Erika's Victreebel deck: the core, the flex slots, and what beats it

What Erika's Victreebel looks like when you open the box

Across the 22 lists we counted, this deck runs 19 to 26 Pokémon, 27 to 30 Trainers and 7 to 12 Energy. Its attacks are paid for in Grass.

On results pages and on stream you will see it written « erikas-victreebel ». 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: 7 to 12 out of 60, exactly the median of the 97 decks we track. It draws neither too much nor too little, so this is not where its games are won or lost.

It takes a while to set up. Erika's Victreebel 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: 27 to 30 cards out of 60, against a median of 31 across the 97 decks we track. Inside that, 8 to 14 Supporters, and the rule there is strict — one a turn, even if you are holding three. The 9 to 15 Items you can play all of in the same turn. It also brings up to 6 Stadiums, and 2 of the 97 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.

How Erika's Victreebel actually wins

Erika's Victreebel attacks with Solar Beam for 130. It needs 3 Energy, 2 Grass and 1 Colorless attached, and it has 150 HP.

The cost of Solar Beam decides your first few turns. You only get to attach one Energy a turn, and that attack asks for 3. On your own attachments alone, your first real swing lands on turn 3. We have not found anything in this list that attaches Energy faster than that, so plan on holding out for 2 turns before you swing. Those turns still get played: you fill your Bench, you build your lines, and you keep something back to rebuild with when your attacker falls.

Here is the detail that quietly loses games. To pull Erika's Victreebel back to the Bench you have to discard 3 Energy attached to it. Retreating does not cost you your turn, you can step back and still swing right after. What it costs you is the 3 Energy you spent 3 turns attaching, and you start that climb again from nothing. Pack a card that moves it for free, or send it up knowing it stays up.

Not one ex Pokémon in the core, and only 21 of the 97 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 Erika's VictreebelStage 2	150	Solar Beam	130	Grass + Grass + Colorless	Fire ×2	3
Close Erika's WeepinbellStage 1	90	Leafy Cyclone	70	Grass + Colorless	Fire ×2	2
Close Erika's TangelaBasic	80	Bind	50	Grass + Colorless	Fire ×2	2
Close Erika's BellsproutBasic	60	Vine Slap	20	Grass	Fire ×2	1

The core: the 8 cards every list runs

These 8 cards appear in all 22 lists, without a single exception. That is 32 of the 60 slots. The other 28 are decided player by player.

Look at how those 32 slots break down: 10 Trainers, 15 Pokémon, 7 Energy. Pokémon dominate, which is unusual: this deck needs bodies on the board, and it depends on any single attacker less than it looks.

8 of those 8 cards do not sit at the same count from list to list: Erika's Bellsprout (3 to 4), Erika's Tangela (3 to 4) and Erika's Weepinbell (2 to 4), plus 5 more. Add those spreads up and you get 11 copies the 22 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
3–4	Close Erika's Bellsprout	ASC 4	Pokémon
3–4	Close Erika's Tangela	ASC 7	Pokémon
2–4	Close Erika's Weepinbell	ASC 5	Pokémon
3–4	Close Erika's Victreebel	ASC 6	Pokémon
3–4	Close Forest of Vitality	MEG 117	Trainer
3–4	Close Lillie's Determination	MEG 119	Trainer
2–3	Close Boss's Orders	MEG 114	Trainer
5–8	Grass Energy	MEE 1	Energy

The 44 cards that change from list to list

44 cards fight over the 28 slots that are left: 13 above three lists in four, 30 below one in four, and the percentage on each row says how many players took it.

The most agreed on first: Bug Catching Set at 95 %, Gwynn at 95 % and Poké Pad at 95 %, plus 10 more above 75 %. Add those to the core and you have the common build.

The dividing line runs through Chikorita, at 73 %: 16 of 22 players took it, 6 put something else there. The ones who run it bring 2 copies. Right at the bottom of the table, Chikorita (5 lists out of 22) and Pokégear 3.0 (4 lists out of 22).

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
95 %21/22	Close Bug Catching Set	4	TWM 143	Trainer
95 %21/22	Close Gwynn	2–4	PBL 78	Trainer
95 %21/22	Close Poké Pad	3–4	POR 81	Trainer
95 %21/22	Close Sacred Ash	2	DRI 168	Trainer
91 %20/22	Close Meganium	2	MEG 10	Pokémon
91 %20/22	Close Brave Bangle	1–2	WHT 80	Trainer
86 %19/22	Close Erika's Gloom	1–2	ASC 2	Pokémon
86 %19/22	Close Erika's Oddish	1–3	ASC 1	Pokémon
86 %19/22	Close Erika's Vileplume ex	1	ASC 3	Pokémon
86 %19/22	Close Secret Box	1	TWM 163	Trainer
82 %18/22	Close Bayleef	2	MEG 9	Pokémon
82 %18/22	Close Shaymin	1	DRI 10	Pokémon
77 %17/22	Close Lana's Aid	1	TWM 155	Trainer
73 %16/22	Close Chikorita	1–2	MEG 8	Pokémon
23 %5/22	Close Chikorita	1–2	ASC 8	Pokémon
18 %4/22	Close Pokégear 3.0	1–2	SVI 186	Trainer
14 %3/22	Close Special Red Card	1–2	CRI 82	Trainer
9 %2/22	Close Bayleef	2	ASC 9	Pokémon
9 %2/22	Close Teal Mask Ogerpon ex	1–2	TWM 25	Pokémon
9 %2/22	Close Crispin	3–4	SCR 133	Trainer
9 %2/22	Close Air Balloon	1–2	ASC 181	Trainer
9 %2/22	Close Area Zero Underdepths	2	SCR 131	Trainer
9 %2/22	Close Max Rod	1	PRE 116	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Crustle	2	DRI 12	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Dwebble	2	DRI 11	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Patrat	1	CRI 70	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Psyduck	1	ASC 39	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Rabsca	1	TEF 24	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Rellor	1	TEF 23	Pokémon
5 %1/22	Close Energy Search	3	POR 72	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Rare Candy	2	MEG 125	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Team Rocket's Petrel	2	DRI 176	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Ultra Ball	2	MEG 131	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Colress's Tenacity	1	SFA 57	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Counter Gain	1	SSP 169	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Enhanced Hammer	1	TWM 148	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Night Stretcher	1	ASC 196	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Survival Brace	1	TWM 164	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Switch	1	MEG 130	Trainer
5 %1/22	Close Growing Grass Energy	4	POR 86	Energy
5 %1/22	Darkness Energy	3	MEE 7	Energy
5 %1/22	Lightning Energy	2	MEE 4	Energy
5 %1/22	Fire Energy	1	MEE 2	Energy
5 %1/22	Psychic Energy	1	MEE 5	Energy

