Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Gardevoir ND, Skyarrow Bridge, and Shiftry ND

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a special edition of Pikk Three for you.  As we enter in to the big calm that is the Cities to States break, we don’t have a lot to talk about.  So let’s look ahead to some cards from the Next Destinies set.  This set is coming out at the beginning of next month, and Pre-Releases start in about a week.  So a lot more info will come out on this set in the future, right now it is shaping up to be quite an impact ful set.  Before we go into 3 card reviews, let’s say hi to my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.

How’s it hanging Pedro? Read More

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Special Energy Edition: Rainbow Energy, Double Colorless Energy, Rescue Energy.

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with another Pikk Three article.  This Pikk Three article is special, because it is all about Special Energies.  We will do 3 card reviews for the special energies that are currently legal, then get a sneak peek into a new energy that may be coming into our format in the next year.  But first, I must introduce my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.

Hey Pedro what’s going on today?

Hey Pikkdogs, I have some news for you.  Next Destinies Pre-Releases will start on January 28th, and the set will be released on February 8th.  So you can practice early for states so you know exactly how you will lose at states. 

That’s always nice.  However, I do like to be surprised by the way I lose.

I can appreciate that.  We also have one last weekend for Cities this coming weekend.  So you might be able to lose one last time.  And finally, things are starting to come out of Japan about the new Dragon type Pokemon that we are getting.  We have received the first 3 Dragon type Pokemon.  We still don’t know all about the set, so continue to stay tuned for more news.

Pedro, you didn’t make any jokes this time?

Ok, you want some weird news and jokes okay.  We can talk about Snoop Dogg.  The D-O double G got arrested this past weekend for marijuana possession.  Lawyers predict that Snoop will get up to one yizzle in the jizzle.  That good enough for you. 

Very nice, let’s get on to the article. Read More

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Next Destinies cards Musharna, Amoongus, and Mewtwo EX.

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a special Pikkdogs Pikks Three article.  This Pikk three article is about three cards that were just confirmed for our next set, Next Destinies.  I will also be joined by my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.  Hey Pedro, what do you think about Next Destinies.

Like it, kinda sounds like the name of a Porn. 

It kind of does.  Like there are people looking for another stripper named “Destiny.”  After they just killed the first one.

Nintendo seems to be good at making up names that sound dirty. 

Why do you think I play the game.  If I can’t “Spray Splash” someone, or “Beat” them, or “Tickle” them; what’s the point?

I agree.  It is fun to “Strip Bare” and use “Quick Blow.” 

Ok, I think we gotta stop and get onto the article or the censors might wake up. Read More

A Very Special Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Vanilluxe, Unown (Cure), and Steelix Prime.

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs and his extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro here with a Pikk Three article.  If you couldn’t guess it from the title, this Pikk Three has a theme.

Like a Prom?

Well kind of.

Can the theme be “Springtime in Paris?”

How could that be a theme for a Pokemon article? There are no French Pokemon.

I guess so.  If there were French Pokemon I would bet they all would have  no attacks and the “Surrender” Ability. 

Probably. As I was trying to say a while ago, this Pikk Three article has a theme.  The  theme today is “Special Conditions.”  All three of our cards have something to do with special conditions.  Vanilliuxe can paralyze the defending Pokemon, Unown can remove Special Conditions, and Steelix Prime is untouchable by them.  Special conditions were never really that big in Pokemon outside of Pre-Releases, so its nice to see them actually seeing competitve play.  So before we offend any other nationality, let’s procede to the article. Read More

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Pachirisu Cl, Electrode Prime, and Eviolite

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with another Pikk Three article for you. This Pikk Three article will be a normal article, but it will be about cards that will be impactful at Cities.  Of course, today I am joined by my extra-dimensionary sidekick, Pedro. Pedro, what’s going on today? .

Hey Pikkdogs, well today I don’t have any news for you but I can bring you what happened this day in history.  On this day, November 18, 1886, former U.S. President Chester Alan Arthur died of Bright’s disease. 

Sounds like a cheery way to die.

It does, but I doubt it was that fun.  Say Pikkdogs, Arthur was one of our more obscure Presidents, who is your favorite obscure President?

I guess I would say William Howard Taft.  As a fat guy, I gotta support my fellow portly gentlemen.

Did you know he was so fat that he got stuck in his bath tub? 

I did.

You’re over 300 pounds, have you gotten stuck in your bathtub yet?

I can’t say that I have.  I would think it would be hard to get stuck in the bathtub, since you can always water yourself down and get your fat moist enough to slip out.

This is all getting very disguisting.  Can we just stop talking about your fat and get onto the article?

Okay.

The Staple-Pachirisu Call of Legends

This cities themed Pikk Three will start with a card that has been great since Nationals, it is Pachirisu Cl.

Description– Pachirisu is a 60 HP basic lightning Pokemon from Call of Legends, it has a fighting weakness, a metal resistance, and a one retreat cost.  Its one attack, “Shocking Bolt”, is good for an early game donk, it does 50 damage for LL.  The reason why Pachirisu is good is because of the “Self Regeneration” Poke-Power.  When you play Pachirisu down, you are allowed to attach up to 2 energies to Pachirisu.

Analysis– When Pachirisu was first released we knew it was going to be good at something, we just didn’t know what.  We knew that anything that can bring 2 energies into play is good, but there really was no need for it.  Remember this was still the SP format.  People were talking about using him with Raichu Prime, which was a good use, but Raichu never became playable.  So it stayed into our binders until around Nationals when we paired it with Zekrom.  Zekrom was a good deck but it got tossed around  by Donphan Prime a lot.  Then Tornadus came out and Donphan wasn’t as big of a threat.  So this means that Zekrom and Pachirisu became one of the better decks and cards in the format.

Let’s look at the stats.  60 HP is very low, so it is a Pokemon Catcher prize waiting to happen.  The fighting weakness would be bad, but its HP is so low that it doesn’t really matter.  It is always nice to have a resistance, but nobody plays Metal Pokemon right now.  The 1 retreat cost is great, sure free would be nice, but we can’t always get free things.

Unless you have boobs.

I have man boobs, do I get anything free for that.

Yes, heart disease. 

