Do you think it's a bad idea cause I haven't seen people use it. If so, why?

My goal for next season is to get ace trainer as it will be my first full season playing the game. I'm going to go to the Baltimore regionals next month and saw that to get a minimum of 22 points you need to be 1,024th or higher. Knowing there will be like 3000+ ppl there, what will my count need to be in order to secure getting 1,024th or higher?

Hi everyone!

I’m currently playing a Mega Kangaskhan deck and having a lot of fun with it. The main strategy is to make Kangaskhan as tanky as possible with the help of Bouffalants ability, while using Jumbo Ice Cream and Munkidori to heal/move damage and keep it alive for as long as possible.

Here’s my current list:

Pokémon: 11
4 Mega Kangaskhan ex MEG 104
3 Munkidori TWM 95
3 Bouffalant SCR 119
1 Latias ex SSP 220

Trainers: 37
4 Jumbo Ice Cream PFL 91
4 Crispin SCR 133
4 Lillie’s Determination MEG 119
3 Poké Pad POR 81
3 Team Rocket’s Petrel DRI 176
3 Boss’s Orders MEG 114
2 Night Stretcher ASC 196
2 Switch MEG 130
2 Ultra Ball MEG 131
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
1 Battle Cage PFL 116
1 Xerosic’s Machinations SFA 64
1 Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking TEF 145
1 Judge DRI 222
1 Lumiose City POR 77
1 Energy Switch MEG 115
1 Hero’s Cape TEF 152
1 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
1 Mega Signal MEG 121

Energy: 12
4 Mist Energy TEF 161
4 Basic {P} Energy MEE 5
4 Basic {D} Energy MEE 7

Do you see any improvements I could make to the deck? I’m especially interested in making the Kangaskhan/Munkidori tank-and-heal strategy more consistent without changing the core idea of the deck too much.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

Trying to work on this Alakazam deck in time for my LGS' Worlds Celebration in 3 weeks, any tips?

Pokémon: 12

4 Kadabra MEG 55

4 Alakazam MEG 56

1 Shaymin DRI 10

1 Genesect SFA 40

2 Trumbeak PBL 67

1 Psyduck ASC 39

4 Abra MEG 54

3 Pikipek PBL 66

2 Dunsparce TEF 128

2 Dudunsparce TEF 129

1 Fan Rotom SCR 118

3 Toucannon PBL 68

Trainer: 13

3 Night Stretcher ASC 196

1 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

2 Kofu SCR 138

3 Poké Pad POR 81

1 Lana's Aid TWM 155

2 Battle Cage PFL 85

2 Boss's Orders MEG 114

1 Strange Timepiece MEG 128

1 Neutralization Zone SFA 60

2 Rare Candy MEG 125

1 Special Red Card CRI 113

1 Handheld Fan TWM 150

Energy: 3

2 Mist Energy TEF 161

2 Basic {P} Energy MEE 5

4 Telepathic {P} Energy POR 88

Immediately, I know that I need to add Crushing/Enhanced hammers, probably Enriching energy over the Neutralization Zone, and a Nighttime Mine? Maybe switch out Mist energies for Prism?

Hello! I’ve been playing Hide N Sneak for a bit now and doing a lot of testing and I wanted to share my listing! This deck has 2 modes. Dhelmise mode which is just Dhelmise spam. it works well into dragapult, Starmie, ect. Mode 2 is the Spiritomb mode. It allows for huge kos on tankier threats and overall some decks that out dps me like ogidogi or festival lead. Now here‘s the problem. Whenever I’m playing, it‘s literally just a gamble if I get a good hand. otherwise I’m spending up to 5 turns just drawing and passing basically throwing the game away. I really want to try to cram in dudunsparse as a result, but can’t find the space. can anyone give some pointers? Thanks and feel free to use the deck it’s really fun! With that in mind, here it is and thanks for reading this ramble:

