Our favorite Pokémon TCG Pocket cards and the ones we really want

Here’s a list of our favorite Pokémon TCG Pocket cards, which might help you pick a new theme of deck if you’re out of inspiration.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - three pokemon on a blurred background of some cards
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Pokémon TCG Pocket 

Now that we've all got a big roster of Pokémon TCG Pocket cards, let's look at which ones come out on top as our favorites, including both Pokémon and trainer cards to expand the selection. We've also picked out some options that we would love to see come to the game in the future.

To find out which cards are best, check out our Pokémon TCG Pocket tier list, or scroll down to see which ones we simply enjoy the most. If you're looking for more people to battle with, take a look at our guide to Pokémon TCG Pocket friend codes and expand your roster.

Here are our favorite cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket:

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different articuno EX cards on a blurred background

Articuno EX

  • Ice Wing - 40 damage
  • Blizzard - 80 damage
    • This attack also does ten damage to each of your opponent's benched Pokémon

Firstly, Articuno is a legendary bird, which already makes it cool (also because it uses Ice Wing, ha ha, get it?). It's a true relic in the Pokédex. Not only can Articuno deal a good amount of damage to your opponent's main Pokémon, but it can also inflict damage to benched 'Mons, potentially taking them out before they get a chance to move.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Blaine trainer cards on a blurred background

Blaine

  • During this turn, attacks used by Ninetails, Rapidash, or Magmar do +30 damage to your opponent's active Pokémon

Every deck needs good support and trainer cards, and Blaine fills his role spectacularly. He may look a little like Doctor Eggman, but he's no villain - he adds 30 damage to any attack that Ninetails, Rapidash, or Magmar do in your turn. Just make sure to use this card when you have enough energy attached, or it'll be wasted that turn.

pokemon tcg pocket cards - the Celebi EX card showing the green creature on a shiny card

Celebi EX

  • Powerful Bloom - 50+ damage
    • Flip a coin for every energy attached to Celebi. This attack does 50 damage for each heads

We don't need to explain why Celebi is so good. But we will - it doesn't rely on anything or need any specific team set up at all, outside of some energy. The more energy you can attach to it, the better, as you have more chances at doing instances of 50 damage.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Charizard EX cards on a blurred background

Charizard EX

  • Slash - 60 damage
  • Crimson Storm - 200 damage
    • Discard two energy from Charizard

Of course, Charizard is here. The fiery pseudo-dragon is a constant favorite and continues to shine in TCG Pocket. The only caveat is that you do need to discard two energy after using the big move, so it will take two turns to refill it. But the 200 damage can take out most other Pokémon cards in one fell swoop.

pokemon tcg pocket cards - two Darkrai EX cards on a blurred background

Darkrai EX

  • Dark Prism - 80 damage
  • Nightmare Aura (ability) - Whenever you attach a dark energy to this Pokémon, you do 20 damage to your opponent's active Pokémon

Darkrai's ability speaks for itself. As you're stacking up energy to use the Dark Prism attack, you deal damage to your opponent. Constantly. And from the first turn. Need we say more? Darkrai works very well in decks with Druddigon to ensure it remains alive in a secondary spot, and double up on damage with a Magnezone, Greninja, or Weavile for a devastating deck.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - a Gardevoir card on a blurred background

Gardevoir

  • Psyshot - 60 damage
  • Psy Shadow (ability) - During your turn, you may take an energy and attach it to your active Pokémon

Using Gardevoir as part of a Mewtwo deck is a popular choice, and it's not hard to see why. This card lets you attach extra energy, which is always a handy bonus as it can take a while to load up four energy to your Mewtwo in order to do its big attack.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Gengar EX cards on a blurred background

Gengar EX

  • Spooky Shot - 100 damage
  • Shadowy Spellbind (ability) - As long as Gengar is in your active slot, your opponent can't use any supporter cards in their hand

Another constant favorite is Gengar. The Spooky Shot attack may take three energy to charge up, but it's worth it when it does 100 damage. Pair this with Giovanni, and you can knock out a lot of different Pokémon cards. Using Gengar as your active Pokémon also stops your opponent from using supporters - that means no boosts, no healing, and no pulling extra cards to their hand. A truly hampering ability.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Giovanni trainer cards on a blurred background

Giovanni

  • During this turn, attacks by your Pokémon do +10 damage to your opponent's active Pokémon

Good ol' Giovanni provides extra damage. That's it, really, but having two of these cards in your deck can pull you out of a pinch and make sure you send that Venusaur packing in one big attack.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - a blue Greninja card on a blurred background

Greninja

  • Mist Slash - 60 damage
  • Water Shuriken (ability) - Once during your turn, you can do 20 damage to one of your opponent's Pokémon

All starters are definitely worth their salt in Pocket TCG, but I really like Greninja. It only needs two energy, so you can easily build that up as you evolve it. The fact that this water Pokémon does +20 extra damage each turn is a blessing, especially as this isn't a rare EX card.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - a Jolteon card on a blurred background

Jolteon

  • Pin Missile - 40+ damage
    • Flip four coins - each heads deals +40 damage

My personal favorite is still Jolteon. It's gotten me through Lapras battles and any other matches against water decks with ease. It does rely on luck and RNG, but if you manage to get even one heads in the four coin flips, you're onto a winner. Getting all four coin flips correct will provide a huge amount of damage, easily knocking out any opponent in one fell swoop.

