Hi everyone, this is nikePK. I haven’t put anything on the site
lately, but I
was just thinking, and decided I’d do my opinion on the Top 5 pokemon from
each
set, the top 3 trainers from each set, and overall the top 10 cards from
each
set. So without further adieu, here they are, starting from the great
Base
Set. By the way, this is a list of how these cards stack up now, not
with just
the sets that were out when they were released. (ex: Hitmonchan would be on
the
base top 5 if it were just base, but he’s not very good anymore so he
didn’t
make it.)
Base Set: Pokemon
#5- Poliwrath- Poliwrath is still pretty good today. His
attacks cost a lot,
but with a double colorless his whirlpool attack is one of the best
ratio
attacks in the game. Removing energy is always a good thing to have,
just make
sure those wimpy poliwags don’t get crushed first. Pros: 90 hp, weak
to grass
instead of lightning. Cons: Crappy pre evolutions, high
retreat.
#4- Arcanine- Arcy is still around today, its limited, but
still there.
Combined with a metal energy its very nice and it has great Hp and a
decent
basic. Arcanine’s flamethrower can be used to take out little pokemon
so you
can save your hp. Pros: 100hp for stage 1!!, Decent basic, Fire type,
does
loads of damage. Cons: High retreat, deals damage back to itself.
#3- Electrode- Voltorb stinks (rocket one is OK), but unlike the
jungle
counterpart, the base Electrode is wonderful. You can buzzap him into
any 2
energy you want when he’s low on health, or you can use his 3 for 50 attack
to
your advantage. Energy removal hurts his power, but if you can take a
prize by
giving a prize, then by all means go for it. Pros: nice pokemon power,
nice
attack, 80 hp, low retreat. Cons: Well…umm he evolves from Voltorb,
his power
lets opponent take a prize.
#2- Chansey- I bet you didn’t see this coming * rolls eyes *.
Chansey’s
popularity skyrocketed once unown N came in to play. It’s died down a
bit but
its still a wonderful cleaner. Big hp, 2 great attacks, the big egg has
always
been great, and he’s not just for stalling like he used to be long ago.
Pros:
Huge Hp, 2 great attacks, low retreat, colorless energy requirements etc..
etc…
Cons: Ouch! self damage, unown n and sprout tower against him.
#1- Electabuzz- Yep, basics take home the gold and silver.
Electabuzz has
always been a great pokemon, nothing has stopped him from being great,
nothing
has enhanced him being great. An overall great pokemon for just about
any
situation and for any part of the game. Pros: quick, 70 hp, 1st turn
paralyzation. Cons: 2 retreat, there is some resistance to
lighting.
Top 3 Trainers of Base set
#3-Professor Oak- Behind? grab a new hand to go, then pummel your
opponent into
the ground. You may have to discard your hand, but that’s not much of
a problem
when you consider the benefits.
#2- Computer Search- Stuck? Well then try a computer search. It gets
you the
card you need, when you need it the most. Again, discarding 2 cards
isn’t much
when you can get any card from your deck.
#1- Super Energy Removal- So many cards can combo with this card to
give your
opponent playing only 10 energy in his/her Sneasel deck nightmares.
Recycle
energy, clefable, jumpluff, buzz, rocket’s zappy. You get the
picture. Ruin
your opponents plans and make him pay for trying to build up his
monster.
Top 10 cards of the whole set:
#10-Lass
#9- Blastoise
#8- Poliwrath
#7- Arcanine
#6- Electrode
#5- Professor Oak
#4- Computer Search
#3- Chansey
#2- Electabuzz
#1- Super energy removal
Now we move onto the 2nd set in the Pokemon card game, Jungle. Jungle
brought
us many many powerful cards that changed the environment and that are still
used
today.
Top 5 Jungle Pokemon:
#5- Pinsir- Back then it was used with Venusaur, now it’s used
with Meganium.
