Grass-type Pokémon are known for their energy acceleration, healing effects, and type advantage over Darkness. We share the 17 best Grass types in the Pokémon TCG Standard Format (post-rotation).
Grass has long been one of the more interesting types in the Pokémon TCG thanks to its ability to flood energy, heal, and dish out special conditions.
With the 2025 format rotation, it has only gained prominence with improved consistency, offensive depth, and favourable meta matchups against popular Darkness Pokémon.
Here are 17 of the strongest Grass-Type Pokémon cards for your next deck.
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Grass-Type Overview
Common gameplay traits shared by Grass-type Pokémon:
Known For
Strong energy acceleration, tanky healing, and Special Condition disruption.
Weak (receives x2 damage) Vs
Fire
Strong (deals x2 damage) Vs
Darkness
Fighting
Resistance (receives -30 damage) Vs
None
1. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex
Best all-in-one engine for Grass decks.
Strengths:
Teal Dance provides reliable energy acceleration and draw power.
Synergizes wonderfully with Energy Switch and the new Mega Venusaur ex which moves Grass energy across your board.
Easy to search out using Nest Ball and Ultra Ball.
Weaknesses:
Low HP makes it fragile. Nevertheless, a top-tier support Pokémon in Grass decks.
Teal Dance is vulnerable to hand disruptors like Iono and Ability-locks like Iron Thorns ex. Support your Ogerpon engine with draw and search Trainers.
2. Hydrapple ex
Versatile energy accelerator, attacker, and healer.
Strengths:
Ripening Charge is a consistent energy accelerator and also heals 30 HP at the same time.
High retreat cost makes it vulnerable to getting trapped in the Active. Use cards like Switch, Big Air Ballon, or Decidueye ex’s Total Freedom Ability to mitigate this.
Tanky but still vulnerable to type weakness from popular Fire-type ex attackers, many of which can one-hit KO Venusaur.
4. Decidueye ex
Hit-and-run bench sniper for Grass-decks.
Strengths:
Total Freedom solves the high retreat cost issues that Grass-types often struggle with.
Total Freedom combined with healing support has potential for a “hit-run-heal” style rogue deck.
Weaknesses:
Damage ceiling is modest for an ex Pokémon and it can be vulnerable against heavy-hitters. Combine its mobility with grass-type healing to whittle your opponent down.
Tankier ex Pokémon can absorb hits from Hunting Arrow unless previously weakened (its strength lies in strategically sniping low-HP targets).
5. Budew
Lock your opponent out of using Items with this Grass-type Pokémon.
The item-lock effect is extremely disruptive in the current item-heavy meta.
Zero retreat cost gives Budew high mobility. Move it in and out of the Active when needed.
Weaknesses:
30 HP makes it easy to knock out and it rarely lasts for more than a few turns. Still, it’s great at buying valuable time in the early-game (grass decks can be slow setting up).
Survivability drops even further in the mid to late-game as your opponent sets up attackers.
6. Meowscarada ex
Best Grass-Pokémon for chip damage.
Strengths:
Use Bouquet Magic to weaken Benched Pokémon and set up KOs with Scratching Nails or soften targets for your stronger Grass-type Pokémon to sweep.
Synergy with Grass acceleration- use energy recyclers like Superior Energy Retrieval or Night Stretcher to put discarded Grass energy back into the hand, then use accelerators like Ogerpon to get Grass energy back onto your field.
Weaknesses:
Stage 2 evolution is slow. Rare Candy, Grand Tree, or TM Evolution is essential.
Moderate damage output makes Meowscarada unsuitable as a main attacker. Its strength lies in strategically KO’ing Basics and weakening big threats.
7. Toedscruel ex
Top-tier Grass-type attacker to counter the meta.
Strengths:
Protective Mycelium shuts down attack effects from common meta threats such as Dragapult ex’s bench damage and Roaring Moon ex’s instant knockout attack.
Colony Rush scales up to 280 damage with a fully Energized Bench, and up to 400 damage with Area Underdepths Zero.
Weaknesses:
Only Pokémon with Energy attached are protected.
Ability does not protect against direct damage from attacks. Get multiple Toedscruel ex onto the field so you have a buffer when the first one gets KO’d.
8. Vileplume
Explosive rogue energy accelerator.
Strengths:
Fully Blooming Energy spreads Basic Energy (does not have to be Grass) from the top of your deck onto your Pokémon, however you like.
Weaknesses:
Consistency- relies on luck in being able to find Basic Energy from the top 8 cards of your deck. Use Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking to swing the odds.
9. Sinistcha ex
Mid-late game finisher for Sinistcha “dump and pump” rogue decks.
Strengths:
Potential for rogue “dump and pump” idea. Use single-prize Sinistcha to discard Grass energy whilst weakening your opponent’s board and soften key targets. Follow with Sinistcha ex’s Re-Brew to scale damage counter placement and take strategic knockouts.
