Searching Standard: Raging Bolt EX

Hello and welcome to another episode of Searching Standard, where each and every week I look for new, innovative decks for you to play in Standard. This week, I'm looking at a deck that was recently featured on the YouTube channel of LittleDarkFury. It features Raging Bolt ex TEF 123, who is capable of Knocking Out any opposing Active Pokemon. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Raging Bolt ex TEF 123 is a great attacker for this deck, as its Bellowing Thunder attack can deal a variable amount of damage based on the number of Basic Energy you discard from your Pokemon. It also has the Burst Roar attack, which has you discard your hand to draw 6 new cards. This can be a great way to get Energy into your discard pile, which, you'll soon see, is something you'll want to do.

One reason to get Energy into your discard pile is so that you can use Sandy Shocks ex PAR 108's Magnetic Absorption Ability. This Ability allows you to attach a Basic Fighting Energy from your discard pile to Sandy Shocks ex PAR 108 once per turn, provided that your opponent has already taken 2 of their Prize cards. Doing this allows you to attack with Sandy Shocks ex PAR 108's Earthen Spike attack, plus this Energy can be used for additional damage when you use Raging Bolt ex TEF 123's Bellowing Thunder attack.

Another way to accelerate the amount of Energy you have on your Pokemon is with the use of Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40's Star Portal Ability VSTAR Power. Getting three Water Energy from your discard pile onto your Pokemon can equate to an extra 210 damage when using Raging Bolt ex TEF 123's Bellowing Thunder attack. It can also allow you to power up Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40's own Subspace Swell attack, which can also deal a ton of damage, depending on the number of Benched Pokemon in play.

Alternatively, you can use Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40's Star Portal Ability VSTAR Power to power up Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Moonlight Shuriken attack. This attack can potentially allow you to Knock Out two of your opponent's Pokemon at once. The main problem with this attack is that your opponent can have Manaphy BRS 41 in play. Its Wave Veil Ability can be a problem, but if you can move it to your opponent's Active Spot, you can play Canceling Cologne ASR 136 to negate Wave Veil for the rest of the turn, allowing you to damage your opponent's team at will.

The remaining Pokemon are primarily included for their useful Abilities. Squawkabilly ex PAL 169's Squawk and Seize Ability helps you recover from a less-than-stellar opening hand, plus you can get some Basic Energy into your discard pile right away. Mew ex MEW 151 has the Restart Ability, which allows you to draw cards until you have three cards in your hand. This can be a very helpful way of drawing extra cards without using your Supporter for the turn.

One of the most important Supporters in this deck is Professor Sada's Vitality PAR 170. Playing this both accelerates your Energy, as well as allowing you to draw extra cards. Energy Switch SVI 173 is a useful way of moving around the Energy you are attaching from your discard pile. This can be especially useful for moving Fighting Energy from Sandy Shocks ex PAR 108. And, since it's important to find Professor Sada's Vitality PAR 170, this deck has a few copies of Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186 to help you in your search.

In any deck with Ancient Pokemon, you're sure to find some amount of Ancient Booster Energy Capsule PAR 159. Not only does this help boost the HP of the Ancient Pokemon it's attached to, but it also protects that Pokemon from Special Conditions. Earthen Vessel PAR 163 is a great way to find much needed Energy from your deck, plus it provides you another opportunity to discard Energy from your hand if you have a surplus.

Prime Catcher TEF 157 is the ACE SPEC in this deck, and it's possibly the best ACE SPEC in Standard. Much like Boss's Orders PAL 172, which is also included in this deck, Prime Catcher TEF 157 allows you to switch your opponent's Active Pokemon with a Pokemon from their Bench of your choosing. You'll also have to do the same, but since you're the one moving Pokemon around, you can be prepared for it. There are also two copies of Switch SVI 194 in this deck that you can use for those times your opponent moves your Pokemon from Active Spot to Bench.

Finding the Pokemon you need from within your deck is very important. This deck utilizes both Nest Ball SVI 181 and Ultra Ball SVI 196 for help with this. Irida ASR 147 can also find a Pokemon, albeit a Water Type pokemon only, plus an Item card, both of which will go to your hand.

Drawing extra cards each turn can help you find what you need more quickly. This deck includes a variety of methods to draw additional cards. Professor's Research SVI 190 lets you draw seven cards, but it forces you to discard all of the cards in your hand prior to drawing these new cards. Cycling Road MEW 157 can counter a Stadium played by your opponent, plus it acts as a mini form of Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Concealed Cards Ability. Finally, while Iono PAL 185 can help you draw a new hand of cards, it can also be used to stifle your opponent's progress, especially if they are ahead on taking Prize cards.

The final pair of Trainer cards are generally useful cards that are found in many decks. Lost Vacuum LOR 162 can be a great way to counter a Stadium that benefits your opponent or a Pokemon Tool your opponent has attached to one of their Pokemon. Since there are a lot of great Supporters in this deck, it's no surprise to find a copy of Pal Pad SVI 182, which offers you the chance to play a pair of them again, if you manage to draw them back from your deck.

Wrapping Up

Now that Temporal Forces has been released and Standard rotation has happened, you might find yourself looking for a new deck to play. Give this one a try, as it looks to have all of the tools needed to make it one of the best for the foreseeable future.

What do you think of this deck? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in the Pokemon TCG. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes