Three Decks that Improved with Evolving Skies　　

What’s up, PTCGO Store readers? It’s your boy Zach here, and I’m bringing you some awesome concepts from Evolving Skies! While there are many great concepts that are born from Evolving Skies, like Rayquaza VMAX (Evolving Skies), there are a handful of decks that have gained new tech cards from this set! The pokemon online decks that I’m going to share with you in this article are all previously established archetypes that get a little bit better from this set release! When reviewing an early launch of a new set, I think it's always advisable to review previous concepts that have shown success in the past because most decks are good for more than just a few months. That being said, if you’re missing any cards for the following Pokemon online decks, feel free to pick up some PTCGO codes here at PTCGO Store! There is a large assortment of code cards, including Evolving Skies PTCGO codes, and you can quickly complete your decks. Let’s look into these decks.

Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX (Chilling Reign) has been one of the most dominant pokemon online decks in our Chilling Reign metagame, and I don’t see how it changes in our Evolving Skies format at all. Alcremie VMAX (Champions Path) is still great at OHKOing anything in sight, Underworld Door still attaches Energy, and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX (Battle Styles) still has a Psychic-type Weakness. The big addition from Evolving Skies is Galarian Articuno (Evolving Skies) - it lets you attach up to two Psychic Energy with its Cruel Charge Ability. This works in a few ways that are great for the deck - you can get extra Energy in play for Max Geist, and you can do extra damage with Alcremie VMAX. You also get the bonus Psylaser attack that allows you to snipe one of your opponent’s Pokemon for 120 damage if necessary! I guess the point I’m trying to make is that attaching extra Energy is great when playing Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX and Galarian Articuno is a great addition. Let’s check it out!

2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195

1 Alcremie V CPA 22

1 Galarian Articuno PR-SW 123

1 Gengar & Mimikyu-GX TEU 165

2 Marshadow UNB 81

4 Shadow Rider Calyrex V CRE 172

1 Alcremie VMAX CPA 23

4 Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 205

3 Marnie PR-SW 121

4 Fog Crystal CRE 227　

4 Evolution Incense SSH 163　

3 Switch SUM 160

3 Boss's Orders RCL 189

4 Professor's Research SSH 201

4 Quick Ball SSH 216　

2 Path to the Peak CRE 148

2 Air Balloon SSH 213　

2 Ordinary Rod SSH 215　

13 Psychic Energy CRE 232

Towards the end of the Chilling Reign metagame, Dark Toolbox decks started to see an increasing amount of success. They focus on Evolving Weavile-GX (Unified Minds) with Red & Blue (Cosmic Eclipse) to accelerate Energy into play quickly and move them around with Shadow Connection. Galarian Moltres V (Chilling Reign) is the reason why this deck became successful - you could get an extra Darkness Energy into play with Direflame Wings, but the deck got even better with Evolving Skies. The biggest issue with this deck would be missing an Energy attachment for your turn or not being able to use Direflame Wings, which would cause you to not do the full effect of Dark Moon GX on Umbreon & Darkrai-GX (Unified Minds). In this new set, we get Galarian Moltres (Evolving Skies) that can attach up two Darkness Energy with its Malevolent Charge Ability. That allows you to accelerate more Energy into play, hit harder with your Mewtwo & Mew-GX (Unified Minds) options, and give you another attacking option to utilize. It also works well with the new Sabrina & Brycen (Sun and Moon Promo) because you can grab a Galarian Moltres, a Sneasel (Chilling Reign), Dedenne-GX (Unbroken Bonds), and two Darkness Energy. The synergy is unreal here, so let’s check out this list!

1 Type: Null UNM 183

1 Silvally-GX CEC 184

1 Crobat V PR-SW 110

1 Galarian Moltres PR-SW 125

2 Galarian Moltres V CRE 177

1 Greninja & Zoroark-GX UNB 201

1 Mega Sableye & Tyranitar-GX UNM 226

1 Sneasel UNM 131

2 Umbreon & Darkrai-GX PR-SM 241

2 Weavile-GX UNM 132

3 Dedenne-GX UNB 195

1 Marshadow UNB 81

2 Mewtwo & Mew-GX PR-SM 191

2 Sneasel CRE 30

1 Cynthia & Caitlin CEC 189　

3 Viridian Forest TEU 156

2 Sabrina & Brycen PR-SM 246

1 Mallow & Lana CEC 198

3 Red & Blue CEC 202

3 Boss's Orders RCL 189　

4 Pokémon Communication TEU 152

4 Tag Call CEC 206

4 Quick Ball SSH 216　

3 Air Balloon SSH 213　

11 Darkness Energy SWSHEnergy 7

Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX (Battle Styles) has seen a lot of success, and I mean A LOT of success. It was able to win the Players Cup 3, Players Cup 4, and Players Cup Invitational. More recently, the Inteleon (Chilling Reign) version has been performing particularly well because it allows you to use Quick Shooting to target things down to OHKO with G Max Rapid Flow. Read that as spreading damage appropriately allows you to make awesome plays where you draw multiple Prize Cards. Drizzle (Sword and Shield) allows you to freely search your deck for Trainer cards, and that opens up your deck to new heights! You can grab a Supporter card to get out of dead hands, find ways to get out of the Active Spot, or even nab a Karate Belt (Unified Minds) to reduce your attack cost. The cool addition from Evolving Skies is Medicham V (Evolving Skies) and Raihan (Evolving Skies). Medicham V can set you up to take back-to-back turns with Yoga Loop, and Raihan is a situational Supporter that can accelerate Energy. Both of these cards allow you to evolve your game and make this deck much more strategic - let’s check out this deck!

1 Medicham V EVS 186

1 Passimian PR-SW 115

3 Rapid Strike Urshifu V BST 153

3 Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX BST 170

1 Dedenne-GX UNB 195

1 Cobalion-GX TEU 106

4 Sobble CRE 41

4 Drizzile SHF 99

3 Inteleon PR-SW 113

1 Inteleon SHF 100

3 Marnie PR-SW 121

4 Level Ball BST 181　

2 Evolution Incense SSH 163　

2 Karate Belt UNM 201

2 Tower of Waters BST 138

1 Energy Spinner UNB 170

1 Switch SUM 160

2 Boss's Orders RCL 189　

2 Pokémon Communication TEU 152

1 Reset Stamp UNM 206

4 Professor's Research SSH 201

4 Quick Ball SSH 216　

1 Raihan EVS 202

1 Air Balloon SSH 213　

1 Ordinary Rod SSH 215　

4 Rapid Strike Energy BST 182

3 Fighting Energy CRE 233

Evolving Skies has just come out, and I’m sure these above decks will either dominate the top tables of PTCGO events, like my Late Night Series Events or adapt to the new archetypes created from this set. I’m personally a huge fan of the above pokemon online decks, and they are some of my top picks for the Pokemon Online Global (POG) Championships. I’m going to continuously test decks in the Team Up to Evolving Skies to do my best in this format. That being said, you’ll want to do as much testing as possible to give yourself the best opportunity to see success! I wish you all the best of luck, and I’ll see y’all on PTCGO soon!

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PTCGO Store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. Under the moniker of theloneblown, he creates YouTube content, streams on Twitch, and provides hot takes on his Twitter. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and the 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.