Squirtle Squad
Squirtle-line fans finally have a reason to open the Pokémon TCG Pocket app and stay a while. The Crimson Blaze expansion put a full Mega Blastoise ex into the mobile game, and for the first time the classic Water-type starter has a competitive digital home that rewards the exact patience Blastoise has always demanded. This guide walks through the card itself, the strongest way to build around it, the energy math that makes or breaks a game, and the matchups that will punish a sloppy pilot.
If your collecting instincts run toward cardboard, this is a different beast. A TCG Pocket deck lives on your phone, it costs no shipping, and it never needs a sleeve. But the strategy overlaps with the tabletop game in satisfying ways, and building the Squirtle evolution line one tap at a time scratches the same itch.
What Crimson Blaze Actually Added
Crimson Blaze launched on December 16, 2025, as the B1a mini-set inside Pokémon TCG Pocket, following the larger Mega Rising expansion that first introduced Mega Evolution to the app. According to [The Pokémon Company's official Crimson Blaze announcement](https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/the-crimson-blaze-expansion-brings-the-heat-to-pokemon-tcg-pocket), the set brought the Mega Evolutions of all three Kanto starters into the game at once: Mega Charizard Y ex, Mega Venusaur ex, and Mega Blastoise ex.
That trio launching together is a nostalgic moment for anyone who grew up with the original Base Set starter split. In the physical hobby, Blastoise has spent decades in Charizard's shadow. Inside TCG Pocket, the three Kanto Mega cards arrived as equals, each with its own art and its own deck archetype, which gives the Water-type starter a genuine seat at the table.
The headline stat. Mega Blastoise ex is a Stage Two Water-type with 230 HP, one of the beefier bodies in the format. That bulk is a big part of why the deck functions the way it does.
Reading the Mega Blastoise ex Card
Before building anything, it helps to understand exactly what the card does and where its edges are.
Triple Bombardment is the attack that defines the deck. It costs 3 Water Energy and deals 130 damage to the active Pokémon. The bonus clause is where things get interesting: if Mega Blastoise ex has extra Water Energy attached beyond the base cost, the attack can also snipe damage onto benched Pokémon. Stacking energy turns a single attack into board-wide pressure, which is a very Blastoise way to win.
A few numbers to keep honest, because they shape every decision you make:
- **HP:** 230, high enough to survive most single hits and force two-turn answers.
- **Retreat cost:** 3 Colorless, which is genuinely steep. A stranded Mega Blastoise ex is a real liability, so you rarely want to pivot it out once it is active.
- **Weakness:** Lightning and Grass types hit it for extra damage, so certain matchups get scary fast.
- **Mega rule:** Like every Mega ex, when it is knocked out the opponent takes 3 points instead of the usual 2. Trading it away carelessly can lose you the game in a single exchange.
That last point is the strategic heart of the whole archetype. A Mega ex is a high-value target, so the deck has to protect its investment and make every Triple Bombardment count.
The Best Mega Blastoise ex Deck Build
TCG Pocket decks are only 20 cards, so every slot is precious and the ramp package matters more than raw attackers. Community deck lists and guides such as [Game8's Mega Blastoise ex deck breakdown](https://game8.co/games/Pokemon-TCG-Pocket/archives/571688) converge on a similar shape, and the core looks like this:
The Squirtle line. Run 2 Squirtle and enough evolution support to reliably reach the top of the chain. Because Mega Blastoise ex is a Stage Two, you want Rare Candy to skip Wartortle when your hand cooperates, but keeping a Wartortle or two as a backup path prevents dead draws.
The energy engine. This is the part that wins games. Manaphy is the standout accelerator because it can spread Water Energy across your bench, letting you load a Squirtle before it even evolves. Pair that with 2 Misty, the classic Water-type coin-flip supporter that can dump multiple energy in one lucky turn. The whole deck is built to stack Water Energy quickly so Triple Bombardment starts sniping the bench as early as possible.
The trainer shell. Fill out the rest with 2 Rare Candy for the evolution skip, draw supporters like Professor's Research or a Copycat to refresh a dead hand, and a removal or gust option such as Cyrus to drag a wounded benched threat into range of a snipe. Exact counts shift with the current meta, so treat any list as a starting point rather than gospel.
