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Updated July 24, 2026Milotic ex and Darkrai Deck Guide in Pokémon TCG Pocket
Put the opponent to sleep every single turn and let two Darkrai grind them down while they cannot attack or retreat
Milotic ex and Darkrai is a sleep-lock deck: every attack in the list puts the opponent's Active Pokémon to sleep, and a sleeping Pokémon cannot attack or retreat until it flips heads at checkup. While the opponent is stuck, two benched Darkrai punish the nap with Bad Dreams for 20 damage each at the end of every turn, stacking on top of Water Pulse's 80. Every failed wake-up flip becomes free damage and a stolen turn on the way to 3 points.
The decklist
How it works
Milotic ex is a 140 HP Stage 1 that charges itself. Its Aqua Charge ability
lets you take a Water Energy from your Energy Zone and
attach it once per turn, on top of your normal attachment, so it gains two
Energy every turn it sits in play. Water Pulse costs Water
WaterWater and deals 80 damage while putting the opponent's
Active Pokémon to sleep, which feeds everything else in the deck. Its weakness
to 
Lightning means those decks hit it for 20 extra, the
single line that defines your worst matchups.
Darkrai never needs to attack to earn its slot. Bad Dreams deals 20 damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon at the end of each turn while it is asleep, and with both copies benched that is 40 at the end of your turn and another 40 at the end of theirs if the sleep holds. Add Water Pulse and a locked target eats 80 plus 40 immediately, then 40 more before you act again, 160 across a full round. If you ever need it to fight, Dark Slumber costs
ColorlessColorlessColorless, payable with your Water
Energy, for 40 damage and yet another sleep. As a regular 100 HP Pokémon it
only concedes 1 point when it falls.
Igglybuff is the opening act. Sleepy Lullaby costs one Energy of any type, deals 10 damage, and puts the Active to sleep, so the lock starts on your first attack while Milotic ex is still a Feebas. Its free Retreat Cost lets it step aside the moment your real attacker is ready, and it has no weakness. It is 30 HP and worth a free point if caught, but every turn it spends singing is a turn the opponent spends flipping to wake up while Darkrai drains them.
Wallace and Lisia are the engine that makes a Stage 1 deck play like a Basic
deck. Lisia puts 2 random Basic Pokémon with 50 HP or less from your deck into
your hand, which here can only ever find Feebas or Igglybuff, so one play
often sets your whole board. Wallace then takes a Water
Pokémon in play with a maximum HP of 50 or less, meaning your 30 HP Feebas,
and evolves it into Milotic ex straight from the deck, no copy in hand
required. Two of each means you reliably deploy both Milotic ex without ever
drawing them.
Matchups
| Matchup | Favorability | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Diancie ex and Mega Gardevoir ex | Favored | Their plan needs several turns of setup, and a sleeping Active cannot attack no matter how much Energy is on it. Lock whatever they lead, let Bad Dreams stack, and use Cyrus to drag a damaged piece back into the Active Spot; a knockout on the Mega ex is worth 3 points and wins outright. |
| Mega Sceptile ex and Greninja | Favored | Two Stage 2 lines take time to assemble, and a sleeping Active cannot attack. Their big attack does not knock out a healthy Milotic ex in one hit, so keep Elegant Cape on it and re-sleep every turn; just protect Darkrai, since  Grass attackers hit it for 20 extra if it is ever dragged Active. |
| Suicune ex and Baxcalibur | Even | Neither side hits weakness, so this becomes a race between their Energy ramp and your wake-up flips. Start the lock early with Igglybuff and force them to burn turns asleep; Sabrina their fully loaded attacker away the moment it threatens Milotic ex. |
| Magnezone ex and Pom-Pom Oricorio | Unfavored | Everything they do hits Milotic ex for 20 extra, so your main attacker is on a short clock. Lean on Igglybuff and Darkrai, since neither is weak to Lightning, and make every knockout cost them multiple sleeping turns. |
| Miraidon ex and Magnezone | Heavily unfavored | Fast Basic ex attackers with Energy acceleration exploit your Lightning weakness before the lock stabilizes. Your only path is an early Igglybuff lock into failed wake-up flips; sleep Miraidon ex the moment it charges and hope it stays down while Bad Dreams chews through it. |
Tech options and swaps
Elegant Cape gives a Stage 1 Pokémon 30 more HP, turning Milotic ex into a 170 HP wall; a second copy is the most natural upgrade over X Speed on a ladder full of heavy hitters. Sabrina and Cyrus answer the deck's biggest problem, opponents who park a throwaway Pokémon asleep in front: Sabrina forces the Active away, while Cyrus drags a damaged bench-sitter in to be slept and finished. If you face constant switching effects, swap X Speed for a healing Item, since a charged Milotic ex with a 2 Retreat Cost rarely wants to leave.
How to pilot it
- Deck setup: register only Water Energy in your Energy Zone. Water Pulse needs pure Water, Aqua Charge only fetches Water, and Dark Slumber's fully colorless cost is happy to take it.
- Turn one: lead Igglybuff if you can and bench Feebas. Going first you get no Energy from the Energy Zone, so place your board and dig with Professor's Research or Lisia; going second, attach and start Sleepy Lullaby immediately for 10 and a sleep.
- Early turns: attach your manual Energy to the benched Feebas while Igglybuff sings. Play Wallace to evolve Feebas into Milotic ex from the deck, then Aqua Charge every turn; a Feebas that banked one Energy attacks with Water Pulse the turn after evolving.
- Get Darkrai down: both copies belong on the bench early, so every sleep costs the opponent 40 per turn end. With the bench capped at three, the ideal board is Milotic ex Active with two Darkrai and the second Feebas behind it.
- Midgame: re-sleep every turn with Water Pulse and count damage in rounds of 160, 80 from the attack plus up to 80 from Bad Dreams. Use Cyrus to pull a wounded target back in front.
- Closing: their ex attackers are worth 2 points, so aim the lock at those and let Bad Dreams finish what Water Pulse starts. If you are one point from winning, Igglybuff or Dark Slumber against a damaged Basic can close without risking Milotic ex.
- Misplays to avoid: forgetting Aqua Charge before ending a turn, evolving Feebas before it has banked an Energy when tempo matters, and benching a third Pokémon that blocks the second Darkrai's slot.
Deck strengths
- A sleeping Pokémon cannot attack or retreat, so every failed wake-up flip is a free turn
- Two benched Darkrai convert every sleep into up to 80 extra damage per round without spending an attack
- Aqua Charge means Milotic ex gains two Energy a turn and never competes with Darkrai for attachments
- Lisia and Wallace make the evolution line absurdly consistent, evolving Feebas straight from the deck
- Only Milotic ex concedes 2 points; the rest of the board gives up 1 at a time, so opponents rarely win in two knockouts
Deck weaknesses
- Weakness to Lightning gives the fastest decks in the format 20 extra damage on your only heavy attacker
- The plan leans on sleep flips, and one early heads hands the opponent a free counterattack
- Feebas and Igglybuff are 30 HP Basics, easy points if the opponent catches them at the wrong moment
- Switching effects clear Sleep on the way to the bench, so decks that rotate attackers freely can shrug off the lock
Is it worth building?
Yes, if you enjoy control decks and can stomach coin flips deciding close games. The cost is reasonable: two copies of a new-set Stage 1 ex plus the Wallace and Lisia Supporters, while Darkrai, Igglybuff, and the Item base are cheap pickups. It suits patient players who like counting damage in ticks and forcing opponents onto your schedule. Avoid it if your local meta is saturated with Lightning decks, because no amount of lullabies fixes taking 20 extra damage every hit.
