Pokemon x15
Ho-Oh GX x3
Turtonator GX x2
Salazzle GX x2
Salandit x2
Tapu Koko x2
Tapu Lele GX x3
Oranguru x1
Supporter x14
Sycamore x4
N x4
Guzma x3
Kiawe x3
Item x15
Ultra Ball x4
Choice Band x4
Max Elixir x3
Switch x2
Super Rod x1
Field Blower x1
Stadium x2
Scorched Earth x2
Energy x14
Fire Energy x14
So I'm pretty sure the big question on everyone's mind is why I removed the Volcanion engine.
There were always 4 things that bothered me about the Volcanion engine:
1. Guaranteeing energy in hand to Steam Up is something you basically can't guarantee, especially if you play Kiawe, hit 2-3 Max Elixir, and you better believe some of your energy are prized. You basically need at least a 1/1 Starmie line if you plan on Steaming Up consistently.
2. There are a lot of match ups where Volcanion's Steam Up doesn't even matter (Golisopod GX/Metagross GX/Vikabulu/Alolan Ninetales GX).
3. Steam Up doesn't help Salazzle at all.
4. I hate starting Volcanion EX in my active.
So instead of any Volcanion whatsoever, I decided to go for Tapu Koko. Tapu Koko provides various benefits for this deck.
1. He is your Guzma target for reseting Ho-Oh GX. You don't need Float Stone and your ability to Guzma switch cannot be interupted by Field Blower, ever.
2. If you flying flip ONE time at ANY point in the game when Ralts are on the board, Choice Banded Ho-Oh GX will OHKO Gardevoir GX back to back.
3. If you flying flip two times throughout the game, Choice Banded Turtonator GX can do the same thing.
4. There are a lot of situations where blasting an Alolan Vulpix/Diancie/any starter Pokemon in the active for 180 damage just simply doesn't make sense. Flying Flip sets you up for the future.
For me, it's about more efficient energy useage. I can't guarantee that I'll always have energy in hand to Steam Up for when the crucial KO happens, but I can bank on being able to put 2 fire energy onto a Tapu Koko to never have to worry about Steaming Up ever in any match up. 2 Fire Energy onto a Koko covers all of your match ups, and Turtonator GX no longer requires 2 Steam Ups in order to take big OHKOs.
It also makes Turtonator GX more efficient because the energy you would be discarding for Steam Up can instead be attached to Turtonator GX each turn in order to keep Bright Flame alive longer without having to switch out of the active. Any game that I open Koko, I will pretty much be immediately going to Turtonator GX and Flying Flip as many times as I need to get him set up to OHKO everything one at a time.
So instead of using Fire Energy to Steam Up, I put in Scorched Earth to convert Fire Energy into draw power. I'm not sure if this card is needed, but it's something that I think is useful for drawing into your deck while charging up Nitro Tank GX. You still want a way to be able to have Fire Energy in your discard which is something Volcanion EX was good at, but ultimately I see Nitro Tank GX as a recovery play for when a 4 energy Ho-Oh GX bites the bullet and you need a way to instantly accelerate energy.
1 Super Rod so that you can shuffle any lost energy from Scorched Earth back into the deck and massively increase your odds of hitting Max Elixir mid to late game, or any time after a Kiawe. Also in case you regret any Sycamores.
1 Oranguru because you need an Alolan Ninetales BUS counter, and it helps you be somewhat N proof late game.
If you plan on playing against a ton of Gardevoir GX, I would flip the ratios of Ho-Oh GX and Turtonator GX to have 3 turties and 2 Ho-Ohs. Turtonator is a better match up with the energy detachment, and because Gardevoir is a stage 2 deck, you have plenty of time to get your 2 flying flips in.
I would honestly like to find room for 3 Tapu Koko and a 3rd Switch, but I don't know where to make the cuts. Between the 2, I really want to make room for a 3rd Switch moreso than a 3rd Tapu Koko.
