Gardevoir-GX has shown up at Worlds with two partners—either Sylveon-GX or, as in Cody's deck, Diancie. Evolving up to the Stage-2 Gardevoir-GX is key, and Diancie can help move the process along with its Sparkling Wish attack. Cody also runs Gallade, a great pairing with the Octillery in this deck—Cody can stack the top of his deck to his liking with Gallade's Premonition Ability, then draw those cards with Octillery's Abyssal Hand Ability. Cody also uses a Wonder Energy to inoculate his Fairy-type Pokémon, especially Gardevoir-GX, from status effects.

Grafton has found continued success playing Greninja BREAK throughout the year, so it's no surprise to see him at Worlds with the deck he knows so well. Like the deck he played at the North American International Championships, this iteration includes Starmie, which allows him to get Water Energy into his hand to power Greninja BREAK. This is the last chance for Greninja BREAK to make a splash— it leaves the Standard format after Worlds.

The duo of Drampa-GX and Garbodor has been dominant over the past several competitions, and as such is the most well-represented deck at Worlds. Heddi takes advantage of the new Po Town Stadium card, helping get damage onto his own Pokémon to boost Drampa-GX's Berserk attack, as well as to rough up the many decks that are heavy with Evolved Pokémon.

Jeffrey is giving Mega Rayquaza-EX one last hurrah before this deck leaves the Standard format. He's one of quite a few competitors playing this deck at Worlds, and it seems that everyone has a slightly different twist. This deck includes Sudowoodo, an effective Pokémon against other Mega Rayquaza-EX decks.

After a strong runner-up finish at the North American International Championships with Decidueye-GX, John has come to Worlds with a similar deck. His new variation adds the Acerola Supporter card, letting him get damaged Decidueye-GX out of play, then quickly back into action thanks to Forest of Giant Plants. It's the perfect storm for this deck—Acerola is brand new from the Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows expansion, while Forest of Giant Plants will be jettisoned from Standard play after this competition.

Jun Woo Lee chose to pair his Gardevoir-GX deck with Sylveon-GX, utilizing its Magical Ribbon attack to help get the cards he needs out of his deck. He doesn't have the evolution acceleration of Diancie, but he can use Sylveon-GX to get Rare Candies for that purpose, Double Colorless Energy for damage, or more Pokémon to shore up his Bench—whatever is needed. This deck also includes Fisherman to get a lot of Energy out of the discard pile back into Jun Woo's hand when needed.

There's a lot to like about the deck that Vighnesh is playing here at Worlds, one that’s relatively new to the competitive scene. The goal is to get Vikavolt into play as quickly as possible and start using its Strong Charge Ability to power up Tapu Bulu-GX's Nature's Judgment attack. Tapu Bulu-GX can also heal itself with the Tapu Wilderness-GX attack, making it extremely versatile. Vighnesh uses cards such as Energy Recycler to keep his deck stocked with Energy for Strong Charge to claim.

Golisopod-GX has appeared with a variety of partners here in Anaheim. Vlastinil has gone with Eevee and its evolutions in his deck (the other popular setups use Vileplume or Zoroark instead). With a line-up that includes Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon, Vlastinil has a lot of answers to many of the decks in the field—Jolteon for the Mega Rayquaza-EX matchup, for instance, and Vaporeon versus Volcanion decks.