Tournament Reports - Pokémon TCG Pocket week 8

There are no more exciting times than the release of a new set. Mythical Island brought plenty of support to established decks from Genetic Apex while introducing brand-new archetypes. Players wasted no time, with more than fourty tournaments already held since the set launched less than a week ago. Here’s a look at the biggest events and the early players shaping the format.

Pocket Legends League #12

The oldest competitive tournament series brought together 688 players over two days, competing for a $50 prize pool

Metagame Breakdown

Pikachu ex and Mewtwo ex were the most represented decks once again, just as they were at both the start and end of the Genetic Apex format. Backed by strong new additions from Mythical Island, they’re trying to stake their claim as dominant forces in the early metagame again.

But the general picture was much more varied:

• Celebi ex, a major newcomer in Mythical Island, was the 3rd most represented deck.
• Scolipede, now the replacement for Arbok in Koga decks, drove most of the 11% of players bringing Koga-based archetypes to counter the anticipated Mewtwo ex-heavy field.
• The newcomer Gyarados ex follows up, being now the centerpiece Pokémon of choice in Water shells thanks to its prodigious HP and big damage output for a stage 1.
• For once, Arcanine ex decks were more represented than Charizard ex decks (even the “Arcazard” variants classified under Charizard ex). Not only they remain relevant against Pikachu ex, but they also have a naturally good matchup against the newcomer Cerebi ex (Inferno Onrush is a one-shot on the mythical grass Pokémon).

The later stages of the tournament showed a wide variety of decks performing well. Gyarados ex stood out, climbing from 9% representation to 20% in day 2, with 2 in the top 8 and one reaching the finals. However, decks fought back, and BaileyD piloting Arcanine ex claimed victory.

How did Arcanine ex succeed in a meta full of Mewtwo ex decks without pairing with Charizard ex? The key might be the inclusion of the new Mew ex.

Mew ex’s Genome Hacking attack allows the deck to surpass its usual damage ceiling of 120 (from Inferno Onrush) by copying attacks from big threats like Mewtwo ex or Charizard ex, turning their strength against them. Requiring only Energies, this attack can be charged manually while Moltres ex pumps up the other Pokémon. Mew ex also serves as a tank that can stall in the Active spot and then retreat safely with Budding Expeditioner, denying a Point to the opponent while keeping Mew ex ready for later use.

Although Celebi ex was the 3rd most played deck, it struggled in results, with just 1 player reaching the top 32. Still, tekrola took the deck to the top 8, using a list similar to Xatumi’s winning deck from Pocket League #6 earlier in the week.

Celebi ex serves as the main attacker, with its Powerful Blossom attack scaling based on the amount of Energy attached to it. The strategy revolves around stacking Energy on Celebi ex and leveraging Serperior’s Jungle Totem, which doubles the value of Energy. With this combo, Celebi ex can reach ridiculous damage numbers. But this plan requires evolving twice and Celebi’s damage output is only starting to be relevant late in the game: the deck suffers from an underwhelming early game.

This version runs 1 Exeggcute and two different types of Exeggutor: the ex from Genetic Apex, very suited to bring an early game threat to the board while you’re preparing for the core strategy of the deck, and the regular one from Mythical Island. This one shines in the late game as its Psychic attack deals extra damage based on the Energy attached to the Defending Pokémon. With Jungle Totem active, it only needs 2 Energy to attack. Is this how the deck should be played to make up for its inconsistency and lacking early game?

Pocket Champions Showdown

The new Pocket Champions Showdown tournament, organized by Unity Clash, was the third largest tournament of the weekend, bringing together 570 players to compete for a $120 prize pool. Starting 11 hours after day 1 of the Pocket Legends League, players might have adjusted their deck choices based on early results.

Metagame breakdown

And indeed, the tournament saw a clear shift in the meta, with Mewtwo ex and Gyarados ex decks taking center stage. Gyarados ex even surpassed Pikachu ex in representation.

