Pokemon Card of the Day - Pokemon Tips - Pojo.com

Back to Pojo's Pokemon Site

This is a cool Book!

Pojo's Pokemon Card of the Day

Alakazam - Skyridge

Date Reviewed: 1.12.04

Ratings & Reviews below

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating.

Thundachu	Alakazam Overview: Ah, lets see if this Alakazam meets up with the base set one. The Pokemon Power, Energy Jump allows you to move one energy from one of your pokemon to another. Almost like Energy Trans. buzzer Wrong. A few draw backs, first off, you are limited to doing this once per turn with only 1 energy. So, Energy Trans is actually better. And ofcourse, you can't use it if Alakazam is affected by a special condition. Then for colorless energy, Psychic does 30 damage automaticly plus 10 more for every energy attached to Alakazam. A few good things here. First off, it isnt limited to the energy not used to pay for the attack and it has no damage limit, so you can do as much as you want. A very nice attack. 100HP is a nice addition to this card, higher than the Base Set one. A retreat of 2 is ok for this card, 1 less than the Base Set. And ofcourse, a weakness to Psychic. Unlimited: Play Base Set one. Lower HP, yes, but still better IMO. 2.5/5 Modified: 3/5 Draft: Because of it being a stage 3, if you are able to draft it and Abra/Kadabra, play it. Could do pretty well with high HP. 4/5
Bullados	Alakazam (Skyridge) Attributes: 100 HP is always nice, and you should always take advantage of this. Psychic weakness is a BIG thing, with Gardy, Gardy ex, and Mewtwo ex becoming increasingly popular and are also extremely powerful. Find something that is psychic-resistant as a backup if you can. Average retreat, but you might not want to pay this all the time. Use Switch whenever possible. PokePOWER: “Energy Jump”: It’s Venusaur again, only not quite as powerful. I do agree that the any energy part is very enticing, and does add a lot to the potential of this card. However, the one big drawback from Venusaur and Sceptile is the “one per turn” rule, which can really slip things up for you. This isn’t something to build a deck around, unless you are trying for different energy combinations (Rainbow Burn decks) and need the kind of switching that this card gives you. Attack: “Psychic”: Always a good attack, and this is no exception. It’s the exact same attack as SS Espeon, but on a S2, which severely limits its usage. Gardevoir counts all NRG on all actives as a S2. Gardy ex counts all NRG in play as a S2. This is underpowered on a S2 considering all of the alternatives. Ratings: Unlimited: This is not this guy’s format. IMO, there isn’t really much going here for him, considering the amount of ER and gusting trainers out there. Do not use him here. 1.25/5 Modified: Better, but still not great. The POWER gives it some playability, but it is not a big attacker, unlike his other Psychic cousins from RS and SS. use them before using this guy. He’s good, but not great. 2.5/5 Limited: Not bad. energy counts won’t be all there, but he is splashable and maneuverable, and can pack a punch once he gets out. It doesn’t hurt that he has an uncommon and common pre-evos. Use him if you can get him. 3.5/5 ~Bullados ~~Bull23924@aol.com
AuSeNs TrAk	>From one Alakazam to another....it's SKYRIDGE time...x.x Skyridge Alakazam is a nice supporting pokemon, and is definitely playable. The main reason for that is the pokemon power. Shifting energy around is always nice. Granted, you need multiples in play to really make a difference, but once you get 3 out, the fun can begin. The real problem with this card used to be that you couldn't find many BBPs to drop energy on, so you'd have to use Stage 1's with it, which made it too slow and have too many draw lines. That all changed with RS. EX pokemon give this card a nice advantage. On any given turn, you can drop a Sneasel EX or Mewtwo EX, attach energy, transfer 2 energies to it and start mizing. The only REAL problem is getting up multiple copies. The attack is nice for a late game cleaner or supporting pokemon. Espeon's old attack was great, and it's still good here. This deck's main strength is it's ability to abuse weaknesses. You can use many different BBPs, like Electabuzz ex, Scyther ex, Sneasel ex, Mewtwo ex, Magmar ex, Hitmonchan ex and Lapras ex (in many combinations) to exploit weaknesses. Know your opponent runs Sceptile? Say hey to Magmar ex. Ampharos ex is his game? Hitmonchan ex it is. In my deck, I use Sneasel, Magmar and Electabuzz, with 2 solid starters in Magmar and Buzz and a great cleaner in Sneasel. This deck abuses Rainbow Energy and all energies like that. Having 3 Rainbow Energy out means you can transfer and use any of your pokemon's attacks. Totally viable. In draft, where you'll probably run multiple energy types, he can help you out a LOT by switching energies to meet attack requirements. A solid pick, if you can pull a decent line. Unlimited: Bah. He deserves it 1/5 Modified: Solid card 3.9/5 Draft: Transfer energies around? GOOD. Stage 2? Bad 3/5 The bottom line: Playable, possibly a force in modified. His ability to TeCH for many different decks is the key to his success.
