Pooka
Master Trainer
I would like to present a sort of "rogue" deck to you that not many people would think about. In a format overrun by ex-Pokémon, Weezing (EX: Deoxys) is a great card to consider. However, Weezing can't win by itself! So, what does it combo with? Victreebel (EX: Fire Red/Leaf Green) seems to fit the description.
Article Title: Victreebel/Weezing
Author: Kyle "Pooka" Sucevich
Date: November 5, 2005
Format: HL-DS
Latest Set: Delta Species
Contact: [email protected]
Discuss: Liability thread in the Archetype & Std. Strategies Forum
Liability: Victreebel/Weezing
Pokémon 21
3 Bellsprout (RG)
2 Weepinbell (RG)
3 Victreebel (RG)
4 Koffing (RR)
4 Weezing (DX)
2 Pidgey (RG)
1 Pidgeotto (RG)
2 Pidgeot (RG)
Trainers 25
4 Celio's Network
4 Rare Candy
4 Desert Ruins
3 Copycat
3 Great Ball
3 Steven's Advice
2 Rocket's Admin.
1 Switch
1 Pokémon Retriever
Energy 14
5 Grass
3 Warp
2 Heal
2 Scramble
2 Double Rainbow
So, what is the strategy of this deck? It's quite simple. First, let's take a look at Weezing.
We're going to focus on Weezing's Liability attack. It reads:
C: Liability - Put damage counters on the Defending Pokémon until it is 10 HP away from being Knocked Out. Then, Weezing does 70 damage to itself.
Well that doesn't seem very good, right? I mean you KO yourself and only put your opponent at 10 HP! What's so great about that? Now let's look at Victreebel.
Victreebel :grass:
110 HP
Poké-Body - Acid Sampler: As long as Victreebel is your Active Pokémon, put 1 damage counter on each Defending Pokémon between turns. Acid Sampler stops working if your other Active Pokémon is not a Victreebel.
GCC: Acid 50 - The Defending Pokémon cannot retreat until the end of your opponent's next turn.
Weakness: R
Resistance: None
Retreat: CC
Most importantly, look at Victreebel's Acid Sampler. It allows you to put 1 damage counter on the Defending Pokémon in-between turns. Have you figured out the combo yet? Weezing uses Liability to put the Defending Pokémon down to 10 HP, then Victreebel puts a damage counter on it after you promote it between turns, and the Defending Pokémon is now Knocked Out! You can essentially Knock Out (Almost - there are some Pokémon that prevent effects of attacks such as Weezing's Liability, so be careful!) any Pokémon for 1 Energy! Now that's cool!
Other Notable Pokémon
Pidgeot :colorless
100HP
Poké-Power - Quick Search: Once during your turn (before your attack), you may choose any 1 card from your deck and put it into your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward. You can't use more than 1 Quick Search Poké-Power per turn. This power can't be used if Pidgeot is affected by a Special Condition.
CC: Clutch 40 - The Defending Pokémon can't retreat until the end of your opponent's next turn.
Weakness: L
Resistance: F
Retreat: None
The important thing is Quick Search. It is basically the backbone of this deck. You need to constantly use Pidgeot's Quick Search to find cards that you need. Getting a Pidgeot out fast is important!
Koffing :grass:
50 HP
Poké-Body – Knockout Gas: If Koffing is your Active Pokémon and is Knocked Out by an opponent's attack, the Attacking Pokémon is now Confused and Poisoned.
C: Gnaw 10
Weakness: P
Resistance: None
Retreat: C
Koffing is obviously used to evolve into Weezing. However, its Knockout Gas can be very useful as well! On a bad start, it can help you buy time by making your opponent’s Defending Pokémon Confused and Poisoned! Nasty!
Other Notes
There isn’t really a good or bad starting Pokémon for this deck. The only Pokémon that might be better to start with is Koffing, since its Knockout Gas can be very annoying for your opponent. With the absence of Dunsparce in the new format, Great Ball is used to grab the Basic Pokémon you need.
Useful Trainers
Everyone knows you need Trainers to get what you need and make your deck run smoother. Here are my choices for the deck.
