Pokémon TCG Pocket has taken the world by storm and reminded everyone why the Pokémon TCG has been going strong for over 25 years. If you want in on the fun but haven't pulled your favorite Pokémon ex yet, don't worry—there are plenty of terrific decks you can build with lower-rarity cards.

In this article, we'll show you six Pokémon TCG Decks that are perfect for beginners to the game. Before we get to them though, let's cover the cards you're going to need no matter what deck you're playing.

Must-Have Trainer Cards

Just like in the paper version of the game, every deck in Pokémon TCG Pocket needs a few of the same Trainer cards (Items, Supporters) to function properly. Otherwise, you have a much lower chance of drawing the right Pokémon at the right moment.

Pocket kindly lets players buy most of these Trainer cards in the shop for just a couple shop tickets each. You'll earn more than enough shop tickets to buy them all just by playing through the tutorial and beginner missions.

Before you try building a deck, make sure you have two copies each of Professor's Research and Poké Ball—if you don't, head to the shop and fix that. These four cards are basically mandatory in every Pokémon TCG Pocket deck.

You'll also want two copies each of Potion, X Speed, and Red Card. They don't go in every deck, but they'll help you fill out your decks as you're starting out, and they all see play in one or more top-tier decks.

Enough preamble, let's get to the decks! All the decks below can be built using cards found in just one of the packs in Genetic Apex (Charizard, Pikachu, or Mewtwo). That way, if you're committed to ripping Pikachu packs until you find that elusive mouse, you'll be able to build solid decks using the cards you keep finding instead.

#1 Rapidash/Ninetales (Charizard Pack)

• 2 Farfetch'd
• 2 Vulpix
• 2 Ninetales
• 2 Ponyta
• 2 Rapidash
• 2 Potion
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Blaine

This deck hits hard and fast, using the aggressive power of Farfetch'd and Rapidash to deal 40 damage each turn before most decks can handle that kind of pressure. They both require minimal Energy investment so you can pour your excess Energy into Ninetales and keep the fire raging turn after turn. Blaine pushes the damage even further by boosting Rapidash and Ninetales' damage to crazy heights.

Best of all? The deck doesn't use a single card with a rarity over two diamonds. You won't have any trouble building this firestarter after opening just a few Charizard packs and spending a handful of pack points.

Substitutions: If you're missing any of the Pokémon in the list above, Magmar and Heatmor can fill the gaps with their high HP and low Energy requirements. Red Card can sub in until you find Blaine, or you can use Sabrina if you managed to pull her.

Upgrades: This deck is close to its optimal form as-is, without any higher-rarity cards. If you keep opening Charizard packs, eventually you'll be able to switch over to the top-tier deck featuring Charizard ex, which takes longer to set up but hits for even more damage.

#2 Lilligant/Gogoat (Charizard Pack)

• 2 Farfetch'd
• 2 Petilil
• 2 Lilligant
• 2 Skiddo
• 2 Gogoat
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Potion
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Erika

This is a more patient deck that aims to outlast opponents. Ideally you'll set up Lilligant first, and attack while putting Energy onto Gogoat so you have a strong follow-up in case Lilligant gets Knocked Out. Erika's healing keeps your Pokémon in the fight long enough for their high-Energy attacks to come online and overwhelm the competition.

Substitutions: Pinsir or Tangela can fill in for Farfetch'd in a pinch, and Red Card (or better, Sabrina) can sub in for Erika.

Upgrades: If the first pack you opened on your account was Charizard, you can upgrade this deck immediately using the Exeggutor ex you found in your first pack. Just cut two Farfetch'd for two Exeggcute, and cut one Potion for Exeggutor ex. Later on, if you end up opening Mewtwo packs, you can replace Exeggutor ex and the Gogoat evolution line with Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and either Venusaur or Venusaur ex. Both versions of Venusaur hit harder and are even tanker than Gogoat, which makes them perfect targets to set up with Lilligant.

#3 Golduck/Frosmoth (Pikachu Pack)

• 2 Farfetch'd
• 2 Psyduck
• 2 Golduck
• 2 Snom
• 2 Frosmoth
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Potion
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Misty

Ths straightforward Water deck uses Misty to get Golduck and Frosmoth powered up ahead of schedule so you can lay down consistent damage turn after turn. Frosmoth's Powder Snow attack has a 50% chance of causing opposing Pokémon to start their turn asleep, unable to attack or retreat.

