The King of Post Rotation – Charizard / Pidgeot
Rotation is right around the corner, so it’s time to start talking about decks for the next format. We are going to start things off with a banger. Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex is the best deck in the format and it stomps just about everything. I’ve been testing this deck for awhile, and it is an absolute monster. The deck works similarly as it did pre-rotation, and the list maintains the same structure. There are very few things in the format that can actually deal with Charizard. Path to the Peak rotates out, and there aren’t any good Grass-type Pokemon attackers.
Lots of people are hyping the Bibarel version of Charizard ex, but just like before, I think the Pidgeot ex version is superior. The Bibarel build is definitely good, but Pidgeot has several advantages. With no more Path to the Peak, Pidgeot is more powerful than before, as its Ability will always be live. Pidgeot works better with the Arven engine, as you have an easier time playing Rare Candy and Forest Seal Stone (along with Rotom V). This makes the deck more consistent than the Bibarel version. And of course, Pidgeot’s Ability is just better than Bibarel’s. With Quick Search, you will always have those Iono or Boss's Orders plays on the turn you want them, and you can easily chain multiple Charizard ex.
The Bibarel version does have some advantages. It does not rely on two-Prize support Pokemon, so it does not have liabilities in play. Because of this, it can better leverage Radiant Charizard and force the opponent to odd Prizes. Bibarel also recovers better from its engine being KO’d. A Bibarel being KO’d is no big deal because you will usually have a second one in play, and they are easier to set up. Pidgeot being KO’d is usually… pretty bad, but it’s a lot harder for opponents to do. After playing various lists for both the Bibarel and Pidgeot versions, the Pidgeot version is far more consistent, and it can pull off power plays and combos more often. The Bibarel version has more dead opening hands and can’t recover as well from those kinds of starts.
A big reason why Charizard ex in general is so good is because it loses very little from the rotation, while everything else loses a lot. Although Buddy-Buddy Poffin can’t find Rotom V, it is still a huge upgrade to Battle VIP Pass. Being able to search out those Basic Pokemon on any turn, and not just turn 1, does wonders for the deck’s consistency throughout the game. It also makes the Collapsed Stadium play so much easier. Charizard got strictly better after the rotation thanks to this card, whereas most other decks got worse. Charizard’s only real loss is Mew, which was a helpful consistency piece. However, the deck does just fine without it. Since Mew was often used to help against disruption such as Path to the Peak, its absence isn’t felt too hard because Path is also gone. The loss of Level Ball is a slight annoyance to Charizard, but its impact is not felt. Buddy-Buddy Poffin makes up for this somewhat. Although Poffin doesn’t find Charmeleon, which was Level Ball’s main benefit, it does find the Basic Pokemon that Level Ball was often used to get anyway.
Here is my current list. If I was playing in a tournament for this format right now, I would send this list with zero hesitation.
This concludes the public portion of this article.
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