Vending Ratings
*=1 / °=1/2.   1 is Low, 5 is High.
By Katana

If you have translations for the "Vending Holographic" Mail-Away set (Gengar,
Machamp, Omastar, Alakazam, and Golem), please e-mail me.                      
                        Katana_e49@hotmail.com
                                                                    -Katana
                                    Pokemon
Bulbasaur- *** Well, this is certainly OK.  HP and attacks are both good, but
still average.

Charmander- *** Everything is completely average- Attacks, Retreat, HP, you
name it.

Squirtle- ***° Water power is like Swords Dance; it strengthens the attack
tremendously. HP and low retreat are also good.

Caterpie-** Weak.  Use the old one.

Metapod- **** Whoa!  Its power is great against Psychic and Fire, and its
attack is real solid.

Weedle- **° Better, but still lousy.  HP and Poison are all good, but not
good enough.

Kakuna- *** OK.  Power is good, but HP and attack are horrible.

Pidgey- ** OK HP, but weak attacks.  Not great.

Pidgeotto- ***° HP is bad, but the attacks are similar to Togechiccu's. 
Twister is not great, but Fly has lots of potential.

Rattata- *° OK HP, but weaker attacks.  Not great.

Arbok- **** Whoa!  30 and Auto-Poison for 3 energies is really good.  Add in
the +10 bonus, and you have a great card.

Spearow- * HP is low, and the attacks are quite weak.  Not good at all.

Fearow- **° Both attacks are weaker than the Jungle version's, and the HP is
real bad.

Pikachu (Vending 00)- *** The first attack is useful for evolving into
Riachu, but the second attack is too expensive and HP is too low to get off
more than one shot at it.  Still not bad.

Pikachu (Vending 1)- **° Agility and Thundershock are great, but 30 HP is way
too low.

Riachu- **** A great weapon against Rain Dance.  Short-Circuit can really
hurt water, and Shock Kick isn't too bad either

Sandshrew- **** A fighting Pokemon with Lighting Resistance, a 1 Energy, 20
damage Swift AND a Poison Sting? HP is low, but he's still a must in every
Fighting Deck.

Sandslash- ***° Good HP, and two good attacks, one doing up to 70.  Nothing
wrong here.

Nidoran Female- ** Jungle is great, this is lousy.  Let's skip this one.

Nidorina- **** Cool.  Up to 90, usually 60 for 3 energies is real good.  HP
is kind of low, though.

Nidoran Male- ***° Pretty good.  The attack is real great for the cost, even
with the coin flip, and Focus Energy makes him deadly.

Nidorino- *° Low HP, and a terrible attack.

Clefairy- *** OK HP, OK Attacks.  Not bad.

Vulpix- **° The attack would be better if it was cheaper.  We need a good
Vulpix.  Bad.

Wigglytuff- ° This guy is the weakest in the set.  HP is great, but its
power, retreat, and attack are all completely horrible.

Zubat- ** Another weak bat.  The HP and attacks are both weak.  Use Fossil. 
Actually, don't use Zubat at all.

Golbat- *° Low HP and super-weak attacks keep this guy below the rest. 
Forget any form of this family (Besides Dark).  They're all weak.

Paras- ** Use Jungle.  Please.

Parasect- ***° Much better than Jungle.  Poison Spore is cool, and HP is OK
with Leech Life.

Venonat- *** An improvement over Jungle, as HP and attacks are better.  Still
not great.

Venomoth- ***° HP is kinda low, but the attacks are great.  One is a
guaranteed Status, and the other can get him out of there before he's KO.

Golduck- **** Good, solid attacks. Good, solid HP.  Good, solid retreat. 
Good, solid card.

Growlithe- **° It can get trainers for Colorless, but that's about it.

Poliwag- *** Good HP, average attack. Better.

Poliwhirl- *** The 1st attack is pretty good, but the second is too
expensive.  Use Breeder.

Poliwraith- HP is bad, and its attacks are way two weak for a Stage 2. Stick
with the old line.

Abra- **° OK attack, 30 HP.  Not that good.

