Pokémon has just dropped its latest expansion, and while everyone is pumped to collect the new set of cards, there’s something else on their minds. Alongside the announcement of Triumphant Light, The Pokémon Company announced that Ranked Battles would soon be coming to TCG Pocket. This means players are desperate to build the best decks, and that begins with opening the best TCG Pocket expansions and booster packs.
If you want to build a great ranked deck for yourself, here are the TCG Pocket Expansions ranked from best to worst.
1. Mythical Island: Mew
The Mythical Island set is home to some of the best cards in all TCG Pocket expansions. Celebi ex is devastating in combination with Serperior, both of which can be found in this set. Serperior doubles Grass Energy, and Celebi flips a coin for every Energy attached, dealing 50 damage for each head.
Mew has even more tricks up its sleeve. Druddigon is a bulky card that can sit in front while cards set up in the back. Marshadow is a great single prize card, and can fit on any Fighting team. Vaporeon can help you accelerate Energy to the active spot by just being in play. Leaf is one of the best supporters in the game allowing any card to easily retreat. Finally, Gyarados ex is another great attacker which can tear through games once it’s set up.
Overall, Mythical Island is the best TCG Pocket expansion to aim for when starting out your battling journey, and many of its cards are flexible in a variety of decks.
2. Space-Time Smackdown: Palkia
Space-Time Smackdown introduced Pokémon Tools, which are useful on every deck in the game. One of the best Tools is Rocky Helmet found in Palkia booster packs. This will deal a small amount of damage back when the card it is attached to is hit, which can really turn the tide in battle. The other key card in this set is Cyrus, which allows you to choose a damaged card to swap to the active spot. It’s the perfect card to synergize with Pokémon that deal damage to the bench.
Palkia also offers other powerful attackers and supportive cards. Manaphy accelerates Water Energy to your benched Pokémon, which works well with cards like Gyarados ex, Vaporeon, and this sets big main attacker, Palkia ex. Mismagius ex is also an annoying card that sets up quickly, deals respectable damage, and confuses the opponent meaning they may be unable to attack.
3. Genetic Apex: Mewtwo
As one of the original booster packs many of the cards in Genetic Apex have fallen out of fashion. However, cards like Gardevoir have utility no matter how many expansions are released. Gardevoir accelerates Psychic Energy to the active position for a heavy hitter like Mewtwo ex, though this is a lot less popular with how slow it is to set up.
On the other hand Articuno ex has only become better the more expansions there are. There are more Water Supporters than ever before, and decks that benefit from attacking Pokémon on the bench. While not a popular set, Genetic Apex’s Gas Leak Weezing also has utility in Dark decks.
4. Space-Time Smackdown: Dialga
The other powerful Pokémon Tool card is Giant Cape, which gives all cards a little more HP and longevity. Dialga’s titular card, Dialga ex, is the first strong Metal card in TCG Pocket as it can accelerate Energy onto the bench as well as dealing damage.
Darkrai ex is a decent attacker as deals damage whenever Energy is attached to it, which is a strong supportive option. The only other card of note is Lucario, which is one of the first cards that support Fighting decks by dealing extra damage.
5. Genetic Apex: Charizard
Charizard used to have some of the most powerful cards in TCG Pocket but many have since fallen out of favor. Erika is still very strong as it heals Grass decks, like the most popular deck Celebi ex and Serperior. All decks should run either Cyrus or Charizard’s Sabrina, which is your only option if you don’t damage cards on the bench.
Moltres ex accelerates Fire Energy to the bench, but Fire decks are fairly weak in the current meta game. Charizard booster packs do offer Greninja though, which works well in Water decks, and can hit any of your opponent’s cards. The final card worth pulling from these packs is Melmetal, which works well with Dialga ex and Rocky Helmet.
6. Triumphant Light: Arceus
The newest expansion isn’t the strongest, but there are a few cards that are worth picking up. Leafeon ex is a good addition for Grass decks in TCG Pocket as it can accelerate an extra Grass Energy every turn. The set focuses on Link Abilities with Arceus ex, however, this strategy isn’t particularly strong, meaning that most attackers from these booster packs don’t pull their weight.
However, Triumphant Light has a few Supporter cards that are very strong. Celestic Town Elder allows you to put a discarded Basic Pokémon and put it back in play. You can control which Pokémon come back by using decks with little Pokémon variation in order to bring back powerful ex cards at full health. Irida heals up cards with Water Energy attached making Water decks even stronger.
7. Genetic Apex: Pikachu
Unfortunately, Pokémon’s biggest mascot is not the best TCG Pocket expansion. The signature card Pikachu ex can be powerful as it’s quick to set up, but feels weak next to more recent threats. Pikachu ex decks require lots of Pokémon to work effectively meaning you have fewer powerful Supporters, Items, and Tools.
There is one very strong card in Pikachu booster packs, and that’s Misty. Misty can allow you to win matches on turn one, even before your opponent can move. However, she only provides extra Water Energy if you can flip heads, making using this card a terrifying experience.
Pokémon TCG Pocketis available for free on iOS and Android.
Published: Mar 1, 2025 04:50 pm