Between Misty and Frosmoth, you're going to flip a lot of coins. They won't always go your way, but they also mean you've got a chance against whatever you come across.

Substitutions: If you're missing either the Golduck or the Frosmoth evolution line, you can replace them with Dewgong and its preevolution Seel. Just keep in mind that Dewgong's high Energy requirement will make you even more likely to snap your phone in half when Misty fails to do anything. Misty herself can be replaced with Red Card for more disruption and fewer coin flip-induced heart attacks.

Upgrades: This deck already does what it wants to do: get Energy, deal damage, and win more coin flips than it loses. Later on in your Pocket journey you can replace all the Pokémon with heavy-hitting Pokémon ex like Starmie ex (from the Charizard pack) and Articuno ex (from the Mewtwo pack).

#4 Lt. Surge (Pikachu Pack)

• 2 Pikachu
• 2 Raichu
• 2 Magnemite
• 2 Magneton
• 2 Voltorb
• 2 Electrode
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Lt. Surge

This deck is a little harder to put together on a brand-new account, but if you get lucky and pull Raichu and Magneton, they deserve to be played together. Magneton's Volt Charge Ability lets it "accelerate" Energy to itself. Once it's charged up, Lt. Surge can move that Energy to Raichu so it can Thunderbolt for massive damage.

Substitutions: Because this whole deck is built around the combination of Magneton, Raichu, and Lt. Surge, none of them are truly replaceable. That said, if you're desperate to play a Lightning-type deck, I'd recommend replacing any Pokémon you don't have with Farfetch'd, Electabuzz, and the Zebstrika evolution line and just focus on dealing damage as quickly as possible.

Upgrades: If you keep opening Pikachu packs you'll eventually find Pikachu ex and Zapdos ex, two of the strongest cards in the Pokémon TCG Pocket. Once you do, they can replace the entire Raichu/Magneton/Lt. Surge package and you can focus instead on dealing huge damage every turn with Circle Circuit.

#5 Sandslash (Mewtwo Pack)

• 2 Farfetch'd
• 2 Sandshrew
• 2 Sandslash
• 2 Cubone
• 2 Marowak
• 1 Hitmonlee
• 1 Hitmonchan
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Giovanni

Sandslash does the same thing Golduck and Voltorb do, but with its 100 HP, it does it just a little bit better. This deck needs no frills and has zero chill—it just puts out damage faster than the other Trainer can. Hitmonlee gives the deck some literal reach by letting you KO Pokémon that try to retreat from the relentless onslaught.

Substitutions: Since this deck only cares about dealing damage efficiently, it's easy to replace any Pokémon you don't have with the Dodrio or Raticate evolution lines for more ways to guarantee early damage. Potion can sub in for Giovanni until you pull the Team Rocket boss.

Upgrades: If Mewtwo was the first pack you opened, you can upgrade this deck immediately by replacing one of the Marowak with your Marowak ex. Beyond that, try replacing Farfetch'd and the Hitmon twins with more Trainer cards like Potion and Sabrina so you can get to Sandslash and Marowak more consistently.

#6 Dragonite (Mewtwo Pack)

• 2 Koffing
• 2 Weezing
• 2 Dratini
• 2 Dragonair
• 2 Dragonite
• 2 Poké Ball
• 2 X Speed
• 2 Potion
• 2 Professor's Research
• 2 Koga

This deck has four three-diamond cards in it, so it's not easy to build immediately unless you get the right pulls early on. If you do though, you'll have one of the most fun decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The idea is simply to hide behind Weezing while you slowly evolve into Dragonite and attach enough Energy to use its Draco Meteor attack. If Weezing looks like its about to be Knocked Out, you can use Koga to return Weezing to your hand, which prevents your opponent from getting any points. Then when you're ready, Dragonite comes out and deals 200 damage every turn until you win the game.

Substitutions: This deck needs all its pieces to function properly. That said, if you have everything besides the Dragonite line, you can replace them with other Darkness-type Pokémon lines like Muk, Golbat, or Arbok, along with more Trainer cards like Giovanni or Red Card. Then you'll have a deliciously nasty grindy deck that builds up damage over time while still using Koga to deny your opponent KOs.