Alakazam / Dudunsparce

What Alakazam / Dudunsparce looks like when you open the box

Across the 82 lists we counted, this deck runs 19 to 25 Pokémon, 28 to 35 Trainers and 5 to 8 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Psychic.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « alakazam-dudunsparce ». Every card named in that label turns up in the tables below, which is what makes it a fair name for the deck.

Look at the Energy: 5 to 8 out of 60, when half the 125 decks we track run 11 or more. This one is lean. It lives on cheap attacks and leans on Trainers to find the right Energy at the right moment rather than stockpiling it.

It takes a while to set up. Alakazam is a Stage 2 Pokémon: you put down the baby, you evolve it, and then you evolve it again. Three cards stacked before anything attacks. That is what the hardest-hitting decks cost you, and it is also where they crack — a fast opponent can bury you before the line is standing.

Look at the Trainers: 28 to 35 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 125 decks we track. Inside that, 7 to 14 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 12 to 19 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 4 Stadiums, and 87 of the 125 decks we track bring that many or more. Only one Stadium sits on the table at a time: the one you play sends the one already there to the discard pile.

What Tools and Stadiums do — the two Trainer families we skipped here — and why the Energy count says so much: how to read a deck list.

What the cards in this deck's name actually do

Alakazam and Dudunsparce give this deck its name. Here is what is written on them.

Alakazam is in all 82 lists, 3 copies of it. Its Ability is called Psychic Draw, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, when you play this Pokémon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokémon, you may use this Ability. Draw 3 cards. » Its attack Powerful Hand costs 1 Energy (Psychic) and has no damage number printed next to it. That is why you will not find it in the attacker table lower down, which sorts by printed damage. Everything it does lives in its text: « Place 2 damage counters on your opponent's Active Pokémon for each card in your hand. » Do the arithmetic with us, it is worth it. A damage counter is 10 damage. 2 counters per card means 20 damage for every card you are holding when you swing. Five cards in hand, 100. Eight cards in hand, 160. In this deck your hand is your damage gauge.

Dudunsparce is in all 82 lists, 2 copies of it. Its Ability is called Run Away Draw, and here is what is printed on it, word for word: « Once during your turn, you may draw 3 cards. If you drew any cards in this way, shuffle this Pokémon and all attached cards into your deck. »

Now you can see why these cards travel together, and why the deck carries both names. Alakazam hits harder the fuller your hand is. Dudunsparce is there to fill it: that Ability draws you 3 cards. Every card you add to your hand before attacking is 20 more damage on the Pokémon across the table. A player meeting this deck empties their hand setting up the board, then swings holding three cards. A player who knows it holds everything it can and swings with a full hand.

How Alakazam / Dudunsparce actually wins

Alakazam attacks with Powerful Hand, and it needs 1 Psychic Energy attached. It has 140 HP. Its damage box is empty, so the table below, which sorts by printed damage, cannot rank it: its printed text above is where the counting happens.

One Energy to attack is enormous, and it means the attack cost will never be what slows you down. What slows you down here is getting Alakazam up. Once the line is standing you swing every turn with nothing to recharge, and you can start again immediately when your attacker falls.

Energy is not your only clock. Abra has to climb two steps before it becomes Alakazam, and an evolution asleep at the bottom of your deck does you no good at all. The list has that covered. Dawn, which the list runs 4 of, goes into your deck for an evolution.

Good news on mobility: pulling Alakazam back to the Bench costs you 1 Energy attached to it, and that is all. Retreating does not cost you your turn, so you step back and swing anyway. That matters enormously the day your opponent lands something nasty on it.

Not one ex Pokémon in the core, and only 26 of the 125 decks we track are in that position. It is a hidden advantage: every knockout your opponent takes is worth a single Prize, so they need 6, where 3 would do against a deck stuffed with ex cards.

