Pokemon Examination: Dark
Blastoise
Whoa!! I got
some great response from my other Examination article (thanks Whether Man)
so why not do some more. In this article I'll be examining a Stage 2
evolution that can really help Raindance deal with the 70HP bad boys that
are all so common now. =)
Squirtle
Type: Water Pokemon
Evolution: Basic
Lvl.: 16
HP: 50
Attack: [2] Shell Attack (20)
Retreat: 1
Weakness: L
Resistance: None
Dark
Wartortle
Type: Water Pokemon
Evolution: Stage 1 (Evolves from
Squirtle)
Lvl.: 21
HP: 60
Attack: [W] Double Slap (10x)
Flip 2 coins. This attack does 10 damage times the number of heads.
Attack: [W1] Revenge
During your opponent's next turn, if the opponent attacks and does damage
to this Pokemon (even if this Pokemon is Knocked Out), do the same damage
to the attacking Pokemon. (Others effects of the attack are not
applied.)
Retreat: 1
Weakness: L
Resistance: None
Dark
Blastoise
Type: Water
Pokemon
Evolution: Stage 2 (Evolves from Evil
Wartortle)
Lvl.: 28
HP: 70
Attack: [WW] Hydro Cannon (30+)
Does 30 damage plus 20 more damage for each W Energy attached to this
Pokemon but not used to pay for this attack's Energy cost. You can't
add more than 40 damage in this way.
Attack: [W2] Rocket Tackle (40)
This Pokemon does 10 damage to itself. Flip a coin. If heads, during
your opponent's next turn, prevent all damage done to this Pokemon.
(Any other effects of attacks still happen.)
Retreat: 2
Weakness: L
Resistance: None
Strategy:
If should be obvious: Hydro Cannon
does 70 damage (for less energy than it takes Base Set Blastoise to do 60...
He's overpriced, but he's still really good because of his power, but I
shouldn't really be talking about that!) Oh wait, I should start with
Squirtle.
Squirtle is an okay Basic Pokemon.
The retreat cost is low and the attack can do some damage. However, in
the most dominating Raindance decks there are no Double Colorless Energy,
and thus Squirtle's attack will not achieve its potential. Squirtle
does have the necessary 50HP for an evolving Basic, but watch out for
Electabuzz!! I just thought of something!! Squirtle, with his
completely colorless attack, can be a spash Pokemon for Fire-weak Grass
Pokemon (such as Scyther). That'll help my Energy Trans.
Dark Wartortle... Ugh.
With only 60HP, an unreliable attack, and one that is very situational, he's
worth passing over. Just use Breeders for God's sake.
Ahh finally. Blastoise.
This guy is just amazing. With the ability to do 70 damage for 4
Waters, he is just what Raindance has needed. Base Blastoise can do 60
damage, Articuno can do 50, but they still can't kill those really annoying
Buzzes in one turn without PlusPower!! That's been so annoying,
PlusPowers are now a Raindance staple (or should be...) But, with Dark
Blastoise, you can deal the 70 damage without a PlusPower. Okay, now
the other stuff... 70HP is not that great. Never leave him out
against a Buzz (unless you attack first, of course). Because if you
do, there's a 50/50 chance that Thunderpunch'll kill him in one shot.
The retreat cost is now 2 and it has nother attack. Rocket Tackly does
a good amount of damage and has a chance of protecting Blastoise form damage
on the next turn. It does do 10 to itself, but that's a barable
drawback.
<deep breath>
Strengths:
Squirtle has the ability to Metagame
if Fire is a problem for you. Speedrill and Energy Trans, which have
taken a beating from Fossil Magmar, can be used more abundantly (they're
good you know, Speedrill and Energy Trans, they are) Dark Blastoise
will be a great help to kill Haymaker Pokemon, and his attack is more
effecient than Base Blastoise. He also has another good attack, but
Hydro Cannon will be a game-breaker in my opinion. Wartortle really
doesn't have a strength...other than that it can be replaced by Pokemon
Breeder.
Weaknesses:
As with all Water Pokemon (besides the
wonderful Articuno =) the new Dark Blastoise line is weak to Lightning.
Dark Blastoise's 70HP makes it very vulnerable to Thunderpunch, and the rest
of the line gets killed automatically by it. Wartortle has many
weaknesses I don't want to go over, and Squirtle, although he does have
better HP, his lack of a 1 Energy attack might hurt him.
Conclusion:
Dark Blastoise will change the face of
Raindance hugely if players know how to use it. Hydro Cannon,
remember, isn't used exclusively for 70HP guys. If I had a Blastoise
sitting up at the front Hydro Cannoning and taking hits, I would want to it
be Dark Blastoise, because even with his lower HP losing Base Blastoise's
Power would hurt tremendously. Dark Blastoise also takes the need for
Articuno away a little, and one thing I don't like about Articuno is that if
he does damage to Dark Blastoise on the bench, Thunderpunch kills it
automatically.
Raindance v4.0:
Why don't I make up a Raindance right
here on the spot? Writing about Dark Blastoise has put me in the
Raindancey mood.
Pokemon (14)
4 Squirtle Lvl. 16 (Eventually, his
higher HP made him the winner)
3 Blastoise Lvl. 53 (You still need
these; a Raindance is not without him)
3 Dark Blastoise (Haven't I said
enough yet?)
3 Lapras (Starter)
2 Articuno (Hard Hitter #3)
Energy (18)
18 Water Energy (I forgot why I put
them it; there has to be some reason...)
Trainers (28)
4 Bill (Card drawing is very important
for Raindance; to get a good start and keep on getting Energy)
4 Professor Oak (Same as above)
4 Computer Search (To find Blastoise
and start fast)
4 Item Finder (To get back all the
precious Trainers, and in case of Mew to get back Breeder)
4 Pokemon Breeder (To evolve Squirtle
to Blastoise, I think...)
2 PlusPower (Not as needed with Dark
Blastoise, but I have a feeling I'll use Base sometime)
2 Gust of Wind (It's GOW? What
can be said. Especially used for Buzz)
2 Energy Retrieval (To get Energy
back)
2 Nighttime Garbage Recovery (To get
back Squirtles so I can re-evolve)
Okay, questions. You over there.
"Why only 2 Articunos?" Well, with Dark Blastoise, Articuno
is not as needed. Another reason is the need for starters, and Lapras
serves that purpose. If you want, try out new things! Don't just
copy decks... Okay, you in the black Hurley shirt. "Why 6
Blastoises and only 4 Squirtles?" Well, I understand that 2 of
them will end up as dead cards unless I Collect them. But, I only need
1 Base Blastoise at a time, so it works. I'm tired. Last
question, okay? You in the back. "How can a deck work with
only 18 Energy?" Well, I was ready for that question. With
tons of searching, card drawing, and some Retreival thrown in (and
Collection can help), I can get the Energy I need. However, if you
don't like 18, Raindances work with 24 and less Trainers, so if you want
please do that. It's better for beginners. Okay, that's it.
Good bye.
-Sidewinder