Gym Challenge!

A Pokémon Journey with Raichu Post Roaring Skies

SixPrizes! It’s great to be back for the May schedule, and I would like to personally take a moment to thank everyone who takes the time to read and contribute to my articles with messages, comments, and/or a +1. I am so very passionate about this game and I love to share my hunger and excitement with the community in any way possible. I have a treat for you all with this article and I hope you enjoy.

Have you ever wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer? To begin your journey as a 10-year-old child and travel the world, making friends with people and Pokémon alike? Of course! This is a thought everyone has when playing the Pokémon video games and watching the TV series. I would like to give you this opportunity, but we’ll use Pokémon trading cards instead. This is your invitation to join me on a Pokémon adventure.

Pallet Town

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“Hope you’re ready to become a Raichu!”

We overslept! We have to hurry to Professor Oak’s place to get our first Pokémon. It looks like Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander cards are already gone, so we get a Pikachu! With a Pokémon by our side and the world in the palm of our hand, it’s finally time to set out.

Unlike Ash Ketchum, we understand that to win in this world, power is the key. In the immortal words of Lt. Surge, “If you want to become a Pokémon Master, you should make your Pokémon evolve as soon as you catch it.” Time to use this Thunder Stone and really start making our legacy with Raichu by our side! Raichu is one of the strongest Pokémon with its combination of speed and power at a low Energy cost. With Raichu, our odds of success go up drastically.

In this world of the Pokémon TCG, our goal is to successfully find a way to merge a Gym’s ideals and Pokémon type into an effective deck using our Pokémon, Raichu! If we impress the Gym Leader with our deck building abilities, we will collect a Gym Badge and advance in our journey.

Pewter City

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The first step of our journey awaits!

Brock is the leader of the Pewter City Gym, with a focus on Rock-type Pokémon. To impress him, we may have to go all the way back to Nationals 2014 and revisit Brandon Salazar’s winning Landorus/Raichu/Garbodor deck. Although this deck has seen almost no play in over a year, it is important to understand the trends that develop. With the release of Roaring Skies on May 6th, 2015 we now have a format amidst a shift. M Rayquaza-EX ROS 76 is a powerful card along side Shaymin-EX ROS and all of the supporting Items, so Raichu is a clear-cut answer to this issue in the eyes of many players. However, if we also had an answer for opposing Raichu, such as a Landorus-EX with Muscle Band, we could provide ourselves a solution to that matter as well.

Pokémon – 16

3 Pikachu XY
3 Raichu XY
2 Trubbish LTR
2 Garbodor LTR
3 Landorus-EX
1 Mewtwo-EX NXD
1 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 36

4 Professor Juniper
3 N
3 Colress
2 Lysandre
2 Wally
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 Ultra Ball

4 Hypnotoxic Laser

3 VS Seeker

3 Muscle Band
2 Float Stone

1 Escape Rope

1 Switch
1 Computer Search

 

2 Virbank City Gym

Energy – 8

4 F
4 Double Colorless

This new take at an old classic should get Brock’s attention. The strategy of a deck like this is multi-faceted, with a different strategy for every particular option you may face. With the addition of Wally to provide an early spark, a first turn Garbodor or Raichu is now a possible threat your opponent faces. Shaymin is another new addition to the deck from the newest set, and the ability to draw until you have 6 cards in your hand might just be the key to using Wally correctly. For instance, if we have a Float Stone, Ultra Ball and a Wally with a Trubbish Active, we can use the Ultra Ball to lower our hand size and play the Wally to evolve the Trubbish into Garbodor. It is important to use Shaymin before attaching the Float Stone of course, so be sure to check your hand for all possible options when your Garbodor’s Garbotoxin Ability is about to activate.

When looking into the matchups this deck may face with the Roaring Skies set becoming legal in the 3rd weekend of Regionals, it is difficult to guess what decks will be seen. Rayquaza is a card with a lot of hype, and definitely should be expected. With a thick Raichu line and Garbodor to shut off Abilities, an Altaria giving Rayquaza no Weakness will not be an issue for this deck. Shaymin is on the likely path of becoming a staple like the Uxie LA of old, but Garbodor handles this problem with haste thanks to our friend Wally. Raichu and M Manectric as a counter for other Rayquaza decks is double-countered by our Landorus, and Mewtwo handles overly aggressive Energy stacking Pokémon and provides consistent damage when necessary. I believe that this deck could be a real force in the right hands. Mastery of recognizing how a hand can play out or what setup will serve you best in a matchup will be evident in a player’s record when selecting a deck such as this.