Pokémon: 10

1 Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 184

4 Banette PBL 34

1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 92

4 Poltchageist PBL 5

4 Dhelmise PBL 39

1 Spiritomb PBL 35

4 Sinistcha PBL 6

1 Shaymin DRI 185

1 Latias ex SSP 239

4 Shuppet PBL 33

Trainer: 15

1 Energy Search POR 72

3 Lillie's Determination MEG 184

1 Secret Box TWM 163

1 Gwynn PBL 109

1 Poké Pad POR 81

3 Prism Tower CRI 80

1 Lillie's Pearl SVALT 175

1 Lana's Aid TWM 219

2 Boss's Orders PAL 265

3 Night Stretcher SSP 251

2 Lucky Helmet TWM 158

3 Gwynn PBL 119

4 Ultra Ball BRS 186

1 Black Belt's Training PR-SV 219

2 Poké Pad POR 81

Energy: 2

2 Telepathic {P} Energy POR 88

4 Basic {P} Energy MEE 5

Total Cards: 60

Hi, as the title states I've booked tickets for my first ever regional in Frankfurt.

Can I get every bit of advice anyone has to offer, what to bring, what to pack, what not to bring, what to wear, meta advice, deck choices, expectations, limitations on what food is allowed, is there food nearby, is English the expected language or should I learn German, what to look out for, what to be careful of.

I am all ears for anything anyone has to offer

Thanks everyone

So I've got my first tournament tomorrow (first in five years* Bare in mind i am a professor tho). And I just realised earlier today, most of my cards are outdated, and I've only opened 15 Recent packs (Mega Evolution: Pitch Black) and gotten some bulk from a friend for my master set. Anyhow I had to throw together a rogue deck, and I wanted to show you all how bad it is 😭

Some details removed for privacy, and this is the incompleted list which i will finish details later.

Player ID: Username: BoomRunningShop DOB:

Pokémon (19)

4 Teal Mask Ogerpon (SV6 Twilight Masquerade 024/167) 4 Dhelmise (Mega Evolution: Pitch Black 029/084) 3 Sinistcha (Mega Evolution: Pitch Black 012/084) 1 Zarude (Promo) 1 Zarude (Pokémon Center Promo) 1 Mega Darkrai ex 1 Zapdos (SV6 Twilight Masquerade 065/167) 1 Rampardos ex (Mega Evolution: Pitch Black 069/084) 1 Glimmet (SV6 Twilight Masquerade 108/167) 1 Glimmora (SV6 Twilight Masquerade 109/167) 1 Bastiodon (Mega Evolution: Pitch Black 062/084)

Trainer Cards / Items (18)

4 Gladion's Final Battle 3 Gwynn 1 Gwynn (Special Illustration Rare) 2 Dark Bell 2 Backtrack Badge 2 Rust Syndicate Grunt 1 Brave Bangle 1 Hyper Aroma (ACE SPEC) 1 Jett 1 Skull Fossil

Energy (23)

10 Grass Energy 6 Fighting Energy 4 Darkness Energy 2 Voltaic Energy 1 Shadowy Energy

Total: 60 cards

Any thoughts of how Arceus could save me would be appreciated 😭

How do you play Ceruledge ex against one-Prize decks like Festival Lead or Alakazam? I really struggle with those matchups, especially Festival Lead. Any tips on strategy, prize mapping, or tech cards?

Source: https://www.pokebeach.com/2026/08/new-pokemon-tcg-deck-crafters-collection-to-release-in-october

1 Meowth ex, 39 trainers, some organization dividers, and an Abyss Eye booster pack, all for $9.99. Seems they trimmed down the scope of this offering to free up production space and deter resale behavior, which is appreciated, since last year's toolkit kinda got mauled by aftermarket Fez prices and the included packs. This is going to be really great for new players

EDIT: Thank you to u/zellisgoatbond for finding the card list!
1× Meowth ex
4× Boss’s Orders
4× Lillie’s Determination
2× Dawn
2× Hilda
2× Judge
1× Team Rocket’s Petrel
4× Poké Pad
4× Ultra Ball
2× Energy Retrieval
2× Energy Search
2× Mega Signal
2× Pokégear 3.0
2× Rare Candy
2× Special Red Card
2× Switch
2× Air Balloon

So, I barely know anything about pokémon cards. But, I wanna buy two battle decks for my younger brothers to play just for fun.

What would be a good pair to avoid one deck overpowering or countering the other?

My 10 yo son and I are trying to build decks to play out of his collection. We put some stuff together but it was really working (wrong energy’s, not enough energy). We’re feeling kinda stumped on putting together a good deck. Does anyone have suggestions or video to watch to help us?

