Hello! This is Andrew Ketchum
(Like you care) here with yet ANOTHER one of those reports about +he Pokemon
environment........but mine is going to be evaluating what I observed from when
Pokemon first started to my current observations of what's happening in the
Pokemon world today. I know there are like a million other reports that are on
this subject,but hopefully mine will give an original and valid perspective.
Before I start, I would like to make another observation:ALL of these reports I
have read fall in one of three categories:
#1.
Ones complaining about how certain cards make the game unfun and that Wizards or
the people over in Japan were 'high' or 'drinking something' when they made
certain cards.
#2."The current state of Pokemon is terrible but if
Wizards would do this or ban this or change this it would be fixed and I'm such
a genius and if they listened to me it would all be good again."
#3.The
people who actually have a valid point in what their saying but their point is
usually the same point 5 other people made one week earlier.
Well,
if there are only three categories, and there are like 100 reports,they can't
be very original. Gosh I hope this one makes a new category,or else I'm
screwed. Anyways, I would like state what I observed when Pokemon FIRST
came out. The first thing Pokemon was Pokemon Red and Blue,which was a complete
success. Then came the T.V show which i guess was a success because alot
of kids watched it. Then came the real stuff: The Pokemon Trading Card Game.
This was the begginning of a long,bumpy ride. I think that Charles Dickens said
it best in his 19th century play A Tale Of Two Cities: "It was
the best of times,it was the worst of times." Now even though Mr.Dickens
wasn't talking about Pokemon, (The man who dreamed up Pokemon,Satoshi Tajiri
wasn't born until about 98 years after Dickens died) the same principle that
Dickens used to describe what life was like in the days of the play can also
apply to what life was and is in the days of Pokemon.
In January 1999 The
Base Set of the Pokemon TCG was released. The Success was Phenomenal. All of
the sudden kids were doing anything to get their hands on the cards. Allounces,
savings,and wallets were emptied into buying cards.However,to some kids it was
worth it. Hell, to about ALL kids it was worth it. The main decks that were
used were Raindance, Haymaker, and Damage swap (i'm pretty sure you already
knew that,but you can never be too carefull).Then jungle was released,3
important Pokemon cards were born: Wigglytuff,Scyther,and Clefable. There were
2 other cards though not as important, were also pretty dang good
cards.Those being Mr.Mime and Kangaskhan.The decks were pretty much the same
with minor adjustments, however 1 new deck was added.A deck that even today is
used with minor adjustments :Do The Wave. This deck was not only powerfull,but
feared, as well.And then came Fossil. This set brought a couple of important
things.It brought the Moltres Run-You-Out-Of-Cards Deck and the
Anti-Pokemon Power deck Starring MUk. Aerodactyl was placed in some Haymakers
and Psychic fans got the new-and-improved Gastly and Haunter,along with their
evolution, Genger, who was the new Psychic heavy-hitter at the time. And
finnaly,Ditto was made and became one of the most versetile cards ever.
Then came Base Set 2,the most pointless set EVER.All this set did was cause
kids who didn’t know any better to buy the same cards they had already bought.
Before
Team Rocket came out Pokemon was still going strong. Stores would sell out of
their brand new cards within 3 days and a 1st Edition Charizard was
still sold at a $150.00 minimum. Then Team Rocket came out and we got a bunch
of crappy cards other than Dark Vileplume, and with Dark Vileplume came a
new,powerfull,and hated deck: Trainer Denial.This deck was feared by many and
was a hunter of Haymakers,so to speak. There were some other good cards from
this set also, such as Dark Muk, NGR, Dark Golduck,and Rainbow Energy (However,
Rainbow Energy didn’t become extremely useful until The Neo sets came
out). When Gym Heroes & Challenge
came out, we had a wide variety of cards to choose from. We were introduced to
Blaine’s Arcanine, Erika’s Dratini, Rocket’s Hitmonchan, Rocket’s Scyther,
Chaos Gym, and last but first in everybody in the world’s opinion, Rocket’s
Zapdos. This card is considered the best ever made to a lot of people. I know
kids at league who would trade any and all of their cards just to have a R.
Zapdos. By then, back in a pre-Neo environment, things started to slow down in
the Pokemon world. There were less people playing at league and less buying
cards. Then Neo Genesis hit. This set introduced tons of brand new Pokemon as
well as some old school.
