You’ll notice that in the title I refer to “During the Game“. That is because I believe that the most strategy involved in this game comes into play before the flip of the first coin. That is during the deck building process, but that’s not what this is about.
For much of this games history the victory has often gone to the player who was able to get the most energy in play the quickest. It is now becoming increasingly more important to pay particular attention to which Pokemon you attach energy to and when or when not to attach energy. There are now more things to take into consideration when deciding your energy placements than ever before. Such as:
A) Type of weakness’ in play (or potentially in play) and where energy is already attached
Although it is true that the first person to take his/her last prize wins the game, it is not always best to knock out one of your opponents pokemon when you have the chance. There are many factors involved in deciding which Pokemon to knock out. One of the main ones is which of your opponents have energy attached to them. One of my mantras for newer players is, “Attack the energy, not the Pokemon.” This morphs into “Attack the threat, not the Pokemon.” at latter stages of trainer development. You should keep in mind at this point that just because a Pokemon has energy attached to it doesn’t mean that it’s a bigger threat. Let’s say that your opponent has Fighting energy attached to his/her active Medicham (10/101 EX Hidden Legends) and a Lanturn (EX Hidden legends) on his/her bench with no energy attached. You have a Dark Crobat (EX Team Rocket Returns) active. The Lanturn is a much bigger threat because Dark Crobat is weak to electric and has resistance to fighting.
B) Type of energy in your hand and your attack costs
One of my favorite moves in Pokemon is to attach an energy that pays for a colorless portion of an attack only, first. This can leave your opponent unsure as to weather or not you have the specific energy color needed to fill the rest of the attack cost. Other times I may choose to attach an energy that pays for the specific type of energy that an attack calls for first. Let me explain further.
Scenario 1: I have a Dark Crobat on my bench with no energy attached to it. I have a Grass and an Electric energy in my hand. I’ll choose to attach the Electric energy so that my opponent has to figure the odds that I have or can get a Grass energy, as opposed to having to figure the odds on me having or being able to get any energy. You can also use this also expose the potentially less important energy to a sudden attack. At this point you should also keep in mind yourself the odds that you can get a Grass energy should your opponent play a card like Rockets Admin. (EX Team Rocket Returns). Factors to keep in mind when making this decision are: the number of prize cards you have left, the number of Grass energy left in your deck, the number of drawing cards you have left in your deck, and if you play Energy Recycle System (EX Dragons) and have a Grass energy in your discard pile.
Scenario 2: I have the same Grass and Electric energy in my hand, but I have an active Pokemon that is in danger of being knocked out. The only way that my opponent has to knock out my active is with a 70 HP Pokemon that is weak to Grass. By attaching the Grass energy to Dark Crobat on my bench I’m letting my opponent know that if he/she uses said Pokemon to knock out my active I am in a really good position to immediately return the favor. This may then buy me the time to draw into some way to save my active Pokemon, such as a Mr. Briney’s Compassion (EX Dragons).
C) Energy manipulation
Energy manipulation can often make the decision of where and when to place energy easier, but can also make for some tough quandaries. Such as:
Do I attach for my turn and use Blaziken’s (EX Ruby and Sapphire) Fire Starter Poke Power to attach two fire energy to a Team Aqua’s Manectric so that I can move them on a future turn, or will this leave my energy too concentrated and vulnerable to attack?
Energy manipulation has six basic forms.
1) The ability to move energy from one Pokemon to another (either by Trainer cards, attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Dark Dragonite (EX Team Rocket Returns), Metagross (EX Hidden Legends), Team Magma’s Claydol (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Energy Switch (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Ninjask (EX Dragons), Dark Electrode (EX Team Rocket Returns).
2) The ability to bring energy into play from the discard pile (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Blaziken (EX Ruby and Sapphire), Metagross (EX Deoxys), Mewtwo EX (EX Ruby and Sapphire).
3) The ability to bring energy into play from the deck (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Gardevoir (EX Ruby and Sapphire), Electrike (EX Deoxys), Dark Electrode (EX Team Rocket Returns).
4) The ability to attach extra energy cards from your hand (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Roselia (EX Dragons), Blastiose EX (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green).
5) The ability to remove energy from play (other than by retreating) i.e. Energy Removal 2 (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Articuno EX (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Lanturn (EX Hidden Legends).
6) The ability to increase energy in play via Special Energy i.e. Aqua or Magma Energy (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Double Rainbow Energy (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Rocket Energy (EX Team Rocket Returns), Boost Energy (EX Deoxys), Scramble