The most common Erika's Victreebel list, all 60 cards

Here they are in full, ready to build. 32 slots come from the core, the cards all 22 lists run. The remaining 28 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 14 more cards to reach 60. The whole thing comes to 25 Pokémon, 28 Trainers and 7 Energy.

One thing to know before you build it: the 22 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.

There is no price total on this page. The readings we have are Cardmarket's, in euros, and the shop link further down sends you to TCGplayer, which quotes in dollars. Putting a euro figure next to a dollar shop would be one currency too many. The French and German pages carry the total.

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: 25
4 Erika's Bellsprout ASC 4
4 Erika's Tangela ASC 7
4 Erika's Weepinbell ASC 5
3 Erika's Victreebel ASC 6
2 Meganium MEG 10
1 Erika's Gloom ASC 2
1 Erika's Oddish ASC 1
1 Erika's Vileplume ex ASC 3
2 Bayleef MEG 9
1 Shaymin DRI 10
2 Chikorita MEG 8

Trainer: 28
4 Forest of Vitality MEG 117
4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119
2 Boss's Orders MEG 114
4 Bug Catching Set TWM 143
4 Gwynn PBL 78
4 Poké Pad POR 81
2 Sacred Ash DRI 168
2 Brave Bangle WHT 80
1 Secret Box TWM 163
1 Lana's Aid TWM 155

Energy: 7
7 Grass Energy MEE 1

Total Cards: 60

What Erika's Victreebel costs to build, and how long it will last

You need 52 different cards to cover every version of this deck, 8 of which nobody argues about. We do not have card prices, so we are not going to put a number on it.

All 22 lists bring an ACE SPEC, and that is where they part ways: 19 took Secret Box, 2 took Max Rod and 1 took Survival Brace. 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 Secret Box and watch what the others do with theirs before you switch.

Then there is time, and the answer is a good one: not one of the 8 core cards carries the letter H, the one that goes at the next rotation. This deck walks through the change whole.

What Erika's Victreebel struggles against

The attackers in this deck are Weak to Fire, so they take DOUBLE damage from that type. 10 of the 97 decks we track attack in exactly that type.

Concretely, here is what is waiting for you: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion and Ceruledge ex, plus 7 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 10 decks out of the 97 we track. The other 87 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 Grass, and 18 of the decks we track have an attacker Weak to one of those: N's Zoroark ex, Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex / Froslass and Mega Lucario ex, among others. That is you doubling, for once. Second half of the table.

Questions people ask

What is the Erika's Victreebel deck list?

There isn't one, so we built one for you: all 60 cards are written out further up this page. Across 22 tournament lists harvested between 11 August 2026 and 16 August 2026, 8 cards turn up in every single one, 32 slots out of 60. The remaining 28 change from player to player, with 44 different cards competing for them. Both tables are above.

How many lists is this counted on, and where do they come from?

22 lists, played across 22 different tournaments, harvested between 11 August 2026 and 16 August 2026 from play.limitlesstcg.com. All 22 were read card by card, and every card recognised.

Where do I start if I want to build Erika's Victreebel?

With the whole core: 8 cards, 32 slots. Inside it, buy the 10 Trainer slots and the 7 Energy first: they carry over into your next deck. Leave the 15 Pokémon slots for last. Only then work down the flex table and add the cards the most lists agree on, starting with Bug Catching Set at 95 % and Gwynn at 95 %.

What beats Erika's Victreebel?

Its attackers are Weak to Fire, so they take double damage from an attacker of that type. 10 of the 97 decks we track play an attacker of that type: Dragapult ex / Blaziken ex, Ethan's Typhlosion, Ceruledge ex and Blaziken / N's Zoroark ex, among others.

Will Erika's Victreebel survive the next rotation?

Yes, whole: not one of the 8 core cards carries the letter H. At equal price, that is the argument that should settle where your money goes.

Are a lot of people playing Erika's Victreebel?

We have read 22 lists of it, which puts it 71st of the 97 decks we track by lists read. The platform those tournaments run on counts 58 entries for it, 0.14 % of the field, across all its players. That figure is theirs.

These pages are about the same corner of the game. If you came away from this one still wondering about something, start with one of them.