Hi there. In this Pokemon TCG post I present a budget deck that is actually really competitive. In the Journey Together environment the top decks feature Dragapult ex, Gholdengo ex and Gardevoir ex. Other decks that can be winners in large tournaments are Raging Bolt ex, Archaludon ex and Terapagos ex.
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I want to feature Pokemon decks that are either underrated, good for budget players and also decks where it is not too difficult to get the cards. Popular decks tend to have cards that are pricey and the decks can be hard to build due to low availability of some cards. People who do have cash may not be able to build certain decks if card availability is low or zero.
Roaring Moon Cards
This Roaring Moon deck features the single prize Roaring Moon (or Baby Moon) and Roaring Moon ex as a backup attacker if needed.
The single prize Roaring Moon from Temporal Forces has 140 HP, two retreat cost and grass weakness. You would never really use the second attack as it costs too much. The first attack of Vengeance Fletching is the attack you would want to use. For 2 Dark Energy it does 70 base damage. For each Ancient card in your discard pile the Vengeance Fletching attack does 10 more damage.
In the late game, Roaring Moon's Vengeance Fletching attack can hit numbers like 150 or 180 damage with many Ancient cards in the discard pile. Previous builds of Roaring Moon + Ancient decks would have much more Ancient cards discarded where Roaring Moon can hit for 280 damage on a good day.
Note that Roaring Moon is a Dark type so it can hit for double damage because of Weakness on Mew ex, Latias ex, Gardevoir ex and the upcoming Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex.
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Roaring Moon ex is not as popular as it once was. It is still a dangerous attacker in some scenarios.
The Frenzied Gouging attack requires 2 Dark Energy and 1 Colourless Energy for an instant knockout on the opponent's Active Pokemon. The drawback is that Roaring Moon ex itself after the attack deals 200 damage to itself. Ideally you want to use this one hit knockout attack on bulky Pokemon like Dragapult ex with 320 HP, Chariazrd ex with 330 HP (not popular these days) and maybe Gholdengo ex with 260 HP.
Roaring Moon ex's second attack is Calamity Storm. The attack cost is also 2 Dark Energy and 1 Colourless Energy. The base damage is 100 with an option to discard a Stadium in play to deal 120 more damage.
Dunsparce & Dudunsparce
The main draw engine for the Roaring Moon deck is Dudunsparce. In order to get Dudunsparce you need Dunsparce as its Basic Pokemon. The most popular Dunsparce is the 70HP one with the Find a Friend attack. Find a Friend allows you search for 1 Pokemon and put into your hand. This particular Dunsparce can be hard to find due to popularity which leads to low availability.
An alternative Dunsparce would be the latest 70 HP one here.
Dudunsparce from Temporal Forces has an okay draw ability. The Run Away Draw ability allows you to draw 3 cards but you have to shuffle this Dudunsparce and attached cards back into your deck. If the Dudunsparce was in the Active Spot and was shuffled away to your deck from this ability then you bring in a new Pokemon into your Active Spot.
This Dudunsparce is good for any scenario where your opponent reduces your hand size from cards like Iono, Judge or Unfair Stamp.
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Decklist, Rank 10 out of 1327 Players In Monterrey Mexico
Here is the Roaring Moon decklist by Raul Avila Jr that got tenth place out of 1327 players in Monterrey Mexico on April 20, 2025.
The deck is maxed out on Dunsparce and Dudunsparce for its draw engine. The 2 copies of Fan Rotom is good to ensure you have Dunsparce in play during your first turn. It is also to thin out your deck.
Roaring Moon is at 4 copies for the single prize version and 2 copies of Roaring Moon ex. Use the Roaring Moon ex if needed for larger knockouts. Most of the time it looks like you would use the 140 HP Roaring Moon.
Four copies of Professor Sada's Vitality and four copies of Explorer's Guidance are needed. They can be used as Ancient discard fodder for Roaring Moon's Vengeance Fletching attack.
