Part 2: Post Rotation Best Cards in FormatPart 2: Post Rotation Best Cards in Format
The Payoff with Pete
Corey and Jared break down the upcoming Pokémon TCG rotation, saying goodbye to Radiants, Vs, VSTARs and Lost Box while debating which decks still look viable. Their conversation mixes live gameplay, meta analysis and humour as they assess the future of major archetypes and key cards leaving Standard.
1:15:11•22 Mar 2025
Saying Goodbye to Radiants, Vs and Lost Box: Post-Rotation Winners and Casualties
Episode Overview
- Radiant Pokémon, especially Radiant Greninja, are highlighted as some of the most impactful single-slot cards ever printed, and their loss is expected to reshape many engines.
- The departure of Comfey, Colress’s Experiment and Lost Vacuum signals the effective end of classic Lost Box builds and the flexible toolbox style they allowed.
- Key Vs and VSTARs like Lugia, Arceus, Palkia and Lumineon V are framed as format-defining, with debate over which deserve top billing for overall impact.
- Losing cards such as Irida, Double Turbo Energy, PokéStop, Collapse Stadium and Hisuian Heavy Ball is predicted to hurt water decks, special-energy strategies and many consistency engines.
- Several archetypes—Dragapult, Gardevoir ex, Goldengo, Archaludon, Charizard ex and Miraidon—are judged likely to remain relevant, while others like Snorlax stall, Lugia and Chi-Yu/Pao are seen as effectively finished.
“Lostbox is done, my friend.”
What makes a card rotation feel like a full-on breakup for competitive players? This chat between Corey and Jared on *Teach Me Pokémon* Zeroes in on the post-rotation Pokémon TCG meta and which decks might survive the shake-up. Kicking off by playing Gardevoir live, Corey jokes he’s “probably world’s best gardevoir player” while saying a bittersweet goodbye to the Refinement Curlia engine.
From there, the pair run through a who’s-who of cards and archetypes about to leave Standard: Radiant Pokémon, Vs and VSTARs, Lost Box pieces, and key trainers and energies. Radiant cards get a big emotional send-off. Jared calls Radiant Greninja “by far the MVP of the radiant set”, and the two laugh about it being the Charles Barkley of Pokémon: dominant all season, never quite closing in finals.
They argue how much Lost Box depended on Greninja and Comfey, and whether anything can really fill that creative deck-building gap. You’ll also hear them rate the impact of heavyweights like Lugia, Arceus, Mew VMAX, Lumineon V and Raikou V, while debating which deserves a place on the “V Mount Rushmore”. They break down how losing tools like Lost Vacuum, PokéStop, Irida, Double Turbo Energy and Collapse Stadium will reshape strategy, from tool-heavy builds to sniping and stall.
The back half turns into a rapid-fire viability check on top decks: Dragapult, Gardevoir ex, Regidrago, Lugia, Goldengo, Archaludon, Charizard ex, Miraidon, Raging Bolt, “Snorlax stall”, Chi-Yu/Pao, and more. Expect blunt verdicts like “Lostbox is done, my friend” alongside playful metaphors, including Simba, summer camp crushes, and a whole circle-of-life monologue for stall.
If you’re trying to decide whether to rebuild, retire, or reinvent your favourite list after rotation, this card-by-card chat gives you plenty to chew on with a healthy dose of banter. Which of your decks are you ready to let go of, and which are you secretly convinced will live forever?
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