Ho-Oh GX x3
Turtonator GX x2
Salazzle GX x2
Salandit x2
Tapu Koko x2
Tapu Lele GX x3
Oranguru x1
Supporter x14
Sycamore x4
N x4
Guzma x3
Kiawe x3
Item x15
Ultra Ball x4
Choice Band x4
Max Elixir x3
Switch x2
Super Rod x1
Field Blower x1
Stadium x2
Scorched Earth x2
Energy x14
Fire Energy x14
So I'm pretty sure the big question on everyone's mind is why I removed the Volcanion engine.
There were always 4 things that bothered me about the Volcanion engine:
1. Guaranteeing energy in hand to Steam Up is something you basically can't guarantee, especially if you play Kiawe, hit 2-3 Max Elixir, and you better believe some of your energy are prized. You basically need at least a 1/1 Starmie line if you plan on Steaming Up consistently.
2. There are a lot of match ups where Volcanion's Steam Up doesn't even matter (Golisopod GX/Metagross GX/Vikabulu/Alolan Ninetales GX).
3. Steam Up doesn't help Salazzle at all.
4. I hate starting Volcanion EX in my active.
So instead of any Volcanion whatsoever, I decided to go for Tapu Koko. Tapu Koko provides various benefits for this deck.
1. He is your Guzma target for reseting Ho-Oh GX. You don't need Float Stone and your ability to Guzma switch cannot be interupted by Field Blower, ever.
2. If you flying flip ONE time at ANY point in the game when Ralts are on the board, Choice Banded Ho-Oh GX will OHKO Gardevoir GX back to back.
3. If you flying flip two times throughout the game, Choice Banded Turtonator GX can do the same thing.
4. There are a lot of situations where blasting an Alolan Vulpix/Diancie/any starter Pokemon in the active for 180 damage just simply doesn't make sense. Flying Flip sets you up for the future.
For me, it's about more efficient energy useage. I can't guarantee that I'll always have energy in hand to Steam Up for when the crucial KO happens, but I can bank on being able to put 2 fire energy onto a Tapu Koko to never have to worry about Steaming Up ever in any match up. 2 Fire Energy onto a Koko covers all of your match ups, and Turtonator GX no longer requires 2 Steam Ups in order to take big OHKOs.
It also makes Turtonator GX more efficient because the energy you would be discarding for Steam Up can instead be attached to Turtonator GX each turn in order to keep Bright Flame alive longer without having to switch out of the active. Any game that I open Koko, I will pretty much be immediately going to Turtonator GX and Flying Flip as many times as I need to get him set up to OHKO everything one at a time.
So instead of using Fire Energy to Steam Up, I put in Scorched Earth to convert Fire Energy into draw power. I'm not sure if this card is needed, but it's something that I think is useful for drawing into your deck while charging up Nitro Tank GX. You still want a way to be able to have Fire Energy in your discard which is something Volcanion EX was good at, but ultimately I see Nitro Tank GX as a recovery play for when a 4 energy Ho-Oh GX bites the bullet and you need a way to instantly accelerate energy.
1 Super Rod so that you can shuffle any lost energy from Scorched Earth back into the deck and massively increase your odds of hitting Max Elixir mid to late game, or any time after a Kiawe. Also in case you regret any Sycamores.
1 Oranguru because you need an Alolan Ninetales BUS counter, and it helps you be somewhat N proof late game.
If you plan on playing against a ton of Gardevoir GX, I would flip the ratios of Ho-Oh GX and Turtonator GX to have 3 turties and 2 Ho-Ohs. Turtonator is a better match up with the energy detachment, and because Gardevoir is a stage 2 deck, you have plenty of time to get your 2 flying flips in.
I would honestly like to find room for 3 Tapu Koko and a 3rd Switch, but I don't know where to make the cuts. Between the 2, I really want to make room for a 3rd Switch moreso than a 3rd Tapu Koko.