Celio’s Network, Rare Candy, Steven’s Advice, Copycat, and Great Ball: These Trainers are used to achieve a consistent setup every game. They should help you get going fast!
Rocket’s Admin.: This is mainly used to disrupt the opponent, but it can also be used to get a fresh hand early in the game! A very useful card.
Desert Ruins: This is mainly used as a counter-gym for Battle Frontier, which shuts off your Pidgeot’s Quick Search. However, it has another nifty use! If you play a Desert Ruins right before you use Weezing’s Liability on an ex-Pokémon, they will be Knocked Out due to Desert Ruins!
Switch: A great card for pulling off another Liability/Acid Sampler combo if you don’t have enough Energy on Victreebel to retreat!
Pokémon Retriever: Let’s face it, you’re going to be putting a lot of Koffing and Weezing into the discard pile due to Liability. This is a great way to get them back!
Special Energy
All of the different Special Energy in this deck serve an important purpose. Here they are.
Warp Energy: This is the most important Energy card in the deck. It allows you to keep moving Victreebel to the bench and pull off another Liability/Acid Sampler combo without retreating and discarding the Energy on Victreebel. This is great because it allows you to attack with Victreebel if you need to!
Heal Energy: Takes away Special Conditions and removes a Damage Counter. Always a great card to have.
Scramble Energy: Sometimes you will fall behind on prizes and want to get a quick attack with Victreebel. This is your answer.
Double Rainbow Energy: Essentially the same use as Scramble Energy, except you can use this even if you’re ahead on prizes.
Matchups
I’d like to give you guys some insight on a few of the matchups you’ll run into when playing this deck.
Nidoqueen: This should be one of your easier matchups. Nidoqueen is unable to KO you in one hit, but with a little trickery you can OHKO them. You simply wait for them to promote Nidoqueen and KO one of your Pokémon, then you send up Victreebel (here they take 10 damage due to Victreebel’s Acid Sampler), attack with Acid for 100 damage, and finally they are Knocked Out by Acid Sampler. You can also use the ol’ Liability/Acid Sampler combo as well. This is quite a favorable match up for you.
ZRE (Zapdos ex, Rayquaza ex, Electrode ex): Another simple match up for Victreebel/Weezing! Your Weezing KO’s everything in their deck through Liability/Acid Sampler, and by taking 2 prizes when they only take 1, you should win handily. The Liability/Desert Ruins combo also comes in handy here if you can’t get the Victreebel/Weezing combo going fast enough.
SMP (Scizor ex, Metagross, Pidgeot): This is a very difficult match up and it can go either way. Metagross is tough to KO if they get enough of them out. You have to attack with Victreebel a lot, otherwise you run out of Weezing and you can’t KO the Scizor ex. Also, make sure the game never gets tied 1-1 in prizes. If it does, they can simply use Scizor ex to finish you off. Weezing can’t use Liability because it gives them their last prize, and Scizor ex is Resistant to Victreebel! You’re stuck in that situation.
Ludicolo: This is probably the toughest match up you will have. Ludicolo decks normally play heavy amounts of Battle Frontier, which shut off your Pidgeot and makes it harder for you to pull off Liability/Acid Sampler combos. I usually find the match up very close, but Ludicolo has the clear advantage here. This is a deck you hope you don’t run into.
Dark Tyranitar (Spinning Tail): It might seem hard at first, but Victreebel/Weezing has a slight advantage in this match up. Since you keep the prizes even for most of the game (Weezing gives them a prize, then Victreebel takes one for you), their Scramble Energy is basically useless. They will most likely not have enough time to pull off enough Spinning Tails to put you at risk, since you KO them instantly via Liability/Acid Sampler. Eventually they run out of Tyranitars to attack with, and you win easily from there.
Medicham ex: This is another pretty easy match up. Since you play such a heavy Weezing line and 4 Desert Ruins, you should be able to pull off the Liability/Desert Ruins combo off on their Medicham ex easily. Not much they can do.
Liability Variants
Victreebel is not the only card that combos with Weezing. However, I felt that Victreebel was the most solid choice for the job. Here are some other cards you could consider playing with Weezing.