Despite its strong numbers, Gyarados ex struggled to break through in the top cut, falling to mirror matches, Pikachu ex decks, and other threats. This left a top 8 that felt more reminiscent of the Genetic Apex format, with classic archetypes dominating the later stages. The finals came down to an old showdown: Mewtwo ex piloted by pimmo vs. Pikachu ex piloted by Mouscat. In the end, pimmo emerged victorious, powered up with some of the new shiny tools brought by Mythical Island.

pimmo’s Mewtwo ex deck included Jynx, a tech card looking relevant in the early Mythical Island meta. With heavy Energy demands in decks like Celebi ex and Gyarados ex, Jynx can punish these archetypes with a stronger blow. The list also featured Mythical Slab, a card that accelerates into Pokémon, and Leaf, a supporter that basically removes Mewtwo ex’s retreat cost for one turn, an excellent utility for retreat tactics.

Mouscat’s Pikachu ex deck stayed close to the Pikachu ex Zebstrika builds from Genetic Apex, with just one addition from the new set: Dedenne.

Its Thunder Shock attack, which costs just , can Paralyze opponents and buy valuable time for Energy attachments, in an archetype with no Energy acceleration whatsoever. Zebstrika gained in value as it can snipe Magikarp on the Bench before it can evolve.

Ursiiday’s Pocket Weekly #8

The highly anticipated tournament series celebrated its 8th edition, drawing an impressive 1,529 players competing for a $400 prize pool, generously sponsored by XPCollect.

Metagame breakdown

As expected, Mewtwo ex was the most popular deck, continuing its dominance from Genetic Apex and benefiting from Mythical Island buffs. Behind it, Celebi ex, Pikachu ex, and Gyarados ex rounded out the most-played archetypes, with several other viable strategies making up the rest of the field. However, the top cut told a very different story.

Gyarados ex decks completely rampaged the tournament, making up nearly half of the top 32.

This list was one of the most popular for the archetype, and brought Lazyy to a 3rd place after Swiss. The strategy involved Druddigon, stalling to protect the Bench while setting up Gyarados ex and using Greninja’s Water Shuriken to deal damage safely. Once fully charged, Gyarados ex brings unmatched bulk and power, becoming a one-shot machine when paired with Greninja's long range damaging ability.

And yet, in top cut, similar to the Pocket Champions Showdown, Gyarados ex decks failed to keep up the pace. They fell to mirror matches, Pikachu ex decks (abusing their weakness) and perhaps their own inconsistency. Instead, Pikachu ex rose to dominate the heavy field; but the real surprise was yet to come.

The finals were taken over by NinoLeo, running a Brock decklist with zero Pokémon ex. Yes, you read that right—an ex-free deck triumphed in a field of powerhouses:

The deck relied on Druddigon for stalling while evolving the Geodude line and charging it with Energy safely. Golem’s Guard Press is rarely enough to one-shot the biggest threats, but Druddigon's Rough Skin chipped away at their HP. Extra touches proved to be decisive choices for the deck:

• Hitmonlee is crucial for dealing with Magikarp, one-shotting it with just and no need to evolve. It also proved valuable for softening stronger Pokémon, leaving them in range of Golem’s Guard Press to finish off, as demonstrated in the finals against Manaa's Arcanine ex deck.
• The new Marshadow is also a very good inclusion from Mythical Island, attacking for 100 damage after a knockout. The damage boost can be obtained up to twice in this all 1 Point Pokémon list.

What is the Mythical Island metagame looking like?

Mythical Island, being a smaller set, focused more on reinforcing existing decks rather than reshaping the entire metagame—and it seems to have hit the mark. Genetic Apex classics like Mewtwo ex, Pikachu ex, and decks continued to perform well this weekend with only minor adjustments from the expanded card pool. This is great news for players who want to stay competitive without having to overhaul their collections.

At the same time, Mythical Island boosted previously underrepresented types ( ) and archetypes (Brock, Blaine, Koga) by adding more tournament viable cards.

Of course, it won't solve all problems at once. Celebi ex, one of the most anticipated archetypes from Mythical Island, fell short of expectations, with just one top 32 appearance this weekend. Similarly, Koga-based decks, despite having a solid matchup against Mewtwo ex, struggled to make an impact, only securing just a single top 32 slot.

Mythical Island surprised players by revisiting Pokémon species and strategies from Genetic Apex, some of them supporting decks that were already strong in the previous format. Yet, this approach was well-managed and resulted into greater metagame variety. For the first time, a non-ex deck claimed victory in a major Standard tournament with no specific rules.

As players refine their decklists and the meta continues to evolve, new Weaknesses make new opportunities arise. While the strongest decks seem to maintain their dominance for now, the potential for outliers to find success has been proved with flying colors; stay tuned for the next tournaments!