Pokémon TCG Pocket: Espeon ex and Sylveon ex Deck Strategy

Eevee and its Evolutions synergize brilliantly in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket decks, and the Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion gives us new ways to continue evolving our strategy with this lovable line of Pokémon. For this deck list and strategy, we’re putting the focus entirely on Eevee’s Psychic-type Evolutions, which means it’s Espeon ex and Sylveon ex’s time to shine.

Game plan: This deck benefits from being flexible, meaning your focus isn’t strictly around setting up with a specific Pokémon in mind—Eevee and each of the Evolution Pokémon included have roles to play. Wisdom of Sea and Sky’s Eevee can put a random Pokémon in your deck into your hand with its Find a Friend move, and with some luck it might even help you find your Stage 1 Pokémon promptly. Eevee ex gives you the potential to fill the battlefield with even more of Eevee’s Evolutions with its Veevee ’volve Ability, and it can attack with Bite in a pinch.

Sylveon ex has recently become a popular choice in competitive decks for its Happy Ribbon Ability, which allows you to draw two cards once during your turn when you play Sylveon ex from your hand to Evolve one of your Pokémon. Coupled with Eevee’s Find a Friend, Happy Ribbon will draw through your deck quickly, amplifying your options for what to do next.

Espeon ex and Sylveon ex can both do decent damage with their attacks, but it’s their Abilities that make them a powerful pair in play. Espeon ex’s Psychic Healing Ability is a consistent source of healing for your Pokémon as long as Espeon ex is in the Active Spot. Since Psychic Healing can target any of your Pokémon, you might choose to heal damage from a Benched Pokémon, saving it from being a target for Cyrus. It can come in handy against Pokémon with Abilities that do damage, too, such as Darkrai ex and Greninja. With Psychic Healing, Espeon ex can also heal itself to tank attacks from powerful Pokémon that might otherwise be able to knock it out in one hit. Oricorio’s Safeguard Ability, which prevents damage from Pokémon ex, is still prominent in competitive play, so many players opt to include non-ex Pokémon in their decks to circumvent it. Despite not being Pokémon ex, Espeon and Sylveon still bring plenty of utility to this deck strategy. Espeon’s Energy Crush attack packs a powerful punch if your opponent has an abundance of Energy in play. And Sylveon can become this deck’s most reliable attacker once you start getting Evolution Pokémon onto your bench—its Evoharmony attack can do a whopping 130 damage for just two Energy if you have three Benched Evolution Pokémon!

The Eevee Bag Item card is a notable Trainer in this deck for its ability to either boost the damage of attacks by or heal damage from your Pokémon that evolve from Eevee. This deck’s strategy of drawing through cards quickly could leave you vulnerable to Supporter cards like Mars, so the new Silver Supporter card is a must include to disrupt your opponent’s own Supporter options—perhaps even sending their Mars back into their deck before it can wreak havoc on your strategy.

Mind the battlefield as you plan your next move, and have fun, Trainers!