Typhlosion (EX: Unseen Forces)
Let’s focus on Typhlosion’s Burning Aura for now. It says:
Poké-Body – Burning Aura: As long as Typhlosion is your Active Pokémon, put 1 damage counter on each Defending Pokémon (both yours and your opponent’s) between turns.
Basically the same as Victreebel’s Acid Sampler, except Typhlosion also puts 1 damage counter on itself. That nasty drawback might make Typhlosion a little risky to play. However, with the emergence of new Metal Pokémon in EX: Delta Species and the popularity of Scizor ex, Fire Weakness seems to be common in the current metagame. This could make Typhlosion a better option than Victreebel right now.
Dark Crobat (EX: Team Rocket Returns)
Dark Crobat :grass:/Darkness
90 HP
Poké-Power – Black Beam: Once during your turn (before your attack), if Dark Crobat is your Active Pokémon, you may choose 1 of the Defending Pokémon. That Pokémon is now Poisoned. This power can't be used if Dark Crobat is affected by a Special Condition.
GC – Dark Drain: Does 10 damage to each of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.) Remove from Dark Crobat a number of damage counters equal to the number of your opponent's Pokémon in play
GC – Skill Dive: Does 30 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Weakness: L
Resistance: F
Retreat: C
The strategy here is to use Dark Crobat’s Black Beam to Poison the opponent, retreat to Weezing, use Liability to put the Defending Pokémon at 10 HP, and then between turns, Poison finishes it off. There are a few factors as to why Dark Crobat is a poor choice compared to Victreebel or Typhlosion. First off, Dark Crobat’s Black Beam is shut off by Battle Frontier. Battle Frontier hurts this deck already, so why make it worse? In addition, Dark Crobat's attacks are very weak compared to the other two Pokémon mentioned earlier. While the attacks on Typhlosion and Victreebel have advantages in certain situations, Dark Crobat’s attacks have no place in this deck. They are more geared towards a deck that spreads damage and targets certain Pokémon, such as with Dark Ampharos or Dark Tyranitar.
Overall, Victreebel/Weezing is a very fun deck to play. It can definitely compete in today’s metagame. Give it a try! If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask!
Discuss this Article in the Deck Archetype and Standard Strategies Forum.
Article Title: Victreebel/Weezing
Author: Kyle "Pooka" Sucevich
Date: November 5, 2005
Format: HL-DS
Latest Set: Delta Species
Contact: [email protected]
Discuss: Liability thread in the Archetype & Std. Strategies Forum
Liability: Victreebel/Weezing
Pokémon 21
3 Bellsprout (RG)
2 Weepinbell (RG)
3 Victreebel (RG)
4 Koffing (RR)
4 Weezing (DX)
2 Pidgey (RG)
1 Pidgeotto (RG)
2 Pidgeot (RG)
Trainers 25
4 Celio's Network
4 Rare Candy
4 Desert Ruins
3 Copycat
3 Great Ball
3 Steven's Advice
2 Rocket's Admin.
1 Switch
1 Pokémon Retriever
Energy 14
5 Grass
3 Warp
2 Heal
2 Scramble
2 Double Rainbow
So, what is the strategy of this deck? It's quite simple. First, let's take a look at Weezing.
We're going to focus on Weezing's Liability attack. It reads:
C: Liability - Put damage counters on the Defending Pokémon until it is 10 HP away from being Knocked Out. Then, Weezing does 70 damage to itself.
Well that doesn't seem very good, right? I mean you KO yourself and only put your opponent at 10 HP! What's so great about that? Now let's look at Victreebel.
Victreebel :grass:
110 HP
Poké-Body - Acid Sampler: As long as Victreebel is your Active Pokémon, put 1 damage counter on each Defending Pokémon between turns. Acid Sampler stops working if your other Active Pokémon is not a Victreebel.
GCC: Acid 50 - The Defending Pokémon cannot retreat until the end of your opponent's next turn.
