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 DarkIntegralGaming. It features a pair of Vespiquen protecting their Sweet Honey ASR 153. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck.

This deck is primarily built around having either Vespiquen ASR 12 or Vespiquen PAL 9 as your main attacker, as each of them has a great attack that can be used for a single Grass Energy. Vespiquen ASR 12 has the Honey Rush attack, which will deal 60 damage for each copy of Sweet Honey ASR 153 you reveal from your hand. The newest Vespiquen, Vespiquen PAL 9, has the Order a Raid attack, which will deal 120 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon as long as you have a Benched Combee ASR 11 that you can shuffle back into your deck. If you're not able to do this, you'll want to use Double Stab, which will do much less damage.

Thanks to its Entrusted Wishes Ability, Radiant Jirachi SIT 120 provides you with a guaranteed way to search your deck for three copies of Sweet Honey ASR 153, if you need them. Of course, this is dependent on your opponent Knocking Out Radiant Jirachi SIT 120. Getting Radiant Jirachi SIT 120 Knocked Out also helps you play Luxray PAL 71 as well, as it might make you have more Prize cards remaining than your opponent. Luxray PAL 71 makes for a decent back-up attacker thanks to its Wild Charge attack, which will deal 180 damage when used.

Another alternate attacker for this deck is Gardevoir CRE 61. It has the Brainwave attack, and if you've taken fewer Prizes than your opponent has, you can use this attack with a single Reversal Energy PAL 192 attached to deal 150 damage. Before evolving, Kirlia SIT 68 can help you draw additional cards with its Refinement Ability. You'll often find this Ability to be useful since some of the most popular Supporters that draw additional cards can't be played in this deck as they require you to discard your hand or shuffle it back into your deck.

Milotic EVS 38 is another Pokemon that is passable as a back-up attacker, but its primary function will be for the use of its Ability. Dew Guard prevents any effects of a Supporter played by your opponent that would be done to you or your Pokemon. That means your hand will be safe from disruption, and your Pokemon will remain in place, right where you put them. Manaphy BRS 41's inclusion is due to it having the Wave Veil Ability, which will keep your Benched Pokemon safe from any damage your opponent might try to inflict upon them.

As mentioned earlier, Sweet Honey ASR 153 is meant to be drawn into your hand, where it should stay for the remainder of the game, or at least until all of your copies of Vespiquen ASR 12 have been Knocked Out. With a copy of Artazon PAL 171 in play, you'll be able to search your deck each turn for a Basic Pokemon that doesn't have a Rule Box to put onto your Bench. This is a great way to make sure you always have a copy of Combee ASR 11 on your Bench to allow Vespiquen PAL 9 to attack each turn.

When you play Capturing Aroma SIT 153, you're sure to get something useful for this deck, whether that's a Basic Pokemon or an Evolution Pokemon. You can also play Level Ball BST 129 to help find you any Pokemon that has 90 HP or less.

We've reached the Supporters in this deck that help you draw extra cards. While there's only a couple of them, both will be helpful, and neither of them will force you to discard any cards. Cynthia's Ambition BRS 138 allows you to either draw cards until you have five cards in your hand, or until you have eight cards in hand if you had a Pokemon get Knocked Out on the previous turn. Avery CRE 130 lets you draw three cards, while also reducing the amount of Pokemon in play on your opponent's Bench.

To make the most of your attacks, you can use Boss's Orders SHF 58 as a way to select a specific Pokemon you want to attack. Escape Rope BST 125 is similar, as your opponent will need to switch their Active Pokemon with one from their Bench, but your opponent gets to choose which Pokemon moves to their Active Spot. Also remember, when you play Escape Rope BST 125, you'll have to switch your Pokemon as well.

The final batch of cards in this deck are all useful for returning cards from your discard pile to your deck or to your hand. Super Rod PAL 188 is a great way of shuffling back up to three Pokemon and/or Energy cards back into your deck. Similarly, Klara CRE 145 can return a pair of Pokemon and or a pair of Basic Energy cards from your discard pile to your hand. Finally, by playing Pal Pad SVI 182, you shuffle up to two Supporters back into your deck, where they can potentially be played again.

Wrapping Up

While neither Vespiquen PAL 9 or Vespiquen ASR 12 are super powerful attackers, they both have the potential to Knock Out most opposing pokemon in a couple of attacks. By targeting Pokemon that provide you with multiple Prize cards when they are Knocked Out, you can outpace your opponent, since your Pokemon will only provide them with one Prize card when they get KO'd.

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