Gyarados ex has become one of the biggest decks in the meta after the release of Mythical Island inPokémon TCG Pocket. This has led to the rise of a lot of different counters, as people seek to find a way around the heavy hitter.Gyarados ex has one main weakness in the form of Magikarp, but to get to Magikarp, players are going to have to find a very specific counter.
Thebest Gyarados ex deck inPokémon TCG Pocketutilizes a combination of theGyarados ex evolution line and the Greninja line. The main point of the deck is to use Gyarados ex as the main point of damage, and it can be overwhelming if you face down a fully loaded one. However, if you can get the right counter,you can hit a vulnerable Magikarp before it ever evolves.
Pokémon TCG Pocket Best Gyarados Deck Counter
Target The Bench Without Becoming Vulnerable
The best counters to Gyarados ex are the ones thatallow you to hit your opponent’s Benchso that you can clear off Magikarp without having to wait for it to appear in the Active Spot. Assuming your opponent knows what they are doing,they shouldn’t ever have a Magikarp in the Active Spotwithout evolving it first. That said, you will want to have that counter ready to go.
Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Approach To Trading Is Concerning
Trading has yet to arrive in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, and what is known about the feature suggests it may ultimately be lackluster.
There are a few challenges to building a specific counter for Gyarados ex:
Most of the best GyaradosWater-type decks buildaround the idea that they are only focusing on those last two evolution lines. But you still want to winwhen your opponent isn’t using one of these decks. Building a deck around this, then, is difficult. However, if you are just looking for a single card that can counter Gyarados most effectively without anything else, the answer is fairly clear.Hitmonlee is going to be the best betto hit Magikarp before it can hit back.
Hitmonlee is a Basic Pokémon thatcan single out a Benched Pokémon for 30 HP and only 1 Energy. This means as early as Round 2 if you are going second,Hitmonlee can take out a Magikarp on the Bench. Granted, if your opponent sees this, they are likely going to ignore the situation and focus on the Greninja line instead.
An added solution to this problem is combining Hitmonlee with 2 other cards:
Once they see your Hitmonlee,they are going to focus on other things. However, using Sabrina allows you to make them forcibly switch out their Pokémon. So if they move Magikarp up to the Active Spot to protect it from your Hitmonlee, you use Sabrina to force it back and take it out.
Additionally, you can pull Hitmonlee back andsend out Aerodactyl ex, which will keep their Active Pokémon from evolving. So if they do put a Magikarp in the Active Spot, they might not be able to evolve it in time, and it will be left vulnerable. Or, alternatively,they are stuck with a Basic Froakie or Frogadierin the Active Spot, which Aerodactyl ex can then take out.
Having someX Speed cardsas well will help you swap Pokémon on your end out if you need to without wasting the Energy.
They will then be hesitant to swap in a different Pokémon they can’t evolve, andyou will have the advantage of being able to move Hitmonlee back outto take out any lingering Magikarps if they place a second one on the Bench. Moreover, Hitmonlee has a very high HP for a Basic Pokémon, andvery few if any similar Basic Pokémon could take it out in one go.
Aerodactyl ex is annoying enough on its own, and Hitmonlee is strong enough that you might still get a fairly good record against other decks as well. It’s not a guaranteed win and it’s not the current meta, but it is still a strong deck. Consider including aGolem from Mythical Islandas well if you want to have a heavy hitter in your back pocket.
Other Counters For Pokémon TCG Pocket Gyarados EX
Options To Consider That Can Still Hit The Bench
There are plenty of other counters as well.Both Lumineon and Greninja have attacks that can target the Bench, making it possible to hit Gyarados ex with these two as well. These are both Water-types, so you would be fighting many of the same battles andcould include a Magikarp of your own.
Articuno ex
Dragonite
Dragon
However, the other counter that I like bestwould be an Electric-type deck. Pikachu and Raichu both have very strong cards in this meta as well. Raichu, theversion from Mythical Island, is particularly strong as itdoes 20 damage to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. This could wipe out more than one Magikarp, as Raichu has the advantage of targeting the Water Pokémon’s weakness.
Additionally, you can use cards likeElectabuzz or Zebstrikato take on the Bench. Although all of these take a little more Energy and setup than the Hitmonlee efficient option, there is a better overall deck here. Pikachu’s Circle Circuit ability can be devastating for a lot of decks, and will likely get a better win-rate overall against other decks inPokémon TCG Pocket.
