Team Rocket’s Ambition Solo Battle: Expert Guide & Decks

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Hola Everyone! It’s your boy Anketsu here, and welcome to a brand new Pokémon TCG Pocket guide.

In this guide, we’ll take on the Solo Battle Expert challenges, facing the CPU with six different decks from Team Rocket’s Ambition. This Battles let you test your decks against preset opponents while completing specific Battle Tasks for rewards.

Here, you’ll find strategies and deck recommendations for the Moltres ex, Articuno ex, Zapdos ex, Slowking ex, Weezing ex, and Raticate ex battles, plus my special Anketsu Nuzlocke Challenge for those looking for an extra challenge.

Now grab a seat, relax, and enjoy the guide!

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Team Rocket’s Ambition Solo Battle Expert Challenges

The Solo Battle Expert challenges pit you against six preset CPU decks from Team Rocket’s Ambition. Each battle has five Battle Tasks to complete: using only Pokémon of a specific type (Mono-Type, if you want to think of it like a Pokémon game challenge), playing without Pokémon ex, using at least 12 cards from the expansion, giving up no points, and winning within 12 turns.

You don’t have to complete all five tasks in the same battle. You can split them across multiple attempts, using different decks depending on the challenge you’re trying to complete. In fact, I recommend doing exactly that.

The No Points and Win by Turn 12 tasks don’t really require a specific deck or much planning. They mostly come down to getting a good start and hoping the CPU bricks a little. There isn’t a magic deck for these objectives: sometimes you just need to keep trying until everything lines up.

The other challenges are much more deckbuilding-focused. Their difficulty can also change significantly from one expansion to another. If a set introduces several strong Water Pokémon, for example, building a good Water deck for the Mono-Type challenge will be much easier. Other sets may leave you with far fewer options.

CPU Deck	Required Type	No Pokémon ex	12 B4a Cards	No Points	Win by Turn 12
Moltres ex	Grass	✓	✓	✓	✓
Articuno ex	Fire	✓	✓	✓	✓
Zapdos ex	Water	✓	✓	✓	✓
Slowking ex	Fighting	✓	✓	✓	✓
Weezing ex	Psychic	✓	✓	✓	✓
Raticate ex	Darkness	✓	✓	✓	✓

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How to Complete the 12 Team Rocket’s Ambition Cards Challenge

The 12-card requirement is probably the trickiest challenge when dealing with a small mini-set like Team Rocket’s Ambition. With fewer cards available, you may have to fill your deck with Supporters or Items that aren’t particularly strong just to reach the required number.

The difficulty also depends on the expansion: if a set introduces several strong Pokémon for a certain type, building a deck for this challenge becomes much easier. Fortunately, Pokémon ex are allowed, so you can still build a fairly powerful Pokémon core and use the expansion cards mainly to fill the remaining slots.

One useful trick is to include at least one copy of the Stage 1 Pokémon whenever you’re playing a Stage 2 from the current expansion. This gives you another easy slot for an expansion card without hurting the deck too much.

For Team Rocket’s Ambition, Team Rocket’s Thieving Machine, Team Rocket’s Goo-zooka, Team Rocket’s Master Plan, and Team Rocket’s Boss are among the safest filler options, while Team Rocket’s Researcher works well in decks with several Team Rocket Pokémon. I would avoid Team Rocket’s Arcade, which is simply too situational.

Below are three example decks you can use to complete the 12-card challenge:

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Team Rocket’s Moltres ex Expert Solo Battle

This version of the deck revolves around Mega Charizard Y ex, with Charmeleon and Flame Patch helping it get set up faster. If you give it too many turns, things can get ugly quickly: once Mega Charizard Y ex is ready, it can start one-shotting most of your Pokémon.

I recommend using a fast deck that can pressure Moltres ex before it gets going. Miraidon ex is a great option, and if you really want to be evil and go for the no-ex, you can use an Oricorio–Magnezone deck to lock the CPU out of the game.

For the Mono-Type Grass challenge, Mega Sceptile ex is the easiest choices. It can deal with Team Rocket’s Moltres ex quickly while still giving you a strong deck for the rest of the battle.

Team Rocket’s Articuno ex Expert Solo Battle

This CPU deck uses Mega Sharpedo ex and Misty to get going quickly. If it gets a strong start, keeping up with it can be almost impossible, so you’ll want to put pressure on it before it can build a lead.

For the Mono-Type Fire challenge, Mega Blaziken ex and Mega Houndoom ex are both excellent choice and can take down Articuno ex before it becomes too difficult to handle.

For the other challenges, I recommend a Lightning deck once again. For the No Pokémon ex challenge, you can use Oricorio to lock the CPU out of the game, or try my Team Rocket’s Zapdos ex deck, which I mentioned earlier for the 12-card challenge. You can also find the [full guide to the deck here].

