Pikachu & Zekrom-GX was the first TAG TEAM to be revealed, back at the 2018 World Championships in August, and it’s proven to be a card worthy of the spotlight. This pairing has made a thunderous entrance into Pokémon TCG tournaments, quickly becoming the centerpiece of one of the most successful decks in the Standard format.

This TAG TEAM’s strength is its powerful attacks, aided by the support of some useful Trainer cards that synergize specifically with Lightning-type Pokémon. Its first attack, Full Blitz, does 150 damage and lets you search your deck for up to three Lightning Energy cards and attach them to one of your Pokémon. The extra Energy will come in handy, because for six Lightning Energy, Tag Bolt-GX can do 200 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon plus 170 to a Benched Pokémon.

With such potent attacks at the star’s disposal, the main goal of this deck is straightforward: get enough Energy on Pikachu & Zekrom-GX to start attacking as quickly as possible and blow your foe away before they can execute their own strategy.

• Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

Pokémon

• 3

  Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

  33/181

  sm9 33
• 3

  Jirachi

  99/181

  sm9 99
• 2

  Zapdos

  40/181

  sm9 40
• 1

  Absol

  88/181

  sm9 88
• 1

  Marshadow

  45/73

  sm35 45
• 1

  Tapu Koko-GX

  47/145

  sm2 47
• 1

  Tapu Koko ◇

  51/181

  sm9 51
• 1

  Tapu Lele-GX

  60/145

  sm2 60
• 1

  Zeraora-GX

  86/214

  sm8 86

Energy Cards

• 11

  Lightning Energy

  nrg1 29

Trainer Cards

• 4

  Guzma

  sm3 115
• 4

  Lillie

  sm1 122
• 3

  Volkner

  sm5 135
• 1

  Cynthia

  sm5 119
• 1

  Aether Paradise Conservation Area

  sm2 116
• 1

  Thunder Mountain ◇

  sm8 191
• 4

  Electropower

  sm8 172
• 4

  Ultra Ball

  sm1 135
• 3

  Energy Switch

  sm1 117
• 3

  Nest Ball

  sm1 123
• 2

  Choice Band

  sm2 121
• 2

  Escape Board

  sm5 122
• 2

  Switch

  sm1 132
• 1

  Escape Rope

  sm3 114

More Info Copy Deck List ****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ****** Pokémon - 14 3 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX TEU 33 3 Jirachi TEU 99 2 Zapdos TEU 40 1 Absol TEU 88 1 Marshadow SLG 45 1 Tapu Koko-GX GRI 47 1 Tapu Koko ◇ TEU 51 1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60 1 Zeraora-GX LOT 86 Trainer Cards - 35 4 Guzma BUS 115 4 Lillie SUM 122 3 Volkner UPR 135 1 Cynthia UPR 119 1 Aether Paradise Conservation Area GRI 116 1 Thunder Mountain ◇ LOT 191 4 Electropower LOT 172 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135 3 Energy Switch SUM 117 3 Nest Ball SUM 123 2 Choice Band GRI 121 2 Escape Board UPR 122 2 Switch SUM 132 1 Escape Rope BUS 114 Energy - 11 11 Lightning Energy Energy 4 Total Cards - 60 ****** Deck list generated on Pokemon.com ******

This deck was used by Lucas Henrique de Araujo Pereira at the Oceania International Championships, where he finished in the Top 8. Many of the cards in this deck have been selected to help get Pikachu & Zekrom-GX going as quickly as possible, potentially even on the first or second turn of the game.

Tapu Koko Prism Star’s Dance of the Ancients Ability can net you two quick Lightning Energy, assuming you’ve managed to get those Energy cards into the discard pile. Thunder Mountain Prism Star’s effect reduces attack costs for all your Lightning types, while Volkner can help make sure you have an Energy in hand so you don’t miss your regular Energy attachment for the turn. Lightning-type decks like this one really benefit from the incredible Electropower Trainer card—use the extra damage to speed things up and turn lesser attacks into one-hit Knock Outs.

You’ll ideally want to spend most of your turns slugging away with the massively powerful Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, but most players include Zapdos as a secondary attacker. Zapdos can easily Knock Out many Basic Pokémon with Thunderous Assault when swooping in from the Bench, and its Resistance to Fighting (where most Lightning types have a Weakness) makes it a key attacker against decks based around Fighting-type Pokémon. Tapu Koko-GX is a useful addition—its Ability helps get Zapdos back to the Bench, and if you can’t spare the resources for Tag Bolt-GX, a timely Tapu Thunder-GX can be just as devastating to an opponent who has lots of Energy in play.

Since this deck features only Basic Pokémon, there’s plenty of room to include complementary Trainer cards and Pokémon. Jirachi’s Stellar Wish Ability has quickly made it a star, and most Pikachu & Zekrom-GX decks include at least a couple. It can be tricky to get Jirachi back to your Bench when it’s Asleep after using Stellar Wish, so this deck includes several copies of Escape Board, Switch, and Guzma, plus a single copy of Escape Rope, to keep Jirachi from being stranded. These cards, plus Zeraora-GX’s Thunderclap Zone Ability, also make it easier to keep Zapdos moving so its Thunderous Assault always does 80 damage instead of 10. Marshadow and Absol are included to disrupt opponents while your Lightning-type Pokémon keep hammering away.

Pikachu & Zekrom-GX has been the most impactful TAG TEAM in tournaments, so this is definitely a deck worth practicing! Check back to Pokemon.com/Strategy soon for more Sun & Moon—Team Up decks and other Pokémon TCG and video game tips.