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by Phoenix Desertsong, Pokemon Master!  Pokemon TCG: Sun and Moon Unified Minds brought several memorable Tag Team GX Pokemon cards to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Can you get anymore of a classic pairing than Slowpoke and Psyduck GX, both original first Generation Pokemon with both Water and Psychic abilities? The Tag Team combo alone is enough to make collectors want this card PSA graded for their collections. But, are Slowpoke and Psyduck good enough to also be a competitive card in the Pokemon TCG?
There are actually FOUR versions of this Tag Team GX Pokemon. There’s the #35 “base card,” the #217 Full Art, the $218 Alternate Full Art, and the #239 secret rare Rainbow Foil. The secret rare #239 Slowpoke and Psyduck GX card is the key card you want to own, as it’s the rarest possible version. How Good is Slowpoke and Psyduck Tag Team GX in the Trading Card Game? Slowpoke and Psyduck form a Tag Team that comes into play with 250 HP, a solid number for a Tag Team Pokemon GX card. They have two attacks, Ditch an Splash and their GX attack Thrilling Times GX - which can only be used once per game. Ditch and Splash costs just two Water energy to use. It does 40 damage for each Supporter card you discard from your hand. So, it can potentially do a lot of damage. The Thrilling Times GX attack depends on a coin flip. It does only 10 base damage, but if the coin flip is a heads, it deals 100 additional damage. It’s important to note that this attack only requires the same 2 Water energy to use as Ditch and Splash. But, there is a second part to this attack. If you have at least 6 additional Water energies attached to Slowpoke and Psyduck GX, you get to flip TEN coins. You then deal 100 damage for each heads. Because the GX attack is so dependent on being able to flip 10 heads, this is definitely a finisher attack While it’s pretty much a guaranteed finisher, eight or more Water Energy is a huge commitment. So, how good is Slowpoke and Psyduck Tag Team GX in actual game play? As it turns out, there are Slowpoke and Psyduck GX decks, but they are built almost exclusively around the Ditch and Splash attack. The Tag Team pairs well with Keldeo GX, and Lapras #36 from Unified Minds to recycle a copy of Misty’s Favor every turn. Misty’s Favor is key to the deck since it’s a Supporter card that fetches up 3 Supporter cards. It’s a nice little engine. So, Slowpoke and Psyduck become a key attacker in the deck. It turns out to be a very playable GX card. While Slowpoke and Psyduck Tag Team GX isn’t yet a major hit among PSA-graded Pokemon card collectors, it’s clear that there’s interest. It’s a playable card in the trading card game and a classic pairing of two Generation 1 Pokemon. Because it includes one of the more recognizable Pokemon in Psyduck, this is a card with a bright future among collectors.
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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Meowth is one of the most recognizable Pokemon around. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, there is an alternate Alolan Form which loses its original Normal-type and gains the Dark-type. Apparently, since Meowth isn't native to the Alolan region, those that exist are feral descendants of spoiled brat cats who once belonged to Alola's now-defunct royalty.
Having Meowth as a true Dark type is actually pretty cool. There's also an Alolan form Persian, but I'm not as thrilled with the design as I am with Meowth's. It will be very interesting seeing what Meowth's move set will look like now that it is no longer a Normal-type at all. by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist
I never thought I would actually be seriously writing about Rattata and Raticate, but here I am... The Rattata and Raticate in the Alola region of Pokemon Sun and Moon are now Dark-type in addition to their original Normal-type. This adaption came from living mostly in urban areas, where the Raticate act as sort of mob bosses and treat the Rattata as their minions. It's a cute story, but what's more important is that retyping.
