📱 Pokémon TCG Pocket · 2025 in review
Top 20 Pocket Cards of 2025
From Space-Time Smackdown in January to Crimson Blaze in December, these are the 20 cards that shaped Pokémon TCG Pocket in 2025: the ones that won tournaments, and the ones everyone wanted to pull.
Every card here is from a Pocket expansion released in 2025. The order blends tournament impact (70%) with fan and collector appeal (30%). See exactly how we ranked them. Pocket cards are digital and can’t be sold, so there are no prices.
The full Top 20 at a glance
- 1 Darkrai ex Space-Time Smackdown
- 2 Giratina ex Shining Revelry
- 3 Arceus ex Triumphant Light
- 4 Sylveon ex Eevee Grove
- 5 Suicune ex Secluded Springs
- 6 Dialga ex Space-Time Smackdown
- 7 Charizard ex Shining Revelry
- 8 Mega Absol ex Mega Rising
- 9 Oricorio Celestial Guardians
- 10 Solgaleo ex Celestial Guardians
- 11 Silvally Extradimensional Crisis
- 12 Greninja ex Mega Rising
- 13 Mega Altaria ex Mega Rising
- 14 Buzzwole ex Extradimensional Crisis
- 15 Palkia ex Space-Time Smackdown
- 16 Eevee ex Eevee Grove
- 17 Magnezone Space-Time Smackdown
- 18 Rampardos Space-Time Smackdown
- 19 Lucario Space-Time Smackdown
- 20 Mega Blaziken ex Mega Rising
- 1
#1 Darkrai ex
The card of the year. Its Nightmare Aura ability does 20 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon every time you attach a Darkness Energy to it, so it hurts them before it even attacks. Darkrai ex teamed up with Magnezone when it launched, then with Giratina ex for most of the year, and a deck starring it made the Limitless top 10 in 9 of the 10 formats of 2025.
- Best 2025 deck
- Giratina ex / Darkrai ex: No. 1, 20.1% of decks (Shining Revelry format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 9 of 10 formats
- Score
- 88.0 = 70.0 competitive + 18.0 fan
- 2
#2 Giratina ex
Broken-Space Bellow lets Giratina ex grab a Psychic Energy from your Energy Zone (it ends your turn), so it powers up fast for a 130-damage Chaotic Impact. Paired with Darkrai ex it was the No. 1 deck in three different formats: Shining Revelry, Celestial Guardians and Wisdom of Sea and Sky.
- Best 2025 deck
- Giratina ex / Darkrai ex: No. 1, 20.1% of decks (Shining Revelry format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 6 of 10 formats
- Score
- 81.3 = 60.3 competitive + 21.0 fan
- 3
#3 Arceus ex
Ultimate Force does 70 damage plus 20 more for each of your Benched Pokémon, and Special Conditions can’t touch it. With Dialga ex feeding it Energy, it was in about one in every five decks in the Triumphant Light format. Its gold Crown Rare was one of the most wanted pulls of the year.
- Best 2025 deck
- Dialga ex / Arceus ex: No. 1, 20.0% of decks (Triumphant Light format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 4 of 10 formats
- Score
- 62.2 = 35.2 competitive + 27.0 fan
- 4
#4 Sylveon ex
The star of Eevee Grove. When you evolve into Sylveon ex, Happy Ribbon lets you draw 2 cards, which kept decks running smoothly. Sylveon ex with Greninja was the No. 1 deck of its format, and Espeon ex with Sylveon ex finished No. 2 the next month.
- Best 2025 deck
- Sylveon ex / Greninja: No. 1, 15.3% of decks (Eevee Grove format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 3 of 10 formats
- Score
- 56.2 = 35.2 competitive + 21.0 fan
- 5
#5 Suicune ex
Crystal Waltz does 20 damage for every Benched Pokémon on both sides, and Legendary Pulse draws you a card at the end of your turn if it’s Active. A Suicune ex deck was No. 1 in the last three formats of 2025: Secluded Springs, Mega Rising and Crimson Blaze.
- Best 2025 deck
- Suicune ex / Greninja: No. 1, 18.3% of decks (Secluded Springs format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 3 of 10 formats
- Score
- 52.0 = 31.0 competitive + 21.0 fan
- 6
#6 Dialga ex
Metallic Turbo attaches 2 Metal Energy from your Energy Zone to one of your Benched Pokémon, the perfect way to power up a partner like Arceus ex. Together they were the top deck of the Triumphant Light format, and Dialga ex has a shiny gold Crown Rare too.
- Best 2025 deck
- Dialga ex / Arceus ex: No. 1, 20.0% of decks (Triumphant Light format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 2 of 10 formats
- Score
- 41.5 = 17.5 competitive + 24.0 fan
- 7
#7 Charizard ex
This Charizard ex can Stoke, taking 3 Fire Energy from your Energy Zone in one go, then blast for 150 with Steam Artillery. It made the top 10 in four formats, and its shiny version from Shining Revelry is a favourite with collectors.