The attackers in the deck's core, with their best attack, its cost and their Weakness

Pokémon	HP	Attack	Damage	Cost	Weakness	Retreat
Close AlakazamStage 2	140	Powerful HandPlace 2 damage counters on your opponent's Active Pokémon for each card in your hand.	—		Darkness ×2	1
Close DudunsparceStage 1	140	Land Crush	90		Fighting ×2	3
Close KadabraStage 1	80	Super Psy Bolt	30		Darkness ×2	1
Close AbraBasic	50	Teleportation Attack	10		Darkness ×2	1

The core: the 12 cards every list runs

These 12 cards appear in all 82 lists, without a single exception. That is 36 of the 60 slots. The other 24 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 36 slots break down: 18 Trainers, 13 Pokémon, 5 Energy. Trainers outweigh everything else put together, which is the mark of a deck that goes and fetches its cards rather than waiting to draw them.

11 of those 12 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Abra (2 to 4), Kadabra (3 to 4) and Alakazam (3 to 4), plus 8 more. Add those spreads up and you get 19 copies the 82 lists do not agree on, inside the core itself.

What "3 to 4" means in the copies column, what the "TWM 130" code under each name is for, and why we count dozens of lists instead of one: how to read a deck list.

The cards present in every list counted, with the number of copies

Copies	Card	Printing	Kind	Rotation
2–4	Close Abra	MEG 54	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Kadabra	MEG 55	Pokémon	stays
3–4	Close Alakazam	MEG 56	Pokémon	stays
2–3	Close Dudunsparce	TEF 129	Pokémon	leaves
3–4	Close Buddy-Buddy Poffin	TEF 144	Trainer	leaves
1–4	Close Dawn	PFL 87	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Poké Pad	POR 81	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Rare Candy	MEG 125	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer	stays
1	Close Sacred Ash	DRI 168	Trainer	stays
2–4	Close Telepathic Psychic Energy	POR 88	Energy	stays
1–3	Psychic Energy	MEE 5	Energy	stays

The 57 cards that change from list to list

57 cards fight over the 24 slots that are left: 10 above three lists in four, 36 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Hilda at 99 %, Enriching Energy at 96 % and Fezandipiti ex at 95 %, plus 7 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Pikipek, at 49 %: 40 of 82 players took it, 42 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Dedenne (20 lists out of 82) and Dunsparce (18 lists out of 82).

Why a card at 45 % is not a bad card, and what order to buy all this in: how to read a deck list.

