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Updated June 9, 2026Gourgeist and Houndstone Deck Guide in Pokémon TCG Pocket
A Psychic discard deck that buries its own Pokémon to make Houndstone's Last Respects hit harder every turn
The Gourgeist and Houndstone deck is a Psychic Psychic strategy that treats its own discard pile as a weapon. Greavard and Gourgeist pressure with Soul Shot, which forces you to discard a card from your hand, and every spare Psychic Pokémon you pitch makes Houndstone's Last Respects stronger. By the late game a single non-ex attacker swings for knockout-level numbers while giving up only one point when it falls.
The decklist
How it works
Houndstone is the finisher. Last Respects costs Psychic
Colorless and does 50 damage plus 20 more for each
Psychic Psychic Pokémon in your discard pile. With three
Psychic Pokémon buried it hits for 110, with four it reaches 130, and with
five it climbs to 150, enough to knock out most Stage 1 attackers and many ex
Pokémon in one or two swings. Its 130 HP is bulky for a non-ex Pokémon, and
since opponents earn just one point for knocking it out, trading it into their
ex attackers favors you.
Gourgeist is the midgame engine. Soul Shot does 70 damage for a single
Psychic Energy, an excellent rate, but you must discard a
card from your hand or the attack does nothing. That clause is the heart of
the deck: pitch a spare Pumpkaboo, Greavard, or even a second Gourgeist and
you are simultaneously dealing 70 and adding 20 future damage to Last
Respects. Two Soul Shots add up to 140, and 110 HP usually survives at least
one return hit.
Greavard is your preferred opener. Its own Soul Shot does 30 damage for
Psychic with the same discard requirement, so even your
first attacks of the game feed the discard pile. At 70 HP it survives early
chip damage, and every turn it spends active lets your benched Houndstone line
develop safely. Just remember its retreat cost of 2, which is where X Speed
earns its slot.
Pumpkaboo exists to become Gourgeist, but it is not dead weight. Ram does 20
damage for Psychic with no strings attached, useful when
your hand is empty and Soul Shot would fizzle, and its retreat cost of 1 makes
it the cheapest pivot in the deck. With only 60 HP it should not stay active
long, and a spare copy is perfectly good Soul Shot fuel, since it still counts
as a Psychic Psychic Pokémon in the discard pile.
Matchups
| Matchup | Favorability | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Bellibolt ex and Magnezone | Favored | Their setup is slow, which gives you free turns to attack with Greavard and stack the discard pile. Force them to spend two knockouts on your single-point attackers while Houndstone takes two points per ex it knocks out. |
| Flutter Mane ex and Mega Gardevoir ex | Even | Both decks are Psychic, so neither side gets weakness damage and the game becomes a race. Use Potion to keep Gourgeist alive an extra turn, and remember that knocking out their Mega ex with a big Last Respects is worth three points on its own. |
| Mirror match | Even | Whoever manages the discard pile better wins, so pitch Psychic Pokémon early and evolve into Gourgeist first. Be careful about leaving a damaged Houndstone active, since their Last Respects scales just as hard as yours. |
| Chien-Pao ex and Baxcalibur | Unfavored | Water has no type advantage here, but their attackers come online fast and hit numbers that remove Gourgeist in one shot. Stall with Greavard, heal with Potion, and aim Last Respects at their ex Pokémon so each knockout banks two points. |
| Darkrai ex and Mega Altaria ex | Heavily unfavored | Every Pokémon in this deck is weak to  Darkness Darkness, so Darkrai ex's attacks all do 20 extra damage and even Houndstone's 130 HP melts quickly. Rush your discard count, accept bad trades, and try to steal two points with one large Last Respects before the board collapses. |
Tech options and swaps
The flexible slots are the single copies and the mobility items. Guzma discards every Pokémon Tool attached to your opponent's Pokémon, excellent against Tool-reliant lists and nearly blank elsewhere, so if your local field runs few Tools, swap it for a second Big Malasada to gain more healing and Special Condition removal for the Active Pokémon. If Greavard and Houndstone keep getting stranded, the two X Speed copies are non-negotiable, while players who rarely pivot can trade one for a second Guzma. Pokémon Communication and Poké Ball should stay at two copies each, because the deck loses outright when it cannot find its Stage 1 Pokémon on time.
How to pilot it
- At the start, aim for Greavard in the Active Spot with Pumpkaboo on the bench. Use Poké Ball to pull a random Basic from the deck and Pokémon Communication to swap a duplicate in your hand for something new.
- If you go first, you get no Energy from the Energy Zone on turn 1 and nothing can evolve yet, so just develop your bench, ideally two or three Basics. If you go second, attach Psychic from the Energy Zone to Greavard and use Soul Shot for 30, discarding a spare Psychic Pokémon to start the Last Respects count.
- From turn 2 onward, evolve any Basic that was in play before this turn: Greavard into Houndstone, Pumpkaboo into Gourgeist. Keep attaching your one Energy per turn from the Energy Zone, prioritizing the benched Houndstone, which needs PsychicColorless before it can attack.
- In the midgame, attack with Gourgeist's Soul Shot for 70 and feed it duplicate Pokémon. Professor's Research draws 2 cards, which both digs for your evolutions and refills the discard fodder Soul Shot demands.
- When Gourgeist falls, use X Speed to cheapen any awkward retreat and promote Houndstone. With three or four Psychic Psychic Pokémon discarded, Last Respects hits 110 or 130, and Potion's 20 healing can buy it an extra turn of attacks.
- Save Guzma for the turn a Tool actually matters, since firing it early wastes your one Supporter for the turn that Professor's Research usually wants.
The most common misplays are attacking with Soul Shot while holding only cards you need, which forces a painful discard or fizzles the attack, and promoting Houndstone too early, when 50 or 70 damage wastes its potential. If Last Respects does not reach a knockout number yet, another Greavard or Gourgeist turn is usually better.
Deck strengths
- Houndstone is a non-ex attacker, so opponents earn only one point per knockout while it can take two from each ex Pokémon it removes
- Soul Shot gives Gourgeist 70 damage for a single Psychic Energy, an aggressive rate that doubles as setup for Last Respects
- Last Respects scaling has no cap from board state, so long games keep getting better for you
- Every attacker needs only one or two Energy, so the deck recovers quickly after a knockout
Deck weaknesses
- The entire deck shares a Darkness Darkness weakness, so any Darkness attacker gets 20 extra damage against all eight Pokémon
- Soul Shot does nothing if your hand is empty, which punishes overextending your resources
- Houndstone's retreat cost of 3 and Gourgeist's 2 make bad Active Spot situations expensive without X Speed
- Two-of evolution lines with no backup search beyond Poké Ball and Pokémon Communication can brick
Is it worth building?
Yes, especially for players who want a competitive list without chasing ex rarities. The deck is built from common evolution lines and staple Trainers, and it teaches transferable skills: hand management, discard sequencing, and knowing when a 110 hit is enough. It struggles whenever Darkness Darkness decks are popular, but when the discard pile fills up and Last Respects starts erasing ex Pokémon for two points at a time, it feels far stronger than its budget suggests.
