So you can read thoughts and bend spoons and now all of a sudden you think you got what it takes to be a Psychic type Gym Leader? Psychic Pokémon have a wide range of possibilities in Gym Leader Challenge, boasting Energy acceleration, Ability lock, draw power, Bench protection and more. They also have access to arguably the best spread game in all of Gym Leader challenge with multiple Pokémon that place damage counters with attacks and Abilities. Psychic is probably one of the more difficult types to play, but also a tricky type to play against since there are so many strategies available to it and no single Weakness across the type’s variety of attackers. As proof of its potential, Tricky Gym moderator Tre McCarden was able to pilot his Psychic deck to a stunning victory over JW “FlexDaddyRighteous” Kriewall’s Lightning deck in the finals of the first ever Gym Leader Challenge 1K hosted at Full Grip Games.

Support Pokémon

Psychic has great Ability lock options with access to both Wobbuffet and Garbodor. It also has the best Bench protection in the format with both Mew and Mr. Mime (PLF) sporting the Bench Barrier Ability. Malamar and Xatu are great options for getting additional Energy into play, which can be further supplemented by one of the best Stadium cards ever printed, Dimension Valley. Psychic has gained some powerful draw and search Pokémon in recent sets with Gallade and Kirlia, making it not only a versatile type, but also a consistent one.

Attackers

If you’re like me, then you love Dragapult from Rebel Clash. There are few greater feelings in Pokémon than flipping heads, denying your opponent’s attack, then proceeding to use Phantom Force multiple turns in a row. Players from the Sun and Moon era will also be pleased to see that Giratina from Lost Thunder is back in style with Gym Leader Challenge and stronger than ever. Shadow Impact hits the magic number in GLC, 130, and what’s better is that you don’t ever have to waste a recovery card to recover it thanks to its Distortion Door Ability. Dragapult and Giratina are strong, but one of the biggest menaces in Psychic’s arsenal is Blacephalon from Cosmic Eclipse. Blacephalon’s Fireworks Bomb attack places an incredible 12 damage counters on the opponent’s board if they have three Prizes remaining. BEWARE THE THREE PRIZE TURN! If your opponent fails to respond to Blacephalon immediately, Fireworks Bomb can sweep the rest of the game.

Decklists

Buddy Catch

Credit: Tricky Gym

There are many different routes to take when building a Psychic type Gym Leader Challenge deck. Choosing a path can be tough! This list focuses on the incredible draw power afforded to Psychic types with Kirlia and Tinkaton. With both in play, you’ll be able to draw up to 5 additional cards per turn! Gallade’s Buddy Catch Ability allows you to exercise complete control over the game once set up, fetching perfectly timed Boss’s Orders or Hex Maniac to shut the opponent down while you pummel them with your best attackers.

Last Update: August 2024

  • 1 Clefairy VIV 63

    1 Clefable TWM 79

    1 Cleffa OBF 80

    1 Inkay FLI 50

    1 Malamar FLI 51

    1 Mew UNB 76

    1 Mewtwo CRZ 59

    1 Mimikyu GRI 58

    1 Necrozma UNM 101

    1 Ralts SIT 67

    1 Kirlia SIT 68

    1 Gallade ASR 62

    1 Tinkatink PAL 101

    1 Tinkatuff PAL 103

    1 Tinkaton PAL 105

    1 Wobbuffet GEN RC11

    1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

    1 Escape Rope BST 125

    1 Evolution Incense SSH 163

    1 Field Blower GRI 125

    1 Fog Crystal CRE 140

    1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

    1 Level Ball BST 129

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Nest Ball PAF 84

    1 Rare Candy PAF 89

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Scoop Up Net RCL 165

    1 Super Rod PAL 188

    1 Timer Ball SUM 134

    1 Town Map BKT 150

    1 Ultra Ball PAF 91

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 U-Turn Board UNM 211

    1 Dimension Valley PHF 93

    1 Parallel City BKT 145

    1 Ball Guy SHF 65

    1 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) PAL 172

    1 Colress PLS 118

    1 Gloria BRS 141

    1 Guzma BUS 115

    1 Hex Maniac AOR 75

    1 Iono PAF 80

    1 Lusamine CIN 96

    1 Marnie CPA 56

    1 N FCO 105

    1 Professor's Research PAF 87

    1 Raihan CRZ 140

    1 Tate & Liza CES 148

    1 Teammates PRC 141

    6 Basic Psychic Energy SVE 5

    1 Counter Energy CIN 100

    1 Horror Psychic Energy RCL 172

    1 Mystery Energy PHF 112

    1 Reversal Energy PAL 192

Ability Lock

Credit: Tricky Gym

Ability lock is one of the most powerful effects in the Pokémon TCG – most GLC decks rely heavily on abilities to set up and power up their Pokémon. So stopping your opponent from using these abilities they’ve built their decks around can allow you to decimate the game unopposed. As the name implies – this deck revolves around Garbodor’s Garbotoxin ability – attaching one of the deck’s five tools to Garbodor will turn off all abilities on the field. Because of this, the deck is built to rely on as few abilities as possible. You also have the option to go Item lock with Trevenant - and even with your own abilities turned off, Trevenant is a pretty decent attacker. Golurk and Necrozma hit incredibly hard, and can tear through opposing Pokémon who can’t rely on their abilities.

