While Charizard ex has earned its place as the flagship R Pokémon, the real star behind the scenes is Moltres ex, whose unique Inferno Dance attack accelerates Energy on Fire Type-Pokémon from turn 1. On average, it attaches 1.5 Fire Energy per turn to your Benched Pokémon, effectively cheating the energy curve and enabling stronger attacks much earlier than usual.
Moltres ex boasts a solid 140 HP for a Basic Pokémon and can deal a respectable 70 damage with Heat Blast. With Moltres ex in both the Active spot and on the Bench, a few lucky coin flips or a well-timed X Speed can even get Heat Blast online as early as turn 2.
Moltres ex - Centiskorch variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Moltres ex
◊◊ – Giovanni, Sabrina
Booster requirements
Centiskorch looks like a watered-down Charizard ex, but don’t get it wrong: it’s just as much of a threat. Coming online one turn earlier with no intermediate evolution stage, its Fire Blast attacks ticks multiple boxes in the current metagame: it can one-shot Pikachu ex, Starmie ex outright, and with Giovanni, it takes down the legendary birds. Requiring only 1 R for discard, it can be used every turn, unlike Charizard ex’s Crimson Storm. Lastly, it trades for just 1 point, giving it extra value in trades.
Weaknesses
- Moltres ex suffers from a L weakness, a significant handicap in a metagame where Pikachu ex is one of the top decks.
- Inferno Dance is Moltres ex’s greatest asset, but since it only powers up Benched R Pokémon, Moltres ex must either retreat on the following turn to promote the fired-up attacker, or stay in the Active spot to re-use Inferno Dance—risking a KO. Its 2-retreat cost makes the first option awkward.
- Inferno Dance relies on coin flips, with all the risks involved.
