When players ask me which Gym Leader Challenge type is best for getting started, I usually point them to Grass. That doesn’t mean that Grass is a beginners type or anything like that. Far from it! Grass won the second Full Grip Games GLC 1K and it took expert-level piloting by Mike Gibbs of Michigan to beat long time pros Grant Manley and Azul Garcia Griego in Top-4 and the finals respectively. Grass is just a lot of fun to play, relatively easy to set up and many of the support Pokémon are recently released or easily obtainable. In my mind, Grass embodies all the things that make Gym Leader Challenge fun and exciting! So if you think you’ve got a green thumb and wanna become a Grass Gym Leader on the level of Erika, Gardenia or Milo, you’ve come to just the right place!

Support Pokémon

Grass support is absolutely incredible. It has the best Pokémon search engine out of any type with Grovyle‘s Sunshine Grace and Grotle’s Sun-Drenched Shell, both of which allow you to search your deck for a Grass Pokémon and put it into your hand. With these Stage 1 Pokémon in play, you can set up your board and get attacking quickly and consistently. Rillaboom, Cherrim, and Venusaur form the core of many Grass decks, with Cherrim and Rillaboom both accelerating Energy into play, and Venusaur doubling up the Energy you have in play with its awesome Jungle Totem Ability.

Shining Genesect, Zarude and Sceptile all thrive when you are able to pile tons of Energy in play with Rillaboom or Cherrim. With three Energy attached, Zarude‘s Repeated Whip attack does a solid 120 damage. If you have Venusaur‘s Jungle Totem online, those three Energy become six Energy, and that 120 damage becomes a whopping 180 damage instead! There are also Grass attackers that take a more low maintenance approach. Jumpluff can do 120 Damage for a single energy while Torterra and Buzzwole have respectable two Energy attacks. Which attackers you choose will depend largely on which direction you want to take your Grass deck!

Decklists

Rillaboom & Venusaur

Venusaur and Rillaboom form the core of what I consider to be the “quintessential” Grass deck. Rillaboom’s Voltage Beat Ability pumps two Energy into play every turn while Venusaur’s Jungle Totem Ability makes each of those Energy count as double! Setting up multiple evolution Pokémon can sometimes be tough, but for Grass, it’s a breeze! Grotle’s Sun-Drenched Shell Ability allows you to search your deck for a Grass Pokémon every turn while Roserade’s Le-Parfum allows you to search your deck for any card you want. Once the deck is set up, Zarude, Tapu Bulu, Brambleghast, and Torterra can OHKO anything the opponent sends your way.

Last Update: August 2024

Quick-Ripening Herb

One of the toughest things about getting Stage 2 Pokémon into play is the fact that Gym Leader Challenge decks are limited to one copy of Rare Candy! By utilizing Meganium’s Quick-Ripening Herb Ability, this deck can easily pop a new Stage 2 Pokémon into play every turn. This list features SIX different Stage 2 Pokémon, making it one of the most evolution-heavy decks in GLC.

Last Update: August 2024

Credit: allaboutthatbaisch

Festival Lead

Why attack just once, when you could attack twice? With Dipplin’s Festival Lead attack, you can swing twice with its Do the Wave attack so long as you have Festival Grounds in play. With Lurantis and its Sunny Day Ability, it is possible to swing for 120 damage two times with a full Bench! Thwackey pairs perfectly with Dipplin thanks to its Boom Boom Groove Ability, which allows you to search your deck for whatever card you want and put it into your hand so long as Dipplin is in the Active. And guess what? Thwackey also just so happens to evolve into the best Grass Support Pokémon, Rillaboom!

Last Update: August 2024