Eevee Grove’s Best Dark Decks

Darkness has always been one of the most enjoyable archetypes in Pokemon TCG Pocket. However, that hasn’t often translated to strong performances in the metagame. Aside from Darkrai ex’s success, Darkness Pokemon have mostly underperformed across recent expansions.

With the arrival of Eevee Grove, many are wondering if the archetype can finally be saved, especially with the introduction of a brand-new Darkness-type Umbreon card. But it’s not that simple. While the set introduces some fresh synergies within the Darkness archetype, it stops short of fully reviving it. Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s June expansion does bring some fun new Darkness variants to play around with, but it doesn’t do much to elevate their standing in the PvP scene.

If you’re curious about which Darkness decks are performing best in the Eevee Grove era, this guide has you covered. It highlights two of the most popular new Darkness lineups and breaks down how to play them effectively. You’ll also find an analysis of the archetype’s current performance in the metagame, helping you decide whether a Darkness-centric strategy is worth the switch.

An Overview of Eevee Grove’s Darkness-type Pokemon

Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Eevee Grove expansion introduced seven Darkness-type Pokemon. Four of them are brand-new cards featuring unique stats and abilities, while the remaining three are full-art and shiny variants of existing cards.

Here’s the complete list:

• Umbreon A3b 043
• Stableye A3b 044
• Purrloin A3b 045
• Liepard A3b 046
• Umbreon A3b 077 (one-star)
• Ekans A3b 100 (one-star shiny)
• Arbok A3b 101 (one-star shiny)

For comparison, the previous mini-set, Extradimensional Crisis, introduced nine Darkness-type Pokemon. One of the top cards from that expansion was Nihilego, which has since become a go-to in many Darkness decks.

The Best Darkness Deck in Eevee Grove: Umbreon + Darkrai ex

• Deck Energy: Darkness
• Deck Archetype: Poison and Passive Damage

Eevee Grove’s top Darkness-type deck is Umbreon’s alliance with Darkrai ex. This duo takes advantage of Poison Barb’s effect and Nihilego’s ability, which together can deal up to 30 passive damage. Combined with Darkrai ex’s 20-damage passive and Umbreon’s 40-damage attack, the deck can hit for up to 90 damage per turn using just one Energy. More importantly, each time Umbreon lands a hit, it effectively blocks the opponent’s next attack, as long as their active Pokemon is a Basic.

Before the Extradimensional Crisis era, Darkrai ex was famous for its deadly bond with Giratina ex. The two ex Pokemon dominated PvP for nearly two full seasons before Ultra Beasts took over. Now, Darkrai ex might have another chance to be a trendy contender in competitive play, thanks to its new partnership with Umbreon.

Here’s how the deck’s synergies work:

• Umbreon takes the Active Spot, tasked with blocking the enemy’s Basic Pokemon attacks while dealing 40 damage.
• Nihilego stays benched for most of the match, supporting the board with its More Poison ability. Each time the opponent is poisoned, Nihilego increases the poison damage by 10. With two on the field, the enemy takes up to 30 damage from the Poisoned Special Condition instead of just 10.
• Darkrai ex serves as the secondary damage dealer. Each time you attach Energy to it, it deals 20 damage to the opponent’s active Pokemon. After wearing down the opponent, you can activate Darkrai ex’s Dark Prism move to deal up to 100 damage, or 120 if the target is weak to Darkness.

How to Play the Umbreon-Darkrai ex Deck

1. Open with Eevee and evolve it into Umbreon as soon as possible.
2. Attach a Poison Barb to it.
3. Place two Nihilego cards on the Bench. (Don’t charge them up.)
4. Add one Darkrai ex to the board.
5. Allocate the first Zone Energy to Umbreon and start dealing damage.
6. Give the rest of your Energy to Darkrai ex to deal chip damage.
7. Let the enemy damage your Umbreon so that they get poisoned.
8. Now, you will be able to deal 90 damage per turn: 40 from Umbreon’s attack, 30 from Poison Barb and Nihilego cards, and 20 from Darkrai ex’s Nightmare Aura. If the enemy is weak to Darkness, your total damage will be 110.