Brock appreciates our tenacity with this selection at his gym, as this old dog may just have a couple new tricks. Our courage and creativity is rewarded with the Boulder Badge. Now onto Cerulean City!

Cerulean City

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Empoleon wants to take a dip…

After our journey to Pewter City we are faced with a new challenge. The Gym type here in Cerulean City is Water-type, so who could we possibly pair up with Raichu? I believe the best Pokémon for the job is Empoleon. With the addition of the new Stadium Sky Field, both players may have up to 8 Pokémon on the Bench. The synergy between Empoleon and Raichu with this new Stadium looks too powerful to pass up, so let’s see if Gym Leader Misty feels the same way!

Pokémon – 20

3 Pikachu XY
2 Raichu XY
4 Piplup LTR RC6
1 Prinplup LTR
4 Empoleon PLF
2 Miltank FLF
2 Exeggcute PLB
1 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 33

4 Professor Juniper
3 Colress
1 N
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card
1 Archie’s Ace in the Hole

 

4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
3 Rare Candy
2 Escape Rope
2 Battle Compressor
1 Muscle Band
1 Silver Bangle
1 Computer Search

 

4 Sky Field

Energy – 7

4 W
3 Double Colorless

Empoleon is going to be a dominant star for this deck, but Raichu plays an important role in countering Rayquaza. Weakness aside however, both Raichu and Empoleon can deal an absurd amount of damage for 1 Energy attachment with a Sky Field and filled Bench. Raichu with a Muscle Band can do 180 damage, which is enough to Knock Out most Pokémon-EX. Empoleon also has expanded his assault arsenal to where a Silver Bangle could potentially lead to a 210 damage Attack Command.

If this deck can set up, there is no ceiling for how special it can be. The synergy alone is remarkable, especially with Exeggcute. Exeggcute has found much more use in decks with the addition of Battle Compressor to the format. The ability to bounce from the discard pile to the hand has been a lifesaver for Empoleon in the past, but with the addition of Sky Field an Exeggcute can now serve a purpose on the Bench. The issue with Sky Field in theory is that when your opponent plays a counter Stadium, you must now discard from your Bench until you are back down to 5 Pokémon. This would be devastating if you had a Bench full of playable ready-to-go attackers, but what if they were a couple of Exeggcutes? The decision becomes much easier, and when you replay a Sky Field your Exeggcutes can return to their happy home on the Bench (after a couple uses for Diving Draw I suppose).

The strength of Empoleon has begun to re-emerge through the play with partners like Magnezone PLS 46 and the Supporter Archie’s Ace in the Hole, and I believe the addition of Sky Field can only further continue the success of Empoleon. It seems clear to Misty as well, and for our effort with this deck we are rewarded the Cascade Badge.

Vermillion City

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Let’s spark things up.

The big bad Raichu Trainer himself: Lt. Surge. This man has a commanding presence, so we have to be in the best condition before even thinking of challenging Lt. Surge for the Thunder Badge. With Lightning as our starter Pokémon’s type, we do have a leg up in preparation for this Gym, but now is not the time to get cocky. If we are going to impress a fellow Raichu Trainer, this deck needs to be thunderously powerful and lightning quick.

Pokémon – 21

4 Pikachu XY
4 Raichu XY
2 Vulpix PRC
2 Ninetales PRC
1 Voltorb XY
1 Electrode PLF
2 Ditto BCR
1 Exeggcute PLB
3 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 35

4 Professor Juniper
3 Colress
1 Winona
1 N
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball

3 Battle Compressor
3 Muscle Band

2 Acro Bike
2 Repeat Ball
1 Escape Rope
1 Switch
1 Computer Search

 

3 Sky Field

Energy – 4

4 Double Colorless

This deck has to catch Lt. Surge’s attention. Raichu has tremendous power, so why not focus an entire deck around this? The strategy is simple: Burn through your deck to fill your Bench to 8 and lock in Sky Field with Ninetales’ Ability Barrier Shrine. With a massive 180-damage Circle Circuit thanks to Muscle Band, each turn Raichu should be running through your opponent’s Pokémon with ease. The assistance of Shaymin to draw extra cards while providing a Bench space really brings this build together. The consistency of a deck like this also sees a tremendous boost in speed thanks to Shaymin. Ditto has an important role as well, being that he provides a Bench space, could be a possible Raichu at any moment, and also is a Colorless Pokémon that could be searched out by Winona.

