Best Meta Decks in Pokemon Pocket (March 2025)

Bilal | Published: March 04, 2025

The Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta has been shaken by the release of new cards, with the meta shifting to accommodate new cards from the Triumphant Light expansion. The Space-Time Smackdown saw Darkrai Ex Magnezone and Exegguto Ex Serebi Ex running rampant for the latter half of the release. With the release of new powerful cards like Arceus Ex and Leafeon Ex, the meta seems to be shifting to accommodate these cards.

It comes as no surprise that Arceus Ex Variations have captured the highest Meta share. The initial boost in its popularity comes from its great matchup against the Exeggutor & Celebi Ex deck, where it seems to have a staggering 70% win rate against the said Exeggutor Deck in a tournament format. Grass Deck lovers seem to have found their new love in Leafeon Ex, which seems to be replacing Exeggutor in a lot of the Celebi decks mainly because of its ability to ramp Celebi with extra Grass energy each turn. Fighting toolbox decks also have gained a bit of traction because of their excellent matchup with Arceus Ex decks. The meta share has been highlighted below.

Top Decks & Performance Metrics

Dialga Arceus (13% initial share, 26.5% top performer share)

Dialga & Arceus Ex — Dialga Arceus EX Decklist

Huge increase in representation among top players (+130%).
Strong matchups against most of the meta, especially Exeggutor/Celebi (70% win rate).
Variants with Shaymin for retreat/healing tech stood out.
Leafeon EX / Celebi EX (6.92% initial, 11.2% top performer)

A refined version of the Exeggutor/Celebi deck from last season.
Provides consistent damage output and powers up Celebi EX efficiently.
Much better matchup against Charizard compared to Exeggutor builds.
18 Trainer Articuno (4.71% initial, 7% top performer)

Benefited from Irida and Giant Cape as new support tools.
Dominated lower-tier decks but was even/unfavored against top three. decks.
Charizard EX & Exeggutor EX / Celebi EX

Charizard and Moltres EX Pokemon Pocket — Charizard and Moltres EX Decklist

Both underperformed in this tournament.
Exeggutor/Celebi suffered from its poor matchup against Dialga Arceus (only 25% win rate).
Charizard’s previously strong matchup against Exeggutor no longer applied to the new Leafeon variant.

Emerging Off-Meta Decks

Rampardos / Lucario / Sudowoodo

Rampardos and Lucario Pokemon Pocket — Rampardos and Lucario Decklist

Found success with Sudowoodo’s effectiveness against EX Pokémon.
Lucario offered a fast, energy-efficient 70-damage attack.
Arceus EX / Crobat / Heatran

Arceus Crobat Heatran Pokemon Pocket — Arceus Crobat Heatran Decklist

Two players performed well with this unique build.
Leveraged Crobat’s free retreat and flexible energy distribution with Dawn.
Infernape / Heatran / Arceus

Arceus Infernape Heatran Pokemon Pocket — Arceus Infernape Heatran Decklist

Small sample size, but had a 66% win rate vs. Dialga Arceus.
Heatran provided a tanky lead while setting up Infernape’s late-game sweep.

Final Thoughts

Dialga Arceus is clearly the deck to beat right now, with a strong spread across the board. Leafeon EX / Celebi EX is proving to be an effective adaptation of last season’s Exeggutor variant, and Articuno EX is showing promise with the right trainer lineup. Charizard EX and Exeggutor EX are struggling, and we could see new counter-strategies emerge.