New Feature:
If you think this review is too long to read, just skip
straight to the scores and then read the summary for a
concise overview!
Name:
Jumpluff
Set:
EX: Team Rocket Returns
Card#:
11/109
Rarity:
Holographic-Rare
Type:
Grass
Stage:
2 (Evolves from Skiploom)
HP:
90
Weakness:
Fire
Resistance:
Water
Retreat:
0
Poké-Body:
Buffer
If
Jumpluff would be Knocked Out by an opponent’s attack, flip
a coin. If heads. Jumpluff is not Knocked Out and its
remaining HP becomes 10 instead.
Attack:
(C) Energy Crush [10+]
Does
10 damage plus 10 more damage for each Energy attached
to all of your opponent’s Pokémon.
Name:
Skiploom
Set:
EX: Team Rocket Returns
Card#:
49/109
Rarity:
Uncommon
Type:
Grass
Stage:
1 (Evolves from Hoppip)
HP:
60
Weakness:
Fire
Resistance:
Water
Retreat:
0
Poké-Body:
Buffer
If
Skiploom would be Knocked Out by an opponent’s attack, flip
a coin. If heads. Skiploom is not Knocked Out and its
remaining HP becomes 10 instead.
Attack:
(C) Miracle Powder [10]
Flip a
coin. If heads, choose 1 Special Condition. The
Defending Pokémon is now affected by that Special
Condition.
Name:
Hoppip
Set:
EX: Team Rocket Returns
Card#:
57/109
Rarity:
Common
Type:
Grass
Stage:
Basic
HP:
30
Weakness:
Fire
Resistance:
Water
Retreat:
(C)
Poké-Body:
Buffer
If Hoppip
would be Knocked Out by an opponent’s attack, flip a coin.
If heads. Hoppip is not Knocked Out and its remaining HP
becomes 10 instead.
Attack:
(C) Miracle Powder [10]
Flip a
coin. If heads, choose 1 Special Condition. The
Defending Pokémon is now affected by that Special
Condition.
Attributes:
Jumpluff is a Stage 2 Grass Pokémon. I’ll address its lower
Stages after I address the other attributes since the entire
Jumpluff Evolutionary line from Team Rocket Returns shares a
lot of attributes. As a Stage 2 Pokémon, Jumpluff will need
some nice benefits to offset the relative difficulty of
getting it into play. It has 90 HP, which is on the low end
for a Stage 2 Pokémon, but it is a full 20 HP more than any
previous Jumpluff. Still, in the long run, there needs to
be something good to compensate for this. Jumpluff is a
Grass Pokémon. This means it is only Resisted by a few
Pokémon (relative to most other types): the majority of
Metal Pokémon, and a few “Dragon”-type Colorless Pokémon.
In the end, this somewhat balances out: you don’t see its
Resistance a lot, but when you do, it’s a problem.
Fortunately, the decent amount of Grass Weak Pokémon just
barely makes the good outweigh the bad. Not surprising for
a Grass Pokémon, Jumpluff has a Weakness to Fire Pokémon.
This is bad, as most Fire Pokémon that see play can hit hard
enough to either OHKO you. Water Weakness is good: Water
sees a lot of play, and since it tends to counter Fire
Pokémon, it forms a nice “”circular” relationship between
the types. The last bottom stat is Jumpluff’s Retreat Cost:
which is free. This is the “perfect” Retreat cost, and it
is great.
Jumpluff’s
lower Stages share the same Poké-Body, which completely
wrecks my order of coverage. ;) I’ll just say that this is a
great thing. Both lower Stages share the same attack,
Miracle Powder. Miracle Powder is a fantastic attack: one
of any energy to do 10 damage is the norm. On top of that,
you get to name one of the five Special Conditions (Burned,
Poison, Paralysis, Confusion, or Sleep) if you get heads on
a coin flip. Both lower stages have the same Weakness and
Resistance as Jumpluff, and Skiploom has the same retreat (Hoppip’s
is one more, which is acceptable). The only real downsides
to these two are their HP scores: Skiploom, a State 1, has
slightly sub par 60 HP, and Hoppip has the minimal 30 HP!
So the reason this whole line works is simple: Buffer.
Abilities:
Buffer is what makes this entire line viable, in my
estimation. Simply put, Buffer is a built in Focus Band.
Not since Fluff has a Pokémon been this hard to KO: if an
attack would KO any member of this line, the Poké-Body can
save the Pokémon; instead of being KO’d, you’ll have 10 HP
left. This is the same effect as Focus Band, one of the
best, if not the best, Pokémon Tools in the game. This why,
despite a lot HP score, this can stand up to OHKO decks.
Oh,
there’s an attack too. ;) This card also has a fantastic
offensive attack: Energy Crush, for the minimal cost of (C),
lets you hit for 10 damage plus
10 more damage for all the Energy your opponent has in
play. This will work against most decks quite well. The
exception being minimalist Metal Energy oriented decks (Dark
Steelix once it figures out what you are doing), Firestarter
decks (the Energy tends to be in the discard between turns),
and Suicune ex/Team Auqa’s
Walrein based Water decks (Energy tends to be in the hand
between turns). Everything else tends to keep its Energy in
play.
Uses/Combinations:
This is the big question: what kind of deck should use this
card? I honestly don’t like the idea of running it unless
it’s either the main focus of the deck, or sharing the focus
of the deck with only another line. One thought is to use
it with Hidden Legends Bellossom
or Sandstorm Xatu: with their healing capabilities, you
could easily recover after surviving a big hit. This also
brings me to covering two exploitable Weaknesses of Buffer:
it only works against attacks that a) do damage or b)
expressly stat they KO out. What does that mean? If you
get nailed by an Ancient Technical Machine [Rock], or are
afflicted by a Special Condition that ends up finishing you
off, Buffer won’t save you. This is why I also recommend
something as simple as Lum Berry: while there are many ways
to Heal Special Conditions, I believe this is the only way
to do so between turns.
Other than
those conditions, I strongly encourage you try this card in
a variety of decks that can make room for a Stage 2 line,
especially one that wants to avoid excessive Rare Candy
reliance: dropping from 90 to 30 HP is steep.
Ratings
Unlimited:
3.75/5-The attack won’t due huge amounts of damage, but
there are so many Trainers that can combo with a Pokémon
that can be fueled with a single Recycle Energy: like
Pokémon Nurse and Pokémon Center. Add in real Focus Bands
and the lack of Special Conditions and devolving attacks,
and Jumpluff’s only draw back will be its comparatively low
damage since most decks won’t have a lot of Energy in play.
Oh, and the Hoppip’s are really vulnerable here too.
Modified:
4/5-I believe this is a strong card full of potential that
is just looking for the right partner(s).
Limited:
5/5-Assuming you can pull a working
line, this is probably the best Limited Pokémon in
the set. No specific Energy required, and hard to KO.
Summary
The TRR
Jumpluff has a built in Focus Band and a discounted version
of SS Espeon’s devastating Energy Crush. This card seems to
be a safe bet: at worst, in most environments, it will be
second tier. At best, it could be able to dominate the big
boys. Just watch out for “alternative” means of KOing
Pokémon.
