The meta continues to evolve as players adapt their strategies to counter popular decks like Darkrai ex Giratina ex and Greninja Giratina ex. This weekend marked the largest Pokémon Pocket tournament to date, with over 2,800 players from around the world competing. Ursiiday teamed up with Grail.gg to host the event, offering a $10,000 prize pool and pushing the competitive scene to the next level.
Last week, we saw Tapu Lele crushing it with a new version of the Greninja Giratina ex deck that had players on alert. Although Darkrai Tina was the most-played deck, it couldn’t match Tapu Lele’s performance, and more players started gravitating toward it.
Today, we’re taking a look at Grails.gg Pocket Royale, hosted by Ursiiday! This tournament had a showing of 2829 players!
The Data
Grails.gg Pocket Royale (2829 players)
| Deck | No of Decks | Win Rate |
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 556 | 48.21% |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | 467 | ~51.5% |
| Decidueye ex Meowscarada | 314 | 54.02% |
| Arceus ex Crobat | 226 | 52.46% |
| Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex | 215 | 45.4% |
| Garchomp ex Rampardos | 159 | 51.08% |
| Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex | 90 | – |
| Charizard ex Turtonator | 80 | 46.42% |
| Charizard ex Incineroar ex | 63 | 48.20% |
| Solgaleo Skarmory | 59 | 39.87% |
| Magnezone Oricorio | 26 | 50.59% |
| Beedrill ex Beedrill | 20 | 45.95% |
| Other | 554 |
Top of the Meta
Darkrai ex Giratina ex remains the most-played deck, and a common tech this week was Komala, added specifically to deal with the Oricorio matchup. While this inclusion weakens other matchups, Oricorio has become such a dominant threat that many players felt it was worth running a counter to the little cheerleader. Players came prepared to counter Darkrai ex Giratina ex, bringing decks with a favored matchup, which dropped Darkrai ex Giratina ex overall win rate.
Technically, if we combine all Greninja Giratina ex variants, they would surpass Darkrai Giratina in popularity. Tapu Lele is the standout version—after an incredible showing last week, many players quickly pivoted to the Psychic variant. The Oricorio version came in second, using Oricorio to target ex-type Pokémon. As for the Snorlax variant, it plummeted in popularity following last week’s poor performance. Once the second most-played deck, it dropped to the seventh spot this week.
Grass Energy decks made a huge splash this weekend, with Decidueye ex Meowscarada climbing to the third most-played spot. This deck is a strong counter to Darkrai ex Giratina ex, and we saw a wave of players turn to it to gain an edge in the meta.
Arceus ex Crobat continues to be a reliable pick. It remains in the top five, but it seems players have favored Decidueye ex Meowscarada this week.
Underdogs
Garchomp ex Rampardos and Lucario/Rampardos both maintained a positive overall win rate.
Charizard ex Incineroar ex is still hanging on, but a new variant is starting to take over. Charizard ex Turtonator has now surpassed the Incineroar ex build in popularity, largely due to the rise of Oricorio. Turtonator is an ideal counter, capable of one-shotting Oricorio. While its attack has a high Energy cost, players are including two copies of Kiawe to ramp up Turtonator with 2 Fire Energy and get it swinging right away.
Magnezone Oricorio deck always surprises us by going far in tournaments. Despite having a low number of players, we’ve seen this deck top 4 Ursiiday’s tournaments multiple times.
Underperfomers
Although Greninja Oricorio remains one of the top picks among players, it didn’t perform as well this time around, mainly because opponents came prepared. Its overall win rate dropped significantly compared to last week, which may lead more players to shift toward the Tapu Lele variant, as it continues to deliver strong results.
Darkrai ex Giratina ex also didn’t hold up well this time around, dropping below 50% win rate.
Fall Off
Snorlax Greninjan Giratina ex lost momentum after last week’s disappointing performance. It was previously the most-played variant of the archetype, but with the meta evolving rapidly, players are quick to adapt and move on.