Oh, that’s not good.  Anyway, let’s talk about the attack next.  Usually 50 damage for 2 and a 2 discard (or Lost Zone) is not good, but this is different.  Because Pachi can bring 2 energies onto the field on the first turn easily, his first attack is actually good.  You should be able to donk almost any basic Pokemon with a Plus Power including but not limited to: Cleffa, Gothita, Reuniclus, Tepig, Cyndaquil, Tornadus, Yanma, Zorua, and Mincinno.  The attack is really good early game, but almost useless later in the game.

And that will bring us to the reason we are all here, “Self Regeneration.”  Being able to add an extra 2 energies onto the field out of nowhere is great.  They can be moved over to another attack with Shaymin Ud, moved with a Poke-Power such as Raichu Prime, or be used on Pachirisu with an attack like that of Magnezone Prime’s “Lost Burn.”  There are not many basic Pokemon out there that can provide a great energy accelration like that, so Pachirisu is very useful.

I kind of mentioned it already, but Pachirisu is mostly used in decks like Zekrom and Magnezone.  He is a staple in most decks that feature these Pokemon as their main attacker.  Pachirisu is also vital in these decks, they couldn’t do it without him.  Pachirisu is why Zekrom is the best deck around.

Rating– 8/10- Energy acceleration and 2 great decks to use them in is great.  Sure it is a free Pokemon Catcher prize, but not everything is perfect-

Except Stacey Keibler.

Of course, nobody is perfect except Stacey Keibler.  Pachirisu is a great card and has a great use in the format.  No wonder that most people sell it for 30 bucks, it is that good.

I bet it was hard finding a picture of Stacey Keibler to use?

Well it took me like a half an hour, because I was actually being kid friendly for once and trying to get one where she is covered up.

Where’s the fun in that?

I think the fun is looking at all the ones that are not covered up first.

Gotcha. 

The Underdog-Electrode Prime

The next card will be a card that you will probably see very often in a deck with Cobalion and possibly other BBP (BIg Basic Pokemon), Electrode Prime.  Electrode Prime was always the worst rare in a set of great Primes.  Whenever someone opened a Triumphant pack they dreamed of pulling a Magnezone Prime, Yanmega Prime, or Mew Prime; and they almost ripped the card up when they instead saw an Electrode Prime.  Let’s look at the card in this format to see if anything has changed.

Description– Electrode is a 90 HP stage 1 electric Pokemon with a fighting weakness, a metal resistance, and a one retreat cost.  He has on attack called “Gigashock”.  For LC it does 30 damage and snipes twice for 10.  But the stats of Electrode are not as important as the Poke-Power, “Energymite.”

This Poke-Power has four steps.  First you reveal the top 7 cards of your deck.  Next, you attach any energy cards you find there to any Pokemon you have in play in any way you like.  Then,  you discard the non-energy cards that you revealed.  Finally, you put Electrode in the discard pile and your opponent takes a prize.    Quite an interesting Pokemon, its stats are bad; has a crappy attack, you have to discard a lot of cards from your own deck, and you have to give up a prize.  But, yet a lot of people are seriously thinking of playing this card in a tournament.    Let’s look a little deeper to see if these people are crazy or not.

Analysis– Well, as mentioned the stats are very crappy.  If it ever sees the field on your opponents turn it will almost always be a prize for your opponent with Pokemon Catcher.  The attack is perhaps the worst that has ever appeared on a super rare.  But yet, all of this doesn’t matter because Electrode will probably be knocked out a couple seconds after he is evolved.

Electrode isn’t used to attack or to wall, it is used for energy acceleration.  If you have a really focused deck Electrode can be a great way of loading a lot of energies on one attacker very quickly.  There are of course a lot of positives and negatives of this Pokemon.

On the plus side there is not really anyone who can do what he can.  Electrode can load a lot of any type of energies on any Pokemon.  He also works well with a lot of good Pokemon who have a lot of potential, but have a high energy cost.  Pokemon like Cobalion and Terrakion could be really good, but Electrode is needed to get them going by turn 2.  Even though Electrode forces you to give a lot of things up, the energy acceleration he provides is amazing and unmatched.

However there are a lot of things on the negative side.  The first thing is that you need a very focused deck for Electrode is to work.  He is not a splashable Pokemon.  You can’t just throw him into a deck with a stage 2 and a stage 1 and expect him to work.  You will be running a lot of cards and the cards you discard with “Energymite” will be crippling to your deck.  Electrode can only consistently work with a basic Pokemon or a stage 1.  Another negative thing about Electrode is that you will have a hard time winning a prize race with him in your deck.  Don’t expect to run Electrode and then be able to go blow for blow with another deck.  Because he gets knocked out and you give your opponent a prize, you will need to run a deck that doesn’t give your opponent a chance to go toe to toe with you.  Audino donk works because it hits the opponent before he or she can really setup.  Cobalion will probably work because “Iron Breaker” will not allow your opponent to attack next turn.  So Electrode doesn’t work with every deck, but when it does have a place in the deck I think that it can work.

Rating8/10– I expect big things for Electrode in the coming months, it should go from obscurity to the top tables.  Expect Audino, Cobalion, and Kyurem to be a lot better for it.

The Young Gun- Eviolite. 

The final card today will be a trainer from Noble Victories that should single the reign of the BBP, Eviolite.

Description– – Eviolite is a new card from Noble Victories that is ready to break the format.  It is a Pokemon Tool card that can be attached to any basic Pokemon.  When it is attached it reduces any damage done from an opponent’s attack by 20.  So it basically makes every basic Pokemon like Donphan Prime.

Analysis

Ever since Black and White came out we have been moving to the era of Big Basic Pokemon.  You don’t need to evolve any more to do a lot of damage from a high HP Pokemon.  It is no longer just Reshiram and Zekrom; Kyurem, Coballion NV, and Terrakion NV are all playable.  Eviolite only makes them better.

The best use for Eviolite is probably on the energy trio (Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem).  This is because they have the “Outrage” attack.  “Outrage” makes these Pokemon very powerful for only one Double Colorless Energy.  “Outrage” is best used when these Pokemon take a big hit and are still alive and kicking, ready to return that big hit.  Eviolite will almost make sure that no Pokemon (without using weakness) can OHKO one of the energy trio.