Team Rocket’s Zapdos ex Expert Solo Battle

This version of the deck is a bit tricky, mixing regular Pokémon with Pokémon ex. Electrode can also be particularly annoying, dealing damage to Pokémon that knock it out.

The good news is that you don’t have to deal with the whole deck: Zapdos ex is your main target, as it’s essentially the CPU’s only real win condition. Take it down before it gets going, and the battle becomes much easier.

For the No Pokémon ex challenge, I recommend using a Fighting deck built around non-ex Pokémon, allowing you to hit Zapdos ex for Weakness without giving up the challenge requirement. For the other challenges, Koraidon ex is a great option, as it can both hit hard and tank damage.

For the Mono-Type Water challenge, you have plenty of options. The good old Suicune ex is still a reliable choice and can handle Team Rocket’s Zapdos ex without too much trouble, Wailord ex can be good too.

Team Rocket’s Slowking ex Expert Solo Battle

This deck draws a lot of cards. Like, a LOT. You can actually turn that into an advantage by using Copycat to punish the CPU for filling its hand.

For the Mono-Type Fighting challenge, the usual suspects Koraidon ex and Mega Lucario ex are both excellent choices. If you also want to complete the No Pokémon ex challenge, Team Rocket’s Marowak from Team Rocket’s Ambition is a great alternative. You’ll find a dedicated decklist for it later in the Nuzlock Challenge section.

Marowak works particularly well against Team Rocket’s Pokémon, and with Arena of Antiquity and Korrina, it can even one-shot Slowking ex.

Team Rocket’s Weezing ex Expert Solo Battle

Although the deck is technically Darkness-type, its strategy revolves almost entirely around Team Rocket’s Magmar. The more Status Conditions you have, the more damage Magmar can deal, so the most obvious way to counter the deck is to prevent those effects from sticking.

Teal Mask Ogerpon ex, Comfey, and Pokémon Center Lady are all great tools for dealing with this strategy. Comfey is particularly useful for the Mono-Type Psychic challenge, where you can pair it with Mega Gardevoir ex and Mega Diancie ex.

For the No Pokémon ex challenge, Iron Valiant – Iron Crown from Paradox Drive is an excellent choice and can handle the CPU without relying on Pokémon ex.

Team Rocket’s Raticate ex Expert Solo Battle

This deck is INFURIATING. Pretty much everything it does revolves around removing Energy from your Pokémon, both through Team Rocket’s Raticate ex and Crawdaunt. If your attackers need three or four Energy to get going, you’ll quickly find yourself unable to keep up.

Try to use Pokémon that can attack with one or two Energy at most. Decks built around Mega Rayquaza ex are a great example: with Dragonair and Rainbow Cave, you can accelerate two Energy and attack in the same turn, even if you started with none.

For the Mono-Type Darkness challenge, you’re in luck: Darkness is one of the strongest types in the current meta. You can choose from Hoopa ex, Mega Sableye ex, or one of the other Darkness hybrid decks that have also seen competitive play over the past few months.

Looking for the Event Lapras Solo Battle?

The Team Rocket’s Lapras Solo Battle event is also covered in my Team Rocket’s Ambition expansion guide, where you’ll find the Battle Tasks and the best decks to use.

[Check out the Team Rocket’s Ambition guide →]

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The Anketsu Nuzlocke Challenge

If you want to take these challenges a step further, welcome to the Anketsu Nuzlocke Challenge. Inspired by Nuzlocke challenges from the Pokémon games, the idea is to use unusual, awkward, and difficult cards you would normally never put in a deck and see if you can make them work.

Here’s how it works: for each CPU battle, I provide one specific deck. You must use that deck to complete all five Battle Tasks in a single battle. That means completing the Mono-Type, No Pokémon ex, 12-card, No Points, and Win by Turn 12 requirements all at once. You can’t switch decks between tasks or complete them across multiple attempts the challenge only counts if you pull everything off in one game.

The fun is in making cards that look terrible on paper actually work. These decks are deliberately unconventional and often force you to experiment with cards and combinations you might otherwise ignore. If you manage to complete all five tasks in one shot, you’ve officially beaten the Anketsu Nuzlocke Challenge.

Grass deck for Team Rocket’s Moltres ex Nuzlocke Challenge

Fire deck for Team Rocket’s Articuno ex Nuzlocke Challenge

Water deck for Team Rocket’s Zapdos ex Nuzlocke Challenge

Darkness deck for Team Rocket’s Raticate ex Nuzlocke Challenge

Fighting deck for Team Rocket’s Slowking ex Nuzlocke Challenge

Psychic deck for Team Rocket’s Weezing ex Nuzlocke Challenge

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F.A.Q. 🚨

Related Guides 🔗

Explore more decks, guides, and similar strategies to find the one that best fits your playstyle.

• Team Rocket’s Ambition: Best Decks to Try
• Team Rocket’s Ambition Set Overview