Last Update: August 2024

  • 1 Clefairy VIV 63

    1 Clefable TWM 79

    1 Cleffa OBF 80

    1 Golett CEC 89

    1 Golurk CRE 66

    1 Mewtwo CRZ 59

    1 Mimikyu GRI 58

    1 Necrozma UNM 101

    1 Nihilego LOT 106

    1 Shining Mew SLG 40

    1 Trubbish NVI 48

    1 Garbodor BKP 57

    1 Wobbuffet GEN RC11

    1 Enhanced Hammer TWM 148

    1 Evolution Incense SSH 163

    1 Field Blower GRI 125

    1 Fog Crystal CRE 140

    1 Heavy Ball BKT 140

    1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Nest Ball PAF 84

    1 Ordinary Rod SSH 171

    1 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186

    1 Quick Ball FST 237

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Town Map BKT 150

    1 Ultra Ball PAF 91

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 Air Balloon SSH 156

    1 Float Stone BKT 137

    1 Luxurious Cape PAR 166

    1 Technical Machine: Turbo Energize PAR 179

    1 U-Turn Board UNM 211

    1 Dimension Valley PHF 93

    1 Parallel City BKT 145

    1 Town Store OBF 196

    1 Arven OBF 186

    1 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) PAL 172

    1 Clavell PAL 177

    1 Colress's Experiment LOR 155

    1 Cynthia UPR 119

    1 Gloria BRS 141

    1 Guzma BUS 115

    1 Iono PAF 80

    1 Lusamine CIN 96

    1 Marnie CPA 56

    1 N FCO 105

    1 Professor's Research PAF 87

    1 Raihan CRZ 140

    1 Teammates PRC 141

    5 Basic Psychic Energy SVE 5

    1 Counter Energy CIN 100

    1 Double Colorless Energy SLG 69

    1 Horror Psychic Energy RCL 172

    1 Mystery Energy PHF 112

    1 Twin Energy RCL 174

Lost Zone

No need to fear the Lost Zone when you are piloting this deck, it can be an interesting way to lead you to victory! Just like in Standard Format, Sableye can be a real menace that spreads 12 damage counters anywhere you want on the board. Banette and Comfey work well together to help you get Colress’s Experiment out of the deck and reuse it to ensure you get to 10 in the Lost Zone as fast as possible. Once you have reached the magic number, this deck is built to bring Sableye back from this discard pile multiple turns in a row to apply an incredible amount of pressure and take huge multi-prize turns!

Last Update: August 2024

Credit: zmancuddles

  • 1 Cleffa OBF 80

    1 Comfey LOR 79

    1 Mew FCO 29

    1 Mewtwo UNB 75

    1 Mr. Mime PLF 47

    1 Sableye LOR 70

    1 Shuppet ROS 30

    1 Banette LOR 73

    1 Acro Bike CES 123

    1 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92

    1 Bicycle PLS 117

    1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

    1 Counter Catcher PAR 160

    1 Cram-o-matic FST 229

    1 Custom Catcher LOT 171

    1 Echoing Horn CRE 136

    1 Enhanced Hammer TWM 148

    1 Escape Rope BST 125

    1 Field Blower GRI 125

    1 Fog Crystal CRE 140

    1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

    1 Level Ball BST 129

    1 Lost Blender LOT 181

    1 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Pal Pad SVI 182

    1 Pokédex EVO 82

    1 Quick Ball FST 237

    1 Random Receiver FCO 109

    1 Rescue Carrier CRZ 142

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Scoop Up Net RCL 165

    1 Stadium Nav UNM 208

    1 Target Whistle Team Flare Gear PHF 106

    1 Trainers' Mail ROS 92

    1 Trekking Shoes CRZ 145

    1 Ultra Ball PAF 91

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 Float Stone BKT 137

    1 Rescue Scarf DRX 115

    1 Spell Tag LOT 190

    1 U-Turn Board UNM 211

    1 Vengeful Punch undefined 197

    1 Chaotic Swell CEC 187

    1 Jubilife Village ASR 148

    1 PokéStop PGO 68

    1 Colress's Experiment LOR 155

    1 Cyllene ASR 138

    1 Hex Maniac AOR 75

    1 Iono PAF 80

    1 Klara CRE 145

    1 Tulip PAR 181

    6 Basic Psychic Energy SVE 5

    1 Horror Psychic Energy RCL 172

    1 Mystery Energy PHF 112

Dusk Buddies

Okay so this deck uses Dusk Stone, which is objectively a really sweet card. It’s an Item card that allows you to instantly evolve Chandelure or Mismagius, even if their pre-evolution came into play this turn. Both Mismagius and Chandelure spread damage, so this deck leans into the spread potential of Psychic Pokémon, attempting to take multiple Prizes all at once. Try to get a turn one Mismagius and make the opponent think twice about how to knock it out!

