The Mythical Island expansion in Pokemon Pocket introduces Gyarados Ex as a new win condition for Water-type Pokemon. This is one tanky Pokemon that needs a lot of Energy to activate its attack. So when building the deck, we need to include cards that help speed up our strategy so Gyarados Ex gets to deal damage as early as possible.
The list runs Articuno ex as an alternative win condition and Vaporean to support our Water-type Pokemon by moving Water Energy around.
Gyarados Ex Decklist
Pokémon: 10
2 Magikarp A1a 17
2 Gyarados ex A1a 18
2 Eevee A1a 61
2 Vaporeon A1a 19
2 Articuno ex A1 84
Trainer: 10
2 Leaf A1a 68
2 Misty A1 220
2 Professor's Research P-A 7
2 Giovanni A1 223
2 Poké Ball P-A 5How to Play
Damage Dealers
Magikarp is a bit underwhelming, with only 30 HP and no offensive pressure at all, its only job is to flop around and survive until Gyarados Ex evolves from it. Luckily Leap Out lets us retreat Magikarp from the Active spot without discarding an Energy, so we can attach an early Energy to it to make sure Gyarados Ex gets to attack as early as possible.
Gyarados Ex is a 180 HP Pokemon, so it’s not getting knocked out that easily by opponent’s attacks. Its Rampaging Whirlpool needs 4 Energy to activate, which can be a slow process, but we have Misty and Vaporeaon (I’ll talk more about later in the article) that can help speed up our strategy.
Rampaging Whirlpool deals 140 damage and discards 1 random Energy from among the Energy attached to all Pokemon. Its a double-edged sword, as you could end up discarding an Energy from your own Pokemon, but managing to hit one of the opponent’s Pokemon can slow them down and even prevent them from making an attack on their upcoming turn.
Articuno Ex is a second damage dealer. Being a Basic Pokemon, Articuno Ex can attack immediately with Ice Wing or Blizzard once it has Energy on it. Misty is great here if you manage to get 2 Energy on Articuno Ex, going for the Blizzard attack to deal 80 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon and chipping away at their Bench by dealing 10 damage to all of their Benched Pokemon. If there’s a damaged or low HP Pokemon hiding on the Bench, Blizzard will threaten to knock it out and give you a Match Point.
Extra Water Energy
Misty is the main reason why this deck works and it can solely carry games for you. When played, you can choose 1 Water-type Pokemon. and flip a coin until you get tails. For each heads, attach a Water Energy to your Pokemon. This is luck-dependent, and you have a 50/50 chance of getting 1 Energy, but just getting that 1 Energy can speed up your game plan and put you ahead of your opponent.
Getting 2 Energy is where things shift in your favor, allowing you to attack way earlier and start knocking out your opponent’s Pokemon and force them to move a vulnerable Pokemon to the Active spot.
Eevee‘s Continuous Steps works similarly to Misty, flipping a Coin until you get tails and for each heads, Continuous Steps deals 20 damage. The odds are low that you can get a high amount of damage from Eevee‘s Continuous Steps, but they are not zero!
We want to evolve Eevee into Vaporeon and from there, we use Wash Out to our advantage. Wash Out lets you move a Water Energy from 1 of your Benched Water Pokemon to your Active Water Pokemon as often as you’d like. This is great if you’re trying to retreat Articuno Ex and switch Gyarados Ex in its place and still get to attack with it. You’re preventing your opponent from getting a knockout on a damaged Ex Pokemon and still keep your attacks going, not giving them time to breathe.
Battle Cards
Giovanni gives an extra 10 damage to your attack, perfect if you’re missing 10 damage to knock out a Pokemon. With Gyarados Ex dealing 140 damage, the extra damage is enough to knock out popular Pokemon like Mewtwo Ex.
As for Leaf, it reduces the Retreat Cost of your Active Pokemon by 2, making it easier for you to move your Pokemon without being forced to attach extra Energy to them. Gyarados Ex, Articuno Ex, and Vaporeon all have a retreat cost higher than 1, so Leaf is a great addition to the list.
Draw Value
Play Professor’s Research, a Supporter card that allows you to draw two cards, early in the game when you don’t need to play other Supporter cards like Leaf or Giovanni.
Poke Ball draws you a Basic Pokemon, helping you find your Basic Pokemon and thin out your deck to find the cards you need.