Even if you are not playing one of the energy trio, Eviolite will still be very valuable to the BBP.  Terrakion NV has 130 HP and is weak to grass, it will be very very hard for your opponent to match up against a Terrakion that gets a lot of energy on him fast.  Cobalion EP has 120 HP and can utilize Special Metal energies.  Getting an OHKO on Cobalion with Special Metals and Eviolites will be very hard indeed.

I think the sky is the limit for Eviolite.  It will help make sure that the age of BBP will never go away as long as it is around.  I think the release of Eviolite with the BBP can be compared to the release of Double Colorless Energy with Garchomp C Lv. X.  It could be that dominate.

Rating–  9/10– We are in the age of BBP and I don’t know if anything will be able to consistently beat the BBP.

Well, that’s all I got say, I guess we can wrap this article up.  Say Pedro, I notice you again missed an article early in the week, what happened this time?

I kind of got into some legal trouble, I can’t really talk about it right now. 

Legal trouble like domestic violence? or legal trouble like insurance fraud?

I got arrested for assault with a battery.

Don’t you mean assault and battery?

No, I hit somebody with a Duracell.

Oh I see, that’s not really nice of you.  Assault with a battery is a new low, although “Hooker Urn” might have been lower.

I liked the Hooker Urn joke.

Of course, what’s not to like about a hooker joke.  Anyway, we gotta go before Ed notices that we said “hooker” a bunch of times.  Have a good night.

 

 

 

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Druddigon, Bisharp, and Eelektrik

A big hello to all you OHHOers out there. I am the Pikkdogs here bringing you another Pikk Three article. This Pikk Three articles is special because I will be reviewing three cards from the Noble Victories set that I was not able to cover in my top 10 impactful cards of the set. Two of these three cards were mentioned by readers in the comment section, so I felt obliged to talk about them. But first, let me introduce to you my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro.

Yo.

It’s nice to have you back Pedro. Man you didn’t show up to our last article and the peasants were rioting. I guess they can’t handle an article without you anymore. Where were you earlier in the week.

Yeah sorry about not being here the other day, I had to help my uncle with the company he runs.

Oh, he runs a business that’s cool. What does his company do?

It manufactures funeral home products such as caskets and Hooker Urns.

What’s a Hooker Urn?

About 500 bucks a night.

I walked right in to that one. Hooker jokes, didn’t Jwittz just do that last week? Anyway that was a horribly dumb joke Pedro, let’s move on, did you celebrate Halloween?

Oh Hell Yeah, I love Halloween. You get to go into bars and watch people wear sexy outfits. The people at a bar right by my place were very attractive. The ladies too.

Oh is that right? What did you dress up as?

I dressed up as everyone’s favorite dead dictator, Momar Gadhafi. Except I wore a fake duck bill with the costume, so I called myself Gadhafi Duck.

Gadhafi duck, this website just hit a new low. Can we please just get onto the article and stop all the lame jokes?

Sure, plus we gotta talk about the technical difficulties on the site.

Okay. Apparently our files on the server got corrupted on Thursday night.  At first I had only lost one article, but by the next day all of the articles were gone.  Thanks to Ed for coming to the rescue and straightening stuff out.  I really didn’t know how to do anything in that situation except Pee my pants, so all thanks go to Ed for keeping the site a float.  Hopefully our server will be able to hold out for the foreseeable future.  If you see a lot of mistakes in this article, there are two reasons.  The first is because I suck at writing, and secondly I had edited the article before the server crashed.  And I lost some of my edits, but not all of them.  So there probably are parts that I missed the second time around, so sorry about that.  On to the article!

Card #1 Druddigon NV

Description-Durddigon is a really weird name. That has nothing to do with the card, but it is a very weird name. Anyway, Druddigon is one of the BBP (Big Basic Pokemon). It has 100 HP, has no weakness or resistance, and has a 2 retreat cost. Its ability is “Rough Skin”, it is like Rocky Helmet, it puts 2 damage counters on each Pokemon that attacks this Pokemon. It has one attack, it is called “Clutch.” This attack does 60 damage for CCC and does not allow the defending Pokemon to retreat next turn.

Analysis– First let’s look at the stats on this guy. 100HP is normally great for a basic, but now in the BBP era, it is just average. The fact that it has no resistance and weakness I think is really good. That means that it will be harder for the Stage 1 Rush deck to tech something against Druddigon. That makes it a lot harder to beat if you always have to do 100 damage to it. The Ability I think is good, but nothing that makes you want to run this card. It is a great bonus, but nothing huge.

The attack is very interesting. 60 damage for three is rather average and mundane.

That reminds me of someone.

Nice Pedro, thanks for the compliment. Back to Druddigon. The attack is not stellar, 60 damage on a normal Pokemon is not that great. But it can use Double Colorless Energy. That means you now can hit for 60 for two energies, that is not that bad. But I think 60 damage will only work if you can hit for weakness, and right now there are not a ton of Pokemon that are weak to Normal attacks. Another interesting thing about this attack is that it does not allow the defending Pokemon to retreat. This works really well because a lot of decks use free retreat Pokemon like Yanmega Prime. It is not a consistent strategy that you can use, but it does restrict the options of your opponent, and that is never a bad thing.

So you have a fairly lack luster attack, but there are a lot of good things about it. I see it being used in something like a Stage 1 Rush deck or another toolbox type deck. The main question here is, “is it better than Tornadus?” I think for right now we have to say no. Tornadus is resistant to Donphan Prime and can hit for 80 instead of 60. Druddigon is good, but in ways that are kind of unmeasurable compared to Tornadus. But, I do think that Druddigon is a good Pokemon that will be around for a little while in rogue decks.

Review6/10- No use for him right now, but it is a good Pokemon that will still see in some rogue decks. It is not good enough to have a deck of its own, but it still has something to give in a different deck.

Card #2- Bisharp NV #82

Description– One reader thought I was snubbing Bisharp by not putting him into my top 10 list, so now let’s sit down and talk about Bisharp. I hope this is the Bisharp they were talking about, because there is a Dark Bisharp as well.  Now that I think about it, they probably are talking about the other Bisharp because that one can hit for 80 for one energy if the defending Pokemon is damaged.  Yes it works well with Rocky Helmet.  But it is not reliable given that it only has 90 HP.  So the short review on the dark Bisharp is that it is a nice idea, but nothing that will be competitive, let’s look at the metal one now.

