Images credited to The Pokémon Company
Last weekend there were two concurrent Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) Regionals: Vancouver in Canada and Fortaleza in Brazil. This means we have double the amount of top cuts and decklists to analyze this week!
Let’s dive into the top decks and interesting meta shifts as the Prismatic Evolutions (PRE) metagame winds down.
Dragapult ex
While it was unclear during the early times of PRE, Dragapult ex has definitely cemented itself as the best deck in the format. Not nigh unbeatable, but definitely posting consistent results across all tournaments.
Andrew Hedrick clinched his fourth Regional title at Vancouver with Dragapult ex – Dusknoir, beating Lucas Xing in the Masters Division. Fun fact: Andrew has yet to lose a regional final.
This variant runs the classic Sparkling Crystal to provide some form of energy acceleration, while they grind the opponent out with a multi-prize turn. This is similar to Natalie Millar’s deck, which she used to grab a 2nd place finish during EUIC 2025.
Meanwhile in Fortaleza, Gabriel and Vini Fernandez took a back-to-back sibling win in the Senior and Masters Division with pure Dragapult, an archetype they borrowed from Tord Reklev and refined little by little. Eschewing the Dusknoir line completely, it relies on more damage counter manipulation through Munkidori instead – an uncommon choice in Pult decks. As Pult is extremely bulky, the inclusion of Defiance Vest also further denies two-hit KOs from opposing Pokémon.
Aneil Saini of the Shift Gear Podcast also placed Top 8 in Canada with a similar pure list, taking a page out of the Fernandez brothers’ deck, which the duo debuted during EUIC 2025.
Gholdengo ex
The cheese string squad is back! Piloted by the some of the same people who brought it to EUIC, they still believe the deck has teeth – albeit with some new spicy inclusions. Lucas Xing piloted the deck to a Top 2 finish at Vancouver.
This deck has added new tech cards in the form of Spiritomb, to apparently shut down Lugia’s Lumineon V, a deck touted on the Uncommon Energy Podcast as a potential top pick for the weekend as long as they play a 2-2 Cinccino line. Dragapult decks also play the fish and Rotom V, so it’s also a great tech choice in these matchups, especially if we win the flip and go first. Lucas even used Night Stretcher to bring back the Ghost Pokémon in the semifinals to deny Le Bui any way of a comeback via the fish.
The deck also now runs a copy of baby Gholdengo as a single prize attacker for the mirror match to begin the prize trade without evolving into a two-Prizer. The Roxanne is also a late-game disruption tool which still draws us into more gas.
Trevor Read also made the same meta call, using a similar list with Spiritomb.
Going forward for the rest of the season, this variant feels like the definitive Gholdengo ex list as it has a decent Dragapult ex matchup due to Munkidori flinging damage counters back and preventing a four-prize turn via double Phantom Dive.
Gardevoir ex
Speaking of Munkidori, the original deck which used the monkey, Gardevoir ex, saw a resurgence in Fortaleza. Four players made Top 8, while Vancouver saw none in the cut.
Two-time regional winner Pedro Pertusi, who placed second in Fortaleza, piloted an Unfair Stamp list without Radiant Greninja, but utilized Fezandipiti ex as an additional comeback mechanic.
Piper Lepine, who has always been on the forefront of Gardevoir decks, piloted a Hero’s Cape list to shore up the Dragapult matchup, finishing 13th.
William Azevedo finished 7th in Fortaleza with a list which ran Luxurious Cape, I suspect to act like a Cape to protect the small Basics from being sniped early, or more likely as a closer with Drifloon and Scream Tail.
Interestingly, Makani Tran also ran Gardevoir, but chose to slot in Radiant Alakazam over Radiant Greninja. This lets us KO Iron Hands ex even when our Munkidori are getting targeted down.
Lost Box
Lost Box enjoyers rise! Chilean player Marco Cifuentes Meta believed that Lost Box was the correct call for the weekend – and he was right, finishing in the Top 8 at Fortaleza.
The deck relies on a fast setup, arming Radiant Greninja with energies via Mirage Gate to snipe down Dreepy, Gimmighoul, and Ralts, while no one’s running Manaphy. Regigigas can also one-shot Dragapult with ease. The rest of the deck is also composed of toolbox attackers depending on the matchup.
Interestingly, he chose to run the ACE SPEC Secret Box, while a large majority of Lost Box lists ran Prime Catcher. He also ran two copies of Crispin to accelerate energies even while item locked.
Miraidon ex
While Miraidon ex didn’t make as much of a dent to the meta now, it has necessitated the inclusion of Klefki in several decks. As much as Budew warped the meta around it, the ‘Don has also forced decks to run the key to shut down all its Basic abilities.
Caleb Rogerson, who finished 4th in Vancouver, floated the idea of Defiance Band + Zapdos for Miraidon ex to score a KO against Gholdengo ex, but chose not to run it. However, Azul Garcia-Griego played Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex and the band as an answer to the cheese string man, as the banded bear can swing for 270 damage to finish the game.
Azul also mentioned on the Uncommon Energy Podcast that Miraidon ex with Prime Catcher over Secret Box is a Tier 2-3 deck, while the latter variants are probably at a lower tier, just due to the Dragapult matchup needing an extra gust and switch effect.
Other Pokémon TCG Decks
Lugia VSTAR has completely fallen off and just cannot keep up with the meta changes while also struggling with its own consistency. It did have three placements in Vancouver’s Top 16, though. Le Bui’s and Joel Pinheiro’s Roaring Moon ex is also a deck to watch – Roaring Moon stocks are on the rise!
Archaludon ex – Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR is still on the table, with a 7th place finish by Hiroshi Takeda. Abaan Ahmed, who has already found success with Pidgeot ex Control during the previous competitive season, decided to run it back with the bird once again, finishing 8th in Vancouver.
As the sun sets on Prismatic Evolutions, the meta still continues to change, with various meta shifts every single major tournament. While Dragapult ex is clearly alone in the S-Tier category, there are numerous viable decks which can be fielded by players who expect certain metagames.
Next week, we’re continuing coverage of Pokémon TCG‘s next expansion, Journey Together, and the upcoming F Block rotation.
For more great content, check out our ranking of every Scarlet & Violet set so far.
