Pokemon TCG Pocket best cards tier list (April 2025)

Our Pokemon TCG Pocket best cards tier list has been fully filled in with all the latest cards from every expansion, taking into account all the latest from Triumphant Light and Shining Revelry. And it really is an ever changing assortment, as PTCGP has been subject to a notable amount of power creep across the last few months (the phenomena wherein the baseline power level of the cards gets higher over time). Great cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket are sometimes also referred to as Chase Cards - as in, those you want to chase - meaning that if you have Pack Points, friends willing to trade, or a good chance at a wonder pick, these are the ones to aim for.

With that in mind, we've assembled the main PTCGP best cards tier list below, folding in all those chase cards that are particularly impactful on the current meta, including the best trainers, tools, items - and yes: the best Pokemon.

Best cards tier list in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Below we've assembled a tier list of the best cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket, including Pokemon, Trainers and Items. We've highlighted the cards themselves, their type, and what expansion booster set packs you can draw them from.

S-tier

• Arceus ex (Colorless / Triumphant Light).
  • Arceus is a powerful legendary not dependent on color, and capable of dealing up to 130 damage every turn. It can also empower certain other cards in the Pokemon TCG Pocket Triumphant Light set and is immune to status effects.
• Dialga ex (Steel / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Dialga's power comes in its main attack, which allows it to do 30 damage and apply two Steel energy to a benched Pokemon of your choice, rapidly charging them up. It's also a strong tank with a lot of health, and shows up in a lot of the Pokemon TCG Pocket best decks.
• Giratina ex (Psychic / Shining Revelry)
  • Giratina can self-charge itself with Psychic energy and deal guaranteed 130 damage, at the cost of taking damage. It's the headliner of the best ex Starter deck in Pokemon TCG Pocket, so definitely consider redeeming that one if you haven't spent your Deck Ticket already.
• Professor's Research (Trainer / Promo)
  • This trainer card lets you draw two cards. It's borderline mandatory in any deck.
• Cyrus (Trainer / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Cyrus allows you to force a benched opponent's Pokemon into the active spot, as long as it has damage on it. It means that if you're close to KOing a Pokemon and they pull it back to safety, you can drag it back out and land a finishing blow.
• Poke Ball (Item / Promo)
  • Lets you draw a random Basic Pokemon from your deck. Like Professor's Research, this is an almost mandatory card.

A-tier

• Paldean Clodsire (Dark / Shining Revelry)
  • Does 120 damage to Poisoned targets with its two energy attack, and is very tanky. Set up right, it can devastate the early game, and has become a real contender in the current Pokemon TCG Pocket ranked matches.
• Darkrai ex (Dark / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Deals 20 damage to the opponent's active Pokemon every time you put Dark energy on it, meaning you can whittle down foes while simply charging it up.
• Palkia ex (Water / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Palkia's main attack does 150 damage, AND an extra 30 to every opponent's benched Pokemon, though it does discard three Water energy in the process. Still, it can be a game ender.
• Rampardos (Fighting / Space-time Smackdown)
  • Though it's a Stage 2 Pokemon that starts as a Fossil Item, Rampardos can do an unbelievable 150 damage for one energy - though KOs cause it to take damage back.
• Lucario (Fighting / Mythical Island)
  • Lucario's strength lies in a passive ability that improves all your team's Fighting attacks by +20 damage. Having two of these at once is a game changer by my experience.
• Charizard ex (Fire / Shining Revelry)
  • The new Charizard is capable of charging itself with the Stoke ability, then unleashing 150 damage with little issue. It's also one of the new Shiny cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket, though this is only a cosmetic variation.
• Misty (Trainer / Genetic Apex)
  • Misty can let you put Water energy on a Pokemon. You flip a coin and add one for every heads you get into you get tails. So you might get nothing, or you might drop seven energy in turn 1 and fire off an attack that instantly wins you the game.
• Leaf (Trainer / Mythical Island)
  • Leaf deducts 2 from your Pokemon's retreat costs this turn. It's a simple effect, but allows for a lot of versatility in battlefield control.
• Giant Cape (Tool / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Adds 20 to the max HP of whatever Pokemon you put it on. It has to be used wisely, but it might buy you the chance to survive what would otherwise have been a killshot.

