Muscovy Level X
New Member
Pachirisu and Phione are probably the most argued over starter Pokemon. We've all seen articles on why they are good or not.
And as many people will have seen at Regionals and just during league play, Pachirisu has amazing popularity. Phione of Majestic Dawn has seen as much hype, if not more than Pachi. Between those two cards, many decks will run one or both Pokemon.
But are they worth it? They both have problems and drawbacks, which should raise the question "Does this deck really need it?".
Pachirisu
Pachirisu has had a masive popularity from the day it was released, and is a useful card. But it is overated, and not the amazing miracle card that will change the metagame. So why does everyone use Pachi, and why is it still so good? Two reasons:
Call for family is the big one. The lure to get 3 basics in just the first turn is too good. But, why should everyone use Pachirisu for that? Getting basics right away isn't huge unless you run a T2 deck, and even then, the only really good ones (Quickitune, Banette and Honchkrow)don't need added support.
Pachirisu is pretty much the new age version of the SS Dunsparce, with more hype. To put it simply, if you don't need tons of basics, you shouldn't be running Pachirisu. Cards like Roseanne's research, daul ball, holon mentor, ect are there if you may need more basics. Don't run Pachi just because.
And before I get a flood of angry posts, no I did not forget about Pachirisu's Smash Shot. Does 10 damage, but if the defending Pokemon has a Pokemon tool, it does 30 more damage, and the tool and all copies in your opponent's hand are discarded. That may be great, especialy for stopping the dreaded Cessation Crystal, but it has one huge drawback: who would put a Pokemon toool on their active if the other person had a active Pachi? No one.
So unless it's important enough to retreat and shift up Pachirisu, you won't get a lot of action with that move.
Phione
Phione is talked about as the next great starter. There is even more hype over Pione than the Great Encounters Pachirisu. It's a great card, with the ability to evolve your benched Pokemon.
0, that means a whole turn wasted. And in today's competative game, The first few turns are very important for either setting up or getting an easy prize.
Phione would be great in many stage 2 decks, but not a lot of T2. Maybe the best combo will just be grab Claydol from your deck and end Phione's main effect... or is it? People may think of using both Holon Mentor AND Roseannes Research. Its second attack you may never consider unless you use Empoleon only. There is a lot to see from this new starter and maybe the Battle Roads/Nationals will give us the answer.
Wait a minute! Phione and Pachirisu?
This is actualy probably the best way to use the two. Running a phione or two along with three or four Pachi's would work extremly well. getting basics then evolving them is a huge advantage. You can ensure that not only do you a.)have evolvable basics, and b.)have a good one, but you can also keep evolving Pokemon if your opponent doesn't build up the active and KO Phione.
But there is a catch to this otherwise perfect combo. You will take at least 2 turns to set up with both of them and have 2 energy wasted on setup. 2 energies! What is so bad? How about the crucial energy that you need, and if you can't draw energy that is needed that you need to win with no Night Maintence? I know that this may be illogical, but it may happen.
But don't get ahead of yourself and start tossing Pachi and Phione cards into your deck. Like anything, it's not a miricle card that works for anything. You'd want it in a deck that has strong evolved Pokemon, and sets up a little too slow. And the most important rule: If you can't take 4 or 5 cards out of your deck without messing it up, this setup is not for you!
By Muscovy Level X and poketo
And as many people will have seen at Regionals and just during league play, Pachirisu has amazing popularity. Phione of Majestic Dawn has seen as much hype, if not more than Pachi. Between those two cards, many decks will run one or both Pokemon.
But are they worth it? They both have problems and drawbacks, which should raise the question "Does this deck really need it?".
Pachirisu
Pachirisu has had a masive popularity from the day it was released, and is a useful card. But it is overated, and not the amazing miracle card that will change the metagame. So why does everyone use Pachi, and why is it still so good? Two reasons:
Call for family is the big one. The lure to get 3 basics in just the first turn is too good. But, why should everyone use Pachirisu for that? Getting basics right away isn't huge unless you run a T2 deck, and even then, the only really good ones (Quickitune, Banette and Honchkrow)don't need added support.
pachi is only really good for turn 1. Then' you've got the basics, and can't really do anything else with it. Once the bench is full, it's pretty useless. And as Prime mentioned, with the booming popularity of Magmortar decks, a 70 HP Pokemon just taking up bench space can equal an easy prize.
Pachirisu is pretty much the new age version of the SS Dunsparce, with more hype. To put it simply, if you don't need tons of basics, you shouldn't be running Pachirisu. Cards like Roseanne's research, daul ball, holon mentor, ect are there if you may need more basics. Don't run Pachi just because.
And before I get a flood of angry posts, no I did not forget about Pachirisu's Smash Shot. Does 10 damage, but if the defending Pokemon has a Pokemon tool, it does 30 more damage, and the tool and all copies in your opponent's hand are discarded. That may be great, especialy for stopping the dreaded Cessation Crystal, but it has one huge drawback: who would put a Pokemon toool on their active if the other person had a active Pachi? No one.
Case in point. People don't just play a Pokemon tool right where Pachi can get it. Yes, you an say it acts as a deterant. A one turn deterant.
So unless it's important enough to retreat and shift up Pachirisu, you won't get a lot of action with that move.
So once Pachi has grabbed basics, that's it. Without the Poketool effect, Smash Short is no good, so it's just a one turn card. Summing it up, it's grab and run. But it is still a good card. A deterant for Poketools and something that can get 5 basics in 2 turns. But always make sure you have either a setup or attacking Pokemon ready to take over. Pachirisu indeed works best to grab the setup Pokemon that's right for the senario. That way you can have one of a bunch of different openers, and have acess to them 90% of the time.
Phione
Phione is talked about as the next great starter. There is even more hype over Pione than the Great Encounters Pachirisu. It's a great card, with the ability to evolve your benched Pokemon.
So basicly, after turn 3 or so, it's useless. And it takes at least the first turn to power it up. But if there's another hitch, like no other basics, no energy, (or even no Phione
0, that means a whole turn wasted. And in today's competative game, The first few turns are very important for either setting up or getting an easy prize.Phione would be great in many stage 2 decks, but not a lot of T2. Maybe the best combo will just be grab Claydol from your deck and end Phione's main effect... or is it? People may think of using both Holon Mentor AND Roseannes Research. Its second attack you may never consider unless you use Empoleon only. There is a lot to see from this new starter and maybe the Battle Roads/Nationals will give us the answer.
Wait a minute! Phione and Pachirisu?This is actualy probably the best way to use the two. Running a phione or two along with three or four Pachi's would work extremly well. getting basics then evolving them is a huge advantage. You can ensure that not only do you a.)have evolvable basics, and b.)have a good one, but you can also keep evolving Pokemon if your opponent doesn't build up the active and KO Phione.
But there is a catch to this otherwise perfect combo. You will take at least 2 turns to set up with both of them and have 2 energy wasted on setup. 2 energies! What is so bad? How about the crucial energy that you need, and if you can't draw energy that is needed that you need to win with no Night Maintence? I know that this may be illogical, but it may happen.
But don't get ahead of yourself and start tossing Pachi and Phione cards into your deck. Like anything, it's not a miricle card that works for anything. You'd want it in a deck that has strong evolved Pokemon, and sets up a little too slow. And the most important rule: If you can't take 4 or 5 cards out of your deck without messing it up, this setup is not for you!
By Muscovy Level X and poketo
Last edited:
