Gourgeist Houndstone Deck Guide

Strategy Overview

Gourgeist Houndstone is one of the most interesting non-ex decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket because it wins through a very different resource system than most standard decks. Instead of trying to preserve every Pokémon card in hand, this deck actively wants many Psychic Pokémon to reach the discard pile. Every discarded Pokémon makes Houndstone more dangerous. That means the deck turns an apparent drawback—discarding cards—into its primary win condition. The deck has two core attackers with different responsibilities. Gourgeist is the early and mid-game attacker. Houndstone is the scaling late-game finisher. Gourgeist evolves from Pumpkaboo and uses Soul Shot. Soul Shot deals 70 damage for only one Psychic Energy. That is an extremely efficient attack cost for a Stage 1 Pokémon. The drawback is that you must discard a card from your hand when using the attack. Normally, discarding cards repeatedly would be a major downside. In this deck, it is often part of the plan. You want to discard Psychic Pokémon whenever possible, especially duplicate evolution pieces, extra Pumpkaboo, extra Greavard, redundant Meloetta copies, or Klefki after it has already provided value. Every Psychic Pokémon that reaches the discard pile increases Houndstone’s future damage output. Houndstone is the deck’s true finisher. Its attack, Last Respects, costs two Psychic Energy. The attack starts at 50 damage and deals 20 additional damage for every Psychic Pokémon in your discard pile. This makes Houndstone much stronger as the game progresses. With two Psychic Pokémon in the discard pile, Last Respects reaches 90 damage. With four Psychic Pokémon, it reaches 130 damage. With six Psychic Pokémon, it reaches 170 damage. As more Pokémon are discarded through Soul Shot, Knock Outs, Klefki’s self-discard effect, or unused setup lines, Houndstone becomes a serious one-hit knockout threat. The deck is therefore built around controlled resource conversion. Your Pokémon are not only attackers. They are also future damage resources. Pumpkaboo, Greavard, Gourgeist, Houndstone, Meloetta, and Klefki all contribute to the Psychic Pokémon count when they are discarded. This is especially important when an evolved Pokémon is Knocked Out. The entire evolution line can end up in the discard pile, significantly increasing the potential damage of Last Respects. That means you should not panic when an early Gourgeist is knocked out. Losing Gourgeist is not ideal, but it often creates a stronger Houndstone for later. The deck is designed to trade early resources for a more powerful late-game board. Greavard supports the same game plan. Greavard can use Soul Shot as well, although it deals less damage than Gourgeist. Its role is primarily to provide an early attacker, discard a Psychic Pokémon when necessary, and establish the Houndstone evolution line. In some hands, Greavard is your first attacker. In others, it remains on the Bench until Houndstone is ready. The important part is understanding that Greavard is not only a setup Pokémon. It can help fill the discard pile and keep the deck functioning before Gourgeist is online. Meloetta is one of the most valuable support Pokémon in the list. Its Ability, Strange Singing, works at the beginning of your turn when Meloetta is in the Active Spot. It puts a random Psychic Pokémon from your deck into your hand. This gives the deck a recurring source of Pokémon cards to work with. Meloetta does not simply provide draw. It gives you the specific resource type that the deck wants most: Psychic Pokémon. Those cards can become evolution pieces, backup attackers, Bench setup, or discard fuel for Gourgeist and Greavard. A strong early-game sequence often looks like this: Start Meloetta in the Active Spot. Trigger Strange Singing at the beginning of your turn. Receive a random Psychic Pokémon from the deck. Bench the important Pokémon you need. Discard a less important Psychic Pokémon with Soul Shot. Build toward Gourgeist or Houndstone. This makes Meloetta an excellent opening Pokémon. It creates hand resources without requiring an Item, Supporter, or Energy attachment. However, Meloetta does not need to stay Active forever. Once you have enough setup pieces and Gourgeist is ready to attack, it is often correct to move Meloetta to the Bench. Its main function is to improve your early consistency. Do not leave it Active too long if the opponent can take an easy knockout or if Gourgeist has a strong attack available. Klefki is the deck’s disruptive tech card. Its Ability, Dismantling Keys, can remove all Pokémon Tools attached to the opponent’s Active Pokémon. This can be extremely strong against decks that depend on Giant Cape, Rocky Helmet, Heavy Helmet, Steel Apron, Ancient Booster Energy Capsule, Future Booster Energy Capsule, or other Tool-based support. However, Klefki does not remove Tools for free. After using Dismantling Keys, Klefki discards itself. This means you should not use the Ability simply because the opponent has any Tool in play. You should use it when the Tool matters. Good Klefki targets include: Giant Cape when the additional HP prevents a knockout. Heavy Helmet when it reduces enough damage to survive. Steel Apron when the opponent relies on Special Condition protection. Rocky Helmet when you cannot afford passive retaliation damage. Ancient or Future Booster Energy Capsule when it changes the opponent’s attack damage. The self-discard is actually less painful in this deck than it would be elsewhere. Klefki is a Psychic Pokémon, so once it discards itself, it increases Houndstone’s Last Respects damage. That creates an important decision point. Klefki is both disruption and future Houndstone fuel. The Trainer package gives the deck consistency and target control. Professor’s Research is your standard draw card. Use it when you are missing multiple pieces at once, such as Pumpkaboo, Gourgeist, Greavard, Houndstone, Meloetta, Rare Candy, or Energy. Copycat is especially useful when the opponent has a large hand. Since Gourgeist Houndstone often wants multiple pieces in the same turn, a large Copycat refresh can help find the correct evolution line, a Supporter, or the final Houndstone. Poké Ball is important because the deck has many Basic Pokémon. It can find Pumpkaboo, Greavard, Meloetta, or Klefki depending on what the current board needs. Rare Candy is one of the most important setup cards. It allows you to skip directly from Greavard to Houndstone. This can create a surprise finisher turn where the opponent believes they have time to prepare, only for Houndstone to suddenly enter play with a high-damage Last Respects attack. Giant Cape is mostly used to protect your important attackers. Gourgeist can benefit from additional HP because it often needs to remain Active for multiple Soul Shot attacks. Houndstone can also benefit when it is being prepared as the late-game closer. The card should be attached when the extra HP changes an important knockout threshold, not only because it is available. Peculiar Plaza gives the deck crucial movement flexibility. The Stadium reduces Retreat Costs for all Pokémon in play. This matters because Meloetta often wants to begin in the Active Spot but does not always want to remain there. Peculiar Plaza makes it easier to move Meloetta out, bring Gourgeist forward, or transition into Houndstone without losing too much Energy. Remember that Peculiar Plaza affects both players. It can help the opponent retreat as well. Use it when the mobility helps your plan more than theirs. Cyrus is the deck’s finishing Supporter. Houndstone often reaches its largest damage output late in the game, after the opponent has already retreated damaged attackers to the Bench. Cyrus can pull one of those damaged Pokémon back into the Active Spot and allow Houndstone to take the cleanest possible knockout. This is especially useful when Gourgeist has already damaged a target with Soul Shot. The opponent may retreat that Pokémon to safety, but Cyrus can turn it back into a prize. Overall, Gourgeist Houndstone is a resource-management deck with a strong delayed payoff. Gourgeist creates pressure while discarding cards from hand. Meloetta refills your Pokémon resources. Klefki disrupts Tools and becomes Houndstone fuel. Greavard and Pumpkaboo create your evolution lines. Houndstone turns the discard pile into late-game damage. The deck is strongest when you understand that not every discarded Pokémon is a loss. In many games, discarding the right card is exactly what creates your winning Houndstone turn.

