I couldn’t find a threat that would discuss this but I thought it would be awesome to discuss favourite cards based on their attacks / powers etc. Feel free to talk about any attack regardless of the knowledge of the game/meta!
I will start:
Brock’s Ditto Ninetales (3/132 Gym Challenge)
This card was infamous for it’s Shapeshift ability, often giving the TCG judges hard time when a rule issue arose. It allows Brock’s Ninetales to shapeshift into any evolution Pokémon in your hand. I believe it was one of the strongest cards of the Base/Neo meta in 2000. It is one of the cards which holds no significance to me because of it’s art, but strictly because of the incredibly cool ability and playstyle.
See how the combo played out under the picture
This was strong because:
1) You can use the Shapeshift power during the turn the card was evolved meaning that you can be one stage ahead of your opponent. For those not familiar, with the rules you can evolve a card once a turn (excluding the initial turn at the beginning) - this meant that you could play Vulipx Turn 1, Brock’s Ninetales Turn 2 and immediately Shapeshift it into Stage 2 card that you have your hand (normally you would have to wait one more turn to evolve into a Stage 2 card).
2) This essentially allowed you to include less Stage 1/2 Pokémon cards which you only needed for the evolution, as you could use Ninetales to evolve it into anything (Stage 1+). This way you had space for more cards.
3) This was often played with Neo Genesis Steelix, regarded as the major tank of the meta. Steelix is a Stage 1 card so you would not necessarily have a stage advantage over your opponent, but here’s how the combo worked:
- This Steelix's attack did either 30 or 50 damage, both quite a lot considering the average HP of cards at that time.
- This attack required one **Metal Energy** (special energy card) which allowed the Pokémon it was attached to to take **-10 damage**from all attacks (sort of like an armor). So with 110 HP, Steelix was a very tanky Pokémon
- **Why Ninetales?:** Energies could easily be removed with **[Energy Removal](https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/e/e4/BS92EnergyRemoval.jpg)**, and removing a specifically required energy (and an important one like Metal Energy) could easily set you back for a turn (or more until you draw another Metal Energy). However, this is where **Brock's Protection** comes into play, protecting any Pokémon with 'Brock' in it's name from any energy removal.
Beautiful, right?
