Gym Leader Challenge

Contemporary GLC decks typically rely on Basic or Stage 1 supporting Pokémon to power big Basic attackers. Archaludon from Phantasmal Flames with its Coated Attack throws a big nasty wrench in those plans. Add to that a smattering of decent attackers like Zamazenta and Dialga, powerful search and draw engines of Jirachi and Revavroom, as well as decent Energy acceleration of Metang and Bronzong and suddenly the deck starts punching well above its weight class.

One of the rare weaknesses of the GLC format is that most decks do not have access to Bench protection. This unfortunate reality makes spread decks particularly effective. And among all the Energy types, Lightning possesses the best damage spreaders by far. If one manages to pull off an attack with Electivire followed by Raichu, it's usually enough to turn, leaving the opponent with very few support Pokémon - if any - in play. If that's not broken enough, thanks to the wide variety of cards available in GLC, you also get access to two Pokémon with Dynamotor ability, allowing you to attach three Energy cards per turn (or more, if you use Supporters).

While many contemporary Darkness builds tend to only include Stage 2 attackers, this deck - with Golbat and Crobat from Battle Styles - opts for consistency instead. The rest of the deck consists of veritable Darkness classics: Galarian Weezing to slow down your opponent, Liepard for additional draw power, the new Toxtricity for Energy acceleration, Galarian Hoopa, Spiritomb, and self-powering Moltres for cheap but mighty attacks, and of course Guzzloard for pulling off the highly coveted two prize turn.

Water type boasts some of the highest HP Pokémon in the GLC format, Wailord chief among them. With 240 base HP and Luxurious Cape as an optional attachment, it's basically impossible to knock it out in one hit. To help you set it up, the deck relies on impressive draw and search powers of Octillery and Inteleon while Baxcalibur and Frosmoth provide the best Energy acceleration engine in the format. And even if disaster strikes and Wailord goes down, a plethora of other impressive attackers - Kyogre, Lapras, Wishiwashi - are always ready to take its place.

The Colorless type has the strongest and most consistent draw engines in the format, period. Search options, however, are limited. To balance the scales, the deck includes a larger than average amount of Trainers that help you set things up and hinder your opponent. As far as attackers go, this deck includes one of the strongest ones out there, Snorlax, who can KO almost anything in the format in a single turn. The Journey Together set also brought Hop's Snorlax and Cramorant along with Hop's Choice Band, one of the most broken Tool cards in the format. To top it all off, because Colorless Pokémon can be powered by any Energy type, the deck is able to benefit from Special Energy more than any other.

It's no secret that the Fire type has not gotten a lot of love from the game designers over the years. This deck does the best it can to overcome that disadvantage by using Torchic's Omega Barrage Trait to accelerate Energy and evolution Pokémon into play through the use of Technical Machines. Ideally you are thus able to set up the Magcargo/Rapidash duo to help you get any card you need out of your deck on every turn and Emboar who can infinitely accelerate Energy into play, powering your attackers.

Fighting used to be considered one of the worst types to play in GLC. The primary reason was the lack of consistency, mostly due to the lack of a decent draw engine. Then Mega Evolution set was released and the world changed. The set included Lunatone, an unprecedented (don't quote me on that) Basic Pokémon with a draw Ability. Combined with Okidogi (one of the best Basic fighters), a new Marshadow (who becomes invincible for a turn if it knocks out the Defending Pokémon), and of course Ting-Lu (a single-energy Basic spread attacker) this deck is a monster.

This deck is an attempt to simplify the most popular Psychic archetype and make it more low to the ground - no Stage 2 Pokémon. Malamar and Xatu still form the backbone of this deck as the Energy acceleration engines. However, this deck takes a more control-y approach than its predecessor. Wobbuffet is joined by Garbodor whose Garbotoxin Ability is a pain in the ass for decks who rely heavily on their own Abilities and Frillish who is instrumental in delaying your opponent's early game. Once you set all that up, Necrozma, Iron Boulder, Mewtwo, and Mimikyu will have no trouble wiping your opponent's Pokémon off the board.

The main innovation in this Dragon deck comes from the excellent new Dragonite from the 151 - an excellent attacker with a very helpful Ability. The second innovation is the Rayquaza from Ascended Heroes who helpfully has a Dragon Claw attack, allowing it (and Druddigon) to use the powerful Dragonium Z attack.

Grass is one of the most consistent types in the GLC format. It's not uncommon to see all of this deck's key Pokémon fully set up in just a few turns despite there being three Stage 2 evolutions. As if that wasn't potent enough, the deck also boasts very powerful Energy engines: Meganium's Wild Growth, which doubles all the Grass Energy on all your Pokémon, and Rillaboom's Voltage Beat, which retrieves Grass Energy from the deck and immediately attaches them. This impressive support allows you to set up equally impressive attackers, such as the hard-hitting Torterra or Tapu Bulu and the bulky Brambleghast.