It is a stage 1 Metal Pokemon with 100 HP, a 2 retreat cost, a weakness to fire, and a resistance to psychic. It has two attacks. The first attack, “Energy Stream” does 20 damage for C and lets you attach a metal energy from the discard pile to Bisharp. “Metal Scissors” costs CCC and does 40 damage, it also does 20 more damage for every metal energy on Bisharp.

Analysis– Now before you start calling me a Bisharp hater, I gotta say I do like the Pokemon. The art on this card is great, and, Pawniard is perhaps the best Pokemon name ever. But, I gotta say I don’t find a space for this card in the format. Let’s look at the stats.

100 HP is good, but not that great for a Stage 1. Fire is a terrible weakness, but psychic is a good resistance. The attacks are good, but they remind me of Pokemon that have those attacks, but are better. “Energy Stream” reminds me of Steelix Prime, and how it basically is the same as Bisharp, but has a lot more HP and can attack for more. “Metal Scissors” reminds me of Scizor Prime, who has a Poke-Body that makes it better than Bisharp.

Bisharp is still a good Pokemon, but I just can’t even think of using him with Steelix and Scizor out there. Both of these Pokemon are a lot better than Bisharp, and I would much rather play them instead.

I don’t really see it fitting into a toolbox deck, but I don’t really see it being good enough to have its own deck either. It doesn’t really seem to have a place in the format. Call me a hater if you must.

Review4/10- Maybe a 6/10 later, but right now it is out classed by some Pokemon that themselves are not really that good.

Card #3- Elektrik

Description– This was another card that someone had mentioned would have an impact on the set. Let’s see if I agree with them. First, I have to say that I hate the name. We already have an Elektrike in the format, so to have an Elektrik makes things very confusing.

Elektrik is a stage 1 lightning Pokemon with 90 HP, a fighting weakness, and a 2 retreat cost. It has the great Ability called, “Dynamotor,” which let’s you attach a lightning energy from the discard pile to a benched Pokemon. It has one attack, “Electric Ball,” which costs LLC and does 50 damage.

Analysis– The stats are not good. A weakness to fighting will always stink when Donphan is around. The attack is also not that good. But, the worst part of this card is the 2 retreat cost. You want this card to be on your bench to load energies on Pokemon, but it can’t do that if your opponent can just drag it active with Pokemon Catcher, and you can’t consistently retreat it.

It does have a lot of uses. Almost any Pokemon can improve with more lightning energies. And those energies work well with Pokemon like Zekrom, Magnezone Prime, and Tornadus. There are also a lot of ways to get energy in the discard pile. So there are no shortages of opportunities to use this card.

I do not think that it should be used in an Eelektross deck. Even though Elektrik makes Eelektross a lot better, it still does not have the fire power to make it a good deck.  Eelektross just does not have enough firepower to make in it todays format.

I do not think it will see any significant play. Sure you could use it in a deck with Vileplume, but right now Vileplume decks are not that great. So, I just don’t see this card being that great.

Review- 6/10-If this card every is in a format without Pokemon Catcher, then it might be a 9/10, but right now it is too much of a liability.

Well, that’s all we got today.  Hey Pedro I see that Adam from www.sixprizes.com gave you a shout out in his last video.  Are you guys friends or something?  Do I smell a bromance going on here?

Well, I guess you could call it a bromance.  Adam does live near Philadelpha, the city of brotherly love.

True, do you like Philly?

Oh Hell yeah.  I love those cheesesteaks.  Me and Adam go out for about 20 of those things when I come to visit.  Love those things. 

You and Adam go out for cheesesteaks.  But I thought Adam was a vegetarian?

Uhhhh, ooops I think my interdimensionary porthole is losing power, I gotta go.  Have a good night you Earthlings.

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Cinccino BW, Porygon Z, and Super Rod

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article for you.  I also brought along my sidekick Pedro. 

Well I expected to have the scans for the new Noble Victories set to be up by now, but as the time that I am writing this article, we know nothing about the set.  We don’t even have a leaked set list or anything.  The first pre-releases are just a little over a day away, so i am pretty ticked that we don’t have any news about the set to share with you.  But, that’s not on us, that is on the people who have opened their boxes and decided not to share with us.  

Anyway Pedro, do you have any good news for us?

Nope no news, I guess everyone else in the Pokemon world took the week off.  The last time you wrote you were feeling sick.  Are you feeling any better Pikkdogs?

Well, I do feel a lot better, but I still got the sneezing and for a couple days I have been hacking up something pretty fierce. 

More information than we wanted to know.  I guess that syphilis takes a while to take care of. 

I don’t have syphilis.  It’s just a cold. 

Not syphilis hey?  That’s weird I thought you would have caught something like that by now.  Have the bubos came out yet? 

I don’t have the bubonic plague either.  I told you just the common cold.   Can’t I just have the cold?  

Well I guess since you are a common Pokemon player, you can have the common cold. 

Yes, thank-you, let’s go onto the article.  A Pikk Three Article is like a big card of the day article.  I review three cards, one that is commonly used, one that I think is under-used, and one that is from a new or yet un-released set. 

Card#1 The Staple-Cinccino BW

Description– Cinccino is a stage 1 Pokemon with 90 HP, a one retreat cost, and a weakness to Fighting. Its first attack costs 1 energy and let’s you flip two coins, and then do 20 damage times the number of heads.  Its second attack, “Do the Wave,” costs CC, and does 20 damage times the number of Pokemon on your bench.   

Analysis– Cinccino does not have the most solid stats out there.  90 HP is bad for a stage 1.  A 1 retreat is great, but somewhat dissapointing for such a small Pokemon, and the first attack just plain stinks.  But it is saved by the great 2nd attack.  The ability to pull 100 damage out of nowhere for just 1 DCE is pretty cool. 

Cinccino does not have a long play history.  It was released in BW and did not receive a lot of play when it first came out.  It did see a little play in some rogue Jumpluff decks, but that deck was not very competitive.  Its most successful play came in BR season this year when it was paired with other Stage 1 Pokemon in a Stage 1 Variant that some people call YMCA.  Pedro, what does YMCA stand for? 