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The Buddy Poffins are there for the Fan Rotom and Dunsparce.
Four Ancient Booster Energy Capsules for boosting HP on the Roaring Moons. They are also good in the discard pile.
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Three copies of Artazon for getting Dunsparce, Roaring Moons into play. Artazon is also good as a Stadium bump to replace Jamming Tower and Pokemon League Headquarters.
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The four copies of Great Ball is okay I guess. Maybe do 2 Nest Ball and 2 Great Ball? Not sure.
Two copies of Boss's Orders along with 1 Counter Catcher is okay.
Energy Switch is okay too. It goes with Sada's Vitality.
Six dark energy is okay. You don't need that much Dark Energy as you have 4 Earthen Vessel.
The ACE SPEC of choice is Neutralization Zone. I think Stadium cards are not used too much in the Journey Together format. Maybe a maximum of 2 Stadiums in most decks. Some decks get greedy and run no Stadium cards. Placing down the Neutralization Zone stadium in the late game when you know your opponent has no more Stadium cards can be really powerful and maybe even game winning. Neutralization Zone allows your own Roaring Moons to attack while they cannot attack your non-rule Box Pokemon are protected by attacks from Pokemon ex.
Cost of Cards & Getting Them
This Roaring Moon deck is a pretty check deck to build. The cards should also be relatively easy to find. The hardest cards to find would be Roaring Moon ex, Dunsparce (Find a Friend attack, 70HP) and maybe Counter Catcher. This deck is really good for those starting out or on a budget. Ideal for new players, students and even experienced players who want to play something different but competitive.
You could use this deck to play in some local tournaments. Once you win some cards from Prize packs or store credit, you can get more expensive competitive cards like Fezandipti ex, Dragapult ex, Night Stretcher, etc.
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Main Strategies
In the early game it is best to gen a Fan Rotom in play. Fan Rotom in the first turn helps with retrieving Dunsparce from your deck into your hand. That way you can set up Dunsparce to your Bench.
If you have Fan Rotom and there is a Stadium in play then you can use Fan Rotom's 70 damage attack to potentially knockout opponent's weak Pokemon. Seventy damage does knock out weak Basic Pokemon that are 70 HP or less. Fan Rotom can apply early game pressure against slower setup decks like Dragapult ex, Gardevoir ex and some unlucky setups in Gholdengo ex decks.
As the game progresses you would want some Dudunsparce in play. Dudunsparce is the main draw engine if you need more cards. Try to have 1 or even 2 Dudunsparce in play to limit the effects of hand disruption from Iono.
Roaring Moon would be the main attacker in turn three and beyond. As the game progresses you will have more and more Ancient cards in your discard. In theory you should have at least 7 Ancient cards in the discard. That way Roaring Moon can hit for at least 140 damage.
The deck does not run a Pal Pad for recovering Supporter cards. You do have to manage resources carefully when it comes to playing Professor Sada's Vitality and Boss's Orders.
Use the one copy of Counter Catcher wisely. Play it when your are behind as well try to take a key knockout with it. If no knockout try for a stall option to buy some turns.
Against bulky Stage 2 Pokemon, the single Prize Roaring Moon won't have 1 hit knockout power. You would want to have Roaring Moon ex for the knockout power. I have not tested this too much so I cannot say for sure how to sequence combos here. In theory it would be Professor's Sada Vitality with Energy Switch plus 1 manual Dark Energy attachment from hand.
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Closing Notes
This type of deck doing well in a large tournament does give inspiration to some players. You can still have a competitive deck with cards that are not super expensive and are also not popular. As of late 2024 and early 2025, prices of sealed product have gone up like crazy. Popular cards are also hard to find. The existence of alternative budget decks that are competitive helps players on a budget or those who cannot find popular cards.
Even though this deck got rank 10, I do think you do have to play well. Top ranked decks are based on how the deck is made as well as how the player plays it plus the matchup luck.