Otaku	Name: Alakazam Set: Skyridge Type: Psychic Stage: 2 (Evolves from Kadabra) HP: 100 Weakness: Psychic Resistance: None Retreat: CC Poké-POWER: Energy Jump Once during your turn (before your attack), you may move an Energy card from 1 of your Pokémon. This power can’t be used if Alakazam is affected by a Special Condition. Attack: (CCC) Psychic [30+] This attack does 30 damage plus 10 more damage for each Energy card attached to the Defending Pokémon. Name: Kadabra Set: Skyridge Type: Psychic Stage: 1 (Evolves from Abra) HP: 70 Weakness: Psychic Resistance: None Retreat: C Attack#1: (C) Nightmare [10] The Defending Pokémon is now Asleep. Attack#2: (PCC) Mind Shock [40] Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance. Name: Abra Set: Skyridge Type: Psychic Stage: Basic HP: 40 Weakness: Psychic Resistance: None Retreat: C Poké-BODY: Psychoflow As long as there is a (P) Energy card attached to Abra, its Retreat Cost is 0. Attack: (CC) Headbutt [20] Attributes: Another Alakazam enters the fray. Does it support, replace, or fall short of older Alakazam? I think it supports them, for the most part, but read on and make your own decision. As a Psychic Pokémon, it enters a crowded field for Modified and it as a severe disadvantage in Unlimited, where Resistance and high attack/low Energy basics are common. At least it can put the hurt on Gardevoir/ex. A Stage 2 Pokémon is naturally at a disadvantage, as it is harder to run than Stage 1s or Basics would be. As such, this card had better be have some good abilities, since, as stated, stats are somewhat set by the Pokémon’s identity. While on the topic of being a Stage 2, let me address its lower Stages: Kadabra and Alakazam. For Modified play, the two Skyridge versions listed above are probably best. Kadabra can’t quite hold its own, but it can soften up Resistant competition (or stall if need be). Abra can give a decent shot, and sadly, is still a member of the 40HP club (no normal Abra has more than that). Its Poké-Power gives it something precious for Modified-if you have a (P) Energy on it, it retreats for free! For Unlimited, I’d go with Rocket’s since I love “Recalling” Vanish to rob an opponent of a Prize-Vanish would shuffle Alakazam back into the deck and discard all other cards-better than losing a prize. For both Unlimited and Modified, run Rare Candies as well, but still include 1 or 2 Kadabra. In Unlimited, this gets around things like Chaos Gym, and in Modified, its easier to find a Stage 1, then a Stage 2, then a Rare Candy and Stage 2 at the same time (due to the prevalence of “cycling” cards over “draw” cards). Alakazam has 100 HP-good for a Stage 2 Pokémon (I find 90 to be the “minimum” workable number for Stage 2 Pokémon). At this level, it should be able to take a hit or two before falling. It has the dread Psychic Weakness, which means other Psychic Pokémon will probably mince it. Still, most other Psychic Pokémon are weak right back, so it tends to even out. Resistance, sadly, is lacking. -_- Retreat is only 2. This is getting more common on Stage 2 Pokémon, and is not especially hard or easy to deal with. You can retreat without planning 5 turns ahead, but it will set you back 2 turns. Abilities: Here’s where this card stands out. It’s Poké-Power is pretty nice imo. Yes, it’s only once a turn, but it stacks. So with 2 of these bad boys, that’s 3 Energy a turn. I’ll explain why that matters in Uses/Combinations. Psychic is a great attack in Modified, since most Pokémon need a serious amount of Energy to do any serious damage. If you hit a fully powered Gardevoir ex, you’d nearly OHKO it! Trust me, it matters… That also lets it effectively “ignore real Metal Energy”. Why? Each one attached drops the damage received but also boosts damage taken. Uses/Combinations: Okay, first, it makes great offensive “TecH” for most other Alakazam (not “named” versions, but good for the others). It gives you a big hitter with decent HP. In Unlimited, it’s hard to say whether you would want to run this over Expedition Alakazam for offensive in a Damage Swap deck. Remember, such a deck already needs 2-3 Base Set Alakazam, so I wouldn’t recommend running both e-card versions. This one has a more reliable attack, except against Resistance. The other one is usually not as bothered by Resistance since such Pokémon usually have good attacks (Wiggly, Sneasel). In Modified, I’d consider giving this a look. It can do the old Nurse/Boost trick, and thanks to its Poké-Power, it can recover from Nurses faster. It can also help manage Energy in multi-color decks, and get around certain Energy attachment restrictions (like on the e-card Legendary Birds and Dogs). That last one though gets shown up by Energy Trans Sceptile. >_< Ratings Unlimited: 3/5-Again, offensive TecH for Damage Swap, which I personally have seen reviving (Base Alakazam, Neo Genesis Slowking, and Mewtwo Ex are actually quite good together). Modified: 3.5/5-With a Strength Charm, it can OHKO some of the best offensive Pokémon (Gardevoir ex, Sandstorm Wobbuffet) when they are fully powered, and really hurt most others (Typhlosion, Exeggutor). Now, there are more decks than those two, but they are what I see a lot of that work most of the time. On its own, with some TecH a la Sceptile, or with Sandstorm Xatu (maybe) for healing, it could be a contender. Definitely toss one or two in with Expedition Alakazam- this helps nuke Metal Pokémon or those with bizarre Energy requirements easier. Limited: 3.75/5-Psychic will be able to KO most things, and its Poké-Power should make Energy management a breeze for the oft multi-color decks of this format. 2-on-2: 3.35/5-It’s possible that your opponent can slow you down by having two lower Energy Pokémon up and power up whatever one you aren’t whacking. TMP: 4/5-Why so high? This can be a good partner deck for other decks that require a lot of Energy Manipulation. I believe that, since this retargets each turn, you can use it (once) on your turn for either you or you teammate (but not both). What does that mean? Think of all the decks that have “restricted’ extra Energy attachments? Yeah. Now factor in those that use Special Energies. Yup. Now tack on those that just have high discards and/or bizarre Energy combinations. Yeppers. Finally, this means that each deck can still easily run its own supporting line, like Sandstorm Xatu. =D Summary All in all, this is a solid card in need of a good home, and a something that can be a great partner deck. -Otaku (nintendotaku@hotmail.com)

Pojo.com is here to provide guidance to all Pokemon trainers out there. Whether it's the Gameboy Game, N64 or the Trading Card Game, PoJo.com provides all the wisdom you desire.

If you have cool game tips, a killer deck, or breaking news ... send them to us. We'll post it on the site ... and give you all the credit.