Young Men’s Christian Association.

Not that YMCA, the Pokemon one.

Well it stands for Yanmega Prime, Mew Prime, Cinccino, and Alcohol. 

Are you sure about Alcohol?

I’m always sure about Alcohol. 

Okay, let’s get back to the topic here.  It is seeing play in stage 1 decks.  The problem is that it is pretty feeble, and pretty useless when you match up against Donphan Prime. 

But, the febbleness of Cinccino has not kept it from doing well.  It came out of the BR season with a fair number of wins and will be a hot contender going into Fall Regionals.  It is still a really fast hard hitting card. 

Review8.5/10– Not a perfect card, and there are drawbacks.  But I will never pass up an easy 100 damage. 

Card #2 The Underdog- Porygon Z

Description– I couldn’t think of a good Underdog for today, so I found a card that might be a good tech card somewhere down the line.  Porygon Z is a stage 2 Pokemon with 110 HP, a fighting weakness, and a 2 retreat cost.  It has the “Dimension Transfer” Poke-Power, which let’s you put a trainer from your discard pile to the top of your deck, if you get heads on a coin flip.  Its attack does 80 damage and 20 damage to Porygon Z (unless it has a Rainbow Energy attached), and costs CCC. 

Analysis– 80 damage for CCC is not bad, that is what Tornadus does.  The difference here is Tornadus is a basic, and Porygon is a hefty Stage 2.  And 110 is pretty bad for a Stage 2.  So the only saving grace might be the Poke-Power.  This Poke-Power and cards like Good Rod and Recycle are the only way to get a Junk Arm back from the discard pile. and it can be great to have a Junk Arm back.  So Porygon Z does have some upside to it.  It is nice to be able to get trainers back for a coin flip.  If the right situation poped up, I could see it being a tech card.

The problem is that Porygon has a lot of bad things about it.  It can be OHKOed by almost anything given the right situation, and you only get the trainer from the discard pile to your deck and not your hand.  So combine that with the hefty retreat cost, and you come up with a Pokemon that doesn’t seem to be worth the trouble.

Review5/10- I do see this being a possible tech in the future, just not right now.  There are good upsides to Porygon, but the conditions are not right at this moment. 

Card #3- The Young Gun- Super Rod

Description– Super Rod is a card that will probably come out in our Noble Victories set.  It has the Night Maintenance like effect, you can shuffle 3 Pokemon and Basic Energy cards from your discard pile to your deck. 

Analysis– Ever since Night Maintenance left the format, the format has been missing some quick recovery.  Sure there is Flowershop Lady and there was Palmer’s Contribution, but none were as fast as the trainer Night Maintenance.  But now NM gets a re-print with Super Rod. 

Super Rod.  That’s a funny name for a card.  If you want a Super Rod-################################################################ (the proceeding text was a comment edited for content.)

Hey, you guys can’t edit me.

I guess we can, I guess you will just have to save your Super Rod story for another time.  That is quite a flithy name for a card, though.  I sometimes wonder if Nintendo has ever heard of a double entendre.  I know its impossible for everything not to be flithy in some langauge, but adding Rod into the name of a card is just asking for trouble.   

I think Super Rod will hit the ground running.  It will take up where NM left off.  I think it could be a staple from day one.  Every deck will probably want to run 1 of it, and since it is an item, it can be Junk Armed for later use.  If i play Donphan and Dragons again, I know that I would love to play it with this card, it will make things go much more smoothly.  It combo’s well with Pokemon Collector, just get 3 Pokemon with Super Rod, and then use Collector to get them back to your hand.  That one two punch is a great trick to use against Pokemon Catcher heavy decks. 

While there are always downsides of a card like this (you always seem to start with it, it can’t be used under an item lock), the benefits greatly out weight the risks. 

Review8/10– Probably a staple from day one. 

Well that’s all we got today Pedro. 

That’s all? That was a pretty short article.

Well, I was waiting for some scans of the new set, but people are not being very nice right now, and aren’t telling us a darn thing about the set.  So I couldn’t write a good preview of the new set. So I just threw this together at the last moment.

So that’s you excuse for the bad article this week.  That and your mononucleosis.

I don’t have mono, just a little cold. 

When will you just come out and admit that you have an STD?

I don’t have an STD!

Well, I guess it won’t be today.  Good night everybody. 

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Pokegear 3.0, Potion, and Ultra Ball

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article for you.  I am also joined by my extra-dimensionary sidekick, Pedro. 

Say, Pedro, a lot of people were talking smack about you on the last article.

Yeah, one guy even shot me.

He shot you, then why aren’t you dead?

Well, weapons of this dimension can’t hurt me, the only thing from this dimension that can bring me to my knees is a Barry White song.

Well you aren’t alone there.  I know a lot of you out there have been telling me to ditch my sidekick.  One reason I won’t is that if something happens to Pedro the people from Pedro’s dimension will start a war and kill us all, and  another reason is he’s my fucking sidekick!  I don’t care what you guys think.  When I get tired of him I’ll kill him.  In the meantime I look forward to your emails, your sane spell checked emails.  Some people may not like these weird, creepy, and psychoctic articles-

But, if you changed that how would people know it was you?

I know I’m crazy, I can’t just start writing articles that are sane, legible, informative, helpful, and make sense.  You gotta go over to six prizes and pay for that kinda stuff.

People have come to know this website as a bunch of crap with a fat guy who can’t write as the main contributor.  Why should we change that now?

I don’t know Pedro, let’s just go on with the article and do a Pikk Three.  Now for those of you that don’t know, a Pikk Three article is like a big card of the day section.  We will feature three cards, one that is a popular card, one that I feel is under-rated, and one that is from a new or yet un-released set.  As you see today’s article is very item focused.

So that means you didn’t have enough time to write a big article and talk about real cards so you give us a little article about items.

Well that wasn’t how I planned it, but it did work out.  So without further wait, let’s look at the cards today.

Card # 1 The Staple- Pokegear 3.0

Description– Pokegear is an item card that lets you look at the top 7 cards of your deck, choose any supporter there, and put it into your hand.

It was released in the HGSS set and was thought of as a crap card until this Battle Road season.  Nobody seemed to play this card for over a year, but in this fall battle road season, the card has gotten a lot of play.

