Usually, in the Pokemon TCG, there is quite a lot of amalgamation that happens. Multiple types from the Pokemon video games often get lumped together, such as how Water and Ice-types get combined into the water element in the TCG. However, Electric-types from the digital adventures get a far more direct transition into the card game as all pure Electric-type Pokemon get placed in the lightning element. Furthermore, the only Pokemon from the video games that enter this element besides the pure Electric-types are dual-types that are at least part Electric.
Lightning element cards stand out as being reckless, dynamic, and very dangerous. Pokemon of this type often specialize in offensive tactics that aim to deal a lot of direct damage to the opponent's active Pokemon at any cost, even draining themselves of energy or taking damage from their own attacks. They can also turn the tables against foes who they should not normally be able to stand up to with specific move effects that target a particular card type.
Afflicting the opposition with status ailments are also common traits, particularly making foes confused or paralyzed. Though, the most worrying tactic for opponents is that many lightning Pokemon have attacks that target defenseless benched Pokemon who can only sit there and get shocked until they faint. Without many conventional ways to return benched Pokemon to their hand, sometimes the adversary can do nothing as their rear lines get decimated, which leaves them with little reinforcements and less precious prize cards in a Pokemon TCG battle.
Updated on October 23, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Every now and then, new cards get added to the TCG through expansions based on events taking place throughout the franchise. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Pokemon TCG, an expansion called "Celebrations" was released that has some powerful new cards as well as some old classics that went out of print years ago.
Included in this mixed batch of nostalgiac and novel cards are a Flying Pikachu VMAX and a Zekrom card that can really boost the electrical power of one's deck, among some other decent lightning element pocket monsters.
Shock & Awe
One strategy that can be devastating in the early parts of a battle is to throw every bit of direct damage someone has at their foe. This is very much meant to hit opposing active Pokemon hard enough to either force the enemy trainer to retreat them or to straight-up knock them out. The best moves to accomplish this usually come with negative effects, such as taking some damage when using them.
A great example of this strategy is the Toxtricity card from the Darkness Ablaze expansion. Their Thunder Jolt lets loose 160 direct damage. That's enough to one-shot most stage 1 or stage 2 Pokemon in a single hit! Toxtricity will take 30 damage itself upon each use of this move, though this is arguably worth it net a prize card or two.
Counter Powerhouse Cards
With the introduction of the immensely powerful Pokemon GX cards as well as the Pokemon V cards, there has been a clear power-creep over the last few years that has seen regular Pokemon cards receiving less usage due to people flocking to stock their decks with EX, GX, and V Pokemon more and more. However, some normal lightning Pokemon have been released that have addressed this and were made specifically to balance this issue by targeting such powerhouse cards with deadly yet niche attacks.
In the Vivid Voltage expansion, there have been two prime cards that demonstrate this equilibrium. The legendary bird Zapdos screeches forth with very clear intent. Their Drill Peck is almost useless, so the only reason to play this card is to attack the opponent's V or GX Pokemon with their Thunder Snipe. Aptly named, this move can fire a severe bolt at any V or GX card on the opposing trainer's side, regardless if they are in the active position or on the bench. It may drain all of Zapdos' energy, but can be a game-clincher if a foe has two or fewer prize cards left and this knocks out one of their high-powered Pokemon. Another legendary from the same expansion, Zeraora, can do a similar feat, though with less damage and without discarding all of their energy cards.
Confuse & Conquer
If someone misses the opportunity to zap their foe right at the start of the battle with a low-cost and high-damage card like Toxtricity, they should fall back to a more versatile tactic to ensure that they don't overextend themselves while still applying pressure to the adversary. Inflicting special conditions to opposing Pokemon is an ideal way to do this. Lightning-type Pokemon tend to specialize most in making enemies confused or paralyzed.
Confusion is a lot easier to apply quickly and efficiently, as most of the time the lightning cards that usually have this effect (particularly the Ampharos evolutionary line) don't need a coin flip to determine success. Ampharos, from the Darkness Ablaze set, can do just that with their very low-cost Dazzle Blast move that deals 50 damage and is guaranteed to confuse the foe. This forces the opposing trainer to flip a coin if they choose to attack, which results in a 50% chance that they will get tails and take 30 points of damage while failing to execute their move. More often than not, adversaries will opt to skip their attack phase altogether or even retreat.
A more common special condition to find on a lightning card is the ability to make enemy Pokemon paralyzed. One of the many lightning Pokemon that can do this is Electivire from the Rebel Clash set. Their commonly found move, Thunder Shock, is an easy way to cripple enemies. Most of the time, paralyzing effects require a coin flip to activate and are the best method to lock down the adversary's active Pokemon. Since a Pokemon can neither attack nor retreat while paralyzed, the only thing their trainer can do is heal them with a trainer card or simply wait out the status ailment.
Target The Rear Lines
There are many variants of moves that target benched Pokemon, though the one possessed by the legendary beast Raikou card in the Vivid Voltage set is among the most powerful of this kind. Their Amazing Shot takes three kinds of energy: grass, lightning, and metal; though, despite the high and diverse cost, it can wreck the foe's bench.
120 damage with no negative effects allows Raikou's trainer to use this unorthodox move repeatedly to knock out foes who can't retaliate while also doing the same damage to the opposing active Pokemon. Clearing out the adversary's reinforcements, as well as injuring their lead fighter, results in Raikou dealing enough damage and snatching enough prize cards via rear-line destruction to be absolutely worth the diverse energy requirements.
Best Lightning Element Cards In The Celebrations Expansion
Flying Pikachu VMAX
Longtime Pokemon fans likely remember seeing Pikachu fly around with balloons strapped to their back at some point. This gimmick has been seen through multiple branches of the franchise, including the anime and multiple video games, though, Flying Pikachu is most notorious in the TCG part of the series. There are a few older versions of Flying Pikachu with the move Fly, or some variant, which basically lets them deal damage to the foe and then become virtually invulnerable on the next turn, making them hard to take down with regular attacks.
In addition to this, such Flying Pikachu cards have a high resistance to the fighting element, which is usually one's only chance to take down a powerful lightning element pokemon. Instead, Flying Pikachus are weak to their own type--lightning, a strange twist that makes them a bit awkward to counter. The newest version of this gimmick is Flying Pikachu VMAX, with a variant of Fly called Max Balloon, which performs the same functions mention above, but with a heavy 160 damage on each successful strike. 310 HP also makes this huge, airborne Pikachu resilient to many incoming threats besides particularly strong lighting moves--though is often the doom of any Basic pokemon.
Zekrom
One of the Zekrom cards in the Celebrations expansion, the one with the black and grey card background, can be a powerful force in the opening parts of any battle--or even in a tight spot, as, despite lacking great base HP at only 130, this card can dish out some decent damage.
Trainers will want to use its Bolt Strike move to hit opponents fairly hard at 120 damage per attack, despite causing Zekrom to lose 40 HP themselves from this maneuver. This is actually a good thing if Zekrom can sustain itself until it can move once more, as, its other move, Outrage, despite only having a base power of 20, gets powered up by 10 damage for each damage counter on Zekrom (for example, 40 HP lost gives Zekrom 4 damage counters). Since Zekrom can lose up to 120 HP without getting knocked out (12 potential damage counters), it can deal 140 damage with its Outrage move.