Raticate always could use Dark-type moves, but now they get STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) whenever they use those attacks. While you'll hardly see these guys in the competitive arena, it does give them an added edge if you decide to train one for your adventuring team in Sun and Moon. While today people aren't too thrilled with Rattata and Raticate, at one time they were very useful Pokemon because they can learn so many different moves through the use of TMs (Technical Machines) and HMs (Hidden Machines). Since this is still the case, it's nice to know that they can get an added Dark-type attack boost in case this is who you choose to round out your team with at any given point. Also, since today TMs are able to be used as many times as you like, you won't feel bad at all using them on an Alolan Raticate. by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Of all the alternate Alolan Forms in Pokemon Sun and Moon, Marowak is definitely one of the coolest. Although, considering that he's now a Fire/Ghost type, rather than a Ground-type, he may instead be one of the hottest. The story behind this alternate form of Marowak has to do with the abundance of Grass-type Pokemon in Alola.
Because Grass-type Pokemon are the natural enemy of Ground-type Pokemon, it wouldn't seem to be a good fit. However, Marowak in the Alola region apparently adapted by being able to light flames on both ends of the bones that they carry. I'm not sure exactly how they became Ghost types as well, but this is probably a tribute to the original Marowak seen in the Red and Blue Lavender Town Pokemon Tower that could only be seen properly with the use of the Silph Scope. They are also 25% lighter than their original forms, probably due to become ghostly? Obviously, this is a drastic retyping. The last Fire/Ghost Pokemon that I can think of off the top of my head is Chandelure from Black and White. That turned out to be an extremely powerful Pokémon and actually proved itself in competitive play. While Marowak had always been a cool Pokémon in their design, he wasn't really one to build your team around. Now they have great typing and potentially another unique move or two as he did with Bonemerang and Bone Club in their normal form. I'm really excited to see how trainers utilize this Alolan Form Marowak in Pokemon Sun and Moon. Myself, I'm definitely looking forward to training one. by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist  Pokemon Sun and Moon features alternate versions of some of the original 151 Pokemon, known as Alolan Forms. These Pokemon have different typing than their original Kanto region counterparts. In the case of Raichu, our mouse Pokemon friend gains the Psychic-type in addition to its classic Electric-type.
In addition, Alolan Form Raichu gains a new ability called Surge Surfer. This ability doubles Raichu's speed when the move Electric Terrain is active. This can make an already fast Pokemon even faster. And now having Psychic-type attacks in addition to powerful Electric attacks is going to greatly broaden the builds available to create when training your Raichu in the Alola region. I'm not sure how I feel about the new ears, but the design overall is cool. I really like having a Psychic-type Raichu. This has always been one of my favorite Pokemon, and one of the ones I'm most looking forward to training in Pokemon Sun and Moon. I have a feeling that this could be a very competitive Pokemon. Spoiler: He would be! by Phoenix Desertsong, Pokemon Master The Alola region in Pokemon Sun and Moon has several variant forms of Pokemon from the Kanto region (the original 151 from Red, Blue, and Yellow). Two of these Pokemon include Vulpix and Ninetales. The interesting thing about these Alolan Forms is that they are different types than their original types that we are familiar with. In this case, these classic Fire-type Pokemon are now Ice-types!  According to the story, the Alolan Vulpix lives in the snowy mountain peaks away from most Pokemon. Over time, it changed from its original Fire-type and adapted into an Ice-type. This is quite a mind-screw for those that played the original games, because now the adorable Fox Pokemon is now weak to Fire!  Alolan Ninetales live on a peak that is known as a holy mountain. Therefore, the Ninetales are considered sacred emissaries. When Vulpix evolves into Ninetales in the Alola region, they become Fairy-types in addition to Ice-types.