Analysis–  Well this is a surprise to see this card in the  staple spot.  Like I wrote in the description section, nobody cared about this car for so long.  But right now 4 copies of it are being played by a lot of really good players.  It is being used to search for some of the many great supporters in the current format.  For example, instead of playing 4 Twins, 4 Collector, 4 Point, and 4 of another draw supporter; people are playing 3 of each of those and 4 Pokegear.  The hope is that even if you play less supporters, you will still be able to get the right supporter that you want when you want it.

The question is does it actually work?  The answer is yes….. and no.  Most of the time it will give you a great supporter, but there are times when you could reveal no supporters from your top 7 cards.  And when you really want that one supporter, the card may not be there.

Even though it is not perfect, the idea is solid.  Pokegear will give you a good shot at getting a supporter, even more so than if you just ran more supporters.  This is because Pokegear is Junk Arm-able.  So if you don’t have a Pokegear or a supporter, you can still use a supporter by Junk Arm-ing for a Pokegear, and then using it.

Final Rating7.75/10-I’m not sold on Pokegear, I don’t run it, but it is very popular.  It also is not a bad choice to run it.  You can run 4 or just 1 or 2.

Card #2 The Underdog- Potion  

Description–  A simple item card that lets you remove 3 damage counters from any of your Pokemon.

Analysis– This card has  been around since the likes of John Jacob Aster used to trek across the continent trapping animals for their furs.

Really, first Barry White, Now a John Jacob Aster comment.  Will anyone over 60 know what you are talking about?

No, but that’s pretty normal.  Anyway, this card was first released in the base set, and besides for a few rogue decks that didn’t do anything, Potion has NEVER seen play.  But, I think this is changing now.

The format right now is based on one hit knock outs, or strategic two hit knock outs.  If you can get a couple OHKOs during your game, you should be good.  If you can get some 2HKOs you are right on track.  But if something gets in your way of a 2HKO, then you could be in trouble.  Enter Potion.

The first time I saw the brillance of this card in the current format was from a guy from Team Bertoli called Mike.  When I first saw Potion in his deck I thought he was a noob,  but then he proceeded to use it to do crazy amounts of harm to my plan.  Think about it, you have an active Tornadus, your opponent has a Donphan Prime.  You “Hurricane” it for 60, knowing that you got a KO in the bag next turn.  But, your opponent plays a Potion and gets himself down to 3 damage counters.  Now any hope of getting the 2HKO is out the door.

Potion is all about the little things.  It doesn’t heal all the damage, but it doesn’t have to.  Just being able to keep your Pokemon alive for one turn is amazing.  Sure Max Potion is great on Donphan, but Potion can work on any Pokemon.  

No, Potion did not go from being crap to being awesome, but I could see it as a decent tech.

Final Rating6.5/10-Potion is finally useable I think, in the right deck.

Card#3-The Young Gun- Ultra Ball

Description– Ultra Ball was released in the Reshiram and Zekrom EX Battle Strength decks in Japan.  Who knows when it will reach America, it could come next month, or it could come in a year.

The card is another item, it lets you search your deck for another Pokemon and put it into your hand.  The catch is that you have to discard 2 cards from your hand.

Analysis-Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have a better Professor Elms Training Method that is in an item form!   This card is better because it is an extra Pokemon Communication that does not require you to have a Pokemon in your hand, but it does require the discard, which is not cool.

Not cool man

Hand size right now is a problem, people already want to play out there hand on most turns, and this will even put more stress on your shrinking hand.  So using this card could be problematic if you either have to use this or Junk Arm, using both of the would be better.  If your deck doesn’t have a great draw enigne, it could be hard to use this card.

But, this format does still does miss cards like Bebe’s Search, Bebe’s was an awesome card and Communication is great, to have more of that power would be great.  I think when all is said and done, I could see this card getting play.  I don’t see 4 in each deck, but a couple in a deck that is high on evolution cards.  Pokemon searching is not fairlydead in the format, especially for non basics, so this card will help a lot.  It will also help you find those hard to get Legend Pieces.  This card could make RDL good again. 

Final Rating-8/10– It is a good card, it will see a lot of play, it could even bring back legend decks.   It will be a good card, and perhaps a staple, but it won’t  be anything extraordinary.

So, that’s all we got today.  How do you wanna end this article Pedro?

Well we can talk about Barry White or John Jacob Astor.  You can pick.

Okay, lets go Barry White.  Cause if I pick Astor, you’ll probably just talk about beaver pelts.

So you do know me Pikkdogs, okay Barry White it is.  What’s your favorite Barry White song?

I like “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Baby.”

Solid choice, did you know he provided the voice over for the Arby’s commercials.

I didn’t know that Pedro, hey do you wanna go and get some Arby’s?

Sounds good, Roast Beef time, we’re out!

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Battle Road Edition: Mew Prime, Lost Remover, and Tornadus

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with his sidekick Pedro, and we are bringing you a Pikk Three article.

Hey Pedro, I couldn’t help but notice that you were absent in my last article.

Yes I was.

The word on the street was that Ed had suspended you for one article, is that true?

Absolutely not.  I was actually traveling in a different dimension that day.

Really, what dimension were you in?

Well, one pretty much similar to this one, except that you were a good Pokemon player.

Okay, let’s just go on to the article.  If you haven’t seen a Pikk Three article before-

count yourself lucky-

As I was saying, if you haven’t seena  Pikk Three article, it is basially a big card of the day article.  It reviews three cards; one card that is popular, one that I feel is under-played. and one that is from a new or un-released set.

Card #1 The Staple-Mew Prime

Description– Mew is a 60 HP Psychic Pokemon with a weakness to Psychic and a free retreat cost.  His Poke Body “Lost Link” lets you use the attacks from any Pokemon in the Lost Zone (either yours or your opponent’s).  He only has one attack, “See Off”, which for one psychic energy lets you put one Pokemon from your deck to your Lost Zone.

Mew has seen some play since its release in Triumphant.  It was first used to assist Gengar Prime in putting Pokemon in the Lost Zone.  However, that deck wasn’t all that good.  Its meager HP prevented it from seeing serious play until this season.  It is now good in a deck that uses Mew and Vileplume to lock your opponent.  It is also the best Gothitelle counter.  You just need to “See Off” something like Cincinno or Jumpluff, and you will be able to OHKO Gothitelle very easily.