Last Update: August 2024

Credit: Watto

  • 1 Azelf PR-XY XY142

    1 Blacephalon CEC 104

    1 Litwick LOT 101

    1 Lampent NVI 59

    1 Chandelure NVI 60

    1 Meloetta PR-XY XY193

    1 Mew UNB 76

    1 Misdreavus CIN 39

    1 Mismagius SIT 64

    1 Nihilego LOT 106

    1 Ralts ASR 60

    1 Kirlia SIT 68

    1 Gallade ASR 62

    1 Wobbuffet GEN RC11

    1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

    1 Dusk Stone UNB 167

    1 Escape Rope BST 125

    1 Evolution Incense SSH 163

    1 Fog Crystal CRE 140

    1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

    1 Level Ball BST 129

    1 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Nest Ball PAF 84

    1 Pal Pad SVI 182

    1 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186

    1 Quick Ball FST 237

    1 Rare Candy PAF 89

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Scoop Up Net RCL 165

    1 Timer Ball SUM 134

    1 Ultra Ball PAF 91

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 Air Balloon SSH 156

    1 Float Stone BKT 137

    1 Luxurious Cape PAR 166

    1 Spell Tag LOT 190

    1 Dimension Valley PHF 93

    1 Apricorn Maker CES 124

    1 Arven OBF 186

    1 Ball Guy SHF 65

    1 Colress PLS 118

    1 Cynthia UPR 119

    1 Gladion CIN 95

    1 Guzma BUS 115

    1 Iono PAF 80

    1 Lusamine CIN 96

    1 N FCO 105

    1 Raihan CRZ 140

    1 Rosa CEC 204

    1 Tulip PAR 181

    7 Basic Psychic Energy SVE 5

    1 Horror Psychic Energy RCL 172

    1 Mystery Energy PHF 112

Combo Psychic

Credit: skilledatluck

Xatu and Malamar are the best Psychic type Energy accelerators, and this list uses them to power up hard-hitting attackers like Giratina and Latios. While powering up attackers with Energy accelerators is pretty standard, this build flexes a couple of neat combos that are definitely worth trying out!

In this list you can use Giratina’s Shadow Impact attack to damage your own Scream Tail, powering up it’s Roaring Scream attack to deal 160 damage. You can also try using Giratina’s Distortion Door Ability to place a damage counter on the opponent’s benched Pokémon, then use Technical Machine: Blindside on Natu to finish it off and take a bonus prize!

Last Update: June 2024

Tropical Beach Alternative: Jubilife Village

  • 1 Giratina LOT 97

    1 Inkay FLI 50

    1 Malamar FLI 51

    1 Latios PAR 73

    1 Mew UNB 76

    1 Mimikyu GRI 58

    1 Natu ROS 28

    1 Xatu PAF 26

    1 Ralts PLS 59

    1 Kirlia SIT 68

    1 Gallade ASR 62

    1 Scream Tail PAR 86

    1 Wobbuffet GEN RC11

    1 Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92

    1 Battle VIP Pass FST 225

    1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

    1 Devolution Spray EVO 76

    1 Evolution Incense SSH 163

    1 Field Blower GRI 125

    1 Fog Crystal CRE 140

    1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

    1 Level Ball BST 129

    1 Mysterious Treasure FLI 113

    1 Nest Ball PAF 84

    1 Quick Ball FST 237

    1 Rescue Stretcher GRI 130

    1 Scoop Up Net RCL 165

    1 Trainers' Mail ROS 92

    1 Ultra Ball PAF 91

    1 VS Seeker PHF 109

    1 Float Stone BKT 137

    1 Technical Machine: Blindside PAR 176

    1 U-Turn Board UNM 211

    1 Artazon PAF 76

    1 Dimension Valley PHF 93

    1 Tropical Beach PR-BLW BW28

    1 Arven OBF 186

    1 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) PAL 172

    1 Colress PLS 118

    1 Cynthia UPR 119

    1 Guzma BUS 115

    1 Guzma & Hala CEC 193

    1 Hex Maniac AOR 75

    1 Iono PAF 80

    1 Lt. Surge's Strategy UNB 178

    1 Lusamine CIN 96

    1 Marnie CPA 56

    1 N FCO 105

    1 Raihan CRZ 140

    1 Teammates PRC 141

    1 Tulip PAR 181

    6 Basic Psychic Energy SVE 5

    1 Counter Energy CIN 100

    1 Mystery Energy PHF 112

    1 Recycle Energy UNM 212

Looking for more ideas or feedback on your deck?

Check out the Tricky Gym Discord’s #glc-decklists channel and Cardboard Warriors Community Decks page for more inspiration!