Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta Decks Tier List & Ranking 2025 (Mythical Island)

As we usher in 2025, the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) Pocket scene continues to evolve, particularly with the introduction of the Mythical Island mini-set. This expansion has significantly impacted tournament results and deck representation. In this article, we'll explore the best Pokemon TCG Pocket decks to consider for Mythical Island (A1a).

Pokemon TCG Pocket Deck Tier List 2025 (Best Mythical Island Decks Ranked) 

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's latest expansion, Mythical Island (A1a), released worldwide on December 17, 2024, introduces a vibrant tropical island theme centered around beloved Mythical Pokémon like Mew and Celebi, represented as powerful Pokémon ex cards. This expansion features 86 cards, including five new Pokémon ex and five Trainer cards, while marking the first appearances of Pokémon from Generations II and IV within the game.

1. Pikachu ex - S Tier

Pikachu ex is considered the strongest deck in the current format, showcasing consistent and powerful performance. Its ability to deal high damage with just two energy attachments makes it highly efficient. The deck holds a significant advantage against Gyarados ex and maintains a balanced 50/50 matchup against Mewtwo ex when played at equal skill levels. The optimal card includes Zebstrika, whose ability to target the opponent's bench is crucial against Gyarados and other decks that rely on setting up attackers behind Dragon. While the core nine Pokémon remain consistent across builds, there's flexibility in trainer card choices, including variations of Sabrina, Giovanni, Potion, Blue, and more.

2. Mewtwo ex - S Tier

Mewtwo ex represents the balanced deck of the format, maintaining even or slightly favorable matchups against most opponents, with Gyarados/Greninja being its main weakness. The deck typically runs nine core Pokémon, with some variants including a second Mew ex. The trainer lineup shows significant variation, with only Professor's Research, Poke Ball, and Mythical Slab being consistent inclusions. Players frequently experiment with different combinations of X Speed, Leaf, Sabrina, Blue, or other viable options for support.

3. Gyarados ex and Greninja - S Tier

Gyarados ex with Greninja shows the most polarized matchup spread among S-tier decks. It dominates Mewtwo ex with a roughly 70% win rate but struggles significantly against Pikachu ex with less than 30% win rate. The deck demonstrates extreme matchups beyond the top three, performing excellently against Celebi but poorly against Marshadow Hitmonlee. It has the most consistent decklist of the top three, featuring a fixed 12-Pokémon core. The main variation comes in the eight trainer slots, where players sometimes adjust the second copy of Leaf or Misty for cards like Blue to improve unfavorable matchups, though the effectiveness of this strategy remains uncertain.

4. Aerodactyl ex and Primeape - S Tier

The Aerodactyl ex and Primeape deck is placed in the S-tier, due to its strong performance in the current metagame. This deck is particularly effective because it has favorable matchups against setup decks and the popular Pikachu ex, and it performs well in a meta dominated by Gyarados and Pikachu. The deck features a fast-paced, aggressive strategy with Aerodactyl ex (140 HP) serving as a strong finisher. 

5. Celebi ex - A Tier

Celebi ex, often paired with Exeggutor ex, is the most popular deck in the A tier. It is a solid choice for casual play and performs well against a variety of decks. However, it has significant weaknesses, particularly against top-tier decks like Gyarados and Mewtwo, which make it less viable in competitive settings. It only slightly edges out in matchups against Pikachu. The deck's strategy revolves around utilizing multiple Basic Pokémon, which provides a more dynamic game plan. 

6. Arcanine ex - A Tier

Arcanine ex features a strong matchup table, it is shaping up to be a strong contender in the current PTCG Pocket meta, this deck brings a versatile attack potential and impressive HP, allowing it to function effectively as both a damage dealer and a strategic wall. It has the ability to support decks that focus on taking down powerful opponents. The evolving synergy with cards like Celebi ex and Exeggutor ex also enhances its viability, promoting diverse strategies that can adapt to various matchups. As players continue to explore these combinations, Arcanine ex is likely to gain traction in tournament play.

7. Scolipede and Weezing - B Tier

Scolipede and Weezing is a deck that showed initial promise during the first week of Mythical Island expansion but ultimately fell short. While it has a favorable matchup against Mewtwo ex, it struggles significantly against Pikachu decks and Gyarados. It also has difficulty competing with A-tier decks like Celebi and fighting variations. The deck is somewhat inflexible due to requiring a stage-two Evolution line with Weezing, Koga, Professor's Research, and Poke Ball. Players sometimes substitute Muk for Tauros to better handle the Pikachu matchup.

8. Gyarados and Starmie - B Tier

Gyarados ex and Starmie ex (featuring Vaporeon) share similarities with the higher-ranked S-tier Gyarados-Greninja deck. While it maintains a strong matchup against Mewtwo and performs somewhat better against Pikachu ex decks compared to its cousin, it significantly underperforms in mirror matches against Gyarados-Greninja decks. The deck's improved Pikachu matchup comes at the cost of being notably weaker in other important matchups, particularly the mirror match where it often loses to the Greninja variation.

9. Charizard ex - B Tier

Charizard ex is considered a B-tier deck in the current expansion, and has significantly declined in effectiveness. It is a linear and straightforward deck to play, as it aims to achieve the same board state regardless of matchups, making it consistent for players. Many players pair Charizard ex with Arcanine as a tempo attacker, which provides a faster-paced alternative when Charizard isn't set up early enough. Arcanine's ability to one-hit KO Pokemon like Celebi and Pikachu makes it effective against other tempo decks. While the pure Arcanine-Mew ex fire deck might be considered the optimal fire-type strategy, Charizard ex offers a higher potential upside due to its devastating 200 damage output. 

10. Blaine - B Tier

Blaine variations represent the premier budget deck option in Pokemon TCG Pocket, requiring no three-diamond cards to be playable. However, its matchups in the current format are problematic, struggling against both Gyarados-Greninja decks and Mewtwo. While it has a slight advantage against Pikachu, this isn't enough to compensate for its poor matchups against other top-tier decks. The deck typically runs four Basic Pokemon, with some variations including Magmar as an additional attacker, which can combine with Blaine to defeat Celebi ex in one turn due to fire weakness. The deck has adopted the Mythical Island version of Pidgey and varies between running two copies of old Rapidash or splitting between one old and one new version for consistent single-energy attacks.