Analysis– Well, the 60 HP is never good.  Donphan Prime and Yanmega Prime can easily knock it out.  But, you do have 6 prizes to work with.  If you can lock down an opponent or knock out a very important Pokemon, you will gladly sacrifice one Pokemon.  Another problem with Mew Prime is that if you do not “See Off” early in the game, it can be hard to setup.

The good part about Mew is that he is very versatile.  You can use Mew Prime to trap, mill, Lost Zone, or attack.   The Mew lock deck that is out right now is really good, it may not be the BDIF, but it is awfully good.  Attacking with Mew might take a while, but when you get a good setup you can attack with any Pokemon in the format from a basic Pokemon.

In this Battle Road season you will have to watch out for Mew.  The lock deck will easily beat almost any deck in the format with a little luck.  And even if you don’t play against that deck, you will see Mew in other decks, so you will need to know how Mew is used.

One good way to counter Mew is to play Mew yourself.  If your opponent tries to “See Off” anything, you will be able to use the attack first on your opponent.  You can use Muk’s “Sludge Drag” attack to bring up your opponent’s Vileplume, or you can use Jumpluff’s attack to knock out any active Mew.

Final Rating8/10– It is not a perfect card and has a lot of drawbacks, but it is a very useful card in this format.  It also is a very fun card.

Card #2- The Underdog-Lost Remover

Description– Lost Remover is a very simple item card.  It lets you put one special energy card attached to your opponent’s Pokemon, and put it in their Lost Zone.  The card has never really seen that much play.  Last year it did see a little play in a Dialgachomp deck, but it was more of a rogue choice.

Rogue Choice, isn’t that the name of a Bruce Springsteen Album?

I don’t think so. 

Analysis–  I think that Lost Remover is a good card in this format.  Right now almost every deck is playing some kind of Special Energy, mostly either DCE or Rainbow Energy.  Cincinno is the card that has possibly the fastest growing play rate of any card in the format, and Cincinno almost exclusively uses Double Colorless Energy to attack.  There are a lot of other attackers that use DCE like Zoroark, Beartic, and Zekrom/Reshiram.  It can be very disruptive to take away a DCE because it is very hard to get a DCE when you need it.

The major problem with Lost Remover is that it is hard to fit into a decklist.  A lot of Pokemon that use DCE are easy to knock out, so it doesn’t seem right to waste a card on taking out a card that will just get knocked out this turn anyway.  And since it is very hard to get DCE back from the discard pile, putting the card in the discard pile is almost as good as putting it in the Lost Zone.

I do think that this card is as useful as ever and that it could have a great impact on Battle Roads if it gets some play.  One good play is to Lost Remove an active Poekmon’s Special Energy, and then catcher up something on the bench that they were going to use next turn.   This would leave them without an option to attack. 

Final Rating7.75/10– This card is really under-played right now and I think it could make a good impact on Battle Roads if it gets some play.

Card #3 The Young Gun-Tornadus

Description– Tornadus is a basic Pokemon with 110 HP, a 1 retreat cost, a weakness to lightning, and a resistance to fighting,  He has two attacks.  The first one, “Energy Wheel”, just lets you move one energy from a benched Pokmeon to Tornadus.  The second attack, “Hurricane”, does 80 damage for CCC, and you move 1 basic energy from Tornadus to a benched Pokemon.

Tornadus is fairly new and has not seen a lot of play so far.  It has mostly seen play in a deck with Zekrom, to be a Donphan counter.  It is also used in the upstart Mew/Cincinno deck, also as a Donpha counter.

Analysis–  I think Tornadus is  fairly cool card.  One way of getting around the
energy moving effect of “Hurricane” is to only attach special energy cards.  If you only have a DCE and a Rescue Energy, there will be no basic energy to move to the bench. 

People mostly talk about it as a Donphan Prime counter.  The rationale is that Donphan Prime can only hit it for 40, while Tornadus can hit it back for 60. 

The problem with that is that a lot of people are playing Zekrom with their Donphan.  So in order to OHKO a Tornadus, all the Donphan player will have to do is to use “Earth Quake” 4 times (or attach Rainbow Energies), and they wll be able to “Outrage” for the needed 120 damage for a knock out. 

Another problem is that if you want to try to knock out Donphan Prime with Tornadus, you will basically need to have only Toranduses in play.  If you have anything else, the Donphan Player will use Pokemon Catcher to bring it active, and by pass the whole Tornadus thing. 

Final Rating7/10-In some situations Tornadus does work, but I feel that most times Tornadus will not work the way we think it will.  Yes it is still a good card that deserves some play, but I think it has receieved a little too much hype. 

So, Pedro…………That’s all I got for today.  Why don’t you tell the good people how there voice can be heard.

Sure thing.  If you would like to correct all the errors Pikkdogs made, just leave your thoughts about these cards in the comment box. 

So Pedro, how do we normally end things here.

Well, we normally dance to Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Rogue Choice.”

No we never dance here, and that’s not even a song. 

Well, can we show a picture of him dancing?

Sure

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Vileplume Ud, Great Ball EP, and Hydreigon Red Collection

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three Article.  If you haven’t seen this article before….

Yeah, like anyone reads your articles.

True dat, Pedro, but be quite while I’m trying to introduce the article.  Geez its hard to find a good side kick now a days.   Back to the article, some people may have had the unfortunate luck to stumble past this site before and read a Pikk Three article.  Pedro, will you explain the Pikk Three article.

Well, its like a big card of the day article on a site like Pojo, Pokegym, or Sixprizes.  Except this article will review three cards; one that is a popular card, one that the fat guy feels is under-rated, and one that is from a new or unreleased set; and nobody will read this article.

Thank You Pedro…… I think, now lets get on to the article.

Card #1 Vileplume UD

Details– Vileplume is one of the most popular cards in the last couple years.  He first saw play with Gengar Sf as a part of the popular Trainerlock deck.  This deck saw a lot of victories at tournaments, and was something to be feared.  After Gengar SF was rotated out, not many people played Vileplume right away.  Now, we expect to see a lot of Vileplume in the upcoming season.  Either in the deck with Mew Prime, or in a deck with Beartic.  If you do not play Vileplume you still should know all about it because you still will be seeing it around a lot.