B-tier

• Leafeon ex (Grass / Triumphant Light)
  • Leafeon's not a heavy hitter, but by my experience this Eeveelutions' power lies in its ability to fuel Grass energy to benched Pokemon, speeding up your side of the game.
• Sudowoodo (Fighting / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • This goofy tree has a one-energy attack that deals an extra 30 damage to ex Pokemon (which so many people run anyway), making it a very strong opening move.
• Celebi ex (Grass / Mythical Island)
  • Celebi ex has slipped from its previous domination at the S-tier, but it's still a heavy hitter, with damage that scales according to how much energy is on it - with no limit.
• Exeggutor ex (Grass / Genetic Apex)
  • This giant palm tree does either 40 or 80 damage for energy, meaning you can start doing heavy damage by turn 3. A good opening barrage can keep the opponent off-kilter, especially if it's a slow deck.
• Articuno ex (Water / Genetic Apex)
  • The legendary bird of ice has a three energy attack that does 80 damage, but also 10 to all the benched Pokemon. Not only does it weaken the team, but it can set you up to control them with Cyrus.
• Manaphy (Water / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Manaphy can provide two water energy to your benched Pokemon. It's a little balloon with no offensive abilities, but a great opening play.
• Mewtwo ex (Psychic / Genetic Apex)
  • The original legendary can do 150 damage, but it discards two energy in the process. The great power comes from when it's paired with cards like Gardevoir, to charge it up all the quicker.
• Druddigon (Dragon / Mythical Island)
  • Druddigon's no powerhouse, but this fire/water type finds its foothold in its high health and the fact that anything attacking it takes 20 damage on its spiky armor.
• Moltres ex (Fire / Genetic Apex)
  • Moltres has a 70 damage attack, but its main strength is an attack that fuels up to three energy on your benched Pokemon - a great way to power up Charizard and others.
• Dawn (Trainer / Triumphant Light)
  • Dawn allows players to move an energy from a benched Pokemon to an active one on their side of the field. You can use this to surprise opponents, ultimately
• Sabrina (Trainer / Genetic Apex)
  • Sabrina simply forces the opponent to swap their active Pokemon. They get to pick which one, but it's a good way to disrupt strategies.
• Rocky Helmet (Tool / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Like Druddigon, the helmet deals 20 damage to any Pokemon attacking the Pokemon that holds it. A good deterrent or way to whittle down attackers.

C-tier

• Magnezone (Electric / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Magneton charges up quickly, which means its evolution - Magnezone - can do 110 damage with only a single discard as penalty. I've found success quickly getting this out as soon as possible for heavy damage.
• Starmie ex (Water / Genetic Apex)
  • Starmie can do 90 damage for two energy - pretty tasty - but is enhanced further by the zero retreat cost, giving a massive control advantage.
• Pikachu ex (Electric / Genetic Apex)
  • Pikachu's damage scales to how many benched Pokemon you have, dealing up to 90. It's good damage for two energy, though contingent - and this mascot's no tank either.
• Mew ex (Psychic / Mythical Island)
  • Mew's main advantage is the fact that, for three energy, you can copy the opponent's moveset and use it against them. Depending on the situation, this can be devastating, and it requires colorless energy too, letting it slot into non-psychic decks.
• Gardevoir (Psychic / Genetic Apex)
  • Gardevoir used to be a mainstay of the PTCGP meta, because it can use its ability to generate Psychic energy for other Pokemon (like Mewtwo). It's less prevalent now, but still strong.
• Weavile ex (Dark / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Weavile ex does increased damage to already-damaged opponents with its one energy attack - and 70 damage for one energy is a great tradeoff.
• Shaymin (Colorless / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • The colorless Shaymin doesn't do much in terms of damage, but its passive ability lowers the retreat cost of all basic Pokemon by 1, which gives you a lot of mobility.
• Giovanni (Trainer / Genetic Apex)
  • Simply adds 10 damage to all your attacks that turn. Simple, but definitely useful.
• Irida (Trainer / Triumphant Light)
  • Heals 40 damage from all your Pokemon with Water energy, meaning she sits very well in those decks.
• Pokemon Communication (Item / Space-Time Smackdown)
  • Swap a Pokemon card in your hand for another random Pokemon card. Helps you turn a bad hand into a good one in a pinch (or at least try to).
• X Speed (Item / Promo)
  • This item just reduces retreat costs for a turn by 1. It's useful, though lost some relevance since Leaf was added.

It's important to recognise that a lot of these cards only have value when applied well - for example, Dialga works because it supplies energy to other existing cards, but if they can't make use of that Steel type energy, then they're going to be useless to you. Likewise, Druddigon is a wall designed to buy you time to set up strategies on the bench, but if you don't have anything to make use of, it's a pointless delaying tactic.

When it comes to how to get these cards, there's a few options: obviously you can open packs, but you can also spend Pack Points to buy specific cards, or use the (not great) Pokemon TCG Pocket trading system to swap with friends accordingly. You should also keep an eye on the Pokemon TCG Pocket Wonder Pick menu, to see if anything you want comes up.

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