After school, my friends and I would take our Pokémon
binders up to my treehouse and marvel at our collection. Mainly buying packs to
look at the pretty pictures, we hadn’t the faintest idea how to actually play
the Pokémon Trading Card game. Usually we’d put down cards and yell out attacks
without any regard to energy costs, evolutions, or prize cards. For years, I’d
continue to buy packs just to look at the pretty pictures until Pokémon
released TCG Online back in the Black and White era. Realizing how much fun the
actual game was, I quickly gathered my stockpile of old cards to build decks.
Needless to say, there aren’t many players that stick to the old base set. The
best place to get my old-school fix was with the Gameboy Pokémon TCG game, but
was more elusive than Mew thanks to its rarity and unusually high price. That
is, until now thanks to its release on the 3DS Virtual Console this past week.
Pikachu, the Science Pokémon.
The story of the Pokémon TCG game is pretty simple. You’re a
card player sent on a journey to collect the 8 medals from club leaders to
challenge the 4 grandmasters and eventually defeat your rival to inherit the
legendary cards and become the champion. Wait…isn’t this basically the same
story as Red and Blue? At least there’s no evil team trying to steal people’s
cards, but Imakuni’s creepy enough to be considered evil in my opinion. And
what the heck is up with the Science Club? Every other club is based on a
Pokémon type, but I can’t wrap my head around why they would have a
science-themed club. Don’t tell me they plan to release a new Science-Type
Pokémon.
Navigating the menus takes some getting used to.
The Pokémon TCG game serves as a decent intro for the card
game. At the beginning, Sam the lab assistant plays a practice duel with you.
The practice duel goes through the basic steps of how to win, but since I
played the card game before I just breezed through it. One thing I noticed was
that the tutorial wasn’t as thorough as I’d expect. For instance, the practice
duel doesn’t go into details about special conditions like paralysis and
poison. There are some guides outside the practice duel that you can read
in-game, but who wants to do that! The practice duel is mainly handy to
familiarize yourself with the interface. The Gameboy can’t fit the entire play
area onscreen, so it’s somewhat harrowing to navigate through menus without
some practice.
Like my adventure in Pokémon Red, I started my journey by
picking Bulbasaur…or in this case the Bulbasaur and Friends deck. Fun fact,
this deck contained Venusaur, my all-time favorite card. I mentioned it on a
past post but I have a Base Set Venusaur in real life that I got from the same friend I use to have treehouse battles with. Originally, the idea was to get
Venusaur out as quickly as possible and abuse Energy Trans to switch Grass
energies around. Unfortunately, evolution wasn’t the solution as setting up
took way too much time. I’d find myself on the receiving end of Blastoise’s
Rain Dance infused shenanigans before I could even evolve to Ivysaur. I’d have
to adopt a new deck, and that meant abandoning Venusaur.
It's not me, it's you. Sorry buddy.
You can't escape my Special Punch!
A while back, I remember reading about a “Haymaker” deck and
thought about building one for myself. Basically, Haymaker decks consist of big
basic Pokémon like Scyther, Electabuzz and Hitmonchan. While it might seem like
an odd combination with no real type synergy, a Haymaker deck is quite
devastating thanks to its quick setup time. Pokémon in a Haymaker deck feature
strong attacks with very little energy cost, so Hitmonchan can start hitting
right off the bat for 20 damage. While that might not sound as impressive as
Charizard’s Fire Spin for 100, keep in mind it takes a minimum of 2 turns if
you got all the right cards in hand. By the time your first Charizard is ready
to go, Hitmonchan knocked out 3 other Pokémon and you now trail significantly
behind in the prize card count. Because of their aggressive playstyle, Haymaker
decks pretty much shut down
every other strategy. The early metagame of the TCG was dominated by big
basics, which is kind of a reflection of today’s metagame with cards like
Mewtwo-EX. While there are better cards and new rules to help counter big basics, the early
metagame certainly wasn’t balanced. Pretty much every Pokémon was Hitmonchan’s
punching bag. And to think, back in the day I had every card needed to make a
formidable Haymaker deck in real life!
You're lucky you have a good theme, jerk!
