Palkia ex in Pokémon TCG Pocket: Best Water Deck Builds and Strategy

Palkia ex from the Space-Time Smackdown expansion has quickly established itself as the premier Water-type attacker in Pokémon TCG Pocket. With its devastating Spatial Rend attack and surprising versatility, Palkia ex offers Water decks a powerful new option that rivals established threats like Blastoise ex and Starmie ex. This guide covers the best Palkia ex deck builds, card synergies, and competitive strategies.

Palkia ex Card Analysis

Palkia ex is a Water-type Basic Pokémon ex with 180 HP and a single attack — Spatial Rend — that costs three Water Energy and deals 150 damage. While this seems simple, the efficiency is remarkable: 150 damage for three Energy is among the best damage-to-cost ratios in the game. It can one-shot most ex Pokémon, including Charizard ex, Mewtwo ex, and Dialga ex. The two-prize KO risk is manageable given how quickly Palkia ex can close out games. Its Water typing also gives it useful resistance to Fire and Ice attacks.

Core Deck: Palkia ex / Greninja

The most successful Palkia ex build pairs it with Greninja for additional damage pressure from the bench. Greninja Water Shuriken ability lets you pick off damaged Pokémon without attacking, creating a powerful two-pronged assault that makes it nearly impossible for opponents to protect all their Pokémon.

Card	Quantity	Role
Palkia ex	2	Primary attacker
Froakie	2	Evolution line
Frogadier	2	Evolution line
Greninja	2	Bench damage
Manaphy	2	Energy acceleration
Professor Oak	2	Draw support
Pokémon Ball	2	Search
Misty	2	Energy acceleration
Sabrina	1	Disruption
Potion	2	Healing
X Speed	1	Retreat option
Total	20

Manaphy is the key to this deck success — its ability gives you extra Water Energy attachments, letting you power up Palkia ex by turn 3 or 4. Greninja sits on the bench and snipes damaged targets, cleaning up KOs that Palkia ex couldn’t quite finish. Misty provides explosive energy acceleration potential, though her coin-flip nature makes her inconsistent. When Misty does hit, you can often attack by turn 2, which is game-ending against slower decks.

Alternative Build: Palkia ex / Vaporeon

For a more energy-flexible approach, substitute Greninja for Vaporeon. Vaporeon Wash Out ability lets you move Water Energy between your Pokémon freely, making it easy to retreat and re-power Palkia ex multiple times over a long game. This version performs better in drawn-out matches but lacks Greninja finishing power. The flexibility can catch opponents off guard when you suddenly swap energy to a benched Palkia ex for a surprise KO.

How Palkia ex Compares to Other Water Decks

Compared to Blastoise ex, Palkia ex comes out faster and hits harder per Energy but has less HP and no healing. Compared to Starmie ex, Palkia ex trades speed for raw power — Starmie ex is online by turn two, while Palkia ex needs three Energy but deals 50% more damage. For pure Water-type competitive play, many top players now prefer Palkia ex as the primary attacker with Starmie ex as a backup option.

Best and Worst Matchups

Strong against: Fire-type and Ground-type decks (type advantage), Stage 2 evolution decks (outpaces setup), Dark-type decks (resistance). The ability to one-shot Charizard ex before it builds three Energy is a key selling point in the current meta.

Weak against: Lightning-type decks (weakness to Electric makes Pikachu ex and Zapdos ex especially dangerous). The best Lightning decks can one-shot Palkia ex before it reaches three Energy. Also struggles against energy disruption decks that can remove Water Energy, and Fighting-type decks with strong early pressure.

Final Tips for Palkia ex Success

Always lead with Manaphy if possible — accelerate Energy to the bench before retreating into Palkia ex. The best play pattern is: Turn 1 Manaphy (attach Energy), Turn 2 attach and retreat to Palkia ex, Turn 3 third Energy for Spatial Rend. Use Greninja Water Shuriken after your attack to finish off Pokémon with 30-60 HP remaining. Against slower decks, you can sometimes sweep before the opponent sets up. For more on the current meta, check our top decks for July 2026.