Here is my last deck article until after the 2005 Pokemon World Championships in San Diego, Cali. on August 19th-21st. Then expect to read a full detailed report on the happenings at Worlds along with the winning decks and some neat photos.

First off this deck is really fun to play. Notice I didn?t say it was a fun deck. It is really that fun to play. But that doesn?t make it a bad tournament deck either. At a local tournament I have finished 2nd and 1st respectively beating decks like Zap-Turn-dos, Medicham-ex, Vileplume-ex, Blaziken, and Dragtrode to name a few. There are only 7 basics so expect some mulliganing to occur but from my experience you will get a basic by your 2nd Mulligan. If you start with Beldum which happens to be your best start because of it?s Magnetic Call Poke-Power. Once during your turn you may flip a coin if Heads search your deck for a basic Metal Pokemon and place it on your bench. If you get really lucky you can have a full bench of Beldums and then search for Registeel as your last Metal basic. This will thin out your deck and you wont have to worry about drawing any more basics other than the 2 Deoxys-ex that are in the deck. But more about them later. Just watch out with a full bench because you will be prone to your opponent playing a Steven?s Advice on you. Instead of running your own Steven?s you may want to substitute or add in some CopyCats for this reason. When your opponent builds their hand size with Steven?s Advice then on your next turn just CopyCat their hand in order to increase your hand size.

The other basics we have in here are Registeel-ex from Hidden Legends and 2 different forms of Deoxys-ex. First off let me discuss Registeel-ex. I use the Exoskeleton Registeel-ex from Hidden Legends because 1st of all it?s Poke-Body Exoskeleton is a built in Metal Energy that reduces damage from attacks by 10. Secondly the Registeel from Emerald is far inferior and doesn?t have enough power to warrant usage in this deck. Registeel-ex is a wonderful attacker against decks such as Rock-Lock and especially against Zap-Turn-Dos. With its attack, Steel Wave, dishing out 50 damage to the active and then 20 damage to your opponent?s benched Pokemon that share the same type as the active Pokemon. I have taken multiple prizes against Zappy decks by using Registeel-ex. Now my choices for the Deoxys-ex are purely from a tech advantage standpoint for my local Metagame. The Fast Wave Deoxys-ex is tech against Wobbuffet as Fast Wave ignores Poke-Bodies such as Safeguard and also ignores Poke-Powers, Resistance and other effects on the Defending Pokemon. The Energy Burst Deoxys-ex goes well with this deck as its attack does 10 damage + 10 more damage for each energy attached to Deoxys-ex and to the Defending Pokemon. This goes hand in hand with the Deoxys Metagross as you will be able to attach an extra energy from the discard 1x per turn with Super Connectivity to Deoxys-ex for that extra 10 damage if needed for the ko. Similar to their non-ex counterparts, these Deoxys-ex also have the Form Change Power that allows you to switch one out for one from your deck. This can work as a nice surprise against your opponent when they are not expecting it.

Now lets discuss the Evo?s in the deck. I?m running 4 Metang as you will notice that there are no Rare Candy in this deck. The reason for this is not only is Rock-Lock still viable and popular but the psychic Metang with Metal Ball has won me many of matches on Turn 2 when all I do is attach an energy Turn 1 to Beldum then if have or get the Double Rainbow on Turn 2 I can Metal Ball which places 5 damage counters on the Defending Pokemon that only has 50 hp. There are also 3 Metagross with the Super Connectivity Poke-Power. This Metagross serves as the main attacker as for only 2 energies it is inflicting 40 damage with Link Blast and if there is the same amount of energy attached to the defending Pokemon and the attacking Pokemon then Metagross is dishing out a whopping 70 damage for only 2 energies. Combo this with it?s Super Connectivity power and then you are in control of how many energies you need to inflict for the 70 damage. Along with the Double Rainbow energy that can also serve as a boost of sorts, but just remember that the DRE energy will reduce your attack by ?10 damage. I would also like to add that TV Reporter is maxed out at 4 in this deck because just like Fire Starter Blaze, this deck relies on manipulating energy from your discard pile back into play. So don?t be afraid to ditch an energy even if it is a shiny Metal energy to the discard when using TV Reporter because Super Connectivity can get it back.

I also run 1 Metagross with the Metal Juncture power. This Metagross is good in mirror matches because of its Psychic resistance and also its Power that lets you move around Metal, Dark Metal, or DRE energies. Its one attack, Squared Attack, is very flip reliant and thus why it should not be the main attack used while playing this deck. Flipping 4 heads in a row will not happen very often but if need be it may be used as a last chance attack. Plus since this Metagross is both Psychic and Metal type, Metal energies will help reduce incoming damage. You will also see the use of 2 Metagross-ex. Because this deck lacks direct search via Pidgeot or Magcargo the 2 Metagross-ex helps out when 1 is prized. Due to the draw engine in this deck though you shouldnt have any problem drawing into it. Again you wont always want to play it say if you are up against a Fire deck or even a Fighting deck like say Medicham- ex due to its Dual weakness, but Metagross-ex 1st attack Metal Reversal is a great late game closer. Does your opponent have a benched Poke that is 40 Hp away from dying and they have retreated it to the bench? Then just Metal Reversal it up. Or did they make the mistake to play a 50 HP basic so they can play that Steven?s in their hand? Then just Metal Reversal up that 50 HP basic next turn with a Strength Charm attached for the ohko. Metagross-ex 2nd attack Extra Comet Punch dishes out 50 damage then next turn it deals a whopping 100 damage for only 4 energies. And as long as Metagross-ex stays in the active position Extra Comet Punch is dishing out 100 damage thereafter. Plus its such an awesome looking picture who wouldn?t want to us it in their deck?

That?s all I have for now since Im getting ready to leave for Worlds. So the trainers are pretty self-explanatory. Some players like to play with HL Jirachi with the Make a Wish to evolve attack in this deck since it is both Psychic and Metal. That is a decent substitution to add. Personally I prefer to start attacking and dishing out damage right away and that is why it is not in this deck.

Here is an example decklist using the above mentioned strategies:

Pokemon - 17
4 ? Beldum (Magnetic Call)
4 - Metang
3 - Metagross
1 ? Metagross (Metal Juncture)
2 - Metagross-ex
1 ? Registeel-ex (Exoskeleton)
1 ? Deoxys-ex (Energy Burst)
1 ? Deoxys-ex (Fast Wave)

Trainers - 25
4 ? TV Reporter
4 ? Stevens Advice
4 ? Celio?s Network
2 ? Island Cave
2 ? Strength Charm
2 ? Rocket?s Admin.
2 ? Warp Point
1 ? Crystal Shard
1 ? VS. Seeker
1 ? Pokemon Retriever
1 ? POW! Hand Extension
1 ? Mr. Briney?s Compassion

Energy: 18
9 - Psychic
4 ? Metal
3 ? Dark Metal
2 ? Double Rainbow


This deck is also Modified legal come September 1st, 2005 when in the US the format changes from Hidden Legends ? on. For those that are unaware of this change in Modified it means that the sets Ruby & Sapphire, Dragon, Sandstorm, and Team Aqua vs. Team Magma will be banned form the new Modified format. And as always this decklist is just a starting point to get you to start building and playtesting in preparation of the 2005 World Championships. So I?ll see everyone I know at Worlds and for those that I don?t make sure you stop and say hi and introduce yourself.

Also please contact me at JSChimento@aol.com or AIM me at JSChimento if you wish to discuss this article or any decks.