Of all the new cards to release in Pokémon Pocket’s Celestial Guardians set today, the Rare Candy is the most hyped. Despite just being an uncommon, Rare Candy has the potential to warp the entire Pokémon Pocket metagame.
While Basic ex Pokémon dominated past formats thanks to a natural boost in consistency, Rare Candy threatens to overturn that trend with sheer speed. Basic ex Pokémon will always be the most consistent thing you can do in Pokémon Pocket, but you may have trouble beating a Stage 2 Pokémon on the second turn.
For those who want to try using the Rare Candy in Ranked battles, here are some of the best Pokémon Pocket cards to use with it.
Charizard ex (Shining Revelry)
Charizard ex has gone in and out of the Pokémon Pocket metagame throughout the game’s short history. Charizard ex even saw its time in the limelight right before the new set dropped at the highest ranks. The card was a strong counter to all of the other setup strategies that were considered meta.
That said, the Charizard ex that was meta was from Genetic Apex. Nothing in the game is capable of surviving a 200-damage attack, but because so much Energy needed to be supplied to make this work, Moltres ex was used to Inferno Dance a bunch of Energy onto Charizard.
Thanks to Rare Candy, the more recent Shining Revelry Charizard ex can now make an appearance. This is thanks to its unique attack, Stoke, which immediately adds 3 Energy to the Pokémon. This allows Charizard ex to start dealing 150 damage every turn on the next attack. Before Rare Candy, it took too long to set up this Charizard ex for an attack that won’t necessarily wipe everything out. Now, if you Rare Candy your Charizard ex into play, you can Stoke as early as your second turn. 150 damage may not kill everything, but it’s going to be very difficult to beat a Pokémon that can deal 150 damage consistently as early as the third turn. Many players expect Charizard to make a true comeback thanks to Rare Candy.
Meowscarada
Meowscarada was already a meta-defining force before Rare Candy came along. Now, the anti-meta Pokémon is ridiculously consistent thanks to the new item. Sprigatitto, Meowscarada’s Basic Pokémon, boosts the consistency of this Stage 2 line with Call for Help. This allows you to randomly search for a Grass Pokémon from your deck. With some careful deckbuilding, Call for Help can now hit either Sprigatitto or Meowscarada guaranteed. You can cut out Floragatto, the Stage 1 evolution, completely for Rare Candy.
While this might be correct, it is important to know that there is currently no way to search for items. Sprigatitto itself can occasionally find Floragatto, and further consistency boosts like Pokémon Communications can be used to help find your evolutionary line.
So, it might not necessarily be correct to build this deck without the Stage 1 evolution, but Rare Candy will accelerate the speed of Meowscarada regardless. If you start second, you can now hit ex Pokémon for 130 damage as early as your second turn. It’s almost certain that some high-ranked players will be testing Meowscarada with Rare Candy, but whether or not Meowscarada remains part of the metagame more so depends on how popular ex Pokémon are after these changes go into effect.
To make things even worse, Meowscarada can also use the new Leaf Cape Tool, a massive buff to all Grass Pokémon decks. This, combined with Trainer Erika, can make Grass Pokémon difficult to knock out through conventional means.
Rampardos
Rampardos is one of the most aggressive Pokémon in the game. Capable of dealing 130 damage with just one Energy, Rampardos is another Pokémon that rotates in and out of the meta to prey on certain strategies.
While Rampardos is undeniably a house once you get it in play, it does have a massive weakness. This is a fossil Pokémon. Fossils cannot be searched with Poké Ball because they are considered items until they enter play. This also means that there’s a strong chance that you will not have a Skull Fossil in your opening hand.
By the time you manage to find your Fossil, you may not be able to get Rampardos into play before the game ends. That’s where Rare Candy comes in. Rare Candy makes sure that your Skull Fossil can immediately turn into Rampardos and start attacking on the next turn, making this Pokémon a lot more reliable. There are no item searchers as of yet, but this one-two punch could be what Rampardos needs to smash the competition.
Solgaleo ex
This card is obscene. Solgaleo ex is the new Pokémon Pocket meta, whether you like it or not. Lining up an ex with 180 health that deals 120 damage with just two energy and no strings attached is something the game has not seen before. Between Cosmog being able to Teleport and Solgaleo ex offering free switch-ins, you can always set yourself up optimally.
Rare Candy gives Solgaleo ex an absurd amount of speed. If you fumble for even a turn, Solgaleo shuts the door outright. This is the best Rare Candy deck in Pokémon Pocket and likely the best deck, period.