Images courtesy of The Pokémon Company
In the field of upcoming Trainer’s Pokémon coming in the next Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) set Journey Together, many were anticipating the release of these specialized ‘mons to become the next meta menace after the rotation of Regulation F cards. After all, with all the dedicated support cards, these decks should have a higher power level, right?
However, the unassuming Lillie’s Clefairy ex stood shoulders above the rest, without even relying on any specialized Lillie’s cards, by finding a home in a brand new archetype which has picked up steam the past couple of weeks: Tera Box.
Tera Box Deck Origins
One of the earliest versions of this deck that saw success was by たっぷ, posted on February 2nd, a week after the release of Battle Partners, the first post-rotation set in Japan.
There were also lists running around without Pikachu ex, opting for heavier trainer counts.
My team and I immediately saw the potential of the deck and began brewing and refining the list, figuring out how to best optimize Pikachu ex and finding other attackers to hit certain matchups, in preparation for our own post-rotation Nationals.
Little did we know that Tord Reklev’s team also had the exact same read coming into Champions League Fukuoka, one of the recurring large tournaments in Japan with approximately 5,000 players participating.
Their entire team brought Tera Box to the tourney, with Tord finishing in the Top 16, while Rahul Reddy missed the cut just by one game, landing in 40th.
Tera Box Decklist
This was the deck piloted by Tord Reklev and his team at Champions League Fukuoka.
How Does the Deck Work?
Named after the Terastalization mechanic in the TCG, Tera Box is a toolbox deck which seeks to answer any threat in the format with the right Pokémon.
Without the draw power of old staples such as Radiant Greninja, decks had to get creative on how they can best acquire more cards over the course of a match.
Enter: Noctowl. Only really utilized by Terapagos ex previously, the post-rotation format has relied heavily more on the owls to fetch the exact Trainer cards needed every single turn to carry out their gameplans. And thus, decks had to pivot to including Tera Pokémon to use this tutor.
The deck then relies on the acceleration of Crispin and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex + Energy Switch to pull off its expensive attacks turn by turn.
One of the main mechanics the deck exploits is the interaction between Sparkling Crystal and Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex‘s Torrential Pump attack, where we can shuffle only two energy cards back into the deck due to the cost reduction provided by our ACE SPEC.
Tera Box Attacker Breakdown
However, the deck has many more attackers that can be powered up through similar means. Let’s go over all of them.
Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex
The water Ogerpon is used primarily for decks that intend to evolve, targeting down their Dreepy and Gimmighoul. In the late game when the Raging Bolt ex player walls us through Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex, we can also fire off two Torrential Pumps back to back to snipe something in the bench.
Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
Now that we have an answer to small Basic Pokémon, Teal Mask Ogerpon ex provides our answers to some of the beefier targets in the format, such as Charizard ex and the upcoming N’s Zoroark ex, as they both have Grass type weakness.
Lillie’s Clefairy ex
While we can now Zard effectively, how about Dragapult ex? Lillie’s Clefairy ex is an extremely efficient answer, giving the Dragon type Psychic weakness, which lets us score an easy OHKO through Full Moon Rondo — taking down Raging Bolt ex as collateral damage in the process.
However, the Rondo attack is even key versus the plethora of support Pokémon in the format such as Fezandipiti ex and opposing Ogerpons, as we can usually hit the 220 magic number due to Area Zero Underdepths.
Terapagos ex
The turtle functions similarly to Lillie’s Clefairy in that it can hit many support Pokémon, but can also wall off entire big basic decks through its Crown Opal attack, which we do have the energy to fire off.
Pikachu ex
The only remaining beefy Pokémon in the metagame is Archaludon ex. Pikachu ex serves as the attacker for this matchup, taking back-to-back KOs before they can even take it down. The electric rodent can likewise be a fallback attacker for other unfamiliar matchups as the hefty 300 damage can one-shot most other unexpected Pokémon that may pop up.
Mew ex
Though normally just a supporting draw piece, Mew ex can actually be an attacker in a pinch! With Genome Hacking, we can copy Bellowing Thunder, Burning Darkness, or Phantom Dive for some unexpected KOs.
Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex
The bear is one of the best closers in the format, allowing us to attack for nearly no energy in the late game. Tord Reklev can attest to it.
Fan Rotom
Rotom can be used to KO Mimikyu. Mew ex can also copy Ghost Eye.
Deck Verdict
As it stands, the deck definitely has answers to almost any deck in the metagame, except for dedicated wall decks with Milotic ex — and even then it’s not completely unbeatable.
In the west, Journey Together is slated to release on March 28, 2025 and will trigger rotation two weeks after on April 11, 2025 for in-person official tournaments.
Want more Pokémon content? Check out my article ranking every Scarlet & Violet set so far!