According to the Sun and Moon story, Alolan form Ninetales can produce ice crystals from its fur. It can use them to block attacks or turn them into powerful ice missiles which can shatter rock. Fairy-types have proven themselves to be fairly powerful in the X & Y games, so it's pretty cool that Ninetales gets an upgrade in that way. I'm not so sure how I feel about Vulpix and Ninetales becoming Ice-types. But, this new typing gives them access to many new and powerful Ice and Fairy type-moves. They are no longer weak to water, but are now weak to Fire, Rock, and Steel. These new strengths and weaknesses entirely change entirely how Ninetales is utilized. Of course, these changes only apply to the Vulpix and Ninetales actually caught in Sun and Moon. With the new typing, Alolan Ninetales became quickly overused in the competitive meta for Pokemon Sun and Moon. In fact, it is the only Pokemon that can use both the Aurora Veil move and the Snow Warning ability. Aurora Veil halves damage from incoming attacks to your team temporarily. Snow Warning summons Hail, which damages non-Ice type Pokemon for 1/16 of their HP each turn. Alolan Ninetales also has access to a powerful attack called Freeze-Dry, which is super effective against Water-type Pokemon. According to Smogon, Alolan Ninetales is considered too powerful for many competitive Pokemon battle formats. Even if you don’t care about battling competitively in Pokemon, Alolan Ninetales is definitely a Pokemon to consider for your Sun and Moon team in the future. by Phoenix Desertsong, Pokemon Master  Popplio is definitely one of the cutest Pokemon starters I've ever seen, and that's considering how cute many of the Alola region Pokemon are. The Sea Lion Pokemon is the heaviest of the three Pokemon Sun and Moon starters at 16.5 lbs. Considering that water starters have long been among the most powerful in the Pokemon games (see Gredninja), it's possible that Popplio and his evolutions could end up being the best overall when it comes to battle. As much as I love Litten, it may be the cutest of the three, too.
The official Pokemon Sun and Moon website offers a couple of cool tidbits about Popplio. His swimming speed apparently can reach over 25 mph. Understandably being a sea lion, Popplio moves better in the water than on land, but this is true of most Water Pokemon. However, on land, it can perform tricks such as acrobatics using the elasticity of its Bubble balloons. If I wasn't so excited about having a Fire Cat starter in Litten, Popplio probably would be my first choice for starter in Pokemon Sun and Moon. But considering that I have a commitment to using fire starters in every new Pokemon game the first time that I play, I'll have to discover the power of Popplio's evolution line later on. I really like Popplio. by Phoenix Desertsong, Pokemon Master  Image via Bulbagarden. Fair use. When Litleo was first revealed in Pokemon X & Y, I was pretty excited for a fire-type Cat Pokemon. While it and its evolution Pyroar were cool designs, they didn't quite live up to my expectations when it came to battling. So it's pretty cool that they've created another fire-type Cat for Pokemon Sun and Moon, and this time it's one of the three starter Pokemon. I've always been partial to Fire-type starters since choosing Charmander in Pokemon Red. Litten looks like a winner and I'll be happy to choose it as my first Pokemon in the Alola region.
Litten stands 1 foot, 4 inches, and weighs about 9.5 lbs. Fun fact: Litten has flammable oils in its fur. When it grooms, it collects the fur and turns them into flaming hairballs, which power its Ember attack. Also, when it starts shedding, it turns all of its fur ablaze. This evidently powers its Blaze ability, which powers up its Fire attacks by 50 percent whenever its health falls to one-third or below. It's a great Pokemon design, in my opinion. After having a lot of success with Fennekin and her evolutions in Pokemon X, I'm happy to continue the tradition of choosing a fire-type starter. No matter how Litten's evolution line stacks up to those of Rowlet and Popplio, I'm committed to the Litten plan. by Richard Rowell, Gaming Successfully Staff  Image via Bulbagarden. Fair use. Rowlet is the Grass-type starter Pokemon for Pokemon Sun and Moon. It also happens to be a Flying-type, as well. This makes sense considering that Rowlet resembles a small circular owl, although officially it is known as the Grass Quill Pokemon. At only 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg), it is the lightest starter Pokemon of all time. It only stands at 1 foot tall (0.3m), so it's a tiny thing.
I like that you get access to a Flying Pokemon so early on in the game. In this case, dual-typing is pretty useful. According to the Pokemon Wikia, Rowlet has access to a new Grass-type move called Leafage. While we don't know much yet about Rowlet or his evolved forms, I like the overall design. It may not be my first pick among the three Alola region starters, but I'll be happy to give him a chance at a later date. |
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