Top 128
| Decidueye ex Meowscarada | 35 |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | 31 |
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 20 |
| Garchomp ex Rampardos | 10 |
| Arceus ex Crobat | 9 |
| Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex | 6 |
| Charizard ex Incineroar ex | 2 |
| Magnezone Oricorio | 2 |
| Snorlax Greninja Giratina ex | 2 |
| Gengar Tapu Lele | 2 |
| Gallade ex Rampardos | 2 |
| Solgaleo Skarmory | 1 |
| Rampadros Lucario | 1 |
| Beedrill ex Meowoscarada | 1 |
| Togekiss Tapu Lele | 1 |
| Infernape ex Turtonator | 1 |
| Charizard ex Turtonator | 1 |
| Gengar ex Gengar | 1 |
- An incredible showing from Decidueye ex Meowscarada this weekend, claiming 35 of the top 128 spots! The deck has firmly established itself in the meta, boasting strong matchups against Darkrai ex decks while holding its own against other top contenders. Despite being only the third most-played deck overall, it secured more top finishes than any other.
- Close behind is Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex, with 31 players making it into the top 128. After a standout performance last week, this version continues to ride its momentum. The shift to a pure Psychic Energy build and the addition of Tapu Lele have significantly boosted its consistency and streamlined its setup toward Giratina ex’s win condition.
- Darkrai ex Giratina ex was once again the most-played deck of the tournament, but it finished third in top 128 representation. While it remains one of the most consistent decks in the format, a meta full of decks designed to counter it naturally leads to fewer players advancing with it.
- Garchomp ex Rampardos continues to surprise, solidifying its place as the best-performing Fighting-type deck. 10 of its 159 pilots made it into the top 128, outpacing both Arceus Crobat and Oricorio Greninja.
- And for the Gengar fans, three Gengar decks clawed their way into the top 128! Gengar believers, your time has come.
- Fire-type decks also pushed through this weekend, with multiple versions reaching the top 32: Charizard ex Incineroar ex, Charizard ex Turtonator, and Infernape ex Turtonator. One Charizard ex Incineroar ex list even went undefeated in Swiss, posting an impressive 10-0 record.
- Other off-meta picks: Gallade ex Rampardos, Togekiss Tapu Lele, Solgaleo Skarmory, and Beedrill ex Meowscarada all performed well in Swiss and secured spots in the top 128.
Top 16
| Mewoscarada Decidueye ex | 7 |
| Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex | 3 |
| Giratina ex Darkrai ex | 2 |
| Oricorio Magnezone | 2 |
| Charizard ex Incineroar ex | 1 |
| Solgaleo ex Skarmory | 1 |
- 7 of the top 16 decks were claimed by Meowscarada Decidueye ex, an impressive showing and a strong meta call by the community!
- Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex also put up solid results, securing 3 spots in the top 16.
- DarkraiTina tied with Oricorio Magnezone, each taking 2 spots. While Oricorio Magnezone has a relatively low play rate, it consistently finds success at major events, with a few dedicated players making the lightning-focused deck work, using Magnezone as a powerful finisher.
- Charizard ex Incineroar ex continues its undefeated run, advancing all the way to the top 16! With a tough matchup against Oricorio, making it this far is a huge accomplishment.
- Solgaleo ex Skarmory had a lot of hype around it in the early release of the A3 expansion. Since then, it has kept losing popularity to the point where it became an off-meta choice. However, the deck isn’t completely out of the meta and can go far in tournaments.
- Popular decks like Oricorio Greninja and Arceus Crobat did not make it into the top 16! Oricorio Greninja were all kicked out at top 64, while only one Arceus Crobat stayed until top 32, but that list cuts out Carnivine and goes for Darkrai ex instead.
Top 4
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
| Oricorio Magnezone | Meowscarada Decidueye ex | Oricorio Magnezone | Meowscarada Decidueye ex |
- It’s always Oricorio Magnezone making waves in major tournaments! Despite only 26 players bringing the deck, two of them reached the Top 4 and even had to face each other for a spot in the finals! Both lists teched in Shaymin for healing, helping counter all the ping damage in the meta.
- Meowscarada Decidueye ex had an amazing showing this weekend, taking most of the spots in the top 128! We also watched a mirror matchup in the top 4, both running the exact list with just the Rowlet difference.
- Oricorio Magnezone managed to beat Meowscarada Decidueye ex in the finals, with a 2-1 score, taking first place in the 10k tournament! Once again, Oricorio Magnezone proves it’s a deck not to be underestimated.
Top Decks
1st Place Oricorio Magnezone
The Oricorio Magnezone deck uses Oricorio as a staller, but potentially a win condition with its Zzzap attack. You’re not too worried about slowing down your Magnezone turn by attaching Lightning Energy to Oricorio since Magneton can self-ramp with Volt Charge, speeding up the Energy attachment so Magnezone can join in and go for the heavy Thunder Blast attack.