Weakness: R
Resistance: None
Retreat: CC
Most importantly, look at Victreebel's Acid Sampler. It allows you to put 1 damage counter on the Defending Pokémon in-between turns. Have you figured out the combo yet? Weezing uses Liability to put the Defending Pokémon down to 10 HP, then Victreebel puts a damage counter on it after you promote it between turns, and the Defending Pokémon is now Knocked Out! You can essentially Knock Out (Almost - there are some Pokémon that prevent effects of attacks such as Weezing's Liability, so be careful!) any Pokémon for 1 Energy! Now that's cool!
Other Notable Pokémon
Pidgeot :colorless
100HP
Poké-Power - Quick Search: Once during your turn (before your attack), you may choose any 1 card from your deck and put it into your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward. You can't use more than 1 Quick Search Poké-Power per turn. This power can't be used if Pidgeot is affected by a Special Condition.
CC: Clutch 40 - The Defending Pokémon can't retreat until the end of your opponent's next turn.
Weakness: L
Resistance: F
Retreat: None
The important thing is Quick Search. It is basically the backbone of this deck. You need to constantly use Pidgeot's Quick Search to find cards that you need. Getting a Pidgeot out fast is important!
Koffing :grass:
50 HP
Poké-Body – Knockout Gas: If Koffing is your Active Pokémon and is Knocked Out by an opponent's attack, the Attacking Pokémon is now Confused and Poisoned.
C: Gnaw 10
Weakness: P
Resistance: None
Retreat: C
Koffing is obviously used to evolve into Weezing. However, its Knockout Gas can be very useful as well! On a bad start, it can help you buy time by making your opponent’s Defending Pokémon Confused and Poisoned! Nasty!
Other Notes
There isn’t really a good or bad starting Pokémon for this deck. The only Pokémon that might be better to start with is Koffing, since its Knockout Gas can be very annoying for your opponent. With the absence of Dunsparce in the new format, Great Ball is used to grab the Basic Pokémon you need.
Useful Trainers
Everyone knows you need Trainers to get what you need and make your deck run smoother. Here are my choices for the deck.
Celio’s Network, Rare Candy, Steven’s Advice, Copycat, and Great Ball: These Trainers are used to achieve a consistent setup every game. They should help you get going fast!
Rocket’s Admin.: This is mainly used to disrupt the opponent, but it can also be used to get a fresh hand early in the game! A very useful card.
Desert Ruins: This is mainly used as a counter-gym for Battle Frontier, which shuts off your Pidgeot’s Quick Search. However, it has another nifty use! If you play a Desert Ruins right before you use Weezing’s Liability on an ex-Pokémon, they will be Knocked Out due to Desert Ruins!
Switch: A great card for pulling off another Liability/Acid Sampler combo if you don’t have enough Energy on Victreebel to retreat!
Pokémon Retriever: Let’s face it, you’re going to be putting a lot of Koffing and Weezing into the discard pile due to Liability. This is a great way to get them back!
Special Energy
All of the different Special Energy in this deck serve an important purpose. Here they are.
Warp Energy: This is the most important Energy card in the deck. It allows you to keep moving Victreebel to the bench and pull off another Liability/Acid Sampler combo without retreating and discarding the Energy on Victreebel. This is great because it allows you to attack with Victreebel if you need to!
Heal Energy: Takes away Special Conditions and removes a Damage Counter. Always a great card to have.
Scramble Energy: Sometimes you will fall behind on prizes and want to get a quick attack with Victreebel. This is your answer.
Double Rainbow Energy: Essentially the same use as Scramble Energy, except you can use this even if you’re ahead on prizes.
Matchups
I’d like to give you guys some insight on a few of the matchups you’ll run into when playing this deck.
Nidoqueen: This should be one of your easier matchups. Nidoqueen is unable to KO you in one hit, but with a little trickery you can OHKO them. You simply wait for them to promote Nidoqueen and KO one of your Pokémon, then you send up Victreebel (here they take 10 damage due to Victreebel’s Acid Sampler), attack with Acid for 100 damage, and finally they are Knocked Out by Acid Sampler. You can also use the ol’ Liability/Acid Sampler combo as well. This is quite a favorable match up for you.
