Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket: how to build your first deck and win matches (2026)

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is built for quick, tactical games: decks are only 20 cards, you earn points by taking Knock Outs, and Energy is handled through an Energy Zone rather than separate Energy cards. That means your first deck should be less about “cool cards” and more about reliability: seeing your main attacker early, attaching the right Energy consistently, and having enough Trainer cards to keep your turns functional. The goal of this guide is simple: help you put together a stable beginner list and play it with a plan you can repeat under pressure.

Start with a simple game plan and a clean 20-card list

Your first decision is what your deck is trying to do in the first three turns. In Pocket, that usually means picking one main attacker (the Pokémon you want active most of the game) and one backup attacker (something that can finish a game or cover a weakness). Because a battle is often decided by a small number of turns, decks that “do one thing well” tend to feel stronger than decks that try to do everything.

Keep your Pokémon lines lean. If your main attacker needs an evolution line, make sure you can actually assemble it on time—otherwise you’ll lose games before your engine starts. As a beginner rule, avoid running too many different evolution families at once; every extra line is another set of pieces you have to draw in a 20-card deck. Also remember the deckbuilding limit: you can include no more than two copies of any card with the same name, so you can’t brute-force consistency with four-ofs the way you might in the physical TCG.

A practical starting ratio for many beginner decks is: roughly half Pokémon, the rest Trainers that draw, search, or fix awkward hands. Pocket’s official guidance also recommends including at least five or six Basic Pokémon so you don’t lose instantly when your only Pokémon is Knocked Out; with short games, that safety net matters more than people expect.

A beginner-friendly checklist for choosing Pokémon counts

Pick one “star” card and start your list from there. If your main attacker is a Basic, you can afford to run fewer other Pokémon—because you’re more likely to open it. If your main attacker is an evolution, prioritise getting the Basic down early, then the next stage on curve. In a small deck, missing an evolution by a single turn often costs the match.

Decide how you actually win points. In Pocket, you win by reaching three points from Knock Outs, and some knockouts can award extra points depending on the card. That changes how you trade: sometimes taking a smaller KO first is correct if it sets up a bigger swing next turn. When you choose your Pokémon, think in “three points” rather than “take prizes until the deck runs out.”

Finally, plan your Bench space. Pocket limits how many Benched Pokémon you can have at once, so every Bench slot is valuable. Don’t fill the Bench just because you can—place Pokémon that either become attackers soon, enable your evolution line, or provide an ability you will use in the next one or two turns. If a Pokémon will sit there doing nothing, it’s often better left in hand.

Energy Zone decisions: make your attacks happen on time

Energy in Pocket works differently: you set your deck’s Energy types in deckbuilding, and the game generates Energy through the Energy Zone rather than you drawing Energy cards. This is great for beginners because you avoid “Energy drought,” but it creates a new problem: if you choose too many Energy types, you can miss the right colour at the wrong time.

For a first deck, stick to one Energy type whenever possible. Two types can work, but only when your attacker costs are forgiving (for example, they share a common colour requirement, or your second attacker is more of a late-game option). Pocket deckbuilding guides commonly note there’s a cap on the number of Energy types you can select; even within that limit, fewer types usually equals smoother games.

Build your turn plan around the Energy you expect to generate. A reliable deck is one where you can say: “By turn two, I can attack for X,” and that happens most matches. If your main attacker needs a lot of Energy, you must either accept a slower first attack or use Trainers and board decisions to survive until you’re online.

Energy timing: how to stop losing to your own setup

One easy mistake is attaching Energy to the wrong Pokémon “just in case.” In fast games, those attachments are your tempo. If you attach Energy to a Bench Pokémon that won’t attack soon, you’re effectively skipping pressure. As a rule, attach to the Pokémon that will attack next turn unless you have a clear reason not to.

Another common loss pattern is over-committing to a single big attacker. If your opponent can remove it or force awkward switches, you can end up with Energy stranded on a Pokémon that no longer advances your win condition. It’s often safer to spread early Energy between a main attacker and a backup—so you always have an attack available if the board flips.

Also pay attention to turn order quirks. Beginner guides highlight that the first player has a different early Energy rhythm than the second, which affects whether you should go for a quick attack or a sturdier setup line. If you keep losing when going first, it’s usually because your list assumes an attack timing you can’t actually reach from that seat.

Win more matches with repeatable in-game habits

Deckbuilding gets you consistency; decision-making gets you wins. Because Pocket games are short, every “small” choice—what to lead with, when to retreat, when to hold a Trainer—has an outsized impact. The easiest way to improve is to play your turns in the same order every game so you don’t miss value.

A strong default turn sequence looks like this: set up Basics, check what your next two turns need, then use search and draw Trainers, and only then commit to switches/retreats and attacks. If you draw first and search later, you reduce the chance of wasting a search card on something you would have drawn naturally. This is a simple habit that quickly improves hand quality over many games.

Finally, practise playing for the “three-point finish.” Don’t just take the first Knock Out you see—ask whether it puts you on a path to your third point, or whether it lets your opponent race you back. In ranked play (which has been part of the game’s updates since 2025), players punish sloppy point-trades quickly, so learning this early pays off.

Match tactics you can apply with almost any beginner deck

Protect your win condition by managing the Active spot. If your main attacker is crucial, don’t leave it exposed when it isn’t ready. Sometimes the correct play is to lead with a sturdier Basic while you assemble your evolution or Energy thresholds on the Bench, then pivot when you can attack immediately.

Count your outs in a 20-card deck. With so few cards, you can make better decisions just by remembering what you’ve already seen. If both copies of a key card are already in the discard or prizes aren’t a concept you can leverage the same way, you need a backup line. This is why “two copies of the important cards” and a small number of core lines is so valuable in Pocket.

After each loss, don’t blame luck first—check for one of three fixable causes: (1) your Pokémon counts are too spread out, (2) your Energy types are too wide for your attack costs, or (3) you used draw/search in the wrong order and stranded a turn. Fixing just one of these usually improves your results faster than chasing a whole new deck idea.