From: Baboonskin@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2002 3:41 PM
To: cardtips@pojo.com
Subject: *20th* How to Use Article!!!!!! ~Chansey -by Chris
       I've been writing articles for pojo under the "How to Use ___" name since April 2001. Now, January 2002, I've reached my Twentieth article! Now, to keep the tradition going, let's take a good look at an old favorite that is still undisputedly one of the best cards ever released! Chansey!

**120 HP- The original Wall. 120 is extremely hard to take down, always was, and always will be. In today's envoronment, with the addition of Gold Berry and Focus Band, Chansey grew from a nearly-indestructible barrier, to a fortress without any weak spots!

**Bottom Stats- Fighting is used rarely any more. Psychic Resistance is decent, due to the occasional Xatu, Espeon, and Promo Mewtwos that are still around today. The retreat of (*) is good to be able to escape with.

**(*)(*) Scrunch- The original annoyance. On the first turn of the game, you can begin your assault! In today's game, A lot can happen on turn 1, especially in Standard format (PlusPowers and Rocket's Zappy...). Blocking that damage is great for living for a while.

**(*)(*)(*)(*) Double Edge 80- 80 seems to be a magical number in the world of Pokemon, since a lot of cards used today either have 70 or around 100 HP. The 70 HPs are easily Knocked Out, and the 100s can be taken out with 2 PlusPowers! But, every card needs a part to it that helps it to remain un-broken. With Chansey's case, it's the 80 self-damage...Look below for a list of cards you can combine with Chansey to make that horrible 80 shrink to something much more bearable...

~Metal Energy. As soon as Neo1 was released, Chansey came back like a speeding bullet, and for a good reason! Each Metal Energy attached to Chansey reduces the damage done to your opponent by 10, to deal 70. But, here's the advantage: Each Metal Energy attached to Chansey reduces your self-damage by 20! With 1 Metal, Double Edge does 70 to the Defending Pokemon, and 60 to you. With 2, it does 60 and 40. With 3, it does 50 and 20! And, with 4, it'll do 40 with no backfire! Even though it reduces firepower, think about it. A 120 HP monster with 4 Metal Energy on it?! That will take some serious time until it gets knocked out ;-)

~Gold Berry. Whenever Chansey would have 40+ damage on it, 40 disappears! Now, how much damage does Double Edge deal? Hmm...sounds good...

~Unown N. I had an argument with some people at my League about this combo, but in the end, I was correct. Unown N does reduce all damage done to your (*) Pokemon by 30. Chansey is Colorless, and damages itself. This fits all necessary criteria...All Double Edges self-damage is reduced by 30 with this Pokemon!

~Defender. Was the only card at the time, but now is over-shadowed. I'm far from saying that you shouldn't use Defender, but my all means, use the above listed cards before using Defender. Defender works only once, and only reduces by 20, but it's definitely better than nothing!

~Sprout Tower. The one card you don't want to use unless absolutely necessary. It does work, but with a big disadvantage. It reduces all damage by 30 with Double Edge. That means 50 and 50 for 4 (*) Energy. Not the best in the world. But, it does slow the damage...

~Focus Band. Before I start...Read the card, please! If Chansey would Knock itself out with this attached, you DO NOT get to flip. But, if your opponent Knocks you out, you DO get to flip. Nothing much better than having a 120 HP Pokemon give a severe beating, and then leave it there for another attack!

That should just about do it, for my 20th How to use Article! Thanks to everyone who reads my articles, and look for more in the future!

~Chris
Baboonskin@aol.com

If you have a *good* deck, and would like to play 1 match against me over AOL Instant Messenger, feel free to e-mail me to set up a time/date. Thanks!