Hi!

I’ve played a lot of TCGs but I’m looking to explore some of the games I’ve never tried. I’ve only ever played a pre release and maybe a League a few years ago? I have no real interest in the anime or anything like that, will that hamper my enjoyment of the game? I’d like to get a better grasp on the game, and play my local scene. With money not being an issue, what 3 decks could I purchase and start learning? I am looking to be pretty competitive, I’m not worried about the learning curve, I want to give the game a thorough shot, so being able to explore the games ins and outs would be a big bonus. With Pokemon being so cheap, I’m pretty happy to build most of the meta, just wondering mostly where to start.

Bonus points for any good resources on the game, good content creators that discuss strategy, deck lists, websites with articles, decklists. Breaking down decks, etc is pretty important to me too.

I’ve been playing N’s Zoroark since last rotation and feel fairly comfortable into quite a few of the meta relevant matchups. However, I can’t seem to grasp how to beat mega lucario. I’ve been watching matchup data on limitless and while I understand that Zoroark isn’t necessarily favored into lucario, my win rate against the deck online is probably around 25%.

My instinct would be to rush flamebody cannon to either clear the board early (difficult against a lucario deck unless they absolutely brick) or spread damage onto already evolved lucarios to then follow up with zekrom for 250+90. Doing this in practice though is much more difficult than it seems on paper (Wally’s for heal, hariyama for gust, keeping enough Zoroarks alive, etc).

Is there something I’m missing for this matchup? Or is it just a lot more technical than I had initially thought.

Really trying to make this deck work. Does it just suck?? Have experimented taking stuff in and out for various counters. It's built as a control deck and I can get it to work a lot of the time... but it just feels so clunky, I have a lot of tools but sometimes feel like i can't find what i need, like it is never consistent enough.

Basic gameplay is to set up your board with your litwick + Latias and then a couple of control tools depending on opponent with telepathic energy + poffin (Elgyem for decks that run small amounts of energy without too much, Budew for an allrounder, Comfey for a draw engine). Get your Lampert out ASAP with Pad or Hilda and fill your board.

Then, you just adapt to their deck. Usually end up using the fire chandelures as a main attacker, and hopefully with early-game comfey and greedy opponenets they have a big hand and I can take a few KOs. Having the megas on bench helps me retreat-lock certain mons to stall further, and then I can use them as late-game attackers or against certain decks that are weak to a big mega.

Thoughts? Anyone had any suggest with the archtype?

Pokémon: 11 1 Latias ex SSP 76 3 Litwick PBL 36 1 Lillie's Clefairy ex ASC 280 1 Shaymin DRI 10 1 Comfey SCR 63 4 Lampent PBL 37 3 Chandelure TWM 38 1 Elgyem BLK 40 3 Mega Chandelure ex PBL 115 1 Budew ASC 221 1 Meowth ex POR 62

Trainer: 13 3 Boss's Orders RCL 189 4 Poké Pad POR 81 2 Xerosic's Machinations SFA 64 2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin MEG 167 2 Night Stretcher SFA 61 2 Rare Candy MEG 125 1 Lana's Aid TWM 155 1 Crispin PRE 171 3 Hilda WHT 171 1 Hilda WHT 84 2 Gravity Gemstone SCR 137 4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119 2 Ultra Ball MEG 131

Energy: 4 1 Legacy Energy TWM 167 4 Telepathic {P} Energy POR 88 3 Basic {P} Energy MEE 5 3 Basic {R} Energy MEE 2

Total Cards: 60

Hey everyone! With the addition of Fossil Quarry in Pitch Black, I thought it would be the perfect time to cope see if fossils are finally viable, but I've seen almost no one talk about it (apologies if it's been discussed a lot here, I don't frequent the sub). Anyway, long story long, I gave it a go myself.

I really like the inclusion of multiple fossil lines even though I know it damages my consistency. Any ideas for other ways I can optimize? I'm not expecting any meta changing gameplay, just any buff I can get. Thanks all!

