Pokémon TCG Live - Loyal Three (ver. 6.2.1)

After watching the grand finals at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, I wanted to get back into the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and I decided that one way to do this is via Pokémon TCG Live. You can find opponents wherever you like, and I don't have to deal with my clumsy shuffling.

I played the Pokémon Trading Card Game in Generations III and IV, but I stopped playing when I got a job that had me work most weekends (thus missing nearly all tournaments and pre-release events) and irregular weekly schedules (so I couldn’t even go to the Pokémon Leagues held on weekdays, as I didn’t have any fixed days off). During then, as I do now, I use unconventional decks, just as I play the Pokémon main series games’ PvP with unconventional teams.

And because I was away for most of Generation V and the entirety of Generations VI, VII, and VIII, I lost track of what was popular, as well as some rule changes that happened along the way—for instance, you used to be able to attack if you went first on the first turn. No more of those shenanigans!

I had to hit the ground running, giving myself a crash course on what the rules are now, what’s popular to use nowadays, and what cards are available. To that extent, I decided to begin with the deck given to me at the beginning of the season when I started, “Loyal Three,” featuring Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti. This deck even has Pecharunt’s signature Binding Mochi! Though it doesn’t actually have Pecharunt in it, at least when you begin. These four are the representative Pokémon of Shrouded Fable, the most recent set as of when I started playing TCG Live, the set featuring the bad guys of Kitakami.

The decks you receive in Pokémon TCG Live are actually already pretty good right out of the gate, though you are encouraged to add and remove stuff as you wish. I noticed this deck is pretty rarely used among other people, probably because it is a very complex, complicated deck; and also probably because the season also gives you the 2023 European International Champion deck, letting you play at that power without having to make any improvements at all. I did see a few others using Loyal Three, though none took it in the same direction as I did. Here’s what’s in it:

POKÉMON (12)
2x Okidogi ex (Shrouded Fable)
2x Pecharunt ex (Shrouded Fable)
1x Fezandipiti ex (Shrouded Fable)
1x Munkidori (Twilight Masquerade)
2x Brute Bonnet (Paradox Rift)
1x Radiant Hisuian Sneasler (Lost Origin)
1x Bidoof (Crown Zenith)
1x Bibarel (Crown Zenith)
1x Squawkabilly ex (Paldea Evolved)

TRAINERS (36)
2x Ancient Booster Energy Capsule
1x Arven
1x Atticus
2x Binding Mochi
3x Boss’s Orders
4x Dark Patch
4x Earthen Vessel
1x Hero’s Cape
1x Iono
4x Nest Ball
1x Perilous Jungle
3x Professor’s Research
2x Super Rod
2x Switch Cart
2x Town Store
3x Ultra Ball

ENERGY (12)
7x Darkness Energy
1x Psychic Energy
4x Luminous Energy

I wanted to keep the core of the Loyal Three in some way, plus Pecharunt. Okidogi ex is the main attacker, doing 260 damage with Chain-Crazed or 300 if he’s given the Binding Mochi. Pecharunt allows free switching among Darkness Pokémon and inflicts Poison, which Okidogi likes. Munkidori uses the Ability Adrena-Mind to move 30 damage from one of my Pokémon (like via Poison) to an opposing Pokémon, while Fezandipii ex can use Flip the Script to draw cards if any of my Pokémon are Knocked Out.

Assisting are Brute Bonnet, who, when holding an Ancient Booster Energy Capsule, uses Toxic Powder to Poison both Active Pokémon; Radiant Hisuian Sneasler to increase the opponent’s Poison damage from 10 between turns to 30; and Bibarel and Squawkabilly ex for drawing power. Excet for Bibarel, these are all Basic Pokémon, saving deck space for a vast inventory of Trainer cards. A deck like this benefits from Atticus, who works only if your Active Pokémon is Poisoned; and Perilous Jungle, which increases another 20 damage to a non-Darkness Poisoned Pokémon (making it 50 in all with Radiant Hisuian Sneasler around). Town Store lets you get out Binding Mochi and Ancient Booster Energy Capsule easily, and with nearly all Basic Pokémon, they get the most out of Nest Ball and Switch Cart.

Basically, the core Pokémon are Okidogi ex, Pecharunt ex, and Brute Bonnet. It’s the top priority to get those three out as soon as possible, with Okidogi ex as the Active Pokémon. Every other Pokémon is there to keep the momentum going.

My opponent, by the way, is using a deck very similar to that of Fernando Cifuentes, the 2024 Masters TCG Champion of the 2024 World Championships. It has 4 Iron Thorns ex and no other Pokémon, instead using an absolutely MASSIVE engine of trainers behind it to disrupt its opponents with cards like Crushing Hammer, Pokémon Catcher, and Counter Catcher, Iron Thorns ex has Initialization, an Ability that disables all other Abilities for Pokémon with Rule Boxes when an Active Pokémon—and as the only Pokémon in that deck, Initialization will always be running.