When Pokémon TCG Pocket first launched, the meta was quickly dominated by a select few decks, with one centered around Misty and water-type Pokémon becoming particularly notorious. This deck's ability to overpower opponents early on, largely dependent on the outcome of coin flips, drew ire from the community. Despite the release of three subsequent expansions, the meta has failed to shift away from Misty decks, which have only grown stronger with each new card release.

Many players are expressing frustration over the lack of variety, as the latest expansion, Triumphant Light, has introduced a new card, Irida, that further enhances the power of Misty decks. While Misty decks may not be the most powerful in absolute terms, their reliance on luck makes losses against them particularly frustrating. Misty, a Supporter card, allows players to flip coins until they land on tails, attaching a water-type energy to a chosen water-type Pokémon for each heads flipped. This can result in anywhere from zero to a significant number of energy attachments, potentially enabling a first-turn win or the rapid deployment of powerful cards.

The situation has been exacerbated by cards from previous expansions like Mythical Island's Vaporeon, which can freely redistribute the bonus energy, and Space-Time Smackdown's Manaphy, which adds more water energy to the board. These expansions also introduced strong water-type Pokémon such as Palkia ex and Gyarados ex, ensuring water decks remain at the top of the meta.

Irida, another Supporter card from Triumphant Light, can heal 40 damage from each Pokémon with water-type energy attached, allowing water decks to stage comebacks. This card challenges the traditional healing dominance of grass-type decks. Some experts suggest that DeNA, the game's developer, may have introduced Irida to force players to make strategic choices about which Supporters to include in their limited 20-card decks. However, savvy players have found ways to incorporate both Misty and Irida, maintaining the deck's dominance.

With a competitive event on the horizon, where rewards such as a gold profile badge are up for grabs for achieving five consecutive wins, the prevalence of water decks is expected to be even more pronounced. Given the current meta, many players are considering whether joining the water deck bandwagon might be their best strategy for success.