I played a deck very similar to think last year at the US National Championships that mainly focused around Raichu’s Circle Circuit, which I wrote about in this article. Even back then without the added consistency of such cards as Shaymin and the sheer damage boost of Sky Field, I managed to find reasonable success with Raichu (and had a great time doing it). A deck like this is exciting to watch, but just wild enough to fly under the radar. The innovation of focusing what has been seen as a solid tech card in Raichu into a full-fledged powerhouse looks to be exactly the jolt Lt. Surge was hoping for, and with the Thunder Badge in our hands we continue on our journey.

Celadon City

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Raichu loves kickin’ it in the grass.

Home to the Grass-type Gym Leader, Erika, Celadon City provides our Raichu with a familiar setting. It seems like Virizion/Genesect and Raichu have been paired up hundreds of times in an effort to defeat Yveltal, and now Raichu rejoins the team to help take down Rayquaza. Virizion/Genesect is a deck that everyone keeps waiting to slowly fade into the sunset, but this is never the case. With every challenge, there is a crucible this deck must face where it takes a long look in the mirror and sees what change is necessary to survive and thrive. Raichu is back again to aid his fellow Pokémon.

Pokémon – 15

3 Pikachu XY
3 Raichu XY

4 Virizion-EX
3 Genesect-EX
1 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 32

4 Professor Juniper
3 N
2 Colress
2 Skyla
1 Shadow Triad

 

4 Ultra Ball

3 VS Seeker

3 Muscle Band

3 Energy Switch
2 Escape Rope
1 Switch
1 Professor’s Letter
1 G Booster

 

2 Sky Field

Energy – 13

9 G
3 Plasma
1 Double Colorless

One of the most exciting pieces of this deck is that Virizion/Genesect finally has a decent Stadium card since the rotation of Skyarrow Bridge. Instead of using a Max Potion and trying to rebuild a Genesect, you can just move on to another and start the process all over again. With Bench space no longer an issue, benching Virizion and Genesect for Raichu’s Circle Circuit has become one of the strongest attacks in the deck. The consistency of no longer having these Pokémon floating around in the deck is also something that players will enjoy, and of course an enormous Colress is something that everything Virizion/Genesect player dreams of.

With such a heavy line of Raichu comes some unfortunate cuts to earlier builds, but these are the hard choices players must make in order to allow their deck the best chance of survival. I would personally love the Enhanced Hammers, 4th Plasma Energy, Colress Machine and more Skyla, but taking down Rayquaza and having enough Raichu for a fighting chance against Night March and Flareon seems necessary. Erika understands adaptation for survival, as her studies of plant life and animal life alike have likely led to her reading some Charles Darwin. Erika presents us with the Rainbow Badge from the Celadon City Gym.

Fuchsia City/Saffron City

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So spooky.

With these cities being so close together, we’ll try for the impossible and try to impress both Koga and Sabrina with a Poison/Psychic-type deck that has Raichu leading the way. When the scans of the newest set were released, I was instantly excited about the card Wally. When I first began playing back in late 2004, there was a Supporter by the name of Wally’s Training with the same effect. This allowed for plays that as a beginner I thought were really cool, such as evolving my Ralts into Kirlia, then using the Wally on that same turn to get to Gardevoir. This is simple strategy, but it’s something that stuck with me and made me excited as a deck builder. Over a decade later, I share that same enthusiasm as I share this wild decklist.

Pokémon – 18

3 Pikachu XY
3 Raichu XY
3 Phantump XY
3 Trevenant XY
2 Gengar-EX
2 Wobbuffet PHF
1 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 33

4 Professor Juniper
3 N
3 Colress
2 Wally
1 Lysandre
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 Ultra Ball

3 VS Seeker

2 Muscle Band

2 Float Stone
2 Escape Rope
1 Switch
1 Computer Search

 

2 Sky Field
2 Dimension Valley

Energy – 9

4 Double Colorless

3 Mystery
2 P

This was one of the initial ideas I had when Roaring Skies scans were originally translated. The concept is to abuse the Supporter Wally and obtain either a first turn Trevenant, to lock out our opponent of Item cards, or a first turn Raichu to apply massive pressure early. With the popularity of Rayquaza that is eminent, shutting off Item cards before our opponent has an opportunity to play any of them could be game breaking. If they aren’t able to use a single Ultra Ball or Mega Turbo without first finding and using a Lysandre to move Trevenant out of the Active Spot, the game slows to a snail’s pace.

