Gallade ex – Space-Time Smackdown
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
We’re looking at Gallade ex (A2 095, 185, 200)! He’s a (F) Type, Stage 2, Pokémon ex that evolves from Kirlia, who in turn evolves from Ralts. It has 170 HP, (P) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and one attack. “Energized Blade” costs (F)(F), and lets Gallade ex attack the opponent’s Active for 70 damage plus 20 per Energy attached to that opposing Active. There are three releases of this Gallade ex: one at the ♦♦♦♦ rarity, and two ★★ rares.
The two major drawbacks to Gallade ex are the obvious: it’s a Pokémon ex and a Stage 2. Giving up an extra point when KO’d while being wary of Tauros (A1a 060) might be less of a burden than needing two additional cards (and turns!) to field Gallade ex. There’s also the risk Aerodactyl ex (A1a 046, 078, 084) will prevent you from evolving into Gallade ex, but the bigger risk is Ralts or Kirlia being KO’d before you can evolve them.
As a Fighting Type, you have the option of running Lucario (A2 092, 170) alongside Gallade ex, for that sweet +20 damage, or +40 if you can Bench two Lucario. Weakness has a chance of adding a different +20; most Colorless, most Darkness, and nearly all Lightning Pokémon are (F) Weak. As for when Weakness will matter, it’s complicated. Gallade ex’s attack does extra damage, based on the amount of Energy attached to the opposing Active.
Gallade ex has 170 HP: only five Pokémon1 have more, and they’re all fellow evolved Pokémon ex. Even then, it’s only by +10 or +20 HP. Gallade ex requires a significant amounts of luck, resources, or both to OHKO. (P) Weakness is weird. If Gallade ex had released any earlier, it’d be dangerous. It’d would enable a OHKO for Mewtwo ex (A1 129, 262, 282, 286), formerly the star attacker of the top deck in the metagame…
…but Space-Time Smackdown brought us Darkrai ex (A2 110, 187, 202), Cyrus (A2 150, 190), Pokémon Tools, and some other cards that reshaped that metagame. No strong (P) deck exists right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the next set buffs or ignores them. Even without a new set, things have been changing that quickly. At least the Retreat Cost of (C) is simple and good; easy to pay, or to reduce to zero.
Energized Blade is where things get a bit complicated again. The Energy cost isn’t why; (F)(F) is straightforward and on the easier side to pay. It’s the damage; 70 base, plus another 20 per Energy attached to the opponent’s Active. With 170 HP backing it Energized Blade, Gallade ex can provide fast and reliable 2HKOs, with some OHKOs as a bonus.
Gallade ex decks seem to come in just two varieties; those with Lucario, and those without Lucario.
Both are likely to include Hitmonchan (A1 155) and/or Hitmonlee (A1 154) to function as an early game attacker; non-Lucario builds may opt for Farfetch’d (A1 198) as well or instead of Hitmonchan. Marshadow (A1a 047, 074) bats cleanup, as it tends to do. The Lucario builds also have less room for additional Pokémon and Trainer cards than the non-Lucario builds.
My big concern is Gallade ex feels like it needs both the extra damage and the extra deck space. OHKOs are possible, but only against Pokémon with high Energy costs relative to their HP. Some heavy hitters discard some or all of their Energy as part off their attack. Yes, it will make it harder for them to hit you again with that same attack, it means Energized Blade won’t hit them back as hard. Such attackers also tend to be prepped on the Bench, so unless you can force them Active, so Energized Blade may rarely benefit.
Let’s go with some examples.
Exeggutor (A1023, 252) has been doing amazingly well recently, backed by Celebi ex (A1a 003, 075, 085). This deck usually runs two copies each of Erika and Potion, and Exeggutor ex or Celebi ex may sport either Giant Cape (A2 147) or Rocky Helmet (A2 148). Even if you have a Lucario backing up Gallade ex, I fear this will boil down to coin flips. Gallade ex can 2HKO Exeggutor ex but your dealing with a Stage 2 that needs two Energy versus a Stage 1 that needs only one. Celebi ex tends to lurk on the Bench, building itself up. Gallade ex can likely OHKO it but also is unlikely to get the chance until after Celebi ex attacks.
