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Avoid an Energy Crisis

One of the biggest risks you can take when deckbuilding is to cut back too far on Energy. The reason to skimp on Energy is obvious: fewer Energy cards means more room for cool Pokémon and Trainers. But if you cut back too far, you won't draw enough Energy for those Pokémon to use their attacks, and if that happens, even those extra Trainers won't save you.
The most obvious way to compensate for less Energy is to use cheap attacks, but that's rather boring. A better solution is to include an Energy Retrieval or three. You have to discard two cards (Energy Retrieval itself, plus one of your choice) for two Energy, but you usually have at least one card you don't really need (like that fourth Pikachu).

Energy Retrieval also frees up space in your deck. For example, suppose you decide to put 28 Energy (about average) in your deck before adding Energy Retrieval. If you replace one Energy card with a Retrieval, you increase your deck to the equivalent of 29 Energy - more than you decided it needs. So take out another Energy card, replace it with a Pokémon or Trainer, and presto - your deck's gained a cool card. Don't include too many Retrievals, though, because they're useless if you can't draw Energy in the first place!

Choosing Active Pokemon

When choosing your first active pokemon at the beginning of the game, keep the following things in mind:
Speed is of the utmost importance. An ideal 1st pokemon has an attack for one energy. Staryu, Machop, and Weedle are all good 1st turn pokemon in terms of speed. Less good starting pokemon include Growlithe (1 fire, 1 fighting), Vulpix (2 fire) and Bulbasaur (2 grass).
High HP. This one goes without saying. 50HP is, as has been said before, a "magic number" in pokemon. It lets your pokemon take 2 20-point attacks without dying.
No evolution. If you choose a pokemon that can't evolve as your starting pokemon, you get 2 benefits: 1st, pokemon that can't evolve are generally (not always) better than those that can. Look at Hitmonchan, Electabuzz, and Jynx. They make good starting pokemon because they can attack with 1 energy, and have 70 HP apiece. 2nd,if you waste one of your charmanders as a starting pokemon, you may never get a chance to bring out Charizard. It's better (as I have said) to build up an evolving pokemon on the bench, while a high HP pokemon (or a string of low HP pokemon) acts as a wall.

Evolving Tip

Never evolve a pokemon before putting energy on it. If you evolve a Bulbasaur into an Ivysaur and then a Benusaur on the bench before putting any energy on it, you'll have a useless pokemon for several turns once your active pokemon is gust of winded/retreated/knocked out. Instead, put energy on your benched evolving pokemon, and play evolutions when you can use the evolutions attack. For example, with the Machop line:
Play Machop to the bench (try to evolve on the bench, where your pokemon are generally safe). Play an energy on him. Next turn, play another energy on him. Next turn, play an energy on him, and evolve him into machoke. Next turn, play another energy on him and evolve him into Machamp. Then bring him up to kill your opponent's pokemon. That way, you don't have a Machamp as the active pokemon for 4 turns, taking damage while not being able to deal any.

Learn When to Run

Learn when to run. If your pokemon is just about to die, and you have some decent benched pokemon, retreat him. Or use switch, or scoop up. Any of those makes your pokemon unpoisoned, unparalyzed, unconfused, or awake. By learning when to run, you can keep your opponent from getting a prize... and when he uses Gust of Wind, you'll get an extra attack on his possibly deadly lead pokemon.
Example: you have a weedle with 3 damage counters on your bench, and Charmeleon up. It's your turn. You use slash on your opponent's active pokemon, Dragonair, who is down to 50 HP because of your slash. Your opponent then uses Gust of Wind to bring up Weedle, and then uses hyper beam (20pt attack) to kill Weedle. You bring back Charmeleon... and use Flamethrower (50 pt attack) to kill off Dragonair. You've just killed the pokemon your opponent has been building up for several turns, while your opponent has killed off Weedle. Both of you got prizes, but you've got a Charmeleon up, and your opponent most likely has only basics.

Mullie Mew Deck

The mullie-mew deck is an infamous deck made of:
4 Mewtwos
47 Psychic Energy
2 Revive
2 Super Energy Retrieval (NEO)
2 Item Finder
3 Potion
The goal is to run your opponent out of cards by almost never getting a Basic Pokemon. You then keep using Barrier. Every once in a while toss out a Trainer. Just beware of Energy Removals!

Trading Tips

It is usually an accepted procedure to trade Rare-for-Rare. However, some rares, like Japanese Rares, are harder to find, and therefore may fetch up to four American rares.
Before trading, inspect the card you are trading for. Even the lightest scratch or bend can reduce the card's value greatly. If your trading partner does not want you to see the card for some reason, there is probably something wrong with it.

Do not be afraid to trade away your rares if you are getting a good deal. If someone is offering four or more Japanese rares in excellent condition for your slightly bent Mew, take it. You can always get another Mew by trading those four cards.

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Page Updated Fri Dec 29, 2000 10:25pm EST