Gameplay Video

Early Game

Your best opening usually starts with Meloetta in the Active Spot. Strange Singing gives you a Psychic Pokémon at the beginning of your turn, which helps establish your Bench and gives you more options for Soul Shot discards. Bench Pumpkaboo and Greavard early. You want both evolution lines available because Gourgeist creates early pressure while Houndstone gives you a late-game plan. Do not bench Klefki automatically. Keep it in hand if the opponent has not shown an important Tool yet. It is more valuable as a surprise tech card than as an easy Bench target. Use Poké Ball to find the Basic Pokémon you are missing. Use Professor’s Research when you need several setup pieces at once. If Gourgeist is ready early, use Soul Shot to begin applying pressure. Try to discard Psychic Pokémon that are redundant or difficult to use in the current game.

Mid Game

The mid game is about building the discard pile without losing your board too quickly. Gourgeist is usually your main attacker during this phase. Soul Shot deals 70 damage for one Energy, which makes it efficient enough to pressure many attackers while also powering Houndstone. Do not discard essential cards blindly. Keep at least one realistic Houndstone evolution path. Keep enough Pokémon on the Bench to maintain a future attacker. Discard duplicates, extra Basic Pokémon, redundant evolution copies, or Psychic Pokémon that are unlikely to matter in the rest of the game. Meloetta should remain Active only while Strange Singing still matters. Once you have enough cards in hand and Gourgeist is ready, move Meloetta to the Bench or let it become a lower-priority target. Use Giant Cape on Gourgeist when it will force the opponent to spend another attack. Use it on Houndstone when you expect the late-game finisher to remain Active for more than one turn.

Late Game

The late game is Houndstone territory. Count the number of Psychic Pokémon in your discard pile before every Last Respects attack. Houndstone’s damage depends on that count, so exact calculations matter. Do not assume Houndstone always needs the maximum possible damage. Sometimes 90 or 110 damage is enough to take the final prize. Other times, it is worth waiting one turn, discarding another Psychic Pokémon, or allowing an evolution line to be Knocked Out before committing Houndstone. Use Cyrus to bring damaged Bench Pokémon Active. This is often the cleanest path to victory because Gourgeist may have already weakened a target earlier in the game. Klefki can become a decisive late-game card. Remove a Giant Cape or defensive Tool before using Last Respects if that Tool is the only reason your target survives. Use Peculiar Plaza to reposition carefully. You may need to retreat a damaged Gourgeist, move Meloetta out of the Active Spot, or bring Houndstone forward with minimal Energy loss.