The strategy of this deck is another multi-faceted approach. Depending on the matchup, this deck has a few ways to initially setup. The classic framework would be to find a way to play a Wally on a Phantump on the first turn, shutting your opponent off of items. While this slows the game down, begin to set up a Gengar to use Dark Corridor and hide either behind a Wobbuffet or Trevenant, depending on which would be more of a nuisance to your opponent. The cleanup crew for this deck is the Raichu and the Wobbuffet. Our opponent is usually left with two choices when dealing with the poisoning blow of Gengar, and that is fight or flight. If they continue to deal damage to our Wobbuffet or Trevenant wall, they are surely going to be Knocked Out by Gengar. If they run away to a new Pokémon, the poison will continue with another punch, leaving another of our opponent’s Pokémon in the perfect knockout range of a Wobbuffet or Raichu.

If everything plays out perfectly, Raichu can stand by on the Bench as an enforcer. If a situation turns ugly and the classic strategy begins to fade, or if time is possibly an issue and we need to take Prizes in a hurry, a Raichu onslaught is always an option. Of course, when our opponent has a Rayquaza Active and we have a Wally, Pikachu, Double Colorless and a means to begin filling our Bench, it is great to start the attacking early and often.

Overall, this deck contains many ways to take a match. Once a player has an understanding of how to go about the best setup for an individual matchup, the door is unlocked. Koga is ecstatic of the trickery involved in the Poison punch-and-run aspect of this deck, while Sabrina can’t help but to smile as our ridiculous Wobbuffets absorb blows like a punching bag in this wild Psychic concoction. The Soul Badge of Fuchsia City and the Marsh Badge of Saffron City are ours. Now let’s see what lies ahead of us at the Seafoam Islands!

Seafoam Islands

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It’s getting hot in here!

Here on these volcanic islands, explosive firepower reigns supreme. This is embodied all too well by the Fire-type Gym Leader, Blaine. For this upcoming challenge, I’ll call on an old favorite TAG TEAM of mine to join forces with Raichu. This is the revitalization of Flareon/Cofagrigus.

Two years ago when my brother and I first began streaming on our Twitch channel, almost nothing truly could stop Gothitelle/Accelgor. This was until I ran into my friend John Kettler playing a ridiculous Flareon/Cofagrigus deck, the likes of which I had never seen before. After playing against this, I was obsessed with this deck over the entire summer. The joy of sacrificing Cofagrigus and using N on my opponent to lower their hand and Knock Out their Active Pokémon with Flareon was addictive. This deck never became top tier, but I have a great history with this deck that I now add to this new list in an attempt to bring down new foes.

Pokémon – 27

2 Pikachu XY
2 Raichu XY
3 Eevee FFI
1 Eevee PLF 90
4 Flareon PLF
3 Leafeon PLF
1 Yamask PLF 55
1 Cofagrigus PLF 56
2 Audino BCR
1 Ditto BCR
2 Exeggcute PLB
2 Empoleon PLF
1 Mr. Mime PLF
1 Shaymin-EX ROS
1 Jirachi-EX

Trainers – 26

3 Professor Juniper
1 N
1 Lysandre
1 Archie’s Ace in the Hole
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

4 VS Seeker
4 Ultra Ball
4 Battle Compressor
2 Acro Bike

2 Silver Bangle
1 Float Stone
1 Computer Search

 

1 Training Center

Energy – 7

4 Double Colorless
2 G

1 W

This list is going to look quite different from Flareon builds of the past, at least in the Pokémon line. To start, we have 27 Pokémon. Along with the variety of different Pokémon that we play, the amount is important for the ridiculously high Hit Points that our opponent’s Pokémon are beginning to have. With cards like M Rayquaza and M Manectric at 210 HP, we are going to need all the Pokémon we can get to discard as quickly as possible.

The strategy is the same as all Flareon decks: to keep discarding and burning through the deck in an effort to charge up Flareon’s Vengeance attack. However, with the addition of Raichu, we now have options when facing certain matchups that should be noted. To start, with the aggressive mindset of Flareon we spend so much time consuming resources that we eventually need to start again with a Lysandre’s Trump Card. When this happens, most of the time we are left with an awkward turn when a Flareon would not deal enough damage for a knockout and we wouldn’t like to send him to the front lines of battle.

This is when Raichu steps in. For that same Double Colorless cost, Raichu can deal heavy damage while we save the Flareon for another turn, giving us ample opportunity to burn those resources once again and set up Vengeance for knockout potential. Another great benefit of the Raichu on the field is the free Retreat Cost, as I cannot begin to share the importance of a free retreat option after a knockout in this sort of deck. Allowing for your entire turn to unfold before making your choice of whom you will attack with can be a game changing opportunity.

