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Moving right along with our
dual-typing, we've got Volcarona, who is also
part-Grass! The other aspect of that is part-Fire, and
before you start trying to pair him up with
Volcanion-EX, no, that Ability won't work since
Volcarona's a Stage 1.
Shimmering Scales is a 1-for-20 hit
that can inflict the opponent with one of two statuses:
Confusion or Paralysis, depending on the coin flip. This
is probably one of the few instances in Pokemon where
you'd prefer the coin to land on Tails, since that's
what gives you the Paralysis, but honestly I'd really
have preferred Poison or even Burn compared to the
Confusion Status. So easy to avoid ever since they took
out the Retreat clause on that.
Now Power Hurricane is a noteworthy
3-for-120, but it does come at the cost of discarding
all the Energy attached to Volcarona. If you were using
Shimmering Scales, at least one of those is Grass, since
that's the only way to use that attack, so it's a big
shame in that regard, but if you were classy and avoided
Shimmering Scales in favor of taking advantage of
Volcarona's part-Fire typing - since keep in mind, those
3 Energy are completely Colorless - you can use Burning
Energy with him to neutralize part of if not all of the
cost, depending on how many you put on him.
Unfortunately, that's really the
drawback to Volcarona - his most powerful attack is only
good with a certain Special Energy, and Shimmering
Scales doesn't really work to Volcarona's secondary
Typing. Remember, those Dual-types prefer their first
Type for their attack costs rather than their second.
And while you can evolve into him quickly with Forest of
Giant Plants, I don't think you're gonna really be able
to take advantage of him otherwise. He's clunky, his
attacks aren't that great, and he just can't keep up
with some of the other noteworthy Pokemon out there.
Not to mention he's ironically weak
to Fire.
Rating
Standard: 2/5 (he's got a niche
purpose with Shimmering Scales at best, and that's just
a 50-50 chance of getting a great effect)
Expanded: 2.5/5 (at the very least
he could do well with Emboar, but that's about all I can
say for him)
Limited: 3/5 (the lack of Energy
acceleration will hurt him, even in arenas where things
are slower)
Arora Notealus: At least they're
trying some interesting mix-ups with their Dual-typing.
Even though Volcarona can't take much advantage of the
Fire boosting powers, he can at least work with some of
the older stuff alongside the boost from Forest of
Broken Plants for instance.
Next Time: GOSH DANGIT ANOTHER
GRASS ONE
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