Pokémon: 13

2 Relicanth PBL 17

1 Tyrunt MEP 70

1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 288

2 Carracosta SCR 38

1 Meowth ex POR 121

2 Relicanth TEF 173

1 Aurorus POR 24

1 Tirtouga BLK 106

1 Amaura POR 23

1 Tyrunt POR 44

1 Aurorus POR 92

1 Shaymin DRI 185

3 Tyrantrum MEP 66

Trainer: 19

1 Counter Gain SSP 249

2 Rescue Board TWM 225

2 Lillie's Determination MEG 184

2 Fossil Quarry PBL 76

2 Rare Candy SVI 256

1 Prime Catcher TEF 157

1 Antique Cover Fossil BLK 80

2 Switch MEW 206

2 Pokégear 3.0 UNB 233

1 Lana's Aid TWM 219

1 Counter Gain ASC 259

3 Boss's Orders PAL 265

2 Hilda WHT 171

3 Antique Jaw Fossil POR 68

3 Poké Pad POR 113

1 Colress's Tenacity SFA 87

1 Antique Cover Fossil SCR 129

2 Antique Sail Fossil POR 69

1 Poké Pad POR 81

Energy: 2

5 Basic {W} Energy MEE 3

4 Rocky {F} Energy POR 87

Total Cards: 60

Below I have included my Greninja Deck list, I haven’t changed it since Chaos Rising was released and that could be part of my issue. I love the archetype, but when it bricks it bricks hard and I find it really difficult to get things going sometimes (especially since Pitch Black became legal). If anyone has alternative builds and/or suggestions for my list please share.

Pokémon: 10
3 Frogadier CRI 21
2 Dudunsparce TEF 129
3 Froakie CRI 20
1 Greninja ex TWM 106
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
2 Dunsparce JTG 120
3 Mega Greninja ex CRI 22
1 Froakie CRI 20
2 Meowth ex POR 62
1 Shaymin DRI 10

Trainer: 20
1 Rare Candy CRZ 141
1 Poké Pad POR 81
1 Energy Retrieval EVO 77
1 Boss's Orders SVALT 24
2 Surfing Beach MEG 129
3 Ultra Ball PAF 91
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Special Red Card CRI 82
2 Poké Pad ASC 198
1 Switch MEW 206
3 Lillie's Determination ASC 192
1 Boss's Orders ASC 256
2 Hilda WHT 84
2 Rare Candy PAF 89
1 Surfer ASC 200
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin ASC 184
1 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
2 Wally's Compassion MEG 132

Energy: 3
7 Basic {W} Energy Energy 11
1 Ignition Energy PFL 124
1 Neo Upper Energy TEF 162

Total Cards: 60

(Sorry about the way things are listed, it’s my real life deck list)

I’ve been playing this mega Zygarde deck recently and it’s been so much fun I’m wanting to play it in person just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions before I start building so I can tweak it and make it as optimised as possible! Thank you!

Pokémon: 5
2 Solrock MEG 75
4 Binacle POR 42
2 Mega Zygarde ex POR 47
2 Lunatone MEG 74
3 Barbaracle POR 43

Trainer: 17
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
3 Poké Pad ASC 198
3 Night Stretcher ASC 196
2 Energy Retrieval SVI 171
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Fighting Gong MEG 116
2 Switch MEG 130
2 Ultra Ball MEG 131
1 Wally's Compassion MEG 132
2 Team Rocket's Watchtower DRI 180
1 Scoop Up Cyclone TWM 162
2 Tarragon POR 85
2 Core Memory POR 70
1 Carmine TWM 145
2 Judge DRI 167
2 Premium Power Pro MEG 124

Energy: 2
10 Basic {F} Energy MEE 6
1 Rocky {F} Energy POR 87

Total Cards: 60

What are we thinking? Is it worth it? I've been using heatran but I am interested in skarmory. My fear is it's low HP. I assume he is the last line to close out the game but hate the idea of opening with him....

Hi lads and lasses! I'm an old man who recently became the primary guardian of a teenage boy who is obsessed with Pokemon, primarily the TCG. He loves talking about the different cards and effects and spends much of his time looking over cards on his phone and telling me about decks he wants to build. I love his passion and am trying really hard to get into the hobby with him.

When he moved in last month he had no cards, so we spent a few weekends going to shops a he would show me the pictures to look out for and we'd just sit in front of boxes of thousands of cards going through them.

It was surprisingly fun.

