hefty damage, and it demolishes Rocket’s Sneasel ex for just 2 energy.

Queendom

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Nidoqueen (RG 9) 1 Nidoqueen (DF 7) 2 Nidorina 4 Nidoran Female 2 Pidgeot (RG 10) 1 Pidgeot (HP 14) 1 Pidgeotto 3 Pidgey 1 Milotic 1 Feebas 1 Holon’s Electrode	4 Celio’s Network 3 Steven’s Advice 3 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Copycat 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 4 Rare Candy 3 Great Ball 1 VS Seeker 1 Windstorm 4 Desert Storm	5 Grass energy 4 Double Rainbow Energy 3 Holon Energy GL 1 Scramble Energy 1 Fighting Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Queendom doesn’t look all to different in RS-PK, and it’s definitely still a force to be reckoned with. Toxic racks up damage quickly for 1 energy, and it also shuts down any poke-powers from the poisoned Pokemon. Power Lariat can clean up prettty effectively later in the game – 90 damage is enough to KO a lot of the smaller basic and stage 1 pokemon in this format. Milotic was a popular choice in the 2005 version of this deck, and it makes another appearence here – it’s a bit of a weird ability but it slots in pretty nicely. The poke-power heals all pokemon on the field – both yours AND your opponent’s. That being said, the ability does NOT heal ex pokemon, so agianst 2-prize decks, this is a one-sided healing effect. Milotic’s ability also does not heal special conditions, so you can set up a KO with Toxic’s poison effect even after the Healing Shower.

This list does have some small changes from the one on Jason’s website – I included the Invitation Nidoqueen in this list – Invitation is such a strong ability, and Vengeance is a great attack to end the game with. it also gives you an alternate attacker into pokemon that carry the pesky resistance to Fighting, which is quite common in this format. I also kept the Pidgeot delta in this deck as well – it shuts off all non-delta poke-powers when Holon Energy are attached to it. Nidoqueen will still be free to use Invitation, but this will shut down Pidgeot, Blastoise ex, and much more! (Side note: including Pidgeot means I have to play Holon Energy GL instead of Heal Energy as a result.)

RaiEggs (also known as “Delta”)

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
3 Exeggutor 4 Exeggcute 3 Raichu 3 Pikachu (HP 79) 1 Pikachu (LM 93) 4 Holon’s Castform 2 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Holon Mentor 2 Holon Researcher 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 2 Steven’s Advice 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Cessation Crystal 2 Desert Ruins 2 Cursed Stone 2 Pokemon Retriever 1 Swoop! Teleporter	4 Scramble Energy 3 Metal Energy 3 Double Rainbow Energy 2 Heal Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Top 8 October Mega EX Battle

RaiEggs, the first Delta archetype to really take off in the states, has a lot of good things going for it in RS-PK. Exeggutor as a fighting-type hits a few things for weakness, and both it and Raichu carry the potential to spread damage all around the opponent’s field. Desert Ruins and Cursed Stone double down on this spread damage, while Cessation Crystal prevents the opponent from clawing their way back into the match, and stalls their setup. Both Raichu and Exeggutor have the potential to go in with strong attacks as early as turn 2, but don’t be afraid to sit behind Holon’s Castform, or to just Zzzzap the opponents a few times first – taking early prizes cuts off your access to Scramble Energy. Sometimes it is worth it, but make sure to think twice before you go down the aggressive route! Some versions of this list go all-in on the Cursed Stones and drop Desert Ruins entirely, but I chose to include both since dealing with the higher-HP ex pokemon like Flygon feels pretty impossible without it.

RayLer

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Stantler 3 Rayquaza ex 2 Minun 1 Unown (E)	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 Castaway 3 Mary’s Request 2 Pokemon Fan Club 1 Scott 1 Mr. Stone’s Project 1 Steven’s Advice 4 Energy Removal 2 4 Pow! Hand Extension 4 Cessation Crystal 3 Cursed Stone 2 Crystal Beach 1 Balloon Berry 1 Super Scoop Up	15 Lightning Energy

Decklist Credit: Alex Brosseau, 2nd Place EX Brawl at the Florida Mall

When RS-PK was first being really explored as a format, Rayquaza/Stantler emerged as the one to beat in many players eyes. It functions similar to the Camerupt/Stantler list above, but Rayquaza ex packs a larger punch. Once your opponent takes the prize lead to protect their trainer cards, Rayquaza’s Rage Aura poke-body activates, allowing it to attack for just a single energy! Dealing with Rayquaza can be difficult enough with all your resources available to you, but trying to deal with a 110 HP, no weakness pokemon that can attack for just 1 energy attachment is a huge obstacle to overcome when your trainer cards have been stripped away from you. If your opponent does manage to make it through the first Rayquaza ex, you can play Rocket’s Admin. to lower their hand size to just 3 cards, and then continue the onslaught of Rayquaza.

