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Of all the Pokemon appearing inPokemon TCG Pocket, Palkia is among the most powerful. Nearly as old as the universe itself, Palkia is responsible for controlling space itself. But it’s also pretty tough when paired up against a Hitmonchan.
Palkia ex is the latest powerful Water-type Pokemon to be added to Pokemon TCG Pocket, and follows the groundwork put in place by Articuno ex and Gyarados ex. Backed up by Vaporeon and Misty, it pulls from the first three expansions to make one of the most threatening decks in the Space-Time Smackdown meta.
Palkia ex / Vaporeon
Eevee (A2a) x2
Vaporeon (A1a) x2
Palkia ex (A2) x2
Manaphy (A2) x2
Articuno ex (A1) x1
Leaf x2
Misty x2
Cyrus x1
Giant Cape x1
Pokemon Communication x1
Since there are multiple versions of some Pokemon cards, we use the in-game expansion symbols to distinguish between them. A1 is Genetic Apex, A1a is Mythical Island, and A2 is Space-Time Smackdown.
There are multiple versions of Eevee, butwe chose the Mythical Island version with Continuous Steps, which has the highest potential damage output. You never actually want to attack with Eevee unless your deck totally bricks, so which print you use doesn’t make a lot of difference.
Vaporeon’s Wash Out ability is vital, so do not substitute in the Genetic Apex version.
Some builds run a single Eevee and two Vaporeon, since you only need one Vaporeon in play and there are more ways to find Eevee, andothers drop Pokemon Communication in favor of a second Giant Cape. Either one can work, but we don’t recommend doing both.
Best Palkia ex Vaporeon Deck Strategy
Palkia ex’s Dimensional Storm attack is devastating, dealing150 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon, plus 20 more to every Pokemon on their Bench. The drawback is thatit forces Palkia to discard three Water Energy, which should limit you to using it every three turns.
Water decks have some of the best Energy accelerationin the game, and it’s all in this deck: Misty can add virtually limitless Energy, Manaphy distributes two Energy per turn, and Vaporeon can move it from the Bench to the Active Pokemon.
While Misty is also included,Manaphy is your primary Energy accelerator, and should be your first Active Pokemon whenever possible. You want Manaphy in front andat least two Pokemon on your Bench, preferably Eevee and Palkia ex, so that you may use Oceanic Gift to get two Energy each turn.
Expect Manaphy to distribute four Energy while your opponent also sets up. Meanwhile,attach your normal Energy per turn to Palkia and focus on evolving Eevee. Once your opponent KOs Manaphy, or when you have about seven Energy on your Bench, it’s go time.
Advance Palkia ex into the Active position,use Wash Out to move some Energyonto it and use Dimensional Storm to try and KO your opponent’s Pokemon. If the attack doesn’t score a Knock Out, it will weaken your opponent’s Pokemon enough that the next one will, for sure.
If your opponent is playing a deck that can OHKO Palkia ex, like Magnezone/Darkrai ex or Celebi ex/Serperior, be sure toattach Giant Cape for the extra HPyou need to tank one hit. Otherwise, if they retreat their ace Pokemon, use Cyrus to force it back out.
Articuno ex is a solid backup that you may use to soften your opponent’s Pokemon before switching in Palkia ex. If it’s safe,you can retreat Manaphy early and use Articuno exto attack without losing Energy before switching to Palkia ex for the Knock-Out blow.
Best Palkia ex / Vaporeon Matchups
Darkrai ex / Magneton
Darkrai ex is an absolute powerhouse in the Space-Time Smackdown meta, and unfortunately for you,it’s incredibly good against Palkia ex. You’ll frequently need to KO a Druddigon before attacking the real threats, which sets you up for a revenge KO from Nightmare Aura plus Thunder Blast.
Using Articuno ex to put a little damage on the Bench before swapping in Palkia ex will allow you to use Cyrus to boss out Darkrai ex or Magneton to shut them down first.Magneton and Magnezone are the preferred targetsfor this since Darkrai ex needs a couple of turns to KO Palkia ex, during which you can squeeze in your second shot.
Palkia ex has a big advantage against other variations, like decks that swap Magneton for Weavile or Weezing, since they don’t get Magnezone’s type advantage.
Dialga ex / Yanmega ex
Despite being siblings with about equal power,Palkia ex has two big advantages over its counterpart, Dialga ex: More Energy acceleration, and the ability to OHKO any Pokemon in the deck. Manaphy can start placing Energy before Dialga ex, and has Misty as a backup, while Dialga ex is limited to Dialga ex itself.
The most dangerous situation you may find yourself in is your opponent bringing out Mew ex to copy your Palkia ex’s Dimensional Storm for the KO. You canplay around this by distributing Energy among more Pokemon on your bench,so it isn’t as much of a setback, then using your second Palkia ex to take a revenge KO.
Charizard ex / Moltres ex
Charizard ex decksare still around in the Space-Time Smackdown meta, and Charizard ex can still one-shot any Pokemon in the game. Palkia ex does have a slight advantage, thanks to Charizard ex’s weakness to Water, but that’s only if you canget it into play before Charizard ex attacks.
Prepare to spend a few turns staring at each other as you use Manaphy and your opponent uses Moltres ex to set up before either starts to attack. Ideally, you want totrade one of your single-prize Pokemon, like Manaphy or Vaporeon,for a double-prize Pokemon. This will give you leeway to use another one as a shield as needed to finish setting up your Palkia ex.