You can open with Nihilego to poison the enemy directly before switching to Umbreon.

Alternative Darkness Deck: Umbreon + Crobat

You can leverage Umbreon’s Binding Move in a Darkness deck alongside Triumphant Light’s Crobat. However, this duo isn’t effective on its own; they need Arceus ex to activate Crobat’s passive chip damage and to play the role of a secondary damage dealer.

Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s fourth expansion introduced link abilities. These are passive moves that activate once certain conditions are met. In the case of Crobat, the link ability requires Arceus or Arceus ex on the board to trigger the Cunning Link move. With Cunning Link, Crobat deals 30 damage per turn to the opponent’s Active Pokemon. So, if you bench two Crobats alongside one Arceus, you can deal a whopping 60 passive damage each turn.

Umbreon’s new synergy with Crobat and Arceus ex lets it deal up to 100 damage with just one Energy. However, this power comes with drawbacks. Crobat is a Stage Two Pokemon, making it harder to set up than, say, Nihilego. Plus, Umbreon itself is a Stage One card, which adds to the deck’s rigidity by increasing the number of Pokemon.

Here’s how Umbreon synergizes with Crobat and Arceus ex:

• Umbreon leads the charge. You start with this card and attack as soon as it has one Darkness Energy. Thanks to its passive ability, every time Umbreon lands a hit, it prevents the enemy’s next attack, giving you time to set up Crobat on the Bench.
• Crobat handles the main chip damage. Paired with Arceus ex, it deals 30 damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon, boosting Umbreon’s damage to 70. (With two benched Crobats, Umbreon’s damage jumps to 100.)
• Arceus ex is both the link activator and secondary attacker. After charging up Umbreon, you can use any spare Energy to power up Arceus ex. When your board is full, Arceus ex can hit for 130 damage or 190 when factoring in damage from two Crobat cards.

How to Play the Umbreon-Crobat Deck

1. Open with the Eevee-Umbreon line.
2. Focus on evolving at least one Crobat on the Bench.
3. Try to draw more cards with Eevee’s Collect move. Or, stall with Umbreon’s attack until you draw the needed cards..
4. Play Arceus ex to the Bench once your Crobat is all set up.
5. Start combining Crobat’s chip damage with Umbreon’s attack for maximum damage.
6. Allocate all the extra Energy to Arceus ex.
7. Ideally, retreat Umbreon before it gets knocked out and start eliminating with Arceus ex.

How to Counter Eevee Grove’s Darkness Decks

Since most Darkness decks in the Eevee Grove era rely on Umbreon, the ideal counter is a Buzzwole ex Celesteela deck. This Ultra Beast duo bypasses Umbreon’s attack restriction because Celesteela lets Buzzwole ex retreat and reactivate in the same turn. For those unfamiliar, most restrictive effects, like Umbreon’s Dark Binding, are removed when a Pokemon retreats or evolves.

An Analysis of Eevee Grove’s Darkness Decks

The archetype faces many challenges, and it’s unlikely Umbreon alone can carry Darkness Pokemon to the top.

Darkness hasn’t been a favored archetype since Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s launch. While it has had its moments in the metagame, it has never held a top spot on the PvP ladder. With the arrival of the Eevee Grove set, Umbreon might be seen as a new hope for Darkness decks. Still, the archetype faces many challenges, and with so many strong rivals from other archetypes, it’s unlikely Umbreon alone can carry Darkness Pokemon to the top.

Darkness decks make up less than one percent of the current meta, and their win rates aren’t impressive. In other words, the archetype doesn’t offer much competitive value. Most players experiment with Darkness decks mainly because Eevee Grove’s Umbreon enables creative combos, like its synergy with Nihilego or Crobat. Whether future expansions will shift the balance for Darkness-type Pokemon or if they’ll stay mid-tier remains to be seen.