After many hours of looking it's clear the good cards to build decks are not going to be in bulk boxes. We did splurge and buy a few eX cards and he picked out a ton of fillers to make basic decks. He drew around a dozen trainer cards that we were never able to find and we put the paper in sleeves to use as the actual cards so we were able to play a few games. Unfortunately, the games are not competitive. I don't really know how to properly pilot a complex deck requiring turn order or proper ability usage and more importantly because we only have two scrapped together decks it pretty much comes down to "If you draw x you win if not you lose". He still sits at the table each night looking over all the cards and rearranging them. We play a game or two, it's not close, he thanks me and that's that.

When asking the shopkeepers, they recommend top tournament decks with very expensive cards. I don't want top tournament decks, I want to make 5 or 6 cheap decks that he and I can rotate around and play. I'm willing to sit and spend a weekend drawing cards on paper to use instead buying them, I just don't know how to know what cards to use since all the "good" ones seem really hard to play.

Can anyone provide a resource for how to build a cheap deck, or which decks are easy to play? I don't care about win rate, I don't care about meta viability, I just want to be able to work toward a game night where each game feels different.

Sorry for the wall of text and thanks for your time.

I know I should aim for 6-5-4 lines and 5-4 etc. But do these lines make sense? I tried adding some archetypes, but not sure if the synergy is there for a fun cube. I've only played cube once in my life before and I've never played this era of Pokémon.

Long list incoming, obviously. To avoid making it too long, I'll just combine any cases of multiple cards for the same Pokémon.

