The first Pokémon that you have the chance to battle with in the Pokémon video games leave an indelible mark on your memories. These Pokémon also often hold a cherished place in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In the Scarlet & Violet—Paldea Evolved expansion, Meowscarada, Skeledirge, and Quaquaval (the final evolved forms of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly) all appear as Pokémon ex that are not only fun to collect but are also potent in battle.

We've rounded up three Pokémon TCG experts and put their deckbuilding skills to the test with Meowscarada ex, Skeledirge ex, and Quaquaval ex. Let’s explore how to build three intriguing decks that could start you down your path to victory.

The mechanics of Meowscarada ex should be familiar to anyone who has played with Decidueye-GX, a card that dominated the early portion of the Sun & Moon era. That Pokémon’s Feather Arrow Ability, which allows you to place 2 damage counters on your opponent’s Pokémon per turn, was crucial to the success of the card. Meowscarada ex’s Bouquet Magic Ability is similarly the strongest aspect of this card: it lets you place 3 damage counters on one of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon at the relatively minimal cost of discarding a Grass Energy from your hand. There are many different directions in which you can take the strategy for a deck focused around Meowscarada ex, but the one that leapt out at me was to sit behind some kind of “wall” Pokémon and use Bouquet Magic multiple times in a turn. With that in mind, I settled on this deck list!

The old Decidueye-GX decks incorporated Vileplume, which prevented both players from playing Item cards. This combination of lock setup and repeatable damage was very powerful in 2017, and I believe that this strategy is still powerful in 2023. While we don’t have anything quite as strong as Vileplume in the current Standard format, Klefki can play a similar role.

Because Meowscarada ex is a Stage 2 Pokémon, Klefki’s Mischievous Lock Ability helps you buy time against more aggressive decks like Lost Zone Box or Mew VMAX by locking out their Flower Selecting Ability and Fusion Strike System Ability. I built this deck with the intention of keeping Klefki in the Active Spot early before attacking with Meowscarada ex and Medicham V’s Yoga Loop in the late game. Because you need to discard Grass Energy for Bouquet Magic, it makes sense to utilize Bibarel’s Industrious Incisors Ability to continue refilling your hand with Grass Energy. I also chose to play the Bidoof from Sword & Shield—Brilliant Stars over the one from Crown Zenith, because Klefki’s Mischievous Lock Ability has the dual effect of shutting off your own Basic Pokémon’s Abilities, including the Crown Zenith Bidoof’s Carefree Countenance.

Although Klefki does shut off your Radiant Alakazam’s Painful Spoons Ability, I believe that Radiant Alakazam is still powerful enough to play in this deck. Moving around damage counters on your opponent’s Pokémon lets you receive the full benefits of every Bouquet Magic. Using Radiant Alakazam, you can set up damage counters to Knock Out 70-HP Pokémon, such as Comfey, or to set up your opponent’s Active Pokémon to receive the full damage effect of Meowscarada’s Scratching Nails attack. It can be tough to get multiple uses out of Painful Spoons (you'll often be busy walling with Klefki), but even getting one or two uses of its Ability is beneficial enough to earn a roster spot for Radiant Alakazam.

Medicham V also synergizes very well with Radiant Alakazam. “Take an extra turn” is one of the most powerful phrases you can ever have on a Pokémon card, and you can absolutely take full advantage of that mechanic in this deck because of its many once-per-turn Abilities. Because you have control over the damage on your opponent’s Pokémon thanks to Bouquet Magic and Painful Spoons, you’ll often be able to set up a Yoga Loop play on one of your opponent’s smaller Pokémon. You can even recover the Medicham V with Klara and use Yoga Loop multiple times in the same game! While we normally see Medicham V powered up with Rapid Strike Energy, a Double Turbo Energy still gets the job done. It also powers up Scratching Nails, which is why I chose to play four copies.

Because you’ll want to set up multiple Stage 2 lines and a Stage 1 in Bibarel, I chose to include plenty of Pokémon search cards. Having four Battle VIP Pass, four Level Ball, and four Ultra Ball works well to maintain the flow of Pokémon on the board. Because it is very difficult to set up a full Rare Candy combo in this deck, I chose to play only two copies of the card. You can also buy time by sitting behind a Klefki, so I often find myself evolving up through Floragato. I chose to include three Artazon as my Stadium of choice for this deck. Artazon functions as both a counter to Path to the Peak (which shuts off your Bouquet Magic and Painful Spoons Abilities) and as an extra Pokémon search card, so I thought that it was worth the inclusion.

Since this deck strategy can involve essentially sitting around and poking damage at your opponent’s Pokémon, Iono is incredibly powerful in this deck. Thanks to Medicham V and Radiant Alakazam, you often have the choice to damage your opponent’s Pokémon over time without taking a Knock Out, which makes it possible for Iono to give you the full six Prize cards throughout the game while reducing your opponent’s hand size every time they Knock Out one of your Pokémon. A common feature of games with this deck is spending quite some time setting up your opponent’s board before being able to play an Iono to take a double KO.

