A Darkness-type Pokémon and a Lighting-type Pokémon in the same deck? It’s a shocking pair that’ll stick with you! Darkrai ex debuted as part of Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Space-Time Smackdown expansion, and it’s since caught the attention of battlers everywhere. With its Nightmare Aura Ability, the Pitch-Black Pokémon can sit safely on the Bench while it chips away at the HP of your opponent’s Active Pokémon. While fellow Space-Time Smackdown debutant Weavile ex and Druddigon both make for great partners, in an electrifying development, Magnezone has given Darkrai ex decks an invigorating jolt as an additional attacker. Read on to learn more about how to use this surprising duo from the Sinnoh region!

Game plan: You’ll want to spend most of the game taking advantage of Darkrai ex’s Nightmare Aura Ability, which does 20 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon whenever you attach Energy to it from your Energy Zone. Use this Ability to chip away at your opponent’s Active Pokémon while Darkrai sits safely on the Bench gathering Energy. While Druddigon is your Active Pokémon, its Rough Skin Ability does 20 damage to Pokémon that attack and damage it—with this combination of Pokémon alone, you can quickly stack up damage in the early game without launching a single attack.

Despite its high HP, though, Darkrai is not quite a powerhouse with its Dark Prism attack’s modest 80 damage. This is where Magnezone comes in as an additional attacker.

Not only does Magnezone’s Thunder Blast attack deal a massive 110 damage, but it also doesn’t require Energy Zone attachments in the traditional sense—you can use Magneton’s (Genetic Apex: Pikachu) Volt Charge Ability to attach Energy to itself once per turn before you Evolve it into Magnezone. This will keep you rolling in terms of Energy attachments, and you won’t even need to include in your Energy Zone when building this deck. (With this strategy, you’ll only need to include Energy in your Energy Zone, so keep that in mind!) This Energy acceleration allows you to build up multiple attackers at once, all while doing incremental damage without needing to attack.

If the game plays out in your favor, your Druddigon should be able to tank a couple of hits before being KO’d or needing to retreat to the Bench, and your Magnezone can clean up with the Knock Out hits. If your Magnezone gets KO’d, you can earn your next KO with another fully charged Magnezone or a Darkrai ex. Your opponent might try to recall their damaged Pokémon to the Bench, but you can always boss them back into the Active Spot with Cyrus.

Enjoy this shocking combo, Trainers!