The Pikachu ex and Raichu is a High-Damage Lightning-type Deck featuring Pikachu ex and Raichu from the Genetic Apex Set in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (PTCG Pocket). Read on for the complete list of cards in this deck, basic information on the deck, how to play the deck, and optimal matchups for it!

Related Decks

Pikachu ex and Raichu Guide

Deck Evaluation

Ace Pokemon						Tier Ranking
Raichu Genetic Apex (A1)			Pikachu ex Genetic Apex (A1)
						Energy Type(s)
						F2P Friendly?
						❌
						Deck Difficulty
						★★
Deck Strengths
Pikachu ex's attack only costs 2 energy but deals medium damage. Raichu can deal high damage.
Deck Weaknesses
Raichu discards all its energy when it attacks. Highly dependent on Lt. Surge.

Best Meta Decks Tier List

List of Cards

Pikachu ex and Raichu List
Pokemon Cards
Raichu ×2				Pikachu ex ×2				Zapdos ex ×2				Pikachu ×2
Dedenne ×1
Trainer Cards
Sabrina ×2				Lt. Surge ×2				Potion ×1				X Speed ×2
Poke Ball ×2				Professor's Research ×2

Deck Building Guide

Packs Required for Pikachu ex and Raichu Deck

Pack	Featured Card

Mythical Island Updates

New Mythical Island Cards
Pikachu	・Gives the deck a quick early game attacker. ・Can easily deal 30 damage with a full Bench using Circle Circuit.
Dedenne	・Gives the deck a quick early game attacker that can also Paralyze.

Mythical Island gives this deck a new Pokemon that can improve it even further. Above are the new cards that Pikachu ex and Raichu can use.

Mythical Island Card List

How to Play Pikachu ex and Raichu

How to Play Pikachu ex and Raichu
Core Combos and Interactions Starting Hand Deck Strategies Game Phases

Pikachu ex and Raichu Core Combos and Interactions

Starting Attacker	OHKO Attacker	Description
Pikachu ex	Raichu	・Pikachu ex can be played immediately and attack for low cost. ・Raichu can take Pikachu ex's place in case its HP becomes low, then is powered by Lt. Surge to unleash a high-damage attack that can OHKO the opponent's active Pokemon.

Best Starting Hand

Best Starting Hand

This is the ideal starting hand for this deck. Having one of each Pokemon in the deck right away gives you many attack options early.

Always play Pikachu ex first and set up Raichu on the bench. Pikachu ex can deal a decent amount of damage early on, putting pressure on your opponents. If Pikachu ex's HP becomes low, switch it out for Raichu and use Lt. Surge to power the Pokemon.

Other Good Starting Cards

Recommended Starting Hand

In the event that you don't have Raichu right away, playing Pikachu ex should still be your first move. Use Professor's Research to hopefully get Raichu, then evolve Pikachu into Raichu if you manage to obtain it.

If Pikachu ex's HP becomes low, switch it out for Raichu and use Lt. Surge to power the Pokemon.

Best Cards Tier List

Pikachu ex and Raichu Strategies

Pikachu ex and Raichu Strategies
Early Pressure Lt. Surge and Raichu

Strategy 1: Early Pressure

Play Pikachu ex right away and fill up your bench. Attack right away once you get a chance to deal a decent amount of damage early in the game.

Strategy 2: Lt. Surge and Raichu

Given the high cost of Raichu's Thunderbolt attack, it's best to use Lt. Surge to quickly attach Lightning Energy to Raichu. Afterwards, you can potentially get a OHKO with it.

Game Phases

Early Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	Play Pikachu ex right away.
2	Attack once your bench is filled for maximum damage.
3	Use Potion to keep Pikachu ex healthy when needed.

Mid-Game

Key Card(s) Required
Step	Description
1	At this point, you should have Raichu ready on your bench.
2	If Pikachu ex's HP become low, use X Speed to allow the Pokemon to retreat for no cost, then play Raichu.
3	Use Lt. Surge to power up Raichu's Thunderbolt and attack.

Optional

Key Card(s) Required
1	Zapdos is a Basic 1-Energy attacker that can apply immediate pressure on Lightning-weak decks like Starmie ex or Articuno ex decks.

Pikachu ex and Raichu Best and Worst Matchups

Best Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Blastoise ex Decks	Type: ・Blastoise ex decks take time to set up due to Blastoise ex being a Stage 3 evolution Pokemon, which can easily be exploited by Pikachu ex. ・The deck is also more vulnerable to Lightning attacks.