Out of this set came the two most trouble-making cards ever. These cards
have caused more complaints, more quitters, and more Chaos than the Gym. Yeah,
you know who I’m talking about: Sneasel and Slowking. These cards threw the
entire balance of the Poke-universe out of wack. I think things would have been
better off if they would have just left those two out of the set and see how
many fights Cleffa causes. Then Discovery hit stores and, well, there isn’t
much to be said for Discovery. Well, I guess Igglybuff is alright, but I don’t
think it’s as good as most people think it is. Nothing absolutely
record-breaking, but nothing was fought over (Stupid Sneasel…..stupid
Slowking!!). Now if any of you started back in the days when it Pokemon was
just a funny word, then you’ll remember the fights then. To refresh your
memory, they were about wether it counts if the coin hits somebody and then
lands. That was it! No one fought over this stuff, there were no ‘controversial’
issues. But now all I hear is “But it’s not fair! I can’t beat a Sneasel!” or “Slowking
is too broken. Wizards sucks” But I really can’t remember the last time anybody
said “Deal with it. You’re not going to die, you aren’t bleeding, and nothing
was destroyed, so shut up.” All you have to do is play the right deck. If you
live in an environment dominated by Sneasel, play energy denial. If you live in
an environment dominated by Slowking, play Muk and Igglybuff. It’s not that
hard. NOTHING in the world was ever solved by laying around and whining about
stuff. I used to come to the TCG strategies so I could get some interesting
tips. Now all that’s on there are people griping about stuff. If you would take
HALF the time you spend griping, and put it into trying to find a solution, you
could probably do just that. You can’t loose to Sneasel and then blame Wizards
for it. If you lost, then you lost and can always try again. It’s that simple.
I have news for you all: almost any card can beat any card. A Dunsparce can
beat a Blaine’s Arcanine. Magikarp can beat a Chansey. It is possible!! It all
depends on the situation. I know what you’re thinkin’: What are the odds of
that happening? Who cares?! As long as there is a possibility, there ARE odds
of it happening. All of you who are doing this are not helping the environment,
you’re hindering it! What good does writing a report that’s basic message is “Wizards
should get rid of Slowking!” going to do? Let me ask all of you who said those
thing or similar things to it one question: WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE
HELPING?!?! How exactly do you suggest they just get rid of Slowking? What,do
you think their going to go door-to-door to all of the people that ever bought
Pokemon cards and search their house for Slowkings? It can’t be done!! It has
already happened!! They CAN’T just take it back? It’s a done deal. Now it’s you’re
deal. You know what I think?(like you really give a rat’s a…) I think the
people that originally made the cards threw in those cards just to see how you’d
handle it. I believe that it isn’t Wizard’s fault the current environment is
the way it is. It is OUR fault. WE are the ones complaining and turning TCG
Tips into a gripe session. And if we are the ones who screwed it up, then we
are the ones who are the ones who are gonna’ have to fix it. We can’t turn the
game stale then expect Wizards to freshen it up. The game is only as bad as you
make it. It is now your responsibility to ask yourself a question: “Am I
helping or hindering the current Pokemon environment?” then ask: “What can I do
to improve it?” If you honestly answer those simple questions, you should find
an answer. And if you can’t, then what are you doing playing Pokemon? Just
think about it.
Also,
when I come across a tip that says “Top Ten” or “Top Twenty”, I don’t read it.
You know why? Because every single one is almost identical!! No one is original
in what they say!! Why can’t you guys be unique? Are you afraid that you’ll get
sent a bunch of hate mail or what? Every top ten has the same cards: Sneasel,
Slowking, Cleffa, Electabuzz, Igglybuff, R. Zapdos, Murkrow, Scyther,
Wigglytuff, and Clefable only it’s not in the same order. Now tell me how
original is THAT?! There are like a million other cards out there. And there
are like a bunch of other good cards. I NEVER play a deck that other people use
or have used and I have won every tournament that I have entered. I know that I
am going to get a ton of hate mail for saying this, but I think it’s true:
Those of you who are playing Sneasel can’t have much skill. The only skill you
need when playing Sneasel is knowing how to flip a coin. That’s all there is to
it. If some of you would try some original decks of your own, you might just
find that not only is it more satisfying, but most of the time it’s more fun,
too. Also, I never had much problem with Slowking and I would I would like to
say nice work to all of you playing those decks. (*Sigh* here comes more hate
mail………….…) I don’t have a problem with the decks themselves, I just have a
problem with all of you who are getting the crap kicked out of you BY those
decks. You people should have figured it out by now. All you have to do is not
play a trainer unless it is absolutely essential. I mean you had better need
that trainer worse than a new car, otherwise, don’t bother! Once again, it is
just that easy. I am not scorning you because you lost, and I apologize if I
come across sounding like that. I am just saying that you should not play
Slowking unless you know how to beat him (No, I’m not talking about getting all
of your prizes first.). You have to have a strategy. You can’t just rush into
something blindly without thinking it through. Well, that about wraps it up,
but before I go I would like to say to all of you who have been playing since
the beginning that if you have stuck with it for this long, then you had better
not be the ones complaining about this crap, because if you are, then you have
2 intelligent options: #1: Quit Pokemon and save your money for college. #2:
Try to obtain a more positive outlook on what is happening and seek a solution.
Well, I’ll see ya’ later and I hope what I said helped you in some way. Oh, and
if I offended you, well then there’s nothing I can do, and I’m not going to
apologize because you disagree with my opinion. See ya’!!
This is Andrew Ketchum saying “So long!”
If you want to e-mail me, my address is andrew_hensley@hotmail.com