The cards some lists run and others don't, most common first

Lists running it	Card	Copies	Printing	Kind
99 %81/82	Close Hilda	2–4	WHT 84	Trainer
96 %79/82	Close Enriching Energy	1	SSP 191	Energy
95 %78/82	Close Fezandipiti ex	1	ASC 142	Pokémon
94 %77/82	Close Dunsparce	1–3	JTG 120	Pokémon
91 %75/82	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
84 %69/82	Close Battle Cage	1–4	PFL 85	Trainer
83 %68/82	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
80 %66/82	Close Enhanced Hammer	1–3	TWM 148	Trainer
79 %65/82	Close Night Stretcher	1–3	ASC 196	Trainer
76 %62/82	Close Genesect	1–2	SFA 40	Pokémon
67 %55/82	Close Air Balloon	1–3	ASC 181	Trainer
56 %46/82	Close Eri	1–2	TEF 146	Trainer
54 %44/82	Close Handheld Fan	1–3	TWM 150	Trainer
49 %40/82	Close Pikipek	1–2	PBL 66	Pokémon
49 %40/82	Close Toucannon	1–2	PBL 68	Pokémon
41 %34/82	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
41 %34/82	Close Special Red Card	1	CRI 82	Trainer
39 %32/82	Close Nighttime Mine	1–4	ASC 197	Trainer
34 %28/82	Close Trumbeak	1	PBL 67	Pokémon
27 %22/82	Close Lucky Helmet	1–2	TWM 158	Trainer
26 %21/82	Close Wondrous Patch	1–2	PFL 94	Trainer
24 %20/82	Close Dedenne	1	SSP 87	Pokémon
22 %18/82	Close Dunsparce	1–3	TEF 128	Pokémon
18 %15/82	Close Elgyem	1	BLK 40	Pokémon
15 %12/82	Close Fan Rotom	1–2	SCR 118	Pokémon
13 %11/82	Close Lillie's Clefairy ex	1	JTG 56	Pokémon
10 %8/82	Close Alakazam	1	TWM 82	Pokémon
10 %8/82	Close Switch	1	MEG 130	Trainer
9 %7/82	Close Gwynn	1–2	PBL 78	Trainer
7 %6/82	Close Xerosic's Machinations	1	SFA 64	Trainer
6 %5/82	Close Abra	1–2	TWM 80	Pokémon
6 %5/82	Close Lillie's Determination	1–2	MEG 119	Trainer
5 %4/82	Close Togekiss	1	SSP 72	Pokémon
5 %4/82	Close Togepi	1	SSP 70	Pokémon
4 %3/82	Close Crushing Hammer	1–4	POR 71	Trainer
4 %3/82	Close Rust Syndicate Grunt	2	PBL 81	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Rabsca	1	TEF 24	Pokémon
2 %2/82	Close Rellor	1	TEF 23	Pokémon
2 %2/82	Close Forest of Vitality	2	MEG 117	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Lillie's Pearl	1	JTG 151	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	1	DRI 176	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Tool Scrapper	1	ASC 212	Trainer
2 %2/82	Close Legacy Energy	1	TWM 167	Energy
2 %2/82	Close Mist Energy	1	TEF 161	Energy
1 %1/82	Close Dusknoir	2	PRE 37	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Duskull	2	PRE 35	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex	1	TWM 141	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Budew	1	ASC 16	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Buneary	1	PFL 83	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Dusclops	1	PRE 36	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Flutter Mane	1	TEF 78	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Mega Lopunny ex	1	PFL 84	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Togetic	1	SSP 71	Pokémon
1 %1/82	Close Bug Catching Set	1	TWM 143	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Prime Catcher	1	TEF 157	Trainer
1 %1/82	Close Prism Tower	1	CRI 80	Trainer

The most common Alakazam / Dudunsparce list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 36 slots come from the core, the cards all 82 lists run. The remaining 24 come from the table just above, working down it: the cards the most players chose, each at its most common copy count, until the total lands on 60.

This list is nobody's list in particular. It takes, slot by slot, what the most people played, under the guardrails a judge would hold you to: never more than four copies of a card, and one ACE SPEC. Behind the core it took 15 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 22 Pokémon, 32 Trainers and 6 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 82 lists we counted are all from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament. Nobody publishes the lists of the players who lost. So what you have in front of you is what the players finishing near the top bring most often.

The text under the table is the one the game expects: copy it, paste it into the deck manager, and the list builds itself.

Why we only read lists from players who came in the top twenty of their tournament, and what that changes about every percentage on this page: how to read a deck list.

Pokémon: 22
4 Abra MEG 54
4 Kadabra MEG 55
3 Alakazam MEG 56
2 Dudunsparce TEF 129
1 Fezandipiti ex ASC 142
3 Dunsparce JTG 120
1 Shaymin DRI 10
1 Genesect SFA 40
2 Pikipek PBL 66
1 Toucannon PBL 68

Trainer: 32
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144
4 Dawn PFL 87
4 Poké Pad POR 81
3 Rare Candy MEG 125
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
1 Sacred Ash DRI 168
3 Hilda WHT 84
3 Battle Cage PFL 85
1 Lana's Aid TWM 155
2 Enhanced Hammer TWM 148
1 Night Stretcher ASC 196
1 Air Balloon ASC 181
1 Eri TEF 146
2 Handheld Fan TWM 150

Energy: 6
4 Telepathic Psychic Energy POR 88
1 Psychic Energy MEE 5
1 Enriching Energy SSP 191

Total Cards: 60

Which decks beat Alakazam / Dudunsparce at tournaments

Here is how Alakazam / Dudunsparce did against every other deck at tournaments. Real games, real players sitting across the table from each other, and the platform those tournaments run on counts them one by one. All of them were played after 30th Celebration became legal for tournaments, and we read the table on 22 October 2026.