Re-Brew recycles discarded Grass energy back into your deck to sustain single-prize Sinistcha dump and pump cycles.
Weaknesses:
Strong engine needed to consistently play Grass energy for “dump and pumps” cycles.
10. Torterra ex
Grass-type powerhouse with strong offense and defense.
Strengths:
Forest March scales up to 180 damage, or 270 damage with Area Underdepths Zero, for just a single Grass energy. Combine with Maximum Belt to one-hit KO ex Pokémon.
340 HP combined with Jungle Hammer’s 50 HP healing makes Torterra a walking tank. Stack healing with other Grass-type healers for further longevity.
Strong matchup against common Darkness threats like Charizard ex and Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex.
Weaknesses:
Stage 2 and requirement for a loaded bench to reach full damage potential make it slow to set up. Use Budew disruption to buy time.
Vulnerable to Fire-type weakness despite it’s gargantuan HP.
11. Forretress ex
Potent Grass Energy accelerator.
Strengths:
Exploding Energy accelerates five Grass Energy at once. Perfect support for Grass-decks which usually need a heavily energized board to reach full potential.
Weaknesses:
High-risk-high-reward. Exploding Energy is potent but it also KO’s Forretress and gives your opponent an easy two Prizes.
12. Whimsicott ex
Highly-mobile burst energy accelerator.
Strengths:
Allows 3 Basic energy (any type) to be pulled from your deck and attached directly onto your Pokémon (does not need to be Grass-type). Great for early to mid-game setup.
Highly mobile with zero retreat cost (unlike other Grass-type Pokémon which tend to be burdened with high retreat).
Use Whimisicott to accelerate energy onto an attacker to swap in the next turn.
Weaknesses:
Low HP and Fire-type weakness make it vulnerable to being gusted and KO’d for an easy 2 Prizes. Mitigate this by using Professor Turo’s Scenario to return Whimsicott to hand after it has fulfilled its setup role.
Energy Gift takes 2 turns to get an attacker ready (first turn Energy Gift, second turn attack). May struggle against fast-paced aggressive decks.
13. Yanmega ex
Best grass-type tech against Fire-types.
Strengths:
Yanmega does not have a Fire weakness, unlike most other Grass-type Pokémon, making it an effective tech against Fire matchups.
3x Grass energy acceleration has strong synergy with the upcoming Mega Venusaur ex, which allows energy to be moved to your other Pokémon.
Weaknesses:
Moderate damage output struggles with tanky ex Pokémon. But still gives you a lifeline against Fire decks, which steamroll through Grass decks.
Weakness leaves it vulnerable to popular Lightning decks like Miraidon ex. Use your other Grass-type attackers to deal with Lightning threats.
14. Crustle
Best Grass-type wall against ex Pokémon.
Strengths:
Mysterious Rock Inn nullifies all damage from ex Pokémon. Strong tech against ex-heavy meta decks.
Can evolve from Dwebble on the same turn using the Ascension attack for 1 Colorless energy.
Weaknesses:
High retreat cost makes it vulnerable to being trapped in the Active Spot against non-ex attackers. If this happens, use Boss’s Orders to gust your opponent’s ex back into the Active and continue walling.
15. Shaymin
Bench-sitter that protects your non-ex Pokémon from bench damage.
Strengths:
Protects your single-prize non-ex Pokémon, which are prone to being sniped by popular bench damage Pokémon like Dragapult ex and Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex.
Weaknesses:
Susceptible to being one-hit KO’d if gusted into the Active. Nevertheless, it’s still a fantastic bench-sitter and can even force your opponent to waste a Boss’s Order to deal with Shaymin.
16. Leafeon ex
Best Grass-type Pokémon to counter energy-intensive threats.
Strengths:
Verdant Storm can easily scale 300+ damage for 2 energy when up against Gardevoir ex, Raging Bolt ex, and Charizard ex (which often have 5+ energy on the field by early to mid-game).
Weaknesses:
Moderate damage output against energy-efficient decks like Dragapult ex. Leafeon’s strength lies in being used as a tech attacker to support your other Grass-type Pokémon against the decks mentioned above.
17. Bug Catching Set
Best Trainer support for your Grass-type Pokémon.
Strengths:
Item card that pulls up to two Grass Pokémon or Grass Energy from the top 7 cards of your deck. Essential consistency Trainer in Grass decks.
Weaknesses:
Luck reliant. Combo with Ciphermaniac’s Codebreaking (allows you to search your deck for two cards and place them at the top of your deck) to find specific cards.
Ready To Build A Grass-Type Deck?
These Grass-type Pokémon are great choices for the 2025 meta due to their ability to attack and defend.
But building a strong deck is not just about choosing your favourite Pokémon. You need to carefully select synergic cards that complement each other to create a steady game plan.
Check out our deck-building guide for more insights on how to use synergy and structure in competitive play.
Kalam is a PTCG gameplay expert and content creator. He started playing and collecting Pokémon cards since 1996. When he’s not working, you can find him nerding out on Anime!