After cutting the competition with Scyther, clobbering my
way to the top with Hitmonchan, and (insert dumb electric pun) with Electabuzz,
I managed to beat the 4 Grandmasters when SURPRISE SURPRISE, my rival Ronald
already beat them and I have to defeat him to inherit the legendary cards. I used to think Gary was a jerk, but this guy takes it to a whole new level. Seriously
dude we’re playing a children’s card game, no need for the smack talk. I kicked
his sorry butt anyways thanks in part to his wide array of Normal-Types that
are extremely weak to Hitmonchan. After about 10 hours of my weekend, I claim
the overhyped legendary cards for myself and my journey is over.
Looking back, Pokémon TCG felt a little too easy. Granted, a
Haymaker deck really is overpowered, but I just didn’t feel satisfied with my
victory. With Virtual Console titles on the 3DS, a lack of multiplayer features means you’re stuck challenging the
same computers so there’s not much variety in battles. Still, it was a joy to visit this blast from the past. I gained an appreciation for the fun, albeit broken, origin of the Pokémon TCG.
Pokémon recently celebrated its 18th anniversary. Shortly after Red and Green's release in Japan, it became a worldwide phenomenon and the rest is history. I have
no idea what my life would be like without Pokémon. I met some of my best
friends through it and learned a lot from the series. So of course, it's only appropriate I give 18 cheesy, cliched reflections from the wonderful world of Pokémon.
1. Never give up, no matter how many times you fall
You ever met Ash Ketchum? This kid has the dream to become the very best
like no one ever was. Out of the current 721 Pokémon, how many has he obtained?
72. If "to catch them is [his] real test", Ash is about 10% done. He's
managed to collect the badges in each region, but falls short of being the
League Champion (except in the Orange Islands). And yet, he keeps at it.
We can't all stay 10 forever, but we can learn something from this idealist.
I mean, if you like Muk go right ahead.
2. With over 700 creatures, you got to have a favorite!
Pokémon has variety. Maybe floating magnets or living piles of
sludge aren't your forte. But there are so many to choose from, you got to like
at least one! As weird as it may sound, Pokémon is kind of like life. Even
though there are aspects that are less than favorable, there's so much to enjoy.
3. We can take a different path to reach the same goal
I start with Bulbasaur, you choose Charmander. We'll catch different
Pokémon to complement our team, have a different strategy to defeat each Gym
Leader, and maybe even choose a different Eevee evolution (or none at all)! But
at the end of it all, we will both collect the 8 gym badges, defeat Team
Rocket, and eventually become the champion. It just goes to show that there's
no singular way to play the games. Which brings me to my next point.
4. The world isn't black or white
5th generation will always have the best story in my opinion. It was the
first to raise the issue of the ethics behind Pokémon battles, and while N, the leader of Team Plasma,
didn't meet a clear resolution, he learned to value others' opinions. When
ideals clash, a new truth emerges that we can learn from.
5. The rules change from time to time, but the fundamentals stay the same
With the addition of held items, abilities, new moves, new typings, and new
battle formats, Pokémon battles have changed a lot since Red and Green.
Regardless, the basic principles behind battles stay the
same. Pokémon battles is like rock-paper-scissors with
elements of chess. Water beats Fire, Fire beats Grass, and Grass beats Water.
But Water can move in a way that let it beat Grass. The rules of life
change constantly with new technologies and discoveries, but the fundamentals like honesty and humility remain steadfast.
6. A journey with friends beats a journey alone
If I had to summarize what the overall message of the Pokémon series is,
it's friendship. Ash and Pikachu's travels across the land show the deep,
emotional bond these two share. What I enjoy most about Pokémon is how a
seemingly single-player game can transform into the greatest multiplayer
experience thanks to trading and battles. And now with online trading and
battles, I feel part of the bigger worldwide community. I can't begin to tell
you about the countless hours me and my friends spend talking about Pokémon.
It's a powerful tool that breaks down barriers and connects people. What other game could unite an entire community to simultaneously play and beat it?
When thousands of people gather to play Pokémon, Omanyte becomes a God.
7. There are some things you just can't explain
What is underneath Diglett? How does a Wailord and Skitty create an egg? Why
was Hulk Hogan chosen to be the spokesperson during Pokémon's 10th anniversary?
The world may never know.
I got to keep training brother!
8. Don't be surprised if you run into a surprise
Right before my management class, I pulled out my 3DS thinking I could get some training down before the lecture began. Three battles in, I run into a shiny Eevee! I ran out, hugged a random girl, and apologized saying it was "Pokémon business." Granted, I caught 10 or so shinies before, but it was still exciting! Always have those Pokéballs ready, you never know what you'll run into the wild.