The two copies of Klara and three copies of Energy Retrieval are both very useful in getting the constant stream of Grass Energy that you need to fuel Bouquet Magic to your hand. While Klara is technically a more powerful card since it recovers some Pokémon, it is also a Supporter, so I went for a split with Energy Retrieval. I chose to play the extra recovery cards over more copies of Grass Energy to maximize the number of Bouquet Magic uses per game.

An important aspect of this deck list is the complete lack of Boss’s Orders. I believe that Bouquet Magic, Painful Spoons, and Yoga Loop will give you enough access to your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. In addition, since Bouquet Magic does require you to discard a Grass Energy for each activation, I thought that it was important to play a Supporter that lets you see a flow of cards every turn without having to halt the stream by playing a Boss’s Orders. This is one of the very few decks that can get away with not utilizing Boss’s Orders at all, so I tried to make the best use of it!

I recommend that you try out this deck. There are not many feelings in the Pokémon TCG that can compare to taking all six Prize cards in one turn, and Meowscarada ex is one of the few decks that makes this possible!

With each new generation of the Pokémon video games, Trainers are faced with an important, journey-defining decision: who their first Pokémon will be. Who’s to say the same can’t be experienced in the Pokémon TCG? In this deck, I focus on Skeledirge ex, which is also the Pokémon I chose when playing the Pokémon Violet video game.

Many attacks do additional damage based on how much damage the Pokémon has taken. However, Skeledirge ex’s Burning Voice attack does less damage for each counter on it. This poses a unique challenge to deckbuilding. Despite the base damage of 270, if the opponent can attack into Skeledirge ex first, it may not be able to Knock Out the opposing Active Pokémon in one attack. To combat this, we must incorporate some healing into our deck.

The most obvious form of healing we have available is Cheryl. It does come at the cost of discarding all attached Energy, but it fully heals all Evolution Pokémon. Cheryl is commonly seen in decks that can attack for only a single Energy attachment. Since our main attack requires two Energy, we must incorporate some additional pieces if we want to utilize Cheryl effectively.

Energy Options

The combination of Armarouge from the Scarlet & Violet expansion and Magma Basin is effective: Armarouge’s Fire Off Ability allows you to work around the Benched Pokémon restriction of Magma Basin. The greatest downside to this strategy is that Magma Basin puts 2 damage counters on the chosen Pokémon. You could put this damage on Armarouge itself, but if you attach it to Fuecoco or another Skeledirge ex, you’d be reducing your potential damage output. Radiant Tsareena would be a good choice to heal the taken damage each turn.

The other option—keeping with the theme of starter Pokémon—is Charizard. With its Burn Brightly Ability, each Fire Energy counts as two Fire Energy! Suddenly, our reattachment problem after Cheryl is solved. It does take some work to put Charizard in play since it’s a Stage 2 Pokémon, but its non-reliance on Magma Basin makes it a great asset.

Because the Energy package is a 1–0–1 Charizard line and one Raihan, there is plenty of space for additional consistency cards. Compare this to a 1­–1 Armarouge line, which would require at least three Magma Basin and Radiant Tsareena. The choice is clear.

Augmenting Damage Output

The next important problem to solve is how to increase our damage output beyond 270. Relevant Pokémon VSTAR such as Arceus VSTAR, Giratina VSTAR, and Palkia VSTAR have 280 HP, so we fall short of a one-hit Knock Out. Choice Belt can help here, but it doesn’t work against Pokémon ex. Defiance Band and Vitality Band have their pros and cons as well.

One seemingly unlikely solution is Radiant Alakazam. Although we don’t place damage counters, a single small attack—even from Fuecoco—can do the necessary additional damage to score a timely Knock Out. Radiant Alakazam’s flexibility contributes to its success; we don’t need to score a big Knock Out each turn when we have additional time with Cheryl. Even if you must hit for 270 first, you can move off two damage counters on the following turn and pick up the Knock Out with Cheryl plus Vitality Song. Then, you have two damage counters to play with on the following turn.

Radiant Alakazam takes up our Radiant Pokémon slot, but this isn’t a big issue. Radiant Greninja, Radiant Tsareena, and Radiant Charizard don’t slot into our strategy all that well, but they could be effective options when pursuing a different deckbuilding route. To further boost Radiant Alakazam’s efficacy, you could also include Hawlucha from Scarlet & Violet. I’ve opted to not include it here because Bench space is tight, but it’s certainly a fine addition, especially to counter 280-HP Pokémon VSTAR.

And we’ve reached our final deck list! The last card is Kirlia, which provides consistency throughout the entire game. Gallade, using Buddy Catch, can search for Cheryl or Raihan when needed. Some form of Pokémon consistency is necessary for finding Rare Candy and Skeledirge ex initially and Cheryl as the game progresses.

Setting up multiple Evolution Pokémon is the key to success, so I’ve included ample Pokémon-searching Items and Supporters. Colress’s Experiment is quite useful for piecing together Rare Candy and Stage 2 Pokémon, whereas Iono and Professor’s Research are useful in slowing down the opponent and finding a completely new hand.