- Best 2025 deck
- Charizard ex / Sylveon ex: No. 3, 8.0% of decks (Eevee Grove format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 4 of 10 formats
- Score
- 40.2 = 19.2 competitive + 21.0 fan
- 8
#8 Mega Absol ex
Mega Rising brought Mega Evolution to Pocket, and Mega Absol ex was the sneakiest. Darkness Claw does 80 damage and makes your opponent show their hand so you can throw away a Supporter. It was a top-3 deck in both Mega Rising and Crimson Blaze.
- Best 2025 deck
- Hydreigon / Mega Absol ex: No. 2, 10.8% of decks (Crimson Blaze format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 2 of 10 formats
- Score
- 39.7 = 24.7 competitive + 15.0 fan
- 9
#9 Oricorio
A small bird with a big shield. Safeguard stops all damage from attacks by your opponent’s Pokémon ex, so ex-heavy decks just bounce off it. This Lightning Oricorio showed up in top-10 decks in six formats and is still played today.
- Best 2025 deck
- Silvally / Oricorio: No. 4, 5.6% of decks (Eevee Grove format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 6 of 10 formats
- Score
- 36.9 = 24.9 competitive + 12.0 fan
- 10
#10 Solgaleo ex
Rising Road lets Solgaleo ex swap itself from the Bench into the Active Spot once a turn, then Sol Breaker hits for 120. It was a top-3 deck in Extradimensional Crisis, and it’s one of the two Crown Rares in Celestial Guardians (Lunala ex is the other).
- Best 2025 deck
- Solgaleo ex / Shiinotic: No. 3, 8.3% of decks (Extradimensional Crisis format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 3 of 10 formats
- Score
- 36.8 = 12.8 competitive + 24.0 fan
- 11
#11 Silvally
Proof you don’t need an ex to win. Brave Buddies does 50 damage, or 100 if you played a Supporter that turn. Silvally with Rampardos was the No. 1 deck of the Extradimensional Crisis format.
- Best 2025 deck
- Silvally / Rampardos: No. 1, 11.5% of decks (Extradimensional Crisis format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 3 of 10 formats
- Score
- 36.5 = 27.5 competitive + 9.0 fan
- 12
#12 Greninja ex
Shifting Stream lets you swap your Active Water Pokémon with one on your Bench once a turn, which made it Suicune ex’s best friend. The two together were the No. 1 deck in both Mega Rising and Crimson Blaze.
- Best 2025 deck
- Suicune ex / Greninja ex: No. 1, 14.2% of decks (Crimson Blaze format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 2 of 10 formats
- Score
- 36.3 = 18.3 competitive + 18.0 fan
- 13
#13 Mega Altaria ex
A fluffy cloud with a mean punch: Mega Harmony does 40 damage plus 30 more for each of your Benched Pokémon, and it has 190 HP. It was the No. 2 deck of the Mega Rising format, and its dreamy Immersive art is one of the prettiest cards of the year.
- Best 2025 deck
- Mega Altaria ex / Indeedee ex: No. 2, 9.3% of decks (Mega Rising format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 2 of 10 formats
- Score
- 36.1 = 18.1 competitive + 18.0 fan
- 14
#14 Buzzwole ex
Big Beat hits for 120 with just three Energy (it can’t use it two turns in a row). Buzzwole ex with Pheromosa was the No. 2 deck of Extradimensional Crisis and was back in the top 3 in Wisdom of Sea and Sky.
- Best 2025 deck
- Buzzwole ex / Pheromosa: No. 2, 10.2% of decks (Extradimensional Crisis format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 4 of 10 formats
- Score
- 35.6 = 20.6 competitive + 15.0 fan
- 15
#15 Palkia ex
Dimensional Storm does 150 damage and 20 more to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. It was a solid top-10 deck in early 2025, and its Crown Rare, a matching pair with Dialga ex, is one of the big trophies of Space-Time Smackdown.
- Best 2025 deck
- Palkia ex / Vaporeon: No. 6, 4.1% of decks (Space-Time Smackdown format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 2 of 10 formats
- Score
- 34.9 = 10.9 competitive + 24.0 fan
- 16
#16 Eevee ex
Veevee ’volve lets Eevee ex evolve into any Eeveelution, so one card can become Sylveon, Flareon, Espeon and more. Its Immersive art from Eevee Grove is one of the cutest cards in the game.
- Best 2025 deck
- Flareon ex / Eevee ex: No. 4, 4.5% of decks (Secluded Springs format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 1 of 10 formats
- Score
- 29.6 = 5.6 competitive + 24.0 fan
- 17
#17 Magnezone
A non-ex that hits like an ex: Thunder Blast does 110 damage. Magnezone was Darkrai ex’s partner in the No. 2 deck of the Space-Time Smackdown format, and it was still in the top 10 with Oricorio in Mega Rising, nine months later.
- Best 2025 deck
- Darkrai ex / Magnezone: No. 2, 9.7% of decks (Space-Time Smackdown format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 5 of 10 formats
- Score
- 29.6 = 26.6 competitive + 3.0 fan
- 18
#18 Rampardos
Head Smash does 130 damage for just one Fighting Energy. If it Knocks Out the target, Rampardos takes 50 damage too, so timing matters. It powered the No. 2 deck of Triumphant Light (with Lucario) and the No. 1 deck of Extradimensional Crisis (with Silvally).