Pokemon TCG cards - The Mega Altaria EX card as seen in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Mega Altaria EX

  • Mega Harmony - 40+ damage
    • This attack does 30 more damage for every benched Pokémon

My word, what a powerful card - if you have Pokémon on your bench, this bird will do some serious damage. Once you have two energy, you can use Mega Harmony to do 40 damage, plus an extra 30 for every single Pokémon you have on your bench. You can take out almost anything with one swoop.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Mewtwo EX cards on a blurred background

Mewtwo EX

  • Psychic Sphere - 50 damage
  • Psydrive - 150 damage
    • Discard two energy from Mewtwo

Of course. Mewtwo is on this list. This is a Pokémon game, after all. The star of the show has potential in lots of decks, even if its big move requires four energy. Similar to Charizard, you need to discard two energy after using Psydrive, but if you have a Gardevoir, you can quickly refill this and go again.

Pidgeot

  • Wing Attack - 70 damage
  • Drive Off (ability) - Once during your turn, you may switch out your opponent's active Pokémon to the bench

Don't overlook Pidgeot. It may not do the most devastating damage, but if you keep a Pidgey on your bench and build it up, you can then swap in Pidgeot and sweep away your opponent's active Pokémon. It's really annoying. It's also really good. Your opponent won't be able to get a move in while Pidgeot's ability, which requires no energy to use, forces it to move.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - two different Sabrina trainer cards on a blurred background

Sabrina

  • Switch out your opponent's active Pokémon to the bench. They choose the Pokémon to replace it

Sabrina is another excellent support card for any deck. What's that? Your opponent puts down a full-health Lapras that can heal itself? Let's do something about that, huh? Choose Sabrina, and she'll swap it out, making your opponent choose a different Pokémon - perhaps that measly, half-health Pidgey from their bench.

Serperior EX

  • Solar Beam - 70 damage
  • Jungle Totem (ability) - Each energy attached to your Pokémon generates two extra energy. This doesn't stack

I know what you're thinking - four energy for one move?! Dang. But trust us, it's worth it. Serperior's ability, Jungle Totem, adds two extra energy whenever you add one to it during a move - once per battle - so you can easily stack up enough to take out your opponents. Then, unleash the Solar Beam to deal plenty of damage, and hopefully knock out your opposition.

Pokémon TCG Pocket cards - five cards showing different pokemon and items on a blurred background

Real Pokémon cards we want to see in TCG Pocket

This list could go on and on forever, so we've condensed it to five cards we'd love to see come to TCG Pocket. Obviously, any evolved Pokémon would come with their pre-evolutions too, but we feel these cards could really shake things up.

Dragapult EX

  • Jet Headbutt - 70 damage
  • Phantom Dive - 200 damage
    • Put six damage counters on your opponent's benched Pokémon

Not only does Dragapult's basic attack do a big slice of damage, but the Phantom Dive move allows you to add extra damage to benched Pokémon. It's unclear how damage counters would translate into Pocket for now, but Dragapult is good enough to warrant a deck dedicated to it anyway.

Nest Ball

  • Search your deck for a basic Pokémon to put on your bench, then shuffle your deck

Gaining random cards with the Poké Ball card is all well and good, but being able to choose a specific one could pay absolute dividends. Plus, shuffling your deck could also pay off - or not, but that's the risk you have to take.

Toedscruel EX

  • Protective Mycelium (ability) - Prevent all effects of attacks by your opponent's Pokémon to all of your Pokémon that currently have energy attached
  • Colony Rush - 80+ damage
    • This attack does +40 more damage for each of your benched Pokémon that have grass energy attached

I'm not a big fan of Toadscool and Toedscruel's designs, honestly - but this card won me over to like them as usable 'Mons. The ability to prevent attacks? Amazing. Plus, any move that allows for extra damage with pretty low requirements is an excellent bonus and can swing a battle in your favor in an instant.

Some players - myself included - may be itching to complete their collections after this, so we've got a guide on how to get the Pokémon TCG Pocket Mew card here. Also, find out if there are any Pokémon TCG Pocket codes right here, too.

You can usually find Holly roaming through Teyvat or Hyrule. She's big on Nintendo, Hoyoverse, and indie games. Animal Crossing is her ride-or-die. She plays too many farming games. She got started doing freelance lists for GameRant and Roblox pages for VG247, and producing Genshin Impact builds for Gfinity. Her biggest achievement to date is getting her Pikmin 4 score on adverts across the UK. She can, and will, lay some hot takes out if you let her but sticks to correct opinions like arguing what the best wireless chargers and stylus phones are, and which gacha game is the best (it’s Genshin. Or Wuthering Waves. Or Honkai Star Rail). She also owns a really cute lizard.

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