ZRE (Zapdos ex, Rayquaza ex, Electrode ex): Another simple match up for Victreebel/Weezing! Your Weezing KO’s everything in their deck through Liability/Acid Sampler, and by taking 2 prizes when they only take 1, you should win handily. The Liability/Desert Ruins combo also comes in handy here if you can’t get the Victreebel/Weezing combo going fast enough.
SMP (Scizor ex, Metagross, Pidgeot): This is a very difficult match up and it can go either way. Metagross is tough to KO if they get enough of them out. You have to attack with Victreebel a lot, otherwise you run out of Weezing and you can’t KO the Scizor ex. Also, make sure the game never gets tied 1-1 in prizes. If it does, they can simply use Scizor ex to finish you off. Weezing can’t use Liability because it gives them their last prize, and Scizor ex is Resistant to Victreebel! You’re stuck in that situation.
Ludicolo: This is probably the toughest match up you will have. Ludicolo decks normally play heavy amounts of Battle Frontier, which shut off your Pidgeot and makes it harder for you to pull off Liability/Acid Sampler combos. I usually find the match up very close, but Ludicolo has the clear advantage here. This is a deck you hope you don’t run into.
Dark Tyranitar (Spinning Tail): It might seem hard at first, but Victreebel/Weezing has a slight advantage in this match up. Since you keep the prizes even for most of the game (Weezing gives them a prize, then Victreebel takes one for you), their Scramble Energy is basically useless. They will most likely not have enough time to pull off enough Spinning Tails to put you at risk, since you KO them instantly via Liability/Acid Sampler. Eventually they run out of Tyranitars to attack with, and you win easily from there.
Medicham ex: This is another pretty easy match up. Since you play such a heavy Weezing line and 4 Desert Ruins, you should be able to pull off the Liability/Desert Ruins combo off on their Medicham ex easily. Not much they can do.
Liability Variants
Victreebel is not the only card that combos with Weezing. However, I felt that Victreebel was the most solid choice for the job. Here are some other cards you could consider playing with Weezing.
Typhlosion (EX: Unseen Forces)
Let’s focus on Typhlosion’s Burning Aura for now. It says:
Poké-Body – Burning Aura: As long as Typhlosion is your Active Pokémon, put 1 damage counter on each Defending Pokémon (both yours and your opponent’s) between turns.
Basically the same as Victreebel’s Acid Sampler, except Typhlosion also puts 1 damage counter on itself. That nasty drawback might make Typhlosion a little risky to play. However, with the emergence of new Metal Pokémon in EX: Delta Species and the popularity of Scizor ex, Fire Weakness seems to be common in the current metagame. This could make Typhlosion a better option than Victreebel right now.
Dark Crobat (EX: Team Rocket Returns)
Dark Crobat :grass:/Darkness
90 HP
Poké-Power – Black Beam: Once during your turn (before your attack), if Dark Crobat is your Active Pokémon, you may choose 1 of the Defending Pokémon. That Pokémon is now Poisoned. This power can't be used if Dark Crobat is affected by a Special Condition.
GC – Dark Drain: Does 10 damage to each of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.) Remove from Dark Crobat a number of damage counters equal to the number of your opponent's Pokémon in play
GC – Skill Dive: Does 30 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
Weakness: L
Resistance: F
Retreat: C
The strategy here is to use Dark Crobat’s Black Beam to Poison the opponent, retreat to Weezing, use Liability to put the Defending Pokémon at 10 HP, and then between turns, Poison finishes it off. There are a few factors as to why Dark Crobat is a poor choice compared to Victreebel or Typhlosion. First off, Dark Crobat’s Black Beam is shut off by Battle Frontier. Battle Frontier hurts this deck already, so why make it worse? In addition, Dark Crobat's attacks are very weak compared to the other two Pokémon mentioned earlier. While the attacks on Typhlosion and Victreebel have advantages in certain situations, Dark Crobat’s attacks have no place in this deck. They are more geared towards a deck that spreads damage and targets certain Pokémon, such as with Dark Ampharos or Dark Tyranitar.
Overall, Victreebel/Weezing is a very fun deck to play. It can definitely compete in today’s metagame. Give it a try! If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask!
Discuss this Article in the Deck Archetype and Standard Strategies Forum.
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