Hisuian Goodra Mantyke Deck Guide

Strategy Overview

Hisuian Goodra is one of the most interesting tank-style decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The deck is built around a simple but demanding goal: evolve into Hisuian Goodra, attach Water, Metal, and Colorless Energy, and then force the opponent to deal with a Pokémon that can be incredibly difficult to remove. Hisuian Goodra has 150 HP and attacks with Heavy Impact for 120 damage. Heavy Impact requires one Water Energy, one Metal Energy, and one Colorless Energy, which means the deck needs access to both Water and Metal Energy while still finding its Stage 2 evolution pieces. The reason this deck is so exciting is Hisuian Goodra’s Ability, Securely Sheltered. Whenever Hisuian Goodra takes damage from an attack, you flip a coin. On heads, Hisuian Goodra takes 80 less damage from that attack. This can completely change a game. An attack that would normally deal enough damage for a knockout may suddenly deal almost nothing. The deck improves this defensive plan even further with Heavy Helmet. Because Hisuian Goodra has a Retreat Cost of three, Heavy Helmet reduces damage from attacks by another 20. When Securely Sheltered succeeds and Heavy Helmet is attached, an opponent’s attack can be reduced by a massive 100 damage in total. Healing is another major part of the strategy. Lillie can heal 60 damage from one of your Stage 2 Pokémon, making it perfect for Hisuian Goodra. Lucky Ice Pop gives additional healing and can return to your hand when its coin flip succeeds, allowing it to provide repeatable value in longer games. The deck also has a strong early-game disruption tool in Goomy. While Goomy is in the Active Spot, its Sticky Membrane Ability increases the Energy cost of attacks used by the opponent’s Active Pokémon by one Colorless Energy. This makes it harder for aggressive decks to attack early and can buy you the extra turn needed to evolve into Hisuian Sliggoo or use Rare Candy for Hisuian Goodra. Mantyke helps solve the deck’s Energy problem. Its Splashy Toss attack attaches a Water Energy from the Energy Zone to one of your Benched Pokémon. This is especially useful because Hisuian Goodra needs three Energy total. Mantyke can place the Water Energy onto Goomy, Hisuian Sliggoo, or a future Hisuian Goodra while you continue setting up the rest of your board. This deck is not the fastest deck in the format. It needs a Stage 2 evolution, dual Energy access, and careful resource management. However, once Hisuian Goodra is active with Heavy Helmet, healing support, and enough Energy to attack, it can become one of the most frustrating Pokémon for opponents to deal with. How the Deck Works The main objective is to build Hisuian Goodra as quickly as possible while making it difficult for the opponent to take early knockouts. Your ideal board usually includes: Hisuian Goodra in the Active Spot A Heavy Helmet attached to Hisuian Goodra One or more Water Energy already attached through Mantyke A backup Goomy or Hisuian Goodra line on the Bench Lillie or Lucky Ice Pop available for healing Cyrus available for late-game finishing turns The deck starts slowly compared with fast Basic Pokémon ex strategies. That is why Goomy is so important. Sticky Membrane can delay the opponent by increasing the cost of their Active Pokémon’s attacks. If the opponent needs an additional Energy before attacking, you gain valuable time to evolve. Once Goomy survives long enough, you can either evolve manually through Hisuian Sliggoo or skip directly to Hisuian Goodra with Rare Candy. Rare Candy is one of the most important cards in the deck because it reduces the time needed to establish your Stage 2 attacker. Lisia also helps the opening turns. It can add two random Basic Pokémon with 50 HP or less from your deck to your hand. In this list, Lisia can find Goomy and Mantyke, helping you establish both your evolution line and your Water Energy support. Key Cards Hisuian Goodra Hisuian Goodra is the deck’s main attacker, tank, and win condition. Heavy Impact deals 120 damage for Water, Metal, and Colorless Energy. This is enough to knock out many smaller Pokémon and heavily damage larger Pokémon ex. The attack cost is demanding, but once Hisuian Goodra is ready, it can continue attacking turn after turn without discarding Energy. The most important part of Hisuian Goodra is Securely Sheltered. On a successful coin flip, it takes 80 less damage from an opposing attack. This means that even large attacks can become manageable. For example, if the opponent attacks Hisuian Goodra for 120 damage: Without defensive support, Hisuian Goodra takes 120 damage. With Heavy Helmet, it takes 100 damage. With Securely Sheltered activated, it takes 40 damage. With both Securely Sheltered and Heavy Helmet, it takes only 20 damage. This is why the deck can feel nearly impossible to break through once it is fully set up. Goomy Goomy is much more than a basic evolution card. Sticky Membrane increases the Energy cost of attacks used by the opponent’s Active Pokémon by one Colorless Energy while Goomy is Active. This creates a strong opening disruption effect. Fast decks may be forced to wait an extra turn before attacking, and slower decks can struggle to set up their first attacker efficiently. Whenever possible, try to begin with Goomy in the Active Spot. If Goomy survives, you can evolve toward Hisuian Goodra. If it is knocked out, it may still have bought enough time for you to establish a second Goomy or attach Energy with Mantyke. Mantyke Mantyke is the deck’s Water Energy accelerator. Splashy Toss allows you to take a Water Energy from the Energy Zone and attach it to one of your Benched Pokémon. This is extremely valuable because Hisuian Goodra requires three Energy and needs both Water and Metal Energy. In most games, your first Mantyke target should be Goomy or Hisuian Sliggoo. This lets you begin building toward Heavy Impact before Hisuian Goodra is even evolved. Mantyke is most valuable during the opening turns. Later in the game, it can become a liability because of its low HP, so avoid benching extra copies unless you have a clear reason. Heavy Helmet Heavy Helmet is one of the strongest cards in the deck. If the Pokémon holding Heavy Helmet has a Retreat Cost of three or more, it takes 20 less damage from attacks. Hisuian Goodra has a Retreat Cost of three, making it an ideal Heavy Helmet target. This Tool is especially powerful because it stacks with Securely Sheltered. A successful coin flip plus Heavy Helmet can reduce an incoming attack by 100 damage. That kind of damage reduction can completely ruin an opponent’s knockout calculations. Attach Heavy Helmet to Hisuian Goodra whenever possible. Avoid wasting it on Goomy or Mantyke unless you have no other option. Lillie Lillie heals 60 damage from one of your Stage 2 Pokémon. Since Hisuian Goodra is a Stage 2 Pokémon, Lillie is one of the most important survival cards in the deck. The best Lillie turns happen after Hisuian Goodra survives an attack through Securely Sheltered or Heavy Helmet. The opponent may believe they have placed enough damage on Goodra to knock it out next turn, only for you to heal 60 damage and reset the exchange. Try to save Lillie for meaningful healing thresholds. Healing 60 damage is strongest when it forces the opponent to use an entire additional attack to take a knockout. Lucky Ice Pop Lucky Ice Pop heals 20 damage from your Active Pokémon. If the coin flip succeeds, Lucky Ice Pop returns to your hand instead of being discarded. This card is excellent in a tank deck because small amounts of healing can matter a lot after damage reduction. If Hisuian Goodra only takes 20, 30, or 40 damage from an attack, Lucky Ice Pop can erase much of that damage immediately. Do not use Lucky Ice Pop automatically. Save it for situations where healing 20 changes whether Hisuian Goodra survives the opponent’s next attack. Rare Candy Rare Candy lets you evolve Goomy directly into Hisuian Goodra, skipping Hisuian Sliggoo. Because the deck only plays one Hisuian Sliggoo, Rare Candy is extremely important. It gives the deck faster Stage 2 access and prevents you from being forced to wait through a slower evolution sequence. Use Rare Candy carefully. Make sure you are evolving a Goomy that is safe and likely to remain in play. If the opponent can immediately knock out your newly evolved Hisuian Goodra, you may need to wait until you can attach Heavy Helmet, heal, or build a backup attacker first.

