By: Pokay G
As of fall 2011, baby Pokemon like Pichu, Cleffa and Tyrogue are the most played cute pocket monsters in the trading card game. All these cute critters are great for stalling the game so that the player can successfully get set up and become ready to destroy their opponent. Stage 2 Pokemon need time to evolve (without a Rare Candy). There are high risks, but great rewards for each of them. Let’s explore the strengths of putting these cute babies into a deck.
Cleffa is great at stalling the game because its PokeBody allows it to prevent all damage from attacks as long as it is asleep. It has an attack called “Eeeeek” that lets the player shuffle his or her hand into the deck and then draw six cards. No energy cards are required to use this attack. This can help the player to quickly get the cards needed to set up the bench. Before attacking with Cleffa, it’s important to place Pokemon on the bench and use any necessary trainer and supporter cards. After attacking, a whole new set of cards becomes available.
The downside to this strategy is the player must flip a coin after every turn to see if Cleffa wakes up. If it does wake up on the opponent’s turn, it will probably get knocked out since it only has 30 HP. It can also stop working if the player wants to use “Eeeeek” on his turn, but Cleffa didn’t wake up.
Tyrogue can also prolong the game with its Mischievous Punch attack. It does 30 damage to the opponent and does not have energy cost. How it successfully stalls the game is through its PokeBody. As long as Tyrogue is asleep, the opponent cannot do any damage to it. Mischievous Punch instantly puts Tyrogue asleep. The same risks of falling asleep still apply, but the cool thing is that you can now deal damage to your opponent while stalling the game. Unfortunately, it also has a low 30 HP.
Pichu has an attack that allows both the player and the opponent to search their decks for up to five basic Pokemon and place them on their respective benches. It works great for an electric deck that has Magnezone or Zekrom in it. This attack also puts Pichu asleep and it has the Sweet Sleeping Face PokeBody, as well. Using Pichu is a great way to avoid using the Pokemon Collector supporter card, but the downside is that it helps the opponent get set up, too.
When stalling the game with cute Pokemon, there are a few things to watch out for. Pokemon Catcher is a card that allows the player to switch the active Pokemon with another on the bench. If the opposing player uses Catcher, the baby can get called up and instantly knocked out. Try to avoid losing a prize this way by using the Seeker or Super Scoop Up trainer cards to get the baby off the bench once the set up phase is complete. If you have extra babies in hand, make more use of them by playing Junk Arm. This card lets the player discard two cards from her hand to pick up a trainer card from the discard pile. It’s a great way to recycle Rare Candy or other useful trainer cards.
For card collectors, Pichu features the cutest artwork out of the three baby cards, with Cleffa coming in second and Tyrogue a close third. For anyone who wants to setup without a ton of trainer or supporter cards, these cute cards are at the top of the game.
Tags: Card Collecting