Worst Matchups

Deck	Commentary
Fighting Decks	Type: ・Pokemon like Mythical Island Primeape can consistently deal sizeable damage to our Lightning-types.
Exeggutor ex Decks	Type: ・Exeggutor ex can tank Pikachu ex's early pressure as well as Raichu's Thunderbolt. ・Exeggutor ex's attack also costs minimal energy, so even if its damage isnt't as high, it can deal damage every turn.

Overall Consistency

Although the deck has extremely high damage potential and only has one (1) Stage 1 evolution Pokemon, the cost of energy is also high.

Moreover, even if the deck's attacks can OHKO a lot of Pokemon, they do rely heavily on meeting certain conditions first, such as coin flips and having a certain amount of Pokemon on the bench to maximize the damage. This makes the deck quite inconsistent in terms of damage.

Pikachu ex and Raichu F2P & Substitutes

Pikachu ex and Raichu Card Substitutes

Card	Explanation
Pincurchin	・ Pincurchin is a viable Pokemon that can be swapped in when Pikachu ex's HP becomes low. Although it has lower HP and damage, it can paralyze the opponent's Pokemon, giving you a free turn.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Meta Guide

Pikachu ex and Raichu Other Viable Options

Card	Possible Cuts
Zebstrika	・Zebstrika can pick off your opponent's weakened Pokemon on their Bench if Pikachu ex or Raichu's damage doesn't knock them out.
Raichu	・ An alternative to Genetic Apex Raichu, Mythical Island Raichu can deal spread damage with Gigashock that deals 20 damage to your opponent's Bench.

Electrode Variant Deck List

Electrode Variant Deck List
Pokemon Cards
Pikachu x2	Raichu x2	Pikachu ex x2	Voltorb x2
Electrode x2
Trainer Cards
Sabrina x2	Lt. Surge x2	X Speed x2	Poke Ball x2
Professor's Research x2

Replacing Zapdos and Zapdos ex for Electrode gives the deck some consistency in terms of damage and costs less energy. Electrode can also benefit from Lt. Surge, making the deck more cohesive.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Beginner's Guide

Pokemon TCG Pocket Related Guides

Deck Building Guide

All Deck Tier Lists

All Tier Lists
Best Cards Tier List	Best Meta Deck Tier List
Best Rental Deck Tier List	Best F2P Beginner Decks

Deck Articles

Deck Articles
How Rental Decks Work	Staple Cards for Decks
Aggro Decks Explained	Deck Matchup Statistics
Best 18 Trainers Decks	Best Misty Decks
Best Erika Decks	10 Match Tests vs Pikachu ex Deck - Statistics
List of Non-ex Decks

Meta Decks

Best Meta Decks
Mewtwo ex	Celebi ex and Serperior	Pikachu ex
Gyarados ex and Greninja	Vaporeon and Articuno ex	Volcarona and Arcanine ex
Scolipede and Weezing	Starmie ex and Articuno ex	Arcanine ex
Blaine	Pikachu ex and Raichu	Gyarados ex and Vaporeon
Pidgeot ex	Charizard ex	Aerodactyl ex and Primeape
Exeggutor ex	Lt. Surge	Dragonite
Alakazam and Jynx	Mew ex and Weezing	Golem

Off Meta Decks

Articuno ex	Venusaur ex	Dragonite and Weezing
Lapras ex	Greninja	Mewtwo ex and Weezing
Marowak ex	Primeape	Venusaur and Weezing
Arbok Lock	Zapdos ex	Blastoise ex
Gengar ex	Machamp ex	Wigglytuff ex
Melmetal	Koga	Omastar and Articuno ex
Kingler and Articuno ex	Frosmoth	Lapras ex and Butterfree
Poliwrath	Tentacruel and Greninja	Victreebel and Exeggutor ex
Gengar ex and Golbat	Persian and Mawile	Lickitung and Primeape
Exeggutor ex and Alakazam	Frosmoth and Articuno ex	Gyarados
Centiskorch and Moltres ex	Grapploct	Cinccino and Weezing
Brock	Kabutops	Aerodactyl and Dragonite
Eeveelutions and Ditto	Lickitung	Articuno
Zapdos	Moltres	Venusaur
Charizard	Blastoise

Rental Decks

All Rental Decks
Venusaur ex Rental Deck	Charizard ex Rental Deck	Blastoise ex Rental Deck
Pikachu ex Rental Deck	Mewtwo ex Rental Deck	Machamp ex Rental Deck
Nidoking and Nidoqueen Rental Deck	Kanto Fossils Rental Deck	Koga Rental Deck
Brock Rental Deck	Blaine Rental Deck	Lt. Surge Rental Deck

Starter Decks

All Starter Decks
Pinsir Starter Deck	Rapidash Starter Deck	Sandslash Starter Deck