Own the best cards there ever was.

By Toby Saunders

Published: Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 16:54 PM

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If you’re looking to get into the TCG scene, you’ll want to know what the best Pokémon cards to collect and use are.

Fortunately, we’ve done some research to find that out for you – so you don’t need to look anywhere else.

There are thousands of cards to find and use in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, with each one offering its own strengths and weaknesses.

As you’d expect, though, there is an elite small selection of Pokémon cards that are the best there ever was.

While the choice of what cards to use is ultimately up to you and is affected by your preferred play style – if you’d rather use the cards featuring your favourite Pokémon or artwork, be our guest! – a number do jump out as being the best of the best.

What makes a card the best is up for debate, with attack power, artwork, rarity (check out our list of the rarest) and effect on battles all taken into account. We’ve selected a few of our favourites that we think are definitely worth seeking out.

Read on to find our list of the 13 best Pokémon cards to collect and use in battles.

Best Pokémon cards: 13 elite TCG cards to collect & use

Mewtwo & Mew GX

The Mewtwo and Mew GX Tag Team card not only features incredibly cool artwork but also has excellent 270 HP and a staggeringly good move set.

Its attack, Miraculous Duo GX deals 200 damage and can heal all damage on your Pokémon (if you use another energy on top of the two required). Its ability, meanwhile – Perfection – lets you use any attack of any Pokémon on your Bench or in your discard pile.

Double Colourless Energy

A double Energy card is a must if you want to get an upper hand on your opponent in a Pokémon TCG match. The Double Colourless Energy card was the original and is still just as good today as it was back in 1998.

Professor Oak/Professor’s Research

The original Professor Oak Trainer Card remains one of the best that has ever been released. It still gets kinda reprinted as a Trainer Supporter card now named Professor’s Research.

This support card lets you discard your entire hand and draw seven new cards from your deck. If you’re planning some competitive play it’s definitely worth tracking down one of these cards.

Charizard

What good would a Pokémon TCG deck be without a Charizard card? The original design is still the best in our book, and while you might think that’s just nostalgia talking, its stats are enviable.

150HP, Fire Spin that deals 200 damage, and the ability to turn other energy cards you have attached to the classic Pokémon into fire energy in the XY Evolutions reprint? What a legendary card this is – if you can find one.

Zoroark GX

Zoroark GX is one of those rare cards with two attacks and an ability – all of them will prove useful. Zoroark GX’s Trade ability allows you to discard one card from your hand and draw two more (once a turn before you attack).

Attacks, meanwhile, come in the form of Riotous Beating and Trickster-GX. Riotous Beating deals 20 damage timesed by the number of Pokémon you have in play.

Trickster-GX, meanwhile, lets you use one of your opponent’s attacks in place of Trickster-GX – just the one replacement attack per game.

Shaymin EX

While there are a couple of different Shaymin EX cards that’ll do a good job for you, the best of the lot is undoubtedly the one with the Set Up ability. Set Up allows you to draw cards until you have six in your hand upon playing the card onto your Bench.

Sky Return isn’t too bad an attack, either, with a base power of 30 – and it lets you return the Pokémon and any attached cards to your hand.

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX

What’s better than two Legendary Pokémon on the same card? Three, of course. None come quite so cool as the Arceus and Dialga and Palkia GX card.

The three Legendaries combine for 280HP, and the card’s Ultimate Ray attack does 150 damage and lets you shuffle your deck for up to three basic Energy cards to attach to your Pokémon in any way you want.

Finally, its Altered Creation GX attack allows you to stack 30 more damage to your opponent’s active Pokémon. A stellar card, this.

Radiant Greninja

This rare Pokémon’s 130HP is backed up by the Concealed Cards ability, which lets you discard an Energy card from your hand to draw two new cards.

Moonlight Shuriken, meanwhile, is a powerful attack that deals 90 damage to two of your opponent’s Pokémon after discarding two Energy cards.

N

Everyone’s favourite villain/anti-hero N also makes for a great Pokémon card. Use this Trainer Supporter card to force you and your opponent into shuffling your hands into your decks. Both players then draw a card for each of their remaining Prize cards.

Lysandre’s Trump Card

Lysandre’s Trump Card is so powerful that you’ll find it’s been banned from competitive play. This doesn’t stop you from using it against your friends, though [insert side eyes emoji].

Playing this Trainer Supporter card makes both players shuffle all of their cards from their discard pile into their deck – except from Lysandre’s Trump Card.

Tapu Lele GX

The Wonder Tag ability of this card lets you search for a Supporter card and put it into your hand. Energy Drive deals 20 damage times the amount of Energy attached to both active Pokémon in play.

Tapu Cure GX, meanwhile, lets you heal all damage accumulated by two of your benched Pokémon once in a game.

Pigeot EX

New in the Scarlet and Violet – Obsidian Flames set of cards, the Pigeot EX card is a lethal attacker thanks to Blustery Wind, which deals 120 damage and allows you to discard a Stadium card if you wish, and has the Quick Search ability.

The Quick Search ability allows you to search your deck for a card to put straight into your hand once a turn. Pigeot EX’s 280HP doesn’t hurt, either.

Comfey

You wouldn’t necessarily think Comfey would be a particularly popular card in the competitive scene – but it is. If you have the Comfey card with Flower Selecting ability, you have one of the top cards at your disposal.

Flower Selecting lets you take a look at the top two cards in your deck and put one of them into your hand – the other goes in the Lost Zone. Spinning Attack, meanwhile, is a solid enough basic attack that deals 30 damage.