Your first priority is to put multiple Fuecoco and Ralts into play so that you can begin setting up Skeledirge ex and Kirlia. Charizard is a bonus, but you should focus on getting your attackers and engine first and foremost. Initially, you can manually attach 2 Energy or attack with Vitality Song since it sets up Knock Outs down the line with Radiant Alakazam. Don’t be afraid to fall behind by one or two Prize cards since you have the Cheryl/Charizard combo later in the game.

Once you have a solid board, try to set up Charizard so that you can threaten Cheryl plays. If the opponent chases after Charmander, your Skeledirge ex is safe. If they attack into Skeledirge ex, then you can Rare Candy into Charizard, play Cheryl, and attack again.

I hope you give Skeledirge ex a try! There are many directions to take the deck list in and I’m happy with what I’ve put together. Skeledirge ex has its downsides, but the supplementary pieces in the list alleviate them. Take this deckbuilding strategy to heart when building decks around your own favorite Pokémon!

Quaquaval ex has two very interesting attacks that create potential for this deck. Its first attack, Exciting Dance, does 60 damage and allows Quaquaval ex to duck away to the Bench (while also making your opponent’s Active Pokémon move to the Bench, too). These “hit and run” attacks have often been strong in the Pokémon TCG; they allow players to move Pokémon with great Abilities to the Active Spot without having to worry about their attack strength. One such Pokémon in the Standard format is Klefki. Its Mischievous Lock Ability shuts off the Abilities of all other Basic Pokémon, like those of Comfey, Lumineon V, Squawkabilly ex, and Genesect V. Klefki can do only 10 damage on its own and Quaquaval ex’s attack does 60 damage, but ending the turn with Klefki and Mischievous Lock active is quite advantageous.

Quaquaval ex’s Spiral Shot attack is where the major damage comes in—230 for 2 Energy is extremely efficient. Returning 2 Energy to hand instead of discarding them is nice, but how will we attach them again to hit for 230 in back-to-back turns? Fortunately, Scarlet & Violet’s Quaquaval fits the bill! Its Energy Carnival Ability allows you to attach an extra Basic Energy from your hand each turn. With Quaquaval and Quaquaval ex in play, your Spiral Shots can proceed turn after turn swimmingly.

Here is the flock I chose to support Quaquaval ex’s two attacks:

I’ve already described the synergy between Klefki and Quaquaval ex. Starting Klefki is incredibly strong against many decks, so I wanted to maximize their number on top of having a bevy of ways to find them and get them in the Active Spot. Beach Court, in addition to being a fitting Stadium for our feathered friends, lets you easily retreat to Klefki on Turn 1.

For draw power, I have Bibarel, Lumineon V, and Iono, cards found in many decks. Of course, nearly any deck with Water-type Pokémon should include the incredibly strong Irida Supporter card. She keeps the whole game plan afloat—she can even find Quaquaval ex and Rare Candy at once! I have the always good “Ball” cards (Nest Ball, Level Ball, Ultra Ball) to find Pokémon. Because I play Irida, the one Battle VIP Pass can still be easily found Turn 1 if I go second.

The last Pokémon I have included is Radiant Alakazam, which synergizes nicely with both of Quaquaval ex’s attacks. 280 damage is somewhat of a magic number in the Standard format these days: many powerful Pokémon V have 280 HP (Arceus VSTAR, Lugia VSTAR, and Giratina VSTAR, among others). Quaquaval ex can do 260 damage to these Pokémon with Spiral Shot and a Choice Belt. So where can we get that extra 20 damage? From Radiant Alakazam and its Painful Spoons Ability, of course! It can move 20 damage from one of your opponent’s Pokémon to another, which allows you to hit that magic 280 damage in one turn.

You do need a Pokémon on your opponent’s side to already have taken damage. Fortunately, in many games you’ll do 60 damage early on with Exciting Dance. With Painful Spoons moving 20 damage at a time, you could potentially use that 60 damage on one Pokémon to lead to up to three 280-damage attacks with Spiral Shot. To exploit this strategy further, you could play a Hawlucha from the Scarlet & Violet expansion.

An eye-catching aspect of my deck list is perhaps the low number of Energy cards. Since Spiral Shot puts Energy back in your hand, you really don’t need too many overall. I’ve also cut some Energy to play Energy Search, which should allow Irida to find Energy when needed.

I’ve tried to minimize tech Trainers since getting out two Stage 2 Pokémon requires plenty of search cards and draw cards. However, I do play one Boss’s Orders and one Cheryl. Cheryl in particular pairs well with Quaquaval ex: after a Spiral Shot, it has no Energy on it. Your opponent will cry foul when you use Lumineon V’s Luminous Sign to find Cheryl and wipe clean up to 300 damage! I could imagine a deck focused more on just Spiral Shot playing more than one Cheryl. I also play one Escape Rope that can be found by Irida when a Pokémon with a Retreat Cost of 2 (like Bibarel or Radiant Alakazam) needs to be switched out of the Active Spot.

Quaquaval ex has two unique attacks and great support options as a Water-type Pokémon. The Dancer Pokémon’s combos deliver a powerful kick!