Either way it makes a great pair for either one. Pinsir lacks the 10
more hp
its superior cousin Scyther has, and it lacks a first turn attack. It
also has
a retreat, but when you only have to pay G for 20 and 50% of paralysis and
GG
for 50, while playing Meganium, its well worth it. Pros: High power
attacks,
combos well with other grass pokemon. Cons: a retreat cost, no 1st
turn attack.
60 hp.
#4- Rapidash- What a wonderful addition to fire jungle gave
us. Rapidash has
70 hp for a stage 1 which is ok, but its attacks make up for it.
Pros: free
retreat! agility attack that does 30, colorless attack. Cons: 70hp
and that’s
about it.
#3- Wigglytuff- Many would put him at #1, but the top 2 in my
opinion are a
bit more useful. Wiggly dominated for a long time, and he is still
used, even
though his power is hurt a bit. 3 colorless for 60 is still
0wnage. Pros:
great damage for energy ratio, 80 hp, great basic. Cons: attack could
do as
little as 10, 2 retreat, weak to removal.
#2- Clefable- Wow, one energy for his attack is just plain awesome.
Recycle
energy + SER with him has become a popular deck. Clefairy even got a
boost with
neo, so now he has 10 more hp. Pros: 1 energy attack, works in
many
situations. Cons: damage could be a lot, or none. 2
retreat.
#1- Scyther- As you’ll hear anyone say, Scyther is so
versatile. It’s real
power is when its on turn 1 within a grass deck. A turn 2 60 can ruin
any
pokemon trainer’s day. Free retreat adds to how wonderful he
is. Pros: 70hp, 0
retreat, colorless attack. Cons: fire weakness, first turn attack
does no
damage.
Top 1 trainer of Jungle:
#1- Pokeball- Well, unfortunately…it wins by default… This card
isn’t any good
considering all of the alternatives out there.
Top 10 overall in Jungle:
#10- Vileplume
#9- Lickitung
#8- Kangaskhan
#7- Exeggutor
#6- Venomoth
#5- Pinsir
#4- Rapidash
#3-Wigglytuff
#2-Clefable
#1- Scyther
The last set to feature all normal pokemon, Fossil is now up for
judging.
Top 5 Pokemon of Fossil:
#5- Lapras- Good all around water pokemon. Water finally
got a good basic,
and it’s still not that bad except when you consider it’s weakness.
Pros: 80hp,
1st turn attack. Cons: weak to lightning, 2 retreat, not very
powerful.
#4- Moltres- It used to be one of the most dominant decks for a
long while.
Moltres stall has died down but I think it could do pretty well with
Typhlosion
and fire recharge. Pros: first attack can really mess up
opponent. Cons: 2nd
attack makes it vulnerable to clefable, not great in many decks except for
stall
which is mostly dead.
#3- Articuno- Combined with Blastoise, this guy is great. High
energy attacks
with good side effects and lots of damage and not a weakness in
sight. Starting
with him isn’t so great, but he can survive a few hits. Pros: combo
with
raindance, no weakness, nice attacks. Cons: not so hot without
Blastoise. 2
retreat
#2- Ditto- Copy them, become them, charge up faster than them.
Opposite of the
gameboy game, ditto is faster than most of his opponents because transform
is a
pokemon power and because he can use DCE to his advantage. He has a
few
downfalls but overall ditto is still a great Sneasel killer and a staple in
some
decks. Pros: powers up fast, becomes anything of your
opponents. Cons: Muk,
Magby, pichu.., He becomes anything of your opponents.
#1- Muk- You thought Ditto would be #1, didn’t u? Well it’s
Muk, he
successfully shuts down many things today, such as typhlosion, Slowking,
and
ditto. His strength lies in his pokemon power, but he has a decent
attack too.
If only its attack cost was 2… Pros: Power shuts down lots of stuff,
Weak to
psy. Grimer is good. Cons: 2 retreat, 3 grass for his only
attack.
Top 3 Trainers of Fossil:
#3- Gambler- Feeling lucky? Well if you are, Gamblers for you.
Gambler can
serve 2 purposes depending on which flip you need. With heads
it gets you a
lot of cards. With tails and with cards in your hand, you can prevent
decking.
#2- Mysterious Fossil- Not so much that its good, but its almost
needed to
evolve into the great neo 2 Kabutops and Omastars.
#1- Mr. Fuji- Prevnts you from decking, gets injured Pokemon off the
bench. No
flip involved, what more could you want?
Oh boy, Top 10 overall.
#10- Golduck
#9- Aerodactyl
#8- Gengar
#7- Mr. Fuji
#6- Magmar
#5- Lapras
#4- Moltres
#3- Articuno
#2- Ditto
#1- Muk
Whew, Ok, now we’ve got The terrible Titans of Pokemon thieving, Team
Rocket.
Top 5 Team Rocket set Pokemon:
#5- Dark Electrode- 2 Lighting for 30 and you can take the
energy and throw it
on any of your other pokemon. This hit and run style keeps your
energy on the
board, while dark electrode deals out damage and take some pain. Works good
with
Switch or Recycle energy to get him out of the active spot next turn.
Pros:
nice 2nd attack. low retreat. Cons: low hp, crap 1st
attack.
#4- Dark Charizard- Better than base by a long shot; Dark
Charizard can deal
some major pain, for a tiny cost of energy. He may have to discard
some, but
discarding 2 for 100 damage is stellar. Pros: Good 2nd attack,
rocket
Charmander prepares for his evolution. Cons: Dark Charmeleon is
crap,
downgraded to 80hp, bad 1st attack. 2nd attack relies on flips
#3- Dark Blastoise- Wow, a cheaper, faster, more powerful water gun
attack for
the new Shelled pokemon. Bad hp keeps him from being the best he can,
but if
you can get it powered to do 70 a turn, then focus band can help him
keep
dishing it out. Pros: 2 wonderful attacks! only 2 retreat this
time. Cons:
70hp for a stage 2. Weak to lightning.
#2-Dark Vileplume- Dark Vileplume has lost a lot of power since
neo came out,
but you can still protect yourself from Pichu, Magby, Muk, and
Igglybuff. Dark
Plume is considered 2nd rate when compared to slowking, but when you even
the
playing field where nobody can play trainers AT ALL, then your specially
built
deck stands a much better chance.
#1- Dark Muk - Grass takes its 3rd Gold in a row for top Pokemon
(isn’t grass
the greatest) and for good reason here. Pokemon Power + Sludge Punch=
Greatness. Poison your opponent and don’t let him escape while you
remove
energy left and right off of their benched pokemon. Pros: great
attack for
energy ratio, great pokemon power. Cons: 60 hp.
Top 3 Trainers of Team Rocket:
#3-Imposter Oak’s Revenge- Get rid of anything good that they had and
hopefully
screw up their plans of making any run at winning.
#2- Rocket’s Sneak Attack- Take a trainer, any trainer….and get rid
of it! It’s
power has been weakened by Cleffa but it can still cause serious damage on
1st
turn.
#1- Nightly Garbage Run- Pretty much a necessity in every deck, NGR
lets you
prevent decking, and lets you play lower energy costs. Wonderful, and
uncommon.
Top 10 overall Rocket Set:
#10- Dark Flareon
#9- Dark Weezing
#8- Rocket’s Sneak attack
#7-Dark Electrode
#6- Dark Charizard
#5- Dark Blastoise
#4- Dark Vileplume
#3- Nightly Garbage Run
#2- Dark Muk
#1- Rainbow energy (pretty much a necessary element in all steel and
darkness
decks, it deserves its spot at #1)
Well that’s it for today, I’ll be back to talk about Part II, Gym
Heroes-
Southern Islands. Bye for now.
Questions, comments, send ‘em to PANDNKENNEDY@prodigy.net
-nikePK-