Hello everyone! Golurk here, it's been a long time since I've posted a list on here! After playing Volcanion since the birth of the card, I really learned the different play styles it adapted. For the new rotation, I wanted to upload a list that has been the most consistent for me. And before anyone says "add Ho-Oh", I'm going to mention this: Ho-Oh GX makes your deck less reliant on your Volcanions and more reliant on always hitting turn 1 Kiawe. Not a horrible strategy, but I've always found that it makes the deck more clunky. So here's my post rotation list:
Pokemon: 13
3 Volcanion
3 Volcanion EX
2 Turtonator GX
2 Tapu Lele GX
1 Staryu
1 Starmie
1 Oranguru
Trainers: 33
4 Professor Sycamore
4 N
3 Guzma
1 Kiawe
4 Ultra Ball
2 Switch
2 Field Blower
3 Max Elixir
1 Rescue Stretcher
2 Fighting Fury Belt
1 Choice Band
3 Float Stone
3 Brooklet Hill
Energy: 14
14 Basic Fire Energy
Now as much as I bash the Kiawe/Ho-Oh variant, I also know Kiawe and Turtonator are amazing together. If you have 2 Turtonator, for example, and attach 1 Energy to 1 and then Kiawe the other one, you can have 2 Turtonators with 2 energies on each of them by the time you attack on turn 2. Also, the deck plays very little items, making Garbodor less of a threat. However, Espeon GX can still do some good damage and confuse the Volcanion. As for my Staryu, I chose the 40 HP free retreat Staryu from BKT. It is more frail, especially against Tapu Koko or Decidueye, but many players are more worried about your Volcanions rather then the Staryu. The only matches I struggle with is the mirror, in which many players are able to set up faster than me. However, I think Volcanion is still a great pick for this format in the future. Let me know of any changes you would like to make!
Pokemon: 13
3 Volcanion
3 Volcanion EX
2 Turtonator GX
2 Tapu Lele GX
1 Staryu
1 Starmie
1 Oranguru
Trainers: 33
4 Professor Sycamore
4 N
3 Guzma
1 Kiawe
4 Ultra Ball
2 Switch
2 Field Blower
3 Max Elixir
1 Rescue Stretcher
2 Fighting Fury Belt
1 Choice Band
3 Float Stone
3 Brooklet Hill
Energy: 14
14 Basic Fire Energy
Now as much as I bash the Kiawe/Ho-Oh variant, I also know Kiawe and Turtonator are amazing together. If you have 2 Turtonator, for example, and attach 1 Energy to 1 and then Kiawe the other one, you can have 2 Turtonators with 2 energies on each of them by the time you attack on turn 2. Also, the deck plays very little items, making Garbodor less of a threat. However, Espeon GX can still do some good damage and confuse the Volcanion. As for my Staryu, I chose the 40 HP free retreat Staryu from BKT. It is more frail, especially against Tapu Koko or Decidueye, but many players are more worried about your Volcanions rather then the Staryu. The only matches I struggle with is the mirror, in which many players are able to set up faster than me. However, I think Volcanion is still a great pick for this format in the future. Let me know of any changes you would like to make!