This is one deck that opts not to include the Rare Candy play since Magneton’s Volt Charge is too important to pass! This list is running Shaymin, Lille, and 2 Giant Cape, trying to keep its Pokémon alive for as long as possible, especially against the ping damage from Darkrai ex and Greninja.
2nd Place Meowscarada Decidueye ex
This deck runs Meowscarada and Decidueye ex as win conditions, both Stage 2 Pokemon, so Rare Candy is a must to get your win conditions in play as early as possible. Sprigatito’s Cry for Help is great to add more consistency to your strategy, drawing you a Grass-type Pokémon. Meowscarada deals 60 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon, but deals an additional 70 damage to Ex-type Pokémon. It’s been a strong pick in the meta since it can one-shot Darkrai ex, taking advantage of the +20 Weakness.
As for Decidueye ex, it’s a more tanky choice, dealing 80 damage with Razor Leader, but if your opponent’s Pokémon has damage on it, you can go for Pierce the Pain to deal 100 damage. Pierce the Pain can target Pokémon on the Bench, perfect to snipe damaged, low HP Pokémon.
Leaf Cape + Lille are game changers, keeping your Pokémon in play for a longer period until you set up the winning turn.
Underdog Decks
Top 32 Gengar Tepu Lele Oricorio
The Gengar list that went furthest in this tournament! This is a single-point deck, having the 140 HP Gengar as its main win condition, dealing 70 damage with Hypnoblast and putting the opponent’s Active Pokémon asleep. This can prevent your opponent from attacking, slowing them down in the process.
Tapu Lele has a low-cost attack, attacking any Pokémon in play to deal 20 damage for each Energy they have attached. This can be a great answer for Pokémon like Giratina ex or Charizard ex, dealing tons of damage and even sniping them if they’re on the Bench.
Oricorio is only a win condition if your opponent knocks out one of your Pokémon on the previous turn, bumping Oricorio’s damage from 20 to 80, capable of dishing out some real damage to get a knockout.
Top 32 Charizard Ex Turtonator
This Charizard ex deck uses Turtonator to combat Oricorio decks, ramping it with Kiawe to attack right away and one-shot low HP Pokémon. A Giant Cape on an Oricorio won’t be enough to protect it from Turtonator.
Top 64 Togekiss Tapu Lele
This deck uses Tapu Lele to punish Pokémon with multiple attached Energy, dealing 20 damage for each Energy they have attached. Energy Arrow can target Benched Pokémon, perfect to get a knock-out without relying on cards like Cyrus or Sabrina.
Togekiss is the Stage 2 carry, dealing 60 damage with its Overdrive Smash attack, but attacking a second time will double the damage, to deal 120 to the opponent’s Active Pokémon.
Additional Meta Decks
Top 8 Darkrai ex Giratina ex
Darkrai ex Giratina ex is one of the most consistent decks in the A3 meta, using Darkrai ex for its Nightmare Aura to ping the opponent’s Active Pokemon for 20 damage every time you attach a Darkness Energy to your Darkrai ex. It can then become an attacker, pushing 80 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with Dark Prism.
As you’re attaching Energy to Darkrai ex, you’ll be ramping Psychic Energy with Giratina ex’s Broken-Space Below, trying to get to 3 Psychic Energy before attaching a Darkness Energy and going for the attack. Giratina ex’s Chaotic Impact deals 130 damage, so it’s the heavy attacker in this list. On the downside, Giratina ex will deal 20 damage back to itself, putting it down to 130 HP, making it more vulnerable to the opponent’s upcoming turn.
Red can be a lifesaver in this list, allowing you to set up a one-shot turn to remove an opponent’s win condition or potentially win the game on the spot. Interestingly, we’re running 2 Rocky Helmet in this list, which is likely to combat the Oricorio decks since we don’t have Komala.
Top 8 Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex
The Tapu Lele Greninja Giratina ex has multiple attack options to push damage and get knockouts. Greninja deals passive damage with its Water Shuriken, weakening the opponent’s Pokémon. As for Tapu Lele’s Energy Arrow, it can target any Pokémon on the opponent’s side, so Benched Pokémon are not safe! You can only damage Pokémon with Energy attached to them, dealing 20 damage for each Energy attached. So, if your opponent has a Pokémon with multiple Energy attached to it, the Tapu Lele damage stacks and can potentially get you a knock-out, especially with Water Shuriken’s backup damage.
Giratina ex is the late-game win condition, capable of dealing 130 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon to try and one-shot a 150 HP Pokémon with Water Shuriken, giving you the push to win the game.