- Best 2025 deck
- Silvally / Rampardos: No. 1, 11.5% of decks (Extradimensional Crisis format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 5 of 10 formats
- Score
- 29.5 = 26.5 competitive + 3.0 fan
- 19
#19 Lucario
Fighting Coach gives all your Fighting Pokémon’s attacks +20 damage. That turned Rampardos into a monster in early 2025, and this Lucario is still a key card in Mega Lucario ex decks today.
- Best 2025 deck
- Rampardos / Lucario: No. 2, 9.7% of decks (Triumphant Light format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 3 of 10 formats
- Score
- 29.1 = 14.1 competitive + 15.0 fan
- 20
#20 Mega Blaziken ex
210 HP and a fiery Mega Burning attack that does 120 damage and leaves your opponent’s Active Pokémon Burned. It was a top-5 deck in the Mega Rising format, and its fiery Immersive art is one of the boldest of the year.
- Best 2025 deck
- Mega Blaziken ex / Heatmor: No. 5, 5.4% of decks (Mega Rising format)
- Top-10 deck
- in 1 of 10 formats
- Score
- 28.8 = 7.8 competitive + 21.0 fan
Honourable mentions
- Rare Candy (Celestial Guardians #144): Not a Pokémon, so it isn’t in our ranking, but this Celestial Guardians Item lets a Basic Pokémon jump straight to Stage 2. It was a regular in top Stage 2 decklists from April 2025 on, including the Greninja and Charizard ex lists we checked on Limitless.
- Lugia ex and Ho-Oh ex (Wisdom of Sea and Sky #149): The Crown Rare pair from Wisdom of Sea and Sky just missed the cut: amazing to collect, but they were rarely seen in top tournament decks.
How we ranked them
Which cards count: cards first released in a Pocket expansion that came out in 2025: Space-Time Smackdown, Triumphant Light, Shining Revelry, Celestial Guardians, Extradimensional Crisis, Eevee Grove, Wisdom of Sea and Sky, Secluded Springs, Mega Rising and Crimson Blaze. Deluxe Pack: ex (30 Sep 2025) is mostly reprints, so cards are credited to the set they first appeared in. Release dates are as listed by Limitless; Australia usually gets new packs a day later.
Tournament impact (70 points): Limitless TCG groups every tournament deck by the one or two key Pokémon it’s built around and reports each group’s share of all decks for each “format” (the weeks between one expansion and the next). For every card we added up the share of every deck group named after it, across the ten 2025 formats below (top 40 groups per format). The card with the biggest total, Darkrai ex, gets 70 points and the rest are scaled from that. Partners share credit: Giratina ex / Darkrai ex counts for both.
Fan and collector appeal (30 points): up to 5 points for chase rarity (Crown Rare 5, Three Star Immersive 3, Two Star or Two Shiny 2, One Star 1) plus up to 5 points for how much fans love the Pokémon and its art. That second half is CardStack’s own judgement, not a measured number.
Close calls: Eevee ex, Magnezone and Rampardos (ranks 16 to 18) are within about 0.1 points of each other.
| Format (newest set) | Dates |
|---|---|
| Space-Time Smackdown (A2) | 29 Jan 2025 – 27 Feb 2025 |
| Triumphant Light (A2a) | 28 Feb 2025 – 26 Mar 2025 |
| Shining Revelry (A2b) | 27 Mar 2025 – 29 Apr 2025 |
| Celestial Guardians (A3) | 30 Apr 2025 – 28 May 2025 |
| Extradimensional Crisis (A3a) | 29 May 2025 – 25 Jun 2025 |
| Eevee Grove (A3b) | 26 Jun 2025 – 29 Jul 2025 |
| Wisdom of Sea and Sky (A4) | 30 Jul 2025 – 27 Aug 2025 |
| Secluded Springs (A4a) | 28 Aug 2025 – 29 Oct 2025 |
| Mega Rising (B1) | 30 Oct 2025 – 16 Dec 2025 |
| Crimson Blaze (B1a) | 17 Dec 2025 – 28 Jan 2026 |
Sources: deck shares from Limitless TCG Pocket deck statistics (Standard format, filtered by set), checked on 18 Oct 2026. These are online tournaments run on Limitless, not official Pokémon events. Card text, set numbers, rarities and release dates from the Limitless TCG Pocket card database, with rarities and illustrators cross-checked against TCGdex.
Want to play some of these? Darkrai ex, Suicune ex, Mega Absol ex, Mega Altaria ex, Lucario and Oricorio are still in today’s meta decks on our Pocket page, with QR codes you can scan on your phone.
See this week’s Pocket decksCard images: Limitless TCG Pocket database. Pokémon TCG Pocket card art © The Pokémon Company, DeNA Co., Ltd. and Creatures Inc. Featured art is the chase print shown with its number; the playable print number is listed next to it.