When it comes to Cofagrigus, I am so grateful that Grafton Roll and Rahul Reddy reminded me of this cards potential. During State Championships, they revitalized the spirit of Flareon/Cofagrigus when they played it down in Florida. The Cofagrigus now plays an important role in this format as well. With the popularity of Exeggutor rising, it became more evident that the best way to beat such a deck was to buy a turn of supporter, no matter the cost. The answer is Cofagrigus. When you use the Six Feet Under Ability, you may place 3 damage counters on your opponent’s field, which just so happens to be the perfect amount to Knock Out an Exeggcute on the Bench that is waiting to become an Exeggutor. In the classic setup of the Exeggutor deck, they typically have only an Exeggutor Active and an Exeggcute on the Bench, so with the Cofagrigus Ability and a Vengeance attack, both are wiped clean off the board to allow for one guaranteed support drop and a massive board advantage. With the release of Sky Field, Exeggcutes will begin to find a home on the Bench as opponents attempt to increase their Bench size. When this happens, Cofagrigus will send Exeggcute to his rightful home in the discard and speed the game up to Flareon’s liking.

Blaine has to appreciate the pseudo-volcanic eruption this deck creates with the explosion of our own Cofagrigus to fuel the flames of our Flareon. Even Blaine’s Magmar stares in awe of the dangerous presence of this list. This deck rightfully earns us the Volcano Badge, leaving only a stop back at Viridian City in the way of our mission to earn all eight badges.

Viridian City

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Let’s roll out Giovanni.

The time has finally arrived. The Ground-type Gym Leader Giovanni is a force to be reckoned with. To take on the most powerful Gym Leader, it is important to look back on past experience and use everything in our arsenal to put us in the most advantageous position. For this, we go back to Philadelphia Autumn Regionals where Russell LaParre first introduced the world to Donphan/Raichu.

My brother, Ryan, had the pleasure of playing Russell during the tournament, when Donphan first had began its dominance. The most noteworthy Donphan build of the tournament was Dylan Bryan’s list, but Russell had a great run in the tournament as well with a slightly different list. Where most players had a Dedenne or Zekrom to help against Yveltal, Russell went with the hard counter in Raichu. His play in the Autumn Regionals will be the inspiration to this deck.

Pokémon – 17

3 Pikachu XY
3 Raichu XY

4 Phanpy PLS
3 Donphan PLS
2 Hawlucha FFI
2 Shaymin-EX ROS

Trainers – 32

4 Professor Juniper
3 Colress
2 N
2 Lysandre
1 Teammates
1 Lysandre’s Trump Card

 

3 VS Seeker
3 Ultra Ball
4 Robo Substitute
2 Muscle Band
1 Silver Bangle

1 Escape Rope

1 Repeat Ball
1 Computer Search

 

2 Sky Field
1 Fighting Stadium

Energy – 11

4 Double Colorless
4 Strong
3 F

The pairing of these cards in Donphan and Raichu does seem odd, but it provides the same sort of two-punch power that the Trevenant/Gengar deck does, except with greater consistency. However, with the addition of Shaymin and Sky Field this deck takes on a new dynamic. Now a Wreck attack from Donphan isn’t the only way to take a 1HKO. Filling our Bench with Robo Substitute has to be the safest, but also one of the more interesting ways to reach the eight Bench spots to maximize Raichu’s Circle Circuit output. When we no longer feel the need to keep such a large Bench, Donphan is ready to come in with a Wreck attack and remove the Sky Field stadium, allowing us the opportunity to remove Shaymin and damaged Pokémon from the board and deny our opponent of easy Prize cards. This cycle also easily continues with a Lysandre’s Trump Card, making this deck a real hassle to defeat.

With Raichu and Rayquaza likely rising to great popularity, a Donphan/Raichu deck feels like the perfect hard counter to a new metagame. The slight risk of massive Colress plays over the safe Korrina is warranted with the heavy Raichu line, and all it takes is one Shaymin to really get the ball rolling.

This earthquake waiting to happen strikes fear into the heart of Giovanni, along with a mutual respect for our power. This deck is just what he needed to see in order to rightfully present us with the Earth Badge.

Victory Road

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The journey comes to a close.

We finally made it! With the help of Raichu, we were able to take down all eight gyms and prepare ourselves for the ultimate test. With Regionals soon approaching, I hope this journey provided an understanding of adaptation and some creativity with the release of the newest Roaring Skies set. I wish everyone the best of luck preparing for these upcoming events and be sure to contact me either on my Twitter, Facebook, here on SixPrizes and of course in the comments with any questions you may have!

Until next time,

Kyle Sabelhaus


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