Darkrai ex is the other current top tier deck right now, specifically the Magnezone (A2 053) variant. My main concern is Druddigon (A1a 056); Pocket’s favorite meatshield can make you waste attacks and HP, while (D) Energy’s being attached to Darkrai ex trigger its Ability to further damage Gallade ex from the Bench. Your opponent has to overload Darkrai ex for Energized Blade to score a OHKO on its own. A post-attack Magnezone2 likewise survives, but with 10 HP instead of 20. While neither of these two OHKO Gallade ex, they’re don’t need to thanks to the non-attack damage.
Let’s cover two separate decks at once, now. Charizard ex (A1 036, 253, 280, 284) decks and Palkia ex (A2 049, 182, 204, 206) decks. Why? Both decks are built around heavy hitters3 that discard a lot of Energy when they attack. Charizard ex can even OHKO Gallade ex! At least it’s a fellow Stage 2. Palkia ex is a Basic and – as a (W) Type – has the chance to attack super fast thanks to Misty (A1 220, 267). Oh, and while a fully loaded (four Energy) Palkia ex is a OHKO, Charizard ex endures with 30 HP.
Last one: the Pachirisu ex (A2 061, 183, 198)/Pikachu ex (096, 259, 281, 285) deck. Why? They’re the smallest Pokémon ex and are both (F) Weak. They also both need (L)(L) to attack, and when that happens and they’re not sporting Giant Cape, Energized Blade scores a OHKO without help. While that isn’t bad, I don’t know if I call it “good”. This is kind of the match-up where Gallade ex has almost everything going for it.
I’d be remiss to not mention the rest of this evolution line. We have options this time: Ralts (A1 130), Ralts (A2 068), Kirlia (A1 131), Kirlia (A2 069), and Gardevoir (A1 132). They’re all (P) Pokémon with (D) Weakness. Ralts (A1 130) and Ralts (A2 068) are 60 HP Basic Pokémon with a Retreat Cost of (C) and an attack also priced at (C). Ralts (A1 130) can use “Ram” to do 10 damage, while Ralts (A2068) can use “Teleport” to switch it with one of your Benched Pokémon.
Kirlia (A1 131) and Kirlia (A2 069) are Stage 1 Pokémon that evolve from Ralts. Both have 80 HP with a Retreat Cost of (C), and one attack. Kirlia (A1 131) can use “Smack” for (P)(C) to do 30 damage, while Kirlia (A2 069) can use “Slap” for (C) to do 20. Go with Ralts (A2 068) and Kirlia (A2 069); you don’t want any of these lower Stages to be Active and attacking, but the Ralts can attack to Bench itself, and the Kirlia doesn’t have to risk two Energy.
Gardevoir is a Stage 2 Pokémon that evolves from Kirlia, and has 110 HP with a Retreat Cost of (C)(C), the Ability “Psy Shadow”, and the attack “Psyshot”. Each instance you have in play of Psy Shadow allows you to attach a (P) Energy from your Energy Zone, to your Active (P) Type Pokémon, once during your turn. Gardevoir can also attack for (P)(P)(C), using Psyshot to do 60 damage. Coming as no surprise, this Gardevoir does not work with Gallade ex.
Rating: 3/5
While Gallade ex decks are absolutely a thing, they’re also not prolific or especially high performing. When the target needs to have four Energy attached so Energized Blade can do 150… Yet that could easily change as we get better Stage 2 support, or a little more (F) support, or even just something big but Energy intense that Gallade ex can still easily OHKO.
1Blastoise ex (A1 056, 256), Charizard ex (A1 036, 253, 280, 284), Gyarados ex (A1a 018, 076), Machamp ex (A1 146, 263, 278), and Venusaur ex (A1 004, 251).
2Magnezone has 140 HP, and needs three Energy to attack. However, it discards a (L) Energy as part of its attack. As such, I’m assuming Gallade ex attacks Magnezone when the latter only has two Energy attached to itself. 70 damage base plus 20 per Energy plus 20 from Weakness equals 130.
3Charizard ex would actually be an “extra heavy” hitter.
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