It is a stage 2 120 HP Grass Pokemon.  It is weak to psychic and has a 2 retreat cost.  Its attack is pretty lack luster, “Dazzling Pollen” does 50 damage for GGC.  The attack also lets you flip a coin, if heads the attack does 20 more, if tails the defending is confused.  In over a year of playing this card I only used the attack 1 time.  The Poke-Body is what everybody is talking about, the ability to lock all tra…. items is very good.  With most decks running 4 Pokemon Communications, possibly 3 Rare Candies, 4 Pokemon Catchers, and 3-4 Junk Arms; that is about 15 trainers.  The ability to lock 15 important cards is really awesome.  Item lock will be very important in the next season, and Vileplume is the Pokemon that will bring it about.

Analysis– As mentioned, Vileplume will have a big impact on the upcoming season.  It is hard to get Vileplume out really quickly, but once it is out there is a huge advantage.  Just being able to take out Pokemon Catcher from use is quite an amazing thing.  It makes the game a lot simpler and that is to your advantage.  While it is true that decks without a lot of trainers will not be as good, at least your deck will be prepared for the loss of trainers, other decks will not.

As I previously mentioned, the most talked about Vileplume decks have been Mewbox and Beartic.  The strategy of Mewbox is to Lost Zone a Muk and a Jumpluff early.  While you are doing that you can set up the trainer lock.  You can bring up a bench sitter with Muk’s attack and then either snipe around them with Yanmega Prime or use “Mass Attack” to knock them out.  It is fairly slow, but it is very disruptive.   Beartic is a deck that we don’t really have a list for yet.  But, it will probably involve setting up a Vileplume fairly quickly and prevent your opponent from attacking by using Beartic’s “Sheer Cold” attack.  Without the use of Switch, you will not be able to attack or retreat, and will have to watch your Pokemon get beaten on by Beartic.

The drawback to Vileplume is the speed.  Most of the time you will not be able to lock trainers until your opponent has already setup.  Another drawback is the 2 retreat cost, your opponent can tech in a Bellsprout in an attempt to make your Vileplume active.  The Bellsprout can then retreat next turn and then Vileplume will be able to get knocked out.  The last drawback is the meager 40 HP on Oddish.  If you do not setup a Vileplume before your opponent can setup a Yanmega, you may not be able to get Vileplume out.

Final Rating9/10–  Yes there are drawbacks but you just gotta love the best item locker around.

Card #2 Great Ball EP

Details– Great Ball is  an item with a simple effect, look at the top 7 cards of your deck and put any one Pokemon you find there into your hand.

Analysis– If this card came into the format last year, I would not have taken another look at it.  We had cards like Bebe’s Search and Luxury Ball that could do the job better than Great Ball.  But, those cards are now gone and we do not have a lot of search cards.

If you play a deck with a legend in it, the only way to find a Legend Piece is basically to draw into it.  You cannot Elms it, nor can you Dual Ball it.  Now, with Great Ball you can finally grab a legend piece out of your deck.  Legend Pieces usually enter later in the game.  By this time you will have gone through enough of your deck as where the top 7 cards should be about 25-33 percent of your deck, if not more.  While you probably can’t rely on this card to get you the card you need, most of the time you will be able to grab at least 1 Pokemon.

And that is the weakness of this card.  It just is not consistent.  It is very versatile and very useful, but you never know what you are gonna get.  If all you need to do to get your first prize is search for a Yanmega Prime, the chances are you will not get it with Dual Ball.  For that reason I can only recommend this card if your deck has a lot of Pokemon in it.

Final Rating6/10– Nobody is talking about this card, and that is a shame.  It is a good card that deserves some play.  Although it will not be a great card, decks that run about 20 Pokemon should fit this card in.

Card #3- Hydreigon Red Collection

Details– This card is from the Japanese set called Red Collection.  It will probably be in our Noble Victories set.

It is a 150 HP Stage 2 Dark Pokemon with a fighting weakness, psychic resistance, and a 3 retreat cost.  Its ability lets you treat every card attached to it as a Darkness Energy.  Its one attack lets you do 60 damage to the active, and then snipe for 40 to two benched Pokemon! The attack will cost 4 energies.

Analysis– Wow a 150 HP Pokemon that lets you attack for 60 and then snipe twice for 40.  If you are able to attach a couple Special Darkness Energies to this Pokemon, you could be taking 3 prizes every 2 turns!

Of course it is not always as easy as it looks.  Once you are able to pick off 2 Pokemon on the bench it is unlikely that your opponent will then put 2 more Pokemon out there to snipe.  Also, the fighting weakness is a big drawback because of how good Donphan is.  Although it is easy to counter Donphan, it is never nice to have a fighting weakness.

The biggest partner for Hydreigon is Emboar BW.  Emboar lets you attach as many fire energies per turn as you want to whoever you want.  With Hydreigon’s ability, you will be able to make all those fire energies dark, and be able to attack a lot faster.  Even though it is hard to get 2 Stage 2 Pokemon out, the Magneboar deck has proved that 2 Stage 2 Pokemon can work.

Final Rating 8/10– While it is impossible to tell how big of an impact this card will have, I think it will see some play.  Doing 60 damage and sniping twice for 40 is just too good to pass up.

Well thats all we have for today.  Pedro, how do we usually end articles here.

Uhhh…. the mister Rogers song?

I don’t think we do, but lets try it anyway.

It’s such a good feeling to know you’re alive.
It’s such a happy feeling
You’re growing inside.
And when you wake up ready to say
I think I’ll make a snappy new day
It’s such a good feeling,
A very good feeling,
The feeling you know that we’re friends.

It’s a good feeling
It’s a happy feeling

It’s such a good feeling
To know you’re in tune.
It’s such a happy feeling to find you’re in bloom
And when you wake up ready to say
I think I’ll make a snappy new day.
It’s such a good feeling,
A very good feeling,
The feeling you know that we’re friends.

And I’ll be back
When the day is new

And I’ll have more ideas for you.
And you’ll have things you’ll want to talk about.
I will too.


No Pedro, I’m almost sure that is not the way we end things here.