Hey SixPrizes readers! My name is Noah Allerton, and I’m a UK-based Senior Division player. I’m excited to be writing my very first article for SixPrizes. It will be focused on Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and its two most popular variants at the moment, Green’s PikaRom and Ability PikaRom. Both variants are extremely fun, and each have their own unique playstyles.

Green’s PikaRom

We’re in the beginning of the Players Cup II qualification period, and from what the first week has shown, Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX with Zacian V is the most popular deck. ADPZ’s pure speed and aggression is something that can overcome pretty much anything, but that doesn’t mean that the deck wins every matchup every time.

Green’s Exploration partnered with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is one of the decks that often has a very good matchup against ADPZ, and that’s for one main reason: its lack of support Pokémon. Not playing Pokémon like Dedenne-GX and Crobat V, Pokémon that would normally be easy targets for Boss’s Orders, means that ADPZ cannot win the game anywhere near as fast as they would usually be able to.

But it’s not just the ADPZ matchup that Green’s PikaRom has going for it. This list is a versatile toolbox equipped for the meta at large.

The Green’s Decklist

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 9

* 4 Boltund V RCL 67
* 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX TEU 33
* 1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX UNM 221
* 1 Tapu Koko p TEU 51
* 1 Vikavolt V DAA 60

##Trainer Cards - 37

* 2 Switch
* 1 Cynthia & Caitlin CEC 189
* 2 Marnie SSH 169
* 4 Crushing Hammer
* 2 Energy Spinner UNB 170
* 2 Professor’s Research SSH 178
* 2 Boss’s Orders RCL 154
* 2 Reset Stamp UNM 206
* 3 Quick Ball SSH 179
* 2 Big Charm SSH 158
* 1 Air Balloon SSH 156
* 2 Power Plant UNB 183
* 4 Green’s Exploration UNB 175
* 4 Pokégear 3.0 UNB 182
* 1 Great Catcher CEC 192
* 2 Tag Call CEC 206
* 1 Mallow & Lana CEC 198

##Energy - 14

* 11 L Energy SMEnergy 4
* 3 Speed L Energy RCL 173

Total Cards - 60

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4 Boltund V, 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX

The heart and soul of this deck is its Energy acceleration. Boltund V’s Electrify is the ideal attack for going second on turn one, allowing you to accelerate 2 Energy from your deck to your Benched Pokémon in any way you like, for just 1 Energy. This partners perfectly into a turn two Full Blitz with Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, dishing out 150 damage as well as accelerating a further 3 L Energy to one of your Pokémon. This Energy acceleration not only powers up another Pokémon to attack, but for every Energy put into play, Boltund V’s Bolt Storm attack damage increases by 30, meaning that with 9 Energy in play, you’re in TAG TEAM 1HKO range. Tag Bolt-GX on PikaRom is also very good for taking multiple Prize cards; however, PikaRom itself is a much more fragile TAG TEAM, so you have to be careful when you Full Blitz onto yourself.

1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX

A standard addition in pretty much every PikaRom deck, Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX is another Lightning TAG TEAM, but with a slightly different use compared to Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Its first attack for 3 Energy allows you to dish out 160 damage and paralysis if you moved from the Bench to the Active Spot that turn. This paralysis can be extremely helpful at buying you a turn in some situations, and can swing the game into your favor. Its Lightning Ride-GX attack can also deal a maximum of 250 damage with 5 Energy attached, a great number for Knocking Out things like Zacian V.

1 Vikavolt V

Vikavolt V is mainly here for its first attack, Paralyzing Bolt. It’s extremely reminiscent of Seismitoad-EX; it does 50 damage for 2 Energy, and your opponent cannot play any Item cards on their next turn. This is especially useful against decks like Blacephalon UNB, where a lot of their late-game setup relies on Item cards like Fire Crystal, so a Reset Stamp in combination with Paralyzing Bolt can sometimes steal you a game.

1 Tapu Koko p

Tapu Koko p is here for one reason: to get more Energy into play. While it can be used as an attacker in some matchups, like Decidueye/Obstagoon, the fact that it has an Ability means Green’s Exploration cannot be played while it’s in play, so you want to bench it and use it simultaneously if possible.

4 Green’s Exploration

The deck’s engine is in these 4 Supporter cards. Green’s Exploration allows you to find 2 Trainer cards from your deck, as long as you have no Pokémon with Abilities in play. This can find you key pieces that you need on that turn, and allows us to play more tech cards that we can find when needed. We also play 4 copies of Pokégear 3.0 in an attempt to find Green’s Exploration more consistently, as they are the backbone of the deck.

The Tag Call Package

2 Tag Call, 1 Cynthia & Caitlin, and 1 Mallow & Lana are a great combo of Trainer cards that are versatile and useful throughout the game. Mallow & Lana is especially useful against potential mirror matches. Cynthia & Caitlin also functions as an Item-searchable draw Supporter, something that can be valuable if you start without a Pokégear 3.0 or any other draw Supporter.

4 Crushing Hammer

A card that has taken center stage in current discussions. Crushing Hammer has the power to discard an Energy from one of your opponent’s Pokémon, with the caveat that you have to flip heads. This can be extremely useful against decks that rely on their manual attachments in the early turns, such as Eternatus VMAX and Garchomp & Giratina-GX; however, it is quite a risky target to take from Green’s Exploration because of that coin flip.