Kadabra- ****° (60 HP) HP is low, but Blink can keep it out there for a LONG
time. Plus, it can take out any Psychic except Jungle Mime and some ghosts
with Panic.

Kadabra- ****° (70 HP) Good HP, and great attacks.  The 1st gets your Rainbow
Energy and DCEs back, and the 2nd, when combined with Energy Removal and GOW,
can keep an opponent trapped for a long time.  

Machop- *** Not as good as base. It can do 60 if you flip heads, but it's
pretty bad if you don't.

Machoke- **** (Vending 2) Bad picture, but real good attacks.  HP is also
good.

Machoke- ** (Vending 3) The first attack is OK, but the HP is low and the
second attack is real bad.

Bellsprout- ** Same as the old one.  Weak.

Weepinbell- **° Dissolve is OK, but the 1st attack is real bad, and HP is
low.

Geodude-  *° Terrible attacks.

Graveler- *** (Vending 2)With luck, this guy is amazing. Even 2 or 3 heads
are real bad for many guys.     

Graveler-  *** (Vending 3) HP is low, but the attack is OK. Still not great.

Ponyta- **° The second attack and Retreat are both real solid. 
Unfortunately, HP is too low.

Rapidash-  **° The Jungle one was great, this one is terrible.  Sure, it
would be great if it was a basic, but it isn't.

Slowbro- * Weak Attacks, High Retreat.  Not as terrible as Wigglytuff, but I
really don't recommend it.

Magnemite- **° Not a bad Magnemite, but the power's not good and the attack
is a little too weak.

Magneton- **** The best Magneton so far.  Microwave is good for keeping
Energy low, while damaging the bench, and HP is pretty good.

Doduo- ** HP is bad, and attacks are average.  Not very good.  

Dodrio- *** OK, but not as cool as Jungle.  HP is low, but the attacks are
good.

Seel- ***° HP and attacks are both solid.  

Dewgong- ***° HP is bad, but Rest can keep it out there a while, as you have
a 75% chance of waking up by your next turn. Aurora Wave is OK.

Grimer- **** An excellent combo with Dark Muk.  Use Sticky Fluid once, then
evolve and increase the Retreat Cost by 3! Awesome!  

Shellder- *** Better HP, but Water Gun's not good enough

Gastly- *** Not bad.  Both attacks are OK, but neither are great.

Haunter- ****° (60 HP)The best late-game card out there.  Say your opponent
has drawn 4 Prizes.  Use Haunter and hit for a whopping 100 damage for only 2
Energies!

Haunter- **** (70 HP) Almost as good as the other one, with a Status
Guarantied attack and one that can do tons of damage for 1 energy. Pretty
Good.

Onix- *** Good HP, but the attacks need more power. A LOT more power.

Hypno- ****° HP is OK. He's similar to Dark Kadabra- A cool power and a 30
damage Mind Shock.

Krabby- **° Same as the old one. Weak.

Kingler- **** HP is good, and the first attack can get you powered up real
quick.  Double Edged Claw is insane.

Voltorb- ** Everybody Spark is real good, but 30 HP is a tid bit low.

Cubone- ***° The best Cubone- either 30 to the active or 10 to the bench for
1 Fighting.  Great.

Marowak- **** HP is bad, but if he can stay alive for 1 turn, he can be
amazing, with Bone Club being one of the best attacks in the game.

Hitmonchan- ***° Oh, look! A Machop with possible bench damage!  We'll pass.

Hitmonlee- *** OK attacks, but the old one had more HP and so is better.

Lickitung- **° Pretty bad.  The attacks aren't very good, and the HP is 30
less than Jungle.

Koffing- **° Its attack is weak, and its power is useless.  No.

Weezing- ***°  HP and Attack are pretty bad, but the power is great in any
poison deck, specifically ones with Dark Arbok and Venomoth.

Rhydon- **** Solid HP and attacks.  BIG improvement over Jungle and Gym 1.

Chansey- *** 100 HP is the only good thing, as the attacks are absolutely
horrible.  Use Base.

Tangela- ** Super-weak attacks, average HP.  Not great.