The gameplan is simple to describe and hard to execute cleanly. Establish a Squirtle on the bench, protect your active while Manaphy and Misty pour on energy, evolve into Mega Blastoise ex once you have surplus Water Energy, then start firing Triple Bombardment to hit the active and soften the bench at the same time.
Energy Math That Wins Games
Here is the mental model that separates a coin-flip deck from a consistent one. The base attack needs 3 energy. To trigger the snipe, you want at least 3 more attached, so the real target is roughly 6 Water Energy sitting on Mega Blastoise ex. That is a lot to assemble by hand, which is precisely why the acceleration package is non-negotiable.
Every turn you spend not building toward that 6-energy threshold is a turn your opponent uses to set up. The deck plays like a slow-burn control shell that suddenly flips into an overwhelming board once the energy is online. Get there and you dictate the game. Fall behind on ramp and the steep retreat cost leaves you stuck defending with a half-charged attacker.
For anyone who loves the physical side of the hobby too, the digital Mega Blastoise ex reflects how the character has been printed across paper sets over the years. Our [Mega Blastoise card collection guide](/blog/mega-blastoise-card-collection-guide-every-mega-evolution-card-from-xy-to-present) covers those tabletop releases from XY forward, and if you want the deeper explanation of why Blastoise's Mega form hits so hard thematically, the [Blastoise Mega Evolution mechanics explainer](/blog/blastoise-mega-evolution-mechanics-explained) breaks down the design.
Matchups and Counters to Respect
No deck exists in a vacuum, and Mega Blastoise ex has clear predators.
Lightning and Grass decks exploit its weakness directly. A Mega Ampharos ex or Mega Venusaur ex build can push extra damage through that 230 HP faster than you would like, so those matchups reward getting the snipe online early and racing rather than grinding.
Low-HP tech attackers are a subtler threat. Some builds run a Pom Pom Oricorio specifically because it can tank a Triple Bombardment and then punch back into Blastoise's weakness. When you see a counter like that, the answer is often to pressure the bench and remove the enabler before it matters.
Your own ramp Pokémon are targets. Manaphy has a small body, and a savvy opponent will gust it into the active and knock it out to stall your energy engine. Protecting the accelerator is frequently more important than protecting the attacker itself, at least in the early turns.
The through-line: this is a setup deck, and every counter in the format is really trying to disrupt the setup rather than out-muscle a fully-loaded Mega Blastoise ex. Once it is online with six energy and sniping the bench, very little wants to sit across from it.
Bringing the Squirtle Squad Off-Screen
A digital deck is a great excuse to celebrate the character in the physical world too, and the Squirtle line has never had more merchandise to show for it. If the app has you appreciating Blastoise's cannon-shelled bulk all over again, a display piece brings that energy to your desk. [→ Shop Blastoise figure on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=blastoise+figure&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) to put the Water-type starter next to your phone during ladder grinds. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Building a deck around the full evolution chain also makes the whole line feel like a team again, which is the perfect nudge to collect the trio in plush form. A [→ Shop Squirtle Wartortle Blastoise plush set on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=squirtle+wartortle+blastoise+plush+set&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) lines up the evolution stages exactly the way you sequence them in a match.
And if you play TCG Pocket enough to care about the paper game too, protecting any real Blastoise cards you own is worth doing before you chase grades. [→ Shop Pokemon card binder on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pokemon+card+binder&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) to keep your physical Squirtle-line pulls organized while your digital squad handles the ladder. For a broader look at building out the character's collection beyond cards, our [Wartortle merchandise and collectibles guide](/blog/wartortle-merchandise-collectibles-guide) covers the middle evolution that too many collectors skip.
The Bottom Line
Mega Blastoise ex is the most compelling reason the Squirtle line has had to open Pokémon TCG Pocket since launch. The card rewards the exact identity Blastoise has always carried: patient, bulky, and devastating once it gets going. Build the energy engine, respect the steep retreat cost and the Mega knockout penalty, protect your accelerators, and let Triple Bombardment do what a fully-charged water cannon should.
Deck lists and the meta will keep shifting as new expansions land, so treat specific counts as a snapshot rather than a permanent answer, and check a current card database before you lock in a build. But the core lesson holds no matter how the format moves: with the right ramp, the Water-type starter finally gets to be the headliner, on your phone and on your shelf.