The Ultimate Wild Card
I have done it! I have officially made one of the first practical 3-energy decks in all of Pokémon TCG Pocket. Ditto has always been deemed a meme card due to its super specific, super situational ability - but what it lacks in consistency makes up for in raw potential. As a Basic Pokémon capable of mimicking moves as strong as those from Stage 2s and EXs, Ditto has the power to surprise opponents in the right hands.
With energy generation being a randomized process, even Dragon-type decks suffer from bricking while running dual energy. Worse still is the idea of running three different energy types as you're either trying to be quirky with your Colorless Pokémon or just downright insane. But fret not, for there is still hope.
Introducing: Alolan Raichu EX Aside from being a Stage 1 Pokémon, Raichu has the attack Psychic for only 3 Colorless energy, dealing 60 damage whilst also scaling quickly for each energy attached to the opponent's Pokémon. This allows us to counter those cheesy rampers that love to hoard energy for big attacks like Steamzard and Giratina EX. Despite this, Alolan Raichu's flaws cannot be ignored - needing to build up as much energy as Arceus while lacking the synergy and consistency in damage output. This is why we need time, a wall even, or in other words, Snorlax! This Pokémon brings a considerable amount of bulk, allowing us to gather the necessary energy to build either our Ditto or Alolan Raichu in safety.
The days of Arceus/Palkia may be long gone, and the likes of Wuggtrio, Palkia, and Articuno Trainer Decks are no longer rampant enough to be destroyed by our star, Ditto, but we must simply evolve to the new meta where cheap but strong attacks from aggro decks run rampant in the ranked ladder. While Mew EX could ignore Ditto's specific need for energy, it comes at the cost of not only being an EX but also being needy with energy and denied by Oricorio.
We run a full set of Barry to kill off those pesky openers, as well as an Ilima to bounce our walls and Ditto to safety. A Red Card + Mars to keep our foes from being too hasty. A Dawn for the surprise plays and Sabrina to catch those rampers at bay.
It may not be the Tier 0 deck that everyone expects, but it makes playing this Pokémon all the more satisfying.
Rise, my Ditto mains. It's time we push the agenda.
