Memory Energy – Pokemon Review

Vince

We end the week with Memory Energy from Lost Thunder. This is a Special Energy that provides C, but also lets you use attacks from its previous Evolutions. This breaks the fundamental rule regarding Evolutions because typically when you evolve a Pokémon, older attacks and abilities from previous evolutions are gone, and you must use available effects from your current stage. With Memory Energy, this allows you to grant access past attacks (as long as you have the energy necessary to use this attack). There’s not much to take advantage of in Standard since most evolving basics and Stage 1 mostly have lackluster attacks on today’s standards, although there may be a few that have good attacks with effects, effects that can help you set up or disrupt your opponent while having a bigger HP count and Memory Energy attached to it. For Expanded, though, it sees a bit more use for Mega Evolutions, since their base form actually has good attacks that they want to keep. Even non-EX/GX Pokemon like Night March would benefit with Evolved Pokemon. Galvantula STS would get access to Joltik PHF with Night March while being a dual Grass/Lightning type enables multiple weaknesses to exploit. Or maybe a Fire type Chandelure with Lampent PHF underneath it…

This effect isn’t new as there are cards from the Standard and Expanded card pool that does a similar job, though other have a different set of advantage and disadvantages. Celebi-EX and Shining Celebi possesses the Time Recall ability that also lets you get access to attacks from previous Evolutions. Abilities can be shut off and those Pokémon may be at risk of being OHKOed, even if they are on the Bench. You might even risk starting with Celebi in the beginning of the match. Shrine of Memories also grants access to attacks from previous Evolutions, but it is a Stadium card and your opponent also gets access to it. It is also at risk of being discarded by Field Blower or sent to the Lost Zone by Faba. I suppose Memory Energy is another one of those cases where you access the situation can find which category best suits you. Unlike other cards that have their own shortcomings, Memory Energy takes up your manual attachment, and can be discarded by Enhanced Hammer or sent to the Lost Zone by Faba.

Ratings:

• Standard: 3/5
• Expanded: 3.25/5
• Limited: 3/5

Conclusion:

Memory Energy is a game breaking card, though it can only be as useful when under the right circumstances of what your deck is trying to accomplish, meaning this Special Energy card isn’t for every deck. Still, grab your playset for later when something big comes up.

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PokeDeck
Central

Memory Energy (LOT 194) is a card many of us have forgotten.  This card allows you to use any attack from a card’s previous evolutions.  I thought it might see some use with Alolan Ninetales GX LOT, but there really aren’t any other Pokemon I can think of that would benefit from this right now.

In Tag Team, there’s a Doublade coming out that could use this, however.  This card does thirty damage for every Tool card in play.  Plus, the Aegislash on top of it is really a 180 HP Pokemon as it has a base HP of 140 but reduces damage from each attack by forty.  Add on a Frying Pan and Doublade becomes one of the tankiest single prize Pokemon in the game. 

So keep the Memory Energy handy, put them somewhere that you’ll remember them!

Rating

Standard: 1.5 out of 5

Otaku

Seems like I’m forgetting something… oh yeah!  I need to hurry up and write this review before the last minute, the way I usually write them because I’m going to be busy during that time.  Which means that even though I’m writing this review a bit earlier than I usually do, it is still technically at the last minute.  Memory Energy (SM – Lost Thunder 194/214) helps a Pokémon “remember” (use) the attacks from its previous Evolutions, while also providing one unit of [C] Energy.  Which would be amazing except the attacks still retain their usual cost and pretty much every interesting combo I can think of isn’t cost effective.  What do I mean?

Slaking (SM – Celestial Storm 115/168) can Evolve from Vigoroth (SM – Celestial Storm 114/168), and that Vigoroth knows the attack “Rage”, doing 20 damage plus 10 per damage counter on itself.  Slaking has a beefy 160 HP, so Memory Energy gives it access to Rage for a potent combo.  Too bad the version of Rage that Vigoroth has costs [CCC], so it is more like an impotent combo.  For that price, you’ll be able to afford Slaking’s “Critical Move”, which does 160 damage; Rage would only hit harder than that if Slaking has 15 damage counters on itself.  Critical Move not only keeps Slaking from attacking the next turn but requires it discard an Energy from itself, so avoiding those drawbacks would be nice. Except even a Slaking isn’t durable enough to survive attacking while more than lightly injured, and a Slaking that is about to be KO’d doesn’t care about those drawbacks.

So I cannot rate Memory Energy particularly high right now, but it creates the kinds of situations the developers either blunder into or perhaps even want the players to exploit.  We’ve seen “remembered” attacks prove significant before; perhaps they will again.  Expanded adds a few more options, but once again the fact you’ll have to pay any difference between the [C] Memory Energy provides and the actual attack costs is a dealbreaker.  At least this might be useful in the Limited Format.  You just have to pull an Evolution line where the lower Stage’s attacks offer something. Which sounds like Standard; the difference is average HP scores and damage outputs are lower, so even “filler” attacks might be worthwhile.

Ratings

• Standard: 1.5/5
• Expanded: 2/5
• Limited: 2.5/5

“Remembering” attacks from lower Stages isn’t a new gimmick for the game, though it hasn’t been done via Special Energy before.  Not requiring a vulnerable Basic Pokémon, clunky Evolution line, or your Tool slot sounded like a good deal, but even attacks that cost [CC] mean Memory Energy needs a friend in order to use the attack.  I suppose the designers were just being cautious and not wanting to create some broken power combo by accident.