The list above mostly reflect’s Alex Brosseau’s from the EX Brawl tournament in Florida – I did decide to keep the Unown E from Jason’s list in, since it adds an entirely new dimension to play. Alex played an extra Minun in place of the Unown – both are strong, so pick whichever you prefer! Important to note – since Rayquaza is an ex-pokmon, it CANNOT have a Cessation Crystal attached to it. Make sure you plan for this in your matches!

Salamence

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Salamence ex (DR 103) 1 Salamence ex (PK 96) 1 Salamence (DR 10) 1 Shellgon 4 Bagon 2 Altaria ex 2 Swablu 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 1 Chimecho 1 Tauros 4 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Adventurer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 2 Warp Point 1 Pokemon Retriever 1 Swoop! Teleporter	6 Fire Energy 2 Water Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

I’ll be the first to admit that Salamence is not the most competitive deck in this format, but the 3rd Generation has always been my favorite in Pokemon, so I had to put together a Salamence build. This deck, put together by Jason, does have some really cool things going for it – the non-ex Salamence actually gains free retreat thanks to the Salamence ex’s Dragon Lift poke-body. This means any time your pokemon gets KO’d, or any time you use a Warp Point, you can gust one of your opponent’s pokemon off of the bench, and free retreat with no worries. The Salamence ex from Dragon will take KOs on most pokemon with 120 damage; the Power Keepers Salamence does have a pretty big drawback, but the ability to hit for 150 can get you over the higher HP numbers that exist in this format, like Dragonite ex Delta. Altaria ex accelerates energy to your stage 2 ex-pokemon, so you can constantly stream the hard-hitting attacks that Salamence provides!

Sceptile

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Sceptile ex (MA 93) 1 Sceptile ex (CG 96) 2 Sceptile (RS 20) 2 Grovyle 4 Treecko 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 1 Team Aqua’s Lanturn 1 Team Aqua’s Chinchou 1 Chimecho 1 Latios Star 4 Holon’s Castform 1 Holon’s Magneton 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 1 Holon Farmer 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Windstorm 1 Giant Stump 1 Swoop! Teleporter	8 Grass Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Sceptile had quite a few printings in this era, and each of them brings something to the table that the other copies cannot. The Magma/Aqua ex has high HP, and can trap things active with Poison Ring – poison will also ensure that they cannot use poke-poiwers while trapped. The Crystal Guardians ex gives you an alternate typing to attack with, and it also is a strong late-game finisher. The Ruby/Sapphire non-ex can move grass energy around your field – like many abilities in this format, this is NOT limited to basic grass energy, so you can freely move Holon’s Castform or Magneton around to power up a plethora of attackers.

Different versions of this deck use much less grass energy and much more tech attackers, relying on the ability to move energy around and power up different pokemon depending on the matchup. In my testing, those versions were fantastic if you could hit your initial energy attachments and actually get your energy into play, but they often struggled to find their first few energy attachments. The version above, by Jason, has much more basic energy, and will set up a little more consistently. I kept the Latios star in this list to give you a powerful 1-of attacker that does have the ability to swing a game around – some other techs you might consider trying are Mew Star, Mew POP 4, or Pow! Hand extension.

Scrambled Eggs

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Electrode ex 3 Voltorb 4 Exeggutor 3 Exeggcute (HP 65) 1 Exeggcute (RG 33)	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 TV Reporter 2 Professor Elm’s Training Method 2 Castaway 4 Pow! Hand Extension 4 Master Ball 2 Great Ball 2 Windstorm 4 Cessation Crystal 1 Magnetic Storm	4 Scramble Energy 3 Double Rainbow Energy 3 Psychic Energy 2 Holon Energy GL 2 Lightning Energy 1 Grass Energy 1 Cyclone Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Top 4 EX Brawl at the Florida Mall

Scrambled Eggs is a different take on what Electrode ex can do – the core strategy of blowing up your own Electrode ex to go “down” on prizes, activating Pow! Hand Extension, and lowering your opponent’s hand size with Rocket’s Admin. is all still in play. The advantage that Exeggutor has over Dark Tyranitar is that it’s easier to set up, and has much higher damage potential – if you flip roughly 50% heads, you are basically doing 20 damage per energy instead of the 10 that Dark Tyranitar gets with Grind. Exeggutor’s Psychic Exchange can also be used to set your board up very consistently, which is huge in a format where Rocket’s Admin. and Stantler have the potential to strip so many cards away.