9. Old Arcanines can learn new tricks
Charizard has always been the laughing stock of competitive battling since
Red and Green. Now, he's one of the biggest threats thanks to his Mega
Evolutions. It took him 18 years, but by Arceus he did it! Other Pokémon have also broken from obscurity since their debut. Blaziken went from
being good, to just average, to being banned TWICE! Wobbuffet? He got a new
ability and bam! Straight to Ubers! There are so many Pokémon that got better
over time, so never say it's too late to learn something new.
10. "It's Super Effective" doesn't necessarily mean it's
effective
Just because Blissey is weak against Fighting-type moves doesn't mean Aura
Sphere is the best choice. Brute strength alone can only take you so far.
Different strategies such as putting your opponent to sleep or slowing them
down through paralysis can easily turn the battle in your favor. Analyze the
situation and come up with a plan; don't go charging head first.
11. Learn from the stupid mistakes you make at the beginning
I am guilty of only training my Venusaur when I first played Red. He was the
backbone of my team at level 97. I prided myself on the fact I didn't use a
Rare Candy. My second highest? Pidgeotto at level 32. You can tell I knew what
I was doing. But hey, how else can we learn if we don't make our own mistakes?
It's always a laugh to look back and see how much of a noob trainer I
was.
12. Patience is a virtue
Have you ever hatched eggs in Pokémon? It takes bloody forever! You’re moving back and forth for 30 minutes only to realize the
baby has the wrong nature or ability or whatever. Sure, shortcuts like
having a Pokémon with Flame Body in your party exist, but I
remember going through countless eggs in Firered just to hatch a decent
Totodile. If I already hatched over 400 eggs in X alone, I shudder to think how
long I spent in Pearl. But if I’m still at it after all these eggs, then I must
have learned a thing or two about patience. Which reminds me, I probably need
to go back and finish hatching those Machop eggs. That will be fun…
I've listened to the bike theme plenty of times.
13. With teamwork, even Magikarp can sweep a team
The videos are absolutely hilarious, but given the right circumstance, the
flopping fish has what it takes to take the world. To pull this off,
Magikarp requires teammates to help give it a boost to sweep. It
just goes to show that the power of teamwork can overcome all.
14. There’s a time and place for everything. But not now!
Yes Professor, I know I can’t ride my bike indoors. Yes, I also know I can’t
use the Helix Fossil during battle. Yes, I know I can’t use the Super
Rod in the middle of the city. It’s an annoying reminder, but Oak’s got a
point.
Riding your bike indoors? He'll know...
15. The world is a big place to explore
From the majestic snow peaks of Mt. Coronet to the glistening shorelines of
Cianwood City, the Pokémon world offers breathtaking scenery. There are so many places to see and things to do, so stop being cooped up and get out there! After you finish reading this post of course :)
16. Sometimes, it’s just luck
You might have the winning strategy that can take on the biggest threats,
but a stray Ice Beam could freeze your Pokémon and all hope for victory is frozen. It happens.
You just got to accept that luck might play a role in determining a battle, so
don’t take it personally. It’s not all bad though, sometimes luck might get you
out of a bind when you need it most. How else can you explain Ash winning the
Boulder Badge?
Thunderbolt sets off the fire sprinklers, soaking Onix. That's dumb luck right there.
17. Follow what you love regardless of what other people think
As my good friend Terral once told me, “middle school is the worst version
of yourself.” For a time, I left Pokémon because I didn’t want to seem uncool
or nerdy. I remember asking a pair of 8th graders with their Gameboy
Advances out if they were playing Pokémon. “Yeah we’re playing,” they
responded. “So what?” They were probably used to people mocking them, but they
didn’t care. They had guts and I envied them. It only matters what you think. Nothing else matters.
18. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong!
Seriously! I don’t say Pokémon is my favorite video game series for nothing.
It’s an expansive game with thousands of hours of replay value. It’s a universal
language where everyone from die-hard Pokémaniacs to moms with kids that play
have something to say. It’s a strategic game that challenges you to use
prediction and smarts to overcome your opponent. It’s a collector’s hobby with
an expansive community full of traders. It’s a shared experience which
solidified so many of my friendships and helped forge new ones. But most
importantly, Pokémon is just plain fun, and I wouldn’t still be playing if it
wasn’t.
