Starmie ex – Genetic Apex
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Note: I (Otaku) am still ill, and this review ended up going live before it was finished. Thank you for your patience.
Starmie ex (A1 076, 257) is a Stage 1 Pokémon ex that evolves from Staryu. It’s a (W) Type with 130 HP, (L) Weakness, free Retreat Cost, and one attack. For (W)(W), Starmie ex can use “Hydro Splash” to do 90 damage to the opposing Active. Starmie ex is available as a ♦♦♦♦ and ★★ rare.
As a Pokémon ex, Starmie ex is worth an extra point when KO’d, and takes extra damage from the attacks of Sudowoodo (A2a 036, 079) and Tauros (A1a 060). As a Stage 1, you’ll have to wait at least a turn to evolve from a Staryu, as well as needing to run that extra card. It also means Aerodactyl ex (A1a 046, 078, 084) could be an issue, as its Ability prevents the opponent from evolving their Active Pokémon.
This is our third (W) Type this week, so it comes as no surprise it’s a good Type to be! Starmie ex is very Energy efficient, so Manaphy (A2 050, 162), Misty (A1 220, 267), and Vaporeon (A1a 019, 072) are more of a bonus than a necessity. Irida (A2a 072, 087) is still handy for healing, though. Once again, exploiting (W) Weakness enables Starmie ex to score a OHKO against Heatran (A2a 013), but isn’t as useful against most other Water-Weak Fire Types.
Starmie ex has 130 HP, which is the lowest you’ll find on a Stage 1 Pokémon ex. Thankfully, it’s only 10 less than is typical for them. (L) Weakness allows Magnezone (A2 053) to score a OHKO, and well as less relevant 2HKOs. The free Retreat Cost is the best! This allows Starmie ex to function as a pivot Pokémon; anytime your current Active is forced to vacate, you can promote Starmie ex, then retreat to what you actually want Active… assuming Starmie ex survives its time up front.
Hydro Splash is simple, straightforward, and effective. Even relying on just manual Energy attachments, Starmie ex can Evolve Turn 3 (Player 1’s second turn) and begin hammering away with Hydro Splash. It’ll OHKO smaller Pokémon, and 2HKO almost everything else… at least, before other card effects are factored in. Where it falls short are when you need a heavy hitter, or something that can attack attack for a single Energy attachment… though that’s when Misty or Vaporeon can help.
Staryu (A1 074) is only only Staryu. It’s a (W) Type Basic Pokémon with 50 HP, (L) Weakness, a Retreat Cost of (C), and the attack “Smack”. For (W), Smack lets Staryu attack the opposing Active for 20 damage. The HP and Weakness are cause for concern. An opening Staryu can survive a turn Active, but between stuff like Farfetch’d (A1 198) with a Giovanni (A1 223, 270), a Pikachu (A1a 025) with a full Bench, etc. you more at risk of being donked than with a 60 HP Pokémon.
There’s also Starmie (A1 075). It’s a Stage 1 (W) Type Pokémon with 90 HP, (L) Weakness, free Retreat Cost, and one attack. For (W), “Wave Splash” lets Starmie do 40 damage to the opposing Active. Starmie ex is a textbook up-scaled version of Starmie, gaining +40 HP and +10 to +40 damage. The last bits less clear as Pocket can be inconsistent with how much damage increases when going from one Energy to two, even on non-Pokémon ex.
When I was starting out in Pocket, the two were very strong. They might still be… but this article is about how Starmie ex is doing in competitive play in the present, with just a little bit about its past. It actually was one of the early, competitive (W) Types when all we had were some of the Promo Series A cards and Genetic Apex. Not as a solo act, though.
You can find good examples of how Starmie ex used to function over on Pokémon Zone. You got one variant where Lumineon (A1a 021) joins it; either to soften up or finish off opponent Actives, as well as pick off Benched, evolving Basics. Farfetch’d provides another fast, Energy efficient attacker as well. The goal being to apply pressure early and not really let up… which is vital given the lack of a heavy hitter.
Starmie ex sometimes has been backed by Greninja (A1 089; P-A 019). Greninja’s “Water Shuriken” Ability offsetting the lack of a heavy hitter in the deck. If your opponent has nothing Starmie ex cannot OHKO, being assaulting Benched targets with Water Shuriken. If the opposing Active is big but not too big, fake a OHKO by hitting it with a Water Shuriken or two before Hydro Splash finishes it off.
Not just back then, but in the present, Starmie ex makes for a good secondary attacker. Originally, you’d see if fulfill this duty with Articuno ex (A1 084, 275, 258). Then with Gyarados (A1a 018, 076). Now, Starmie ex is partnering with Palkia ex (A2 049, 182, 204, 206). Palkia ex/Starmie ex isn’t performing as well as some of the other Palkia ex variants, but its sitting at almost a 52% win rate over on LimitlessTCG. That’s enough where it’s not just being carried by Palkia ex… which is often run as a single behind a 2-2 Starmie ex line.
Rating: 3/5
Starmie ex isn’t as impressive as it was when it was new, but with as fast as the Pocket metagame shifts, remaining a solid partner for whatever is the current big (W) Type attacker is still good. It may also be somewhat beginner friendly, as it doesn’t require a long time to build up, isn’t discarding Energy while it attacks, etc.
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