Sealed Magma

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Team Magma’s Groudon 2 Quagsire 1 Wooper DF 71 1 Wooper UF 79	4 Castaway 3 Rocket’s Admin. 2 Steven’s Advice 1 Celio’s Network 1 Holon Mentor 1 Team Magma Conspirator 1 Mr. Briney’s Compassion 1 Copycat 4 VS Seeker 4 Energy Removal 2 4 Cessation Crystal 4 Team Magma Technical Machine 01 4 Cursed Stone 2 Pokemon Retriever 1 Balloon Berry	6 Fighting Energy 4 Darkness Energy 4 Magma Energy 1 Grass Energy

Decklist Credit: Drew Allen, Snowpoint Cast

“Sealed Magma” actually saw some success in the Japanese RS-on format, placing 3rd at the Japan National Championships in 2007. The idea here is that Cessation Crystal not only shuts off your opponent’s useful poke-powers and hinders their setup, but ALSO shuts of the poke-body that would usually hinder Team Magma’s Groudon, allowing you to attack freely. As a basic pokemon, Groudon requires absolutely minimal setup, and while its damage output looks underwhelming at first glance, remember that Groudon is a fighting/dark type, meaning that Darkness Energy will boost its damage output, as will Cursed Stone.

Drew chooses to play Quagsire DF, which allows him to re-use Cessation Crystals that get windstormed away. Quagsire itself can also be an attacker if the situation calls for it. Other lists, however, forego the Quagsire line for 4 copies of Team Magma’s Zangoose. This gives you extra Magma pokemon to potentially attack without a Cessation Crystal in play, and it gives you a colorless pokemon to hit Dark Dragonite or Flygon for weakness.

Shiftry ex

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
4 Shiftry ex (CG 97) 2 Nuzleaf 4 Seedot 3 Lickitung 2 Pidgeot 1 Pidgeotto 2 Pidgey 1 Absol ex 1 Holon’s Magneton 1 Holon’s Magnemite	4 Rocket’s Admin. 3 Professor Elm’s Training Method 3 Holon Mentor 1 Holon Adventurer 1 Holon Scientist 4 Holon Transceiver 4 Rare Candy 3 Crystal Beach 2 Pow! Hand Extension 1 Windstorm	4 Darkness Energy 4 Multi Energy 4 Psychic Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

Rather than shutting off poke-powers completely, Shiftry ex seeks to punish opponents that use their poke-powers to set up by using Target Attack to snipe threats off of the bench. Lickitung isn’t quite as strong here as it is in 2007 due to several non-delta strategies being brought back, but even placing 10 damage on a benched pokemon early can open the gates for Shiftry to start taking prize cards. Crystal Beach is the stadium of choice in this deck, as you have no need to rely on Holon’s Magneton in most matchups – even if it’s providing a colorless energy, look for situations where you can return a Darkness energy to your hand and conserve it for later! Also look to set up situations where you KO your opponent’s main setup engine (Pidgeot, Holon’s Castform, etc.) and play Rocket’s Admin. on the same turn, keeping them on the back foot for as long as possible!

ZRE

Pokemon	Trainers	Energy
2 Zapdos ex 2 Rayquaza ex 4 Electrode ex 3 Voltorb 4 Magmar 2 Lapras 1 Rayquaza Star 1 Girafarig	4 Rocket’s Admin. 4 TV Reporter 1 Lanette’s Net Search 1 Scott 1 Professor Elm’s Training Method 4 Pow! Hand Extension 3 Dual Ball 2 Warp Point 1 Windstorm 3 Battle Frontier 1 Space Center	10 Lightning Energy 6 Fire Energy

Decklist Credit: Jason Klaczynski, Retro Pokemon TCG Blog

The original Electrode ex deck, ZRE seeks to abuse Electrode ex combined with Rocket’s Admin. and Pow! Hand Extension in the same way that Bombtar and Scrambled Eggs do. The catch here – Rayquaza ex does 20 damage for each energy attached to it, GUARANTEED. No coin flips necessary. The tradeoff here is that Electrode EX cannot attach its energy directly to Rayquaza or Zapdos – you have to attach your energy to a single prizer, and then use Zapdos or Rayquaza’s abilities to move the energy afterwards. Since neither ex pokemon can use Cessation Crystal, Battle Frontier is chosen instead, to try and lock down Pidgeot. Be on the lookout for situations where you can use Zapdos ex to prevent your opponent from taking prize cards – a lot of decks rely on Giant Stump to counter opposing stadiums, and if your opponent wants to remove Battle Frontier, they might be forced to let you take a damaged ex out of play, potentially denying prize cards permanently!