The format matters more than people think. When the next set lands, decks get rebuilt around the new cards, and a matchup that leaned one way can swing the other. What you are reading holds for today's format.

We start with the opponent that gives you the most trouble, because that is where the work is before your next tournament. The further down the list you go, the better it goes for you.

Always look at the number of games next to the score. Six wins out of ten happens on its own, even with a middling deck: it is the same as flipping six heads in ten tries. Six hundred out of a thousand, and luck has nothing to do with it. Below 100 games we show nothing at all, because at that count half the matchups look like they lean one way when they lean nowhere.

Against Dragapult ex: over 595 games, 222 won and 359 lost. 14 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Lopunny ex / Dudunsparce: over 164 games, 58 won and 103 lost. 3 ended with no winner.

Against Dhelmise: over 225 games, 84 won and 133 lost. 8 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity: over 153 games, 58 won and 93 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex / Dusknoir: over 221 games, 89 won and 130 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex: over 134 games, 53 won and 76 lost. 5 ended with no winner.

Against Alakazam / Dusknoir: over 134 games, 58 won and 74 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama: over 154 games, 70 won and 82 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Latias ex / Mega Kangaskhan ex: over 271 games, 136 won and 131 lost. 4 ended with no winner.

Against Festival Lead: over 120 games, 57 won and 61 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against N's Zoroark ex: over 254 games, 141 won and 108 lost. 5 ended with no winner.

Against Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium / Hydrapple ex: over 148 games, 89 won and 59 lost.

Against Mega Excadrill ex: over 216 games, 134 won and 80 lost. 2 ended with no winner.

Against Slowking: over 281 games, 188 won and 92 lost. One ended with no winner.

How many different cards Alakazam / Dudunsparce needs, and how long it will last

You need 69 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 12 of which nobody argues about. The rest is where lists differ from one another, and that is where you have room to choose.

All 82 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 79 took Enriching Energy, 2 took Legacy Energy and 1 took Prime Catcher. You are allowed ONE ACE SPEC card in your whole deck, so a single copy covers it whatever it costs. New to this deck? Take Enriching Energy and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time. 2 of the 12 core cards carry the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation: Dudunsparce and Buddy-Buddy Poffin. The core table marks every one of them. In copies, that is 6 of the 36 slots the core fills. Which day it lands, we do not know yet.

What Alakazam / Dudunsparce struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Darkness and Fighting, so they take DOUBLE damage from those types. 32 of the 125 decks we track attack in exactly those types.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: N's Zoroark ex, Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama and Mega Sharpedo ex / Toxtricity, plus 29 more decks. The table below takes them one at a time, and those are the lists you practise against first before an event.

This table counts one thing, Weakness, and that comes to 32 decks out of the 125 we track. The other 93 do not attack into yours, and this table says nothing about them. You will still run into them.

Going the other way, your attackers are Psychic, and 6 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: Mega Lucario ex / Hariyama, Mega Lucario ex and Greninja ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

When an attack does nothing at all

There are two ways to hurt the Pokémon across the table, and the game does not treat them the same. An attack with a number printed next to it deals damage. An attack with no number, whose text just says "place 2 damage counters", does what the rules call an effect. That matters, because a handful of Pokémon have an Ability that prevents the effects of your opponent's attacks, and their card spells it out in brackets: damage is not an effect.

The other way round, this deck attacks with counters too: Alakazam with Powerful Hand. Those attacks have no damage number printed next to them at all. In front of a Pokémon that shuts off effects, they place nothing. Zero.

Of the decks we track, 7 play a Pokémon like that, and they are in the table below. The day you see one come across the table, stop counting on your counters. You need an attack with a real number written on it. You have one: Land Crush, on Dudunsparce, for 90.