Gameplay Video

Early Game

The early game is all about buying time and preparing Energy. Your ideal opening Pokémon is Goomy. Sticky Membrane can slow the opponent down by increasing the attack cost of their Active Pokémon. This gives you more time to evolve and set up. Use Lisia, Poké Ball, Professor’s Research, and Copycat to find Goomy, Mantyke, Rare Candy, and Hisuian Goodra. Mantyke should be used early whenever possible. Attach Water Energy to your Benched Goomy or Hisuian Sliggoo, then continue developing your board. Since Hisuian Goodra needs Water, Metal, and Colorless Energy, every early Energy attachment matters. Avoid attaching all Energy to one Pokémon too early if you do not have a safe evolution line. Sometimes it is better to spread your setup across two Goomy so the opponent cannot easily shut down your entire plan with one knockout.

Mid Game

The mid game begins once Hisuian Goodra is active or nearly ready to attack. Your first priority should be getting Heavy Helmet onto Hisuian Goodra. Once Heavy Helmet is attached, the opponent’s damage calculations become much more difficult. If you can attack with Heavy Impact, begin targeting the opponent’s strongest attacker or most valuable Pokémon. Hisuian Goodra does not need to knock out every Pokémon in one hit. Its strength is surviving exchanges that other Pokémon could not survive. Use Lillie when the healing changes the matchup. If the opponent needs two attacks to knock out Hisuian Goodra, healing 60 damage can force them to spend a third attack. That can create a massive advantage. Cyrus should usually be saved for damaged Bench Pokémon. Hisuian Goodra’s 120 damage can punish any target that has already taken chip damage or is hiding after attacking.

Late Game

In the late game, Hisuian Goodra becomes a resource advantage engine. Your goal is to keep one Hisuian Goodra alive for as many turns as possible. Heavy Helmet, Securely Sheltered, Lillie, and Lucky Ice Pop all make that possible. If the opponent has already used their strongest attackers or their damage boosters, they may have no reliable way to remove Hisuian Goodra. This is where the deck becomes especially dangerous. Continue attacking with Heavy Impact, use Cyrus to pull damaged Bench Pokémon Active, and protect your remaining Energy. Because Hisuian Goodra is a non-ex Pokémon, the opponent only gains one point when they knock it out. This makes it very strong against decks that rely on Pokémon ex and need to take multiple prize knockouts to win. Do not forget that Securely Sheltered is not guaranteed. You should always plan for tails. The Ability is powerful, but Heavy Helmet and healing are what make the deck reliable even when coin flips fail.