Matchup Spread

ADPZ: Favored

As I mentioned earlier, this deck is one of few that can reliably beat ADPZ in my opinion, mostly because of its lack of a need to play 2-Prize support Pokémon. It’s often that you can pull of a Full Blitz immediately after they use Altered Creation, meaning that if you have a Big Charm attached, you’ll be safe to put your Energies onto the Active Spot to set up for a 5-Prize Tag Bolt-GX next turn (assuming they have a Dedenne-GX, Mawile-GX, or Oricorio-GX in play). This matchup is slightly harder in the event that your opponent plays Tool Scrapper and/or Pokémon Catchers, but I don’t believe it ever becomes worse than a 50/50, no matter what tech cards they play.

Eternatus VMAX: Even

Eternatus VMAX appears to be on the decline in terms of amount of play; however, it is still a top tier contender. There is obviously an issue with Eternatus VMAX’s ability to reach extremely high numbers of damage as early as turn two; however, it is in this matchup where the utility of Crushing Hammer shines brightest. One heads on turn one can buy you a crucial turn to Electrify and keep your Boltund V safe from a knockout. This means you’ll likely be able to follow up with a Full Blitz, putting Energy onto a Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX. After your Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is likely Knocked Out, finishing off the Eternatus VMAX with a Bolt Storm is ideal. They will then have 0 Energy in play, and you’ll likely be able to either 2-shot another Eternatus VMAX, or use Boss’s Orders twice to finish up the game. This matchup hinges a lot on 50/50 moments, so I would say that makes it pretty even.

Centiskorch VMAX: Slightly Favored

This matchup is an extremely interesting one. Both you and your opponent will likely want to go second, and a lot of the time the matchup is decided by who goes second. If you can go second and pull off an Electrify, it’s not too likely that your opponent will respond with a GMAX Centiferno return knockout. This allows you to come in with PikaRom, and from there your strategy is extremely similar to that against Eternatus VMAX. Tandem Shock is a key attack in this matchup as well, as buying yourself a turn with paralysis can pay dividends in the long run.

Welder/Mewtwo & Mew-GX: Slightly Favored

Another 55/45 matchup, Welder/Mewtwo & Mew-GX is a deck extremely vulnerable to a Reset Stamp + Power Plant combo in the late game. While they can take a lot of early aggression, potentially Knocking Out your Pikachu & Zekrom-GX earlier than usual with a Flare Blitz-GX attack, you’re often able to respond with a 2HKO on a Mewtwo & Mew-GX and then Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX to finish the game with its paralysis, and that Plant–Stamp combo I mentioned previously.

Inteleon VMAX: Heavily Favored

This is the deck’s easiest matchup by far, and it’s not close at all. Inteleon VMAX has a glaring Weakness to Lightning, making it extremely vulnerable to being Knocked Out in one hit by pretty much all the attacks in PikaRom. This one vulnerability makes this matchup extremely easy, and sometimes you can even power up a Tag Bolt-GX to make it even faster and easier.

Decidueye/Obstagoon: Heavily Unfavoured

Decidueye DAA with Galarian Obstagoon SSH is one deck that really slows this deck down to a halt. One thing this deck lacks is a 1-Prize attacker, with the only out to Decidueye’s Deep Forest Camo Ability being Tapu Koko p, but even that doesn’t Knock Decidueye Out in one hit. Even though Tapu Koko p can attack through Decidueye’s Ability, the deck has no answer to Galarian Obstagoon’s Obstruct. This matchup is one that you just have to accept to defeat to and move on.

Ability PikaRom

As another take on the Full Blitzing archetype, we have Pikachu & Zekrom with a bigger focus on Abilities. This abandons the Green’s Exploration engine for a more typical Dedenne-GX and Crobat V-focused engine with a heavier count of Professor’s Research. It focuses more on potentially reaching that fabled turn one Full Blitz, something that has become a lot harder to achieve since the rotation of Thunder Mountain p but is not impossible with Tapu Koko p and a high count of Energy Switch.

The Ability Decklist

****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******

##Pokémon - 12

* 2 Crobat V DAA 104
* 2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195
* 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX TEU 33
* 1 Boltund V RCL 67
* 1 Eldegoss V CPA 5
* 1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX UNM 221
* 1 Tapu Koko p TEU 51
* 1 Tapu Koko V SSH 72
* 1 Vikavolt V DAA 60

##Trainer Cards - 35

* 4 Professor’s Research SSH 178
* 3 Boss’s Orders RCL 154
* 2 Marnie SSH 169
* 2 Team Yell Grunt SSH 184
* 4 Quick Ball SSH 179
* 4 Switch
* 3 Energy Switch SUM 117
* 3 Electromagnetic Radar UNB 169
* 2 Reset Stamp UNM 206
* 1 Tool Scrapper RCL 168
* 1 Tag Switch UNM 209
* 2 Big Charm SSH 158
* 2 Air Balloon SSH 156
* 2 Chaotic Swell CEC 187

##Energy - 13

* 10 L Energy BLWEnergy 108
* 3 Speed L Energy RCL 173

Total Cards - 60

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This decklist was used by Logan McKay to a Top 8 finish at the Sunday Open, and it’s a list that I’ve been really enjoying. The key difference between the two variants is that one favors speed and the other favors finding the cards you need at the time when you specifically need them. Some of the key cards that this deck plays that the Green’s variant doesn’t play are:

2 Crobat V, 2 Dedenne-GX, 1 Eldegoss V

These are the trio of 2-Prize support Pokémon that you see in the majority of decks right now which provide so much utility and speed through all stages of the game. Dedenne-GX and Crobat V can only be used once per turn, but that doesn’t stop you from using both in one turn to try to dig for that amazing turn one Full Blitz.