Top 16 Incineroar ex Charizard ex
This Incineroar ex Charizard ex list had a great run in the tournament, but unfortunately, it got kicked out at the top 16. It uses Rare Candy to speed up the evolution of Incineroar ex and Charizard ex, and have a win condition online as early as possible. Incineroar ex deals 30 damage and burns the opponent’s Active Pokémon with its Fire Fang attack, but you can later go for a heavier swing with Scar-Charged Smash, dealing 80 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. If Incineroar ex is damaged, Scar-Charged Smash will deal 140 damage instead.
Charizard ex is the power-house in this deck, using its Stoke to ramp Fire Energy and set up for Steam Artillery to deal 150 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon.
Top 16 Solgaleo ex Skarmory
This deck relies on Skarmory as an early attacker, dealing 50 damage with Metal Arms if you have a Took attached to Skarmory. In the meantime, you’ll be working on evolving into your Stage 2 Solgaleo ex to carry the game, and with Rare Candy in the list, you can skip the Stage 1 evolution to have Solgaleo ex in play a turn earlier.
Solgaleo ex needs two Metal Energy to activate its Sol Breaker attack, dealing 120 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon and 10 damage to itself. Being a 180 HP Pokémon means we’re not too worried about taking the 10 damage, but against the Charizard ex deck, things can be awkward since falling to 170 HP puts us in range of Charizard ex’s Steam Artillery (Solgaleo’s weakness is Fire decks).
Solgaleo ex’s Rising Road ability lets you move it from the Bench to the Active spot without having to discard any Energy from your Active Pokémon. It’s not too useful when swapping with a Skarmory, but in other versions like Solgaleo ex Snorlax, it can be more useful to avoid the 4 retreat cost on Snorlax.
Top 32 Garchomp ex Rampardos
This deck runs two Stage 2 Pokémon, so Rare Candy is a must for the strategy to work. Rampardos is your strongest attacker, dealing 130 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with its Head Smash attack. However, the drawback is massive, as Rampardos will deal 50 damage to itself, falling to 100 HP, vulnerable to most attacks in the meta. Giant Cape will be crucial here to keep Rampardos from easily getting knocked out, and using Lillie to heal it for 60 damage and go for another attack.
Garchomp ex is another damage dealer, it’s a tankier Pokémon with an early Linear Attack to deal 50 damage to one of your opponent’s Pokémon. This means you can target the opponent’s Bench and snipe a low HP Pokémon. Dragon Claw has more of a punch, dealing 100 damage to secure a knockout on a higher HP Pokémon in the Active spot.
Top 32 Arceus Crobat Darkrai ex
The Arceus ex Crobat Dakrai ex version was the best performer in the Ursii tournament! Arceus ex enables Crobat’s Cunning Links to deal 30 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. Combined with Darkrai ex’s 20 damage, you’re dealing 50 damage every turn from your Pokémon’s abilities, softening your opponent’s Pokémon to then knock them out with your attacks.
Arceus ex can’t be affected by special condition effects, which can be useful in the current meta. Ultimate Force is your strongest attack, dealing 70 damage and an additional 20 damage for each of your benched Pokémon, so at max, you can deal 130 damage.
Top 64 Oricorio Greninja Giratina ex
This deck cuts out Snorlax ex for the Oricorio win condition, using it to stall the game while pushing 50 damage with its Zzzap attack. It has Greninja to deal back-up damage with Water Shuriken, pushing 20 damage to one of the opponent’s Pokémon, which can snipe damaged Pokémon on the Bench.
This deck is running Water Energy alongside Lightning Energy, so you can attack with Greninja’s Mist Slash if you need the 60 damage. As for Giratina ex, it can self-ramp, so we’re not too worried about the Psychic Energy attachment. Additionally, we have Irida in the list that’ll heal all your Pokémon with a Water Energy attached to them for 40 damage, preventing the opposing player from securing their knockouts on the upcoming turn.
This list has Shaymin for its Fragran Flower Garden to heal all your Pokémon for 10 damage. This is a great ability to keep Oricorio in play for longer, preventing Pokémon like Darkrai ex from easily removing Oricorio with its ping damage.
Closing Words
We had exciting games this weekend, with players shifting to Decidueye ex Meowscarada and finding success with the deck. If Decidueye ex Meowscarada continues to gain popularity, we might see other decks coming back into the meta, capable of dealing with the Grass-type deck.
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