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Updated July 24, 2026Zoroark ex and Mega Absol ex Deck Guide in Pokémon TCG Pocket
A wide Darkness bench that scales Brutal Bash while Mega Absol ex strips the opponent's Supporters.
This is a mono Darkness aggro deck that builds a full bench of Darkness Pokémon and then punishes the opponent from two angles at once. Zoroark ex turns every benched Darkness Pokémon into extra damage on Brutal Bash, while Mega Absol ex hits for a flat 80 and tears a Supporter out of the opponent's hand on the way through. The win condition is simple: flood the board with cheap single Darkness attackers, keep your bench wide, and close games before the opponent can stabilize.
The decklist
How it works
Zoroark ex is the payoff card and the centerpiece of the deck. It is a Stage 1
Darkness Pokémon with 150 HP that evolves directly from Zorua, so no extra
evolution tools are needed. Its attack, Brutal Bash, costs a single
Darkness and does 30 damage for each of your Benched
Darkness Pokémon. With a full bench of three Darkness Pokémon behind it, that
is 90 damage for one energy, which trades into most Stage 1 attackers and
clears the way for your next hit. Because the whole deck is Darkness, every
benched body you play feeds this number, so you almost never want an empty
bench slot.
Mega Absol ex is the second threat and the disruption engine. It is a Basic
Darkness Pokémon with 170 HP, the largest body in the deck, and it attacks
with Darkness Claw for Darkness to deal 80
damage. On top of that damage, your opponent reveals their hand and you choose
a Supporter card there and discard it. Stripping a Professor's Research or an
Iono before they can use it warps the game in your favor, especially against
decks that lean on a single setup card. Because it is a Basic, it can attack
early and soak hits while your Zoroark line comes online.
The non-ex Zoroark is the sticky attacker that grinds out long games. It is a
Stage 1 Darkness Pokémon with 100 HP that also evolves straight from Zorua,
and its Night Daze attack costs Darkness for 70
damage. The real value is its Illusive Trickery ability: if your opponent's
Pokémon is Knocked Out by damage from this Pokémon's attacks, then during your
opponent's next turn, all damage from and effects of attacks done to this
Zoroark are prevented. After it lands a knockout, it becomes untouchable for a
turn, letting you attack again for free while the opponent cannot answer it.
Zorua is the Basic that the entire board is built on. It has 60 HP and its
Ascension attack costs a single Darkness for 0 damage,
putting a random card from your deck that evolves from it directly onto Zorua
to evolve it. Since both Zoroark ex and the non-ex Zoroark evolve from Zorua,
Ascension can find either one, which gives you a free evolution if you are
short on hand resources. You generally prefer to evolve from your hand for
control, but Ascension is a strong backup when you are flooded with energy and
need a body to come online.
Matchups
| Matchup | Favorability | How to play it |
|---|---|---|
| Grass-weak ex toolboxes | Favored | Many top ex decks are not Grass types, so your Darkness attackers race them cleanly. Lead Mega Absol ex to discard their setup Supporter, then close with a wide-bench Brutal Bash for 90. |
| Single-Supporter combo decks | Favored | Mega Absol ex's Darkness Claw discards the one Supporter their engine needs, which buys you tempo. Keep a second Mega Absol ex in reserve so you can disrupt twice across the game. |
| Mirror and other Darkness aggro | Even | Both decks race on cheap single-energy attacks, so the wider bench usually wins. Use Guzma to strip their Tools so your one-energy attacks keep hitting knockout numbers first. |
| Stage 2 control and stall | Even | You apply early pressure before they assemble their wall, but a long game tests your resources. Lead aggressively with Mega Absol ex and Zoroark to bank points before they stabilize. |
| Bulky non-ex spread | Unfavored | Decks built on 100-plus HP bodies blunt your 70 and 80 damage hits and out-grind your small board. Save Guzma for the turn their defensive Tools matter most and lean on Zoroark's Illusive Trickery to stick on the board. |
| Grass-type attackers | Heavily unfavored | Every Pokémon in this deck is weak to Grass, so a dedicated Grass deck lands an extra 20 damage on every hit and races you off the board. Use Mega Absol ex's bulk and disrupt their Supporters to slow the bleed. |
Tech options and swaps
The single Field Blower is the most flexible slot. It earns its place against tool and stadium-heavy lists but is dead in matchups without targets, so it is the first cut if you want another consistency Item. The two Poké Ball pull a random Basic like Zorua or Mega Absol ex out of the deck, while the one-of X Speed shaves a Retreat Cost to rotate a damaged attacker out, and that copy can flex into more Pokémon Communication if you find the Zorua line clogging. The two Guzma are non-negotiable in the current meta because stripping opposing Tools keeps your damage math honest, so cut from the Item suite before you touch them.
How to pilot it
- Dig toward at least one Zorua plus a way to grow it, since the whole deck stalls without the Zoroark line. An early Mega Absol ex is also an acceptable plan because it attacks on its own.
- On the opening turns, get Zorua and a Mega Absol ex down, attach your single Darkness to the attacker that can act first, and use Ascension only if you have nothing better to do with the turn.
- Sequence energy onto Mega Absol ex first so you can fire Darkness Claw for Darkness as early as possible and start discarding their Supporters.
- Evolve into Zoroark ex once your bench has two or three Darkness Pokémon, because Brutal Bash for one Darkness only pays off when the bench is wide.
- Take knockouts with the non-ex Zoroark whenever the damage lines up, since Illusive Trickery makes it immune on the following turn, and spend Guzma beforehand so no opposing Tool spoils the math.
- Common misplays to avoid: attacking with Brutal Bash on an empty or thin bench for almost no damage, over-extending Zorua into easy knockouts, and forgetting to fire Darkness Claw before the opponent can spend the Supporter you would have discarded.
Deck strengths
- Brutal Bash scales to 90 damage for a single Darkness with a full Darkness bench.
- Mega Absol ex provides hand disruption every time it attacks, not just raw damage.
- Both Zoroark lines evolve straight from Zorua with no extra evolution piece.
- Cheap single-energy attacks mean the deck rarely whiffs on setup.
- Illusive Trickery gives you free, unanswerable follow-up turns after a knockout.
Deck weaknesses
- Every Pokémon is weak to Grass, so Grass decks are a hard counter.
- Brutal Bash is weak on a thin bench, punishing slow or disrupted starts.
- Zorua at 60 HP is fragile and easy to pick off before it evolves.
- Single copies of Field Blower and X Speed make some draws inconsistent.
- Bulky 100-plus HP non-ex walls can out-grind your modest damage ceiling.
Is it worth building?
This is an accessible aggro deck whose core is a pair of common Zorua and the Zoroark lines, with Mega Absol ex and Absol filling out a clean mono Darkness shell. The resource cost is reasonable because there is no expensive evolution chain and the Trainer suite leans on staples like Professor's Research, Guzma, and Pokémon Communication. It suits players who like proactive, tempo-driven games and enjoy the disruption layer of discarding the opponent's Supporters. If your local meta is heavy on Grass attackers you will struggle, but against the broader field this deck rewards tight sequencing and a wide bench with fast, consistent pressure.
