Pokemon TCG Pocket: Mega Gyarados ex Deck Guide

The Mega Rising expansion of the Pokemon TCG Pocket game has brought back one of the most feared Water icons of the Kanto era: Mega Gyarados ex. In the Meta 2026, Mega Gyarados ex is the only "Mill-Tank" strategy. Mega Gyarados ex boasts high HP and an attack to discard the opponent's entire deck. It is all about draining the opponent’s resources while taking huge hits.

Although it is currently sitting in tier 2 with an average winning percentage of 40% due to the quick nature of Fire and Lightning Aggro decks, a well-played Mega Gyarados deck still is a nightmare to take on for control and mid-range decks. Let’s follow LDShop as this guide has everything you need to know about how to build and play Mega Gyarados ex.

The Deck List: Essential Components

Card Name	Quantity	Role
Magikarp	2	Evolution Base
Mega Gyarados ex	2	Main attacker / Deck Miller
Jellicent (Mega Rising)	2	Mid-Game Energy Ramp
Manaphy	1	Bench Energy Distribution
Gyarados (Genetic Apex)	1	Non-ex Attacker (Anti-Safeguard)
Lisia	2	Essential Search (finds Magikarp / Jellicent)
Irida	2	Sustainability & Mass Healing
Misty	1	High-Roll Energy support
Professor’s Research	2	Core Draw Power
Sabrina	1	Tactical Bench Disruption
Red Card	1	Hand Size Disruption
Elemental Switch	1	Energy Mobility
Poke Ball	2	Basic Consistency

Detailed Card Breakdown

The Main Attacker: Mega Gyarados ex

• HP: 210 (Huge bulk, survives most hits).
• Attack: Mega Blaster (140 Damage).
• Effect: Discard the top 3 cards of your opponent’s deck.
• Cost: 3 Water Energy + 1 Colorless.

Mega Gyarados ex is your main win condition. In a game where deck sizes are only 20 cards, having to discard 3 cards is devastating. By the time you get to play your second Mega Blaster, you've effectively removed 30% of your opponent's deck. This is often their one copy of their "tech" cards, their Stage 2 evolution pieces, before they even get to draw them.

The 2026 Engine: Jellicent & Manaphy

Mega Gyarados ex is energy hungry, needing four energy to fire its main cannon.

• Jellicent: This has replaced Mantyke in the meta for 2026. Its ability, Bouncy Body, allows you to attach one Water Energy from your Energy Zone to a Benched Pokemon whenever Jellicent takes damage in the Active Spot. This allows you to evolve your Gyarados while your opponent charges it for you.
• Manaphy: Use its Oceanic Gift to power multiple benched Pokemon. This will make sure that if your first Mega Gyarados is knocked out, you will already have a second one ready.

The Backup: Standard Gyarados

In the present meta, Pom-Pom Style Oricorio is a frequent counter to ex-heavy decks due to its Safeguard ability, which prevents all damage from Pokemon ex.

Strategy: You need to include a classic Gyarados (Genetic Apex) in your deck, It's the Hyper Beam that deals 100 damage, which isn't an ex-attack. And allowing you to one-shot Oricorio while breaking through "anti-ex" walls.

Key Support Cards

• Lisia: Use Lisia on Turn 1 to search specifically for Magikarp (30 HP) and Manaphy (50 HP). Under the rules in 2026, Lisia searches only basic cards with 50 HP or lower. Since Frillish is 60 HP and Jellicent is a Stage 1, they cannot be searched in this manner, and you must use Professor’s Research or Poke Ball to search your Jellicent.
• Irida: This is your main defensive play, healing 40 damage from every Pokemon on your field that have Water Energy attached. In practice, it resets the math on your opponent, meaning they must take 3 or even 4 turns to kill a Mega Gyarados.
• Misty: While RNG-dependent, Misty remains the only way to get Mega Gyarados attacking as early as Turn 2.
• Red Card: Best used right after your opponent uses a search card like Lisia or Professor's Research. It forces them to shuffle their curated hand back into the deck.

How to Use the Mega Gyarados ex Deck Effectively

Your main goal is to get Jellicent into the Active Spot and Magikarp on the Bench. Use Lisia to find your Magikarp and Manaphy setup. You must rely on Poke Balls or Professor's Research to find your Frillish and Jellicent. Let Jellicent take some hits. This will trigger Bouncy Body on Jellicent. Bouncy Body, on Jellicent is really useful because it helps to send energy to Magikarp on the bench.

Evolve into Mega Gyarados ex. If you have been lucky with Misty or Jellicent’s ability, you should have four Energy ready to attack. If you are missing key cards from this high-rarity deck, many players choose to use a Pokemon TCG Pocket top up to obtain Gems or Pack Points needed to craft Mega Gyarados ex, which costs 1,500 Pack Points, instead of relying only on low pull rates from packs. The best platform to make the top-up is LDShop, it lets players top up for less and it is a great way to save money.

When Mega Gyarados is active, the main thing to think about is sustainability. You should use Irida every time your health gets below 120. While Mega Gyarados deals 140 damage you need to keep an eye on how many cards your opponent has left in their deck. If your opponent has three or fewer cards remaining, attacking usually forces an immediate or unavoidable deck-out on their next turn.

Tip: With the rise of high-damage Lightning decks, your Heavy Helmet is essential for survival. However, if your Mega Gyarados is about to be knocked out despite the defense, use Elemental Switch. Moving that energy to a benched Magikarp before your Active Pokemon goes down ensures you can immediately promote a second Gyarados and continue the mill without losing a single turn of momentum.

Best Counter Strategies to Mega Gyarados ex

• Mega Blaziken ex & Entei ex: Fire decks are the natural predator of Water control. They move faster and can attack for 150+ damage prior to Gyarados charging. Against Fire, you have no choice but to rely on Red Card heavily in order to slow down their deck.
• Pikachu ex (Lightning Aggro): Gyarados with a Lightning Weakness, and if Pikachu ex is fully benched, the damage potential is tremendous. In this deck, the strategy is the same as the previous one, which is milling as quickly as possible, since you will surely lose the prize card battle.
• Mega Absol ex: Dark decks are all about discarding your hand. If they discard your Mega Gyarados evolution card before you play it, the deck loses. Keep your evolution pieces in the deck by using Poke Ball rather than your hands when facing Dark decks.

Alternate Tech Card Options

Depending on the decks that you may be facing on the ladder, you can replace the Tactical Disruption cards with the following ones:

• Milotic: If yourself facing “Spread Damage” based decks (such as Greninja or Starmie builds), Milotic's healing of 60 HP is better than Irida's 40, which means that you are allowing a dying Gyarados to be saved from the brink.
• Sabrina vs. Cyrus: In cases where your opponent has a damaged Pokemon hiding away on the bench so that you can’t acquire the final reward, Cyrus will be a better tech. If you want your Pokemon with a high retreat cost to move into the Active Spot, you can’t go wrong with Sabrina.

Conclusion

Mega Gyarados ex "Mill-Tank" is the definitive control pick for the 2026 Mega Rising meta. Take a slow setup and make it an immovable wall by utilizing the energy acceleration from Jellicent and Irida’s mass-healing. While aggro decks like Pikachu ex prove to be a challenge, the inevitability of Mega Blaster's triple-mill effect makes the victory only a few turns away. Master the defensive timing and resource management outlined here, and you will systematically take your opponent's deck apart until their defeat is absolute.