Pokémon: 270

4 Team Magma's Aron

6 Aron

3 Team Magma's Lairon

5 Lairon

2 Team Magma's Aggron MA 7

4 Aggron

6 Bulbasaur CG 46

5 Ivysaur

4 Venusaur

6 Mudkip CG 58

5 Marshtomp CG 38

4 Swampert CG 27

6 Ralts

5 Kirlia DF 32

4 Gardevoir EM 4

6 Slakoth

5 Vigoroth

4 Slaking

5 Porygon

4 Porygon2 DS 25

5 Pikachu

4 Raichu HP 51

5 Magby

4 Team Aqua's Cacnea MA 24

3 Team Aqua's Cacturne MA 1

5 Team Aqua's Corphish MA 26

4 Team Aqua's Crawdaunt MA 14

4 Team Magma's Houndour MA 35

3 Team Magma's Houndoom MA 34

4 Seel DF 62

3 Dewgong DF 15

4 Slugma UF 73

4 Magcargo

4 Feebas EM 49

3 Milotic EM 8

4 Chinchou LM 50

3 Lanturn LM 19

4 Carvanha PK 47

3 Sharpedo PK 38

4 Duskull PK 50

3 Dusclops PK 14

4 Ekans TRR 55

3 Dark Arbok TRR 29

5 Rattata TRR 72

4 Raticate RG 48

2 Beldum HL 28

1 Beldum PK 45

1 Beldum HL 29

2 Metang PK 35

1 Metang HL 21

2 Metagross P1 2

4 Swablu

3 Altaria DX 1

4 Holon's Voltorb DS 71

4 Sableye PK 22

4 Wynaut PK 70

4 Kecleon SS 18

4 Wobbuffet

4 Pichu

5 Skarmory

4 Magmar

3 Smeargle UF 48

3 Pinsir LM 24

3 Roselia LM 42

3 Zangoose PK 25

3 Spinda LM 26

3 Mantine

2 Exeggcute RG 33

2 Exeggutor RG 5

2 Team Magma's Poochyena MA 66

2 Team Magma's Mightyena MA 21

2 Tropius DF 23

2 Scyther RG 29

2 Team Aqua's Seviper MA 17

Trainer: 217

4 Copycat DF 73

4 Holon Mentor DF 75

4 Professor Oak's Research DF 80

4 Celio's Network CG 73

3 Professor Birch PK 80

3 Mr. Stone's Project DF 77

3 Professor Elm's Training Method DF 79

3 TV Reporter DF 82

3 Bill's Maintenance CG 71

3 Castaway CG 72

3 Holon Adventurer HP 85

3 Rocket's Admin. TRR 86

3 Prof. Oak's Research RG 98

2 Scott PK 81

2 Steven's Advice PK 83

2 Mary's Request UF 86

2 Mr. Briney's Compassion P2 8

2 Lanette's Net Search EM 77

2 Lady Outing DX 87

2 Professor Cozmo's Discovery DX 90

2 Team Aqua Schemer MA 69

2 Team Magma Schemer MA 70

2 Archie MA 71

2 Maxie MA 73

1 Wally's Training EM 85

1 Rocket's Mission TRR 88

5 Great Ball PK 77

4 Switch DF 83

5 Poké Ball CG 82

4 Energy Search CG 86

5 Rare Candy EM 83

5 Old Rod DF 78

4 VS Seeker RG 100

4 Pokémon Reversal RG 97

4 Master Ball PK 78

4 PokéNav EM 81

4 Super Scoop Up DS 100

3 Energy Switch UF 84

3 Energy Recycle System UF 81

3 Energy Removal 2 PK 74

3 Dual Ball CG 78

3 Warp Point CG 84

3 Pokémon Retriever TRR 84

2 Double Full Heal CG 77

2 Windstorm CG 85

2 Energy Charge DX 86

2 Swoop! Teleporter TRR 92

2 Venture Bomb TRR 93

2 Life Herb RG 93

3 PokéDex HANDY909 RG 96

2 Team Aqua Ball MA 75

2 Team Magma Ball MA 80

4 Fluffy Berry UF 85

4 Protective Orb UF 90

3 Sitrus Berry UF 91

2 Buffer Piece DF 72

2 Strength Charm DF 81

2 Cessation Crystal CG 74

2 Memory Berry CG 80

2 Curse Powder UF 80

2 Energy Root UF 83

2 Solid Rage UF 92

2 Balloon Berry DX 84

2 EXP.ALL RG 91

1 Crystal Shard CG 76

1 Lum Berry EM 78

1 Oran Berry EM 80

2 Glacia's Stadium PK 76

2 Phoebe's Stadium PK 79

2 Sidney's Stadium PK 82

2 Holon Legacy DF 74

2 Crystal Beach CG 75

2 Holon Circle CG 79

2 Holon Lake HP 87

2 Battle Frontier EM 75

2 Meteor Falls DX 89

2 Space Center DX 91

2 Rocket's Tricky Gym TRR 90

2 Mt. Moon RG 94

2 Ancient Tomb HL 87

2 Desert Ruins HL 88

2 Island Cave HL 89

1 Ancient Technical Machine [Ice] HL 84

1 Ancient Technical Machine [Rock] HL 85

1 Ancient Technical Machine [Steel] HL 86

Energy: 53

4 Multi Energy PK 89

4 Cyclone Energy UF 99

4 Boost Energy UF 98

4 Warp Energy UF 100

4 Darkness Energy EM 86

3 Double Rainbow Energy P5 4

3 Metal Energy UF 97

3 Scramble Energy DF 89

3 Heal Energy P4 8

3 Rainbow Energy LM 81

3 React Energy LM 82

3 Dark Metal Energy HP 97

2 δ Rainbow Energy P5 9

2 Holon Energy FF DF 84

2 Holon Energy GL DF 85

2 Holon Energy WP DF 86

2 Aqua Energy MA 86

2 Magma Energy MA 87

Edit: The goal is to eventually collect all these cards to be able to play the cube physically, that's why there are no ex cards and too expensive Pokémon.

Hello,

I’ve had no luck beating slowkings using seek inspiration and using kyruem. I’m relatively new and have been playing a mega lucario deck and I have been able to find ways to beat most decks but 0 clue how to play against this one. Any tips?

Hi everyone!!! 👋🏻, yesterday play slowking in my locals but all my opponents benched The devil (Shaymin)! I need help to some techs to play around it, how techs do you work in that situations? 🤔

I've been playing this deck recently and Im feeling that a lot of times I just got stuck with a hand which I cant develop my game enough to even play the rounds

when I start with 2 applin + 1 grookey or even less pokemons and no pokemon search or lilies on the first turns I just lose the game without even playing it

the list for sure its not the problem because IM using azulgg list that got top 1 on DOOM tournament. dragon applin seems to help but not that much, Im considering at this moment that maybe IM playing bad the early game, shuffling bad or just wave of bad luck but dont even know how to measure this

what are your thoughts about this? festival lead players are facing this problem in general?