Standard 2025 (G-On)

McKay's Gardevoir ex build shocked the field by cutting Drifloon entirely — a staple in nearly every other Gardevoir list. Instead, McKay ran 4 Munkidori for maximum damage counter manipulation, Scream Tail and Flutter Mane as Ancient attackers, and Lillie's Clefairy ex for type coverage. Mew ex's Genome Hacking copied opponent attacks — in the finals against Dragapult ex, McKay used Mew ex to copy Phantom Dive for the winning play. The Trainer engine featured 4 Professor's Research and 4 Iono for draw, Earthen Vessel to fuel the discard for Psychic Embrace, Technical Machine: Evolution for fast setup, and Secret Box as the ACE SPEC. A split of Psychic and Darkness Energy powered both Gardevoir's Psychic attackers and the Darkness-type Munkidori/Fezandipiti ex.

Newdorf's Dragapult ex / Dusknoir build reached the Worlds finals. Dragapult ex's Phantom Dive deals 200 damage to the Active and places 5 damage counters on the opponent's bench however you like. Dusknoir from Prismatic Evolutions provides additional damage manipulation from the bench. Budew searches for Supporters, while Latias ex and Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex offer type coverage. Munkidori and Fezandipiti ex round out the damage counter toolkit.

Tanaka's Charizard ex build reached the Top 4 at Worlds. Charizard ex's Burning Darkness scales damage based on the number of Prize cards the opponent has taken — the fewer prizes remaining for the opponent, the harder Charizard hits. Pidgeot ex's Quick Search finds any card from deck each turn. The Dusknoir line from Prismatic Evolutions adds bench damage manipulation. Chi-Yu provides a single-prize Fire attacker, while Cleffa offers hand refresh.

Łaszkiewicz's N's Zoroark ex from Journey Together emerged as a surprise contender at Worlds. Night Joker copies attacks from benched Pokémon, giving the deck incredible flexibility — it can use whatever attack best suits the matchup. The deck leverages Arven to find key tools and items, Munkidori for damage counter manipulation, and a toolbox of bench sitters including N's Reshiram, Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex, and Ogerpon ex variants for type coverage.

Lepine's Gholdengo ex was the only Gholdengo to convert to the Top 8 despite being the most-played deck at Worlds 2025. Gholdengo ex's Make It Rain deals 50 damage for each Energy discarded from your hand. The deck uses Genesect ex for Fusion Strike System draw power, Superior Energy Retrieval to recycle energy, and Ciphermaniac's Codebreaking for additional draw. Togekiss provides energy acceleration from deck, while Munkidori and Fezandipiti ex handle damage counter manipulation.

Chao's Gardevoir ex build won the Atlanta Regional, representing the standard Gardevoir build that dominated Regionals throughout the 2025 season. Unlike McKay's Worlds-winning list, this version runs Drifloon as a pivot Pokémon, Scream Tail as a single-prize attacker, and an N's Zoroark ex package for additional flexibility. Budew searches for Supporters, and Morty's Conviction provides additional draw power alongside Professor's Research.

Nakagawa's Raging Bolt ex reached the Top 4 at Worlds. Raging Bolt ex's Ancient Lightning attack deals massive damage based on Lightning Energy attached. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex recovers energy from discard. The deck uses a Hoothoot/Noctowl engine for consistent draw, Professor Sada's Vitality for Ancient Pokémon acceleration, and Area Zero Underdepths for additional Ancient support. Fan Rotom provides bench damage spread.

Reklev's Dragapult ex reached the Top 4 at NAIC 2025 in New Orleans. This build maximized spread damage with Phantom Dive's 200 + 5 bench counters. Munkidori and Fezandipiti ex move damage counters after placing them, enabling precise KO math. Budew searches for Supporters, Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex and Latias ex provide type coverage, and Maractus offers a single-prize grass attacker. Brock's Scouting provides hand information for strategic play.

Cifuentes Meta's N's Zoroark ex was the second Zoroark list in the Worlds Top 8. Night Joker's ability to copy bench attacks makes the deck a flexible toolbox. This variant ran Toedscruel for Item lock disruption, Janine's Secret Art for additional draw, and Pecharunt ex for damage counter placement. N's Reshiram provides Fire-type coverage from the bench, while Cleffa offers hand refresh in tough spots.

Svinhufvud's Charizard ex build made the Worlds Top 8 with a variant that included Squawkabilly ex for aggressive early draw, Dusknoir for bench damage manipulation, and a broader Trainer engine with Secret Box and Defiance Band. Professor Turo's Scenario provided switching and recovery, while Mesagoza stadium searched for Basic Pokémon. Burning Darkness scales harder as the opponent takes prizes, making Charizard a comeback king.