Standard Shocking! (Raichu / Vespiquen)

[Ventoreck]

I take no credit for this build. I am just a normal net-decker trying to build the best deck he can lol.

Pokémon: 22

• 4 Combee AOR 9
• 2 Raichu XY 43
• 2 Flareon AOR 13
• 4 Unown AOR 30
• 4 Vespiquen AOR 10
• 4 Pikachu XY 42
• 2 Eevee FFI 80

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: 26

• 4 Trainers’ Mail
• 2 Lysandre
• 1 Blacksmith
• 3 Battle Compressor
• 4 Sky Field
• 4 Level Ball
• 4 Professor Sycamore
• 3 Muscle Band
• 2 Shauna
• 4 VS Seeker

Energy: 7

• 4 Double Colorless Energy
• 3 Fire Energy

Strategy:

Right now i want everyone to know i do not have any Shaymin EX (On my long to do list)

So right now i am trying to build it as best as possible without Shaymin EX. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[SilverSilent]

As a lover of the Vengeance Engine, I played Flareon PLF countless times and Vespiquen is near identical to Flareon so there are some things you need to note about it.

Sky Field is not needed for Raichu and here is why. With a full bench and Muscle Band, Raichu does 120 and with Weakness, 240. That's more than enough to beat things like Lugia-Ex and M.Rayquaza, you just have to be mindful of your hand and deck at all times. The only other reason you'd use Raichu is when you need free retreat when Vespiquen isn't benched and/or is knocked out. Replace Sky Field for GPF.

I don't feel like Blacksmith is needed in this deck either. While it does get Fire Energy back and you can attach it to Vespiquen when Flareon is on the bench, running 4 Battle Compressors is more important. By running 4 Battle Compressors you're increasing your chance of building up enough damage to OHKO anything out there and Blacksmith will only slow the acceleration down.

Ultra Ball is another vital trainer card to have in this deck because it also helps you build that Pokémon discard even more, making you able to hit more damage even quicker. Level is good, but 4 is not necessary.

With that said here's some things I feel like you should swap out.

Remove:
Sky Field -4
Blacksmith - 1
Level Ball - 2
Trainer's Mail - 2
Lysandre - 1

Add:
Giant Plant Forest - 3
Ultra Ball - 4
Battle compressor - 1
Fire Energy - 1
Shaymin EX - 1

So when I ran my Flareon Deck, I always ran 1 Jirachi EX (now Shaymin for Vespiquen) in it for a few reasons. Even though I dislike running EX's in non-ex decks, one of these cards can significantly boost your draw engine and outweighs the chance it being played as your starter Pokémon. Shaymin helps you quickly burn through your deck and has great synergy with this kind of deck.

I really do enjoy this build compared to running Jolteon AOR but it's purely preference. Anyways, I hope this helps out a bit with your deck. Have fun playing!

 

[ToToLaw]

Question: say u got 2 compressors in the first turn (which is great), what are u gonna compress? u need raichu and vespiquen to attack, at the same time u need a flareon on bench for adding fire typing and blacksmith. isn't that make u nothing to compress?

 

[SilverSilent]

Question: say u got 2 compressors in the first turn (which is great), what are u gonna compress? u need raichu and vespiquen to attack, at the same time u need a flareon on bench for adding fire typing and blacksmith. isn't that make u nothing to compress?

It depends on your matchup. For example, if my opponent is running say Siemitoad EX or Primal Kyogre, I'm going to compress everything but Vespiquen most likely because they're weak to grass. If another deck is weak to fire, compress everything but Flareon and Vespiquen in most cases. Having 4 doesn't mean you have to use all 4, it helps with the speed of the deck. If you know you're going to primarily use Vespiquen and Flareon, most likely you wont be needing Raichu except maybe a 1-1 line. You have to realize to that Battle Compressor is 'up' to three cards, meaning you don't need to discard three cards. It can be used to search your deck early game to spot what is prized as well. Battle Compressor also helps with discarding Supporters if you have a VS Seeker. Long story short, Battle Compressor is basically what makes the deck run so smoothly and you need as many as possible to keep it running. It's all about optimizing your moves and anticipating what your opponent is playing,

 

[Yo-yos]

This person needs jolteon bad for multiple reasons, having a free retreat bench tech while your setting up after you glass cannon went down is better then forcing out a basic you cannot attack with because you wiffed all the cards you ever needed is a solid start, losing a raichu or a vespiquen is not really and option and why have vespiquen limited to 2 types when it should hit for electric as well, if your opponent only see's 1 attacker as a threat they eliminate the 1 to benefit there needs, if you run out or slow down on the one attacker it gives them a +1 prize card advantage, enough to win the game.

 

[SilverSilent]

This person needs jolteon bad for multiple reasons, having a free retreat bench tech while your setting up after you glass cannon went down is better then forcing out a basic you cannot attack with because you wiffed all the cards you ever needed is a solid start, losing a raichu or a vespiquen is not really and option and why have vespiquen limited to 2 types when it should hit for electric as well, if your opponent only see's 1 attacker as a threat they eliminate the 1 to benefit there needs, if you run out or slow down on the one attacker it gives them a +1 prize card advantage, enough to win the game.

I totally agree that Jolteon is possibly better but with that said, if you play Jolteon I'm pretty sure that this deck would start becoming clunky. I wouldn't be positive about it until I tested it myself. With that said too, it's not like you can't interchange them. Even if Raichu can't hit for knock out, you can still force your opponent to knock it out and only taking one prize while you'll most likely take two. Having 4 DCE and 4 Basic is something I strongly believe in for this deck due to that. Even if his two Raichu are knocked out, that only means now that 8 Pokémon are possibly guaranteed in his discard for a 100-120 damage with Vespiquen. Consistency is definitely a potential problem though without a doubt.

At best he could probably do like a 2:2 with Raichu and a 3:2:2 with Eevee/Flareon/Jolteon if he got rid of Blacksmith.

 

[Yo-yos]

I do think raichu is a good idea in the deck as it gives the deck an optional attacker, warranted dropping the jolteon limits those options if your opponent sees this it makes strategies that work through the strategy, in truth he only needs 1 black smith and 2 energy, 4 Vs seeker means he has 12 energy in his deck max, if he ever needed it, but ultimately you would rather never draw into the basic energy ever, just a vs seeker or the blacksmith, just makes playing the energy out of his deck super optimal.