Kangaskahn- ** Its second attack has only a 20% chance of working, so it's
not good at all.

Horsea- **° It's another Base Set Poliwag.  Not much use.

Seadra- *** Good HP, but the attack is a little sub-par.  Not bad.

Staryu- ** Very puzzling, yet not very good.

Mr. Mime- ***** GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT! 
Forget Dark Kadabra and Dark Alakazam; This guy can protect your monsters
while killing your opponents.  HP and attack are also good, but he should
stay on the bench. He essentially gives Gengar, Mewtwo, Jungle Mime, every
Psychic beasty, a Mind Shock attack. GREAT!

Scyther- ***° Combos with Dodrio. Having a powered one active, a powered one
on the bench and a Three Headed Bird in play can let you quickly alternate
between these Mantises to do cheap damage real quick.

Jynx- **° HP is bad, and the attacks are weak.  Strange, though, that Jynx
uses water...
 
Electabuzz- ***° Not as good as the original, but if you sacrifice one
spreading Lightning Rods, you can get Prizes quickly.  Also a good way to
take out Blastoise without Gust of Wind.

Magmar- **° Fossil's still better.  Lower HP and weaker attacks will keep
this one in the binder.

Pincer- *** A downgraded version of Jungle Scyther.  Stick with the real one.

Tauros- ** The Kick is pretty bad.  HP is real good, but he needs a better
attack.

Ditto- ***° It's power is good, as Ditto can become anyone in play, but is
sort of risky, as you have to flip a coin.

Lapras- ** Use Fossil.  This one's absolutely horrible.

Eevee- * Terrible HP, even worse attacks.  Don't use it.

Porygon- ***° Fury Swipes is good, and Conversion 2 can help a bit.  Still
not wonderful.

Kabuto- ***° HP and power are bad, but the attack is great as long as you
flip heads.

Omanyte- (Vending 2) ***° This card work really well in Fossil decks.  Use
either this one or Neo 2's.

Omanyte- (Vending 3)- ** Not good at all.  Use any other version.
 
Aerodactyl- ***° He misses the power of his predecessor, but his attacks are
both powerful and colorless. Not bad.

Snorlax- **** The attack is not to good, though it can be useful, as you will
almost always wake up before your next turn.  However, the power and HP are
great, so if you keep some Scoop Ups handy, this guy is pretty good.  

Articuno- ***° Auara Veil can protect you from Gengar and Riachu decks, and
HP and attack are both pretty good, though only in Rain Dance.

Zapdos- **° Another bad Zapdos.  HP is low for a bird of this type, and both
attacks will hurt you a lot.

Moltres- ***° Not nearly as good as the original, but not bad. His second
attack is solid for a Fire Pokemon, with no discard.

Mewtwo (Vending 00)- **** Telekinesis is very solid, as is HP.  I think this
card is great, but most people don't.

Mewtwo- **** Finally!  A Mewtwo with real good HP!  The first attack is OK,
but the second is great. 

Mewtwo- **** Another tough Mewtwo. Both attacks are OK, and good in many
decks.

Mew (Vending 00)- I'm not sure of the translation.

Trainers
Moon Stone- **° Since there are few good colorless evolutions besides
Wigglytuff, this card is not that good.  Maybe a Fire or Water stone, but not
a Moon Stone.

Fossil Find *° Maybe a deck with Aerodactyl could use this, but not much else.

Flash- **° Cool, but almost useless.

Master Ball- **** Real good.  It can help you get any Pokemon you need, when
you need it.

Max Revive- ***° I like this card.  It lets you include fewer basics than
usual, while still keeping a full bench. 

Effect Guard- *° Use Full Heal.

Pokemon Retransfer- **** Great in an evolution deck.  It can easily get your
Alakazam or Blastoise when you need it.

Pokemon Tower- ***** This is the card no Energy Removal deck should be
without.  It keeps NGR and Energy Retrievals, two cards that really hurt this
deck, from having their effects. It also kills Promo Mewtwo.

Send all hate mail, fan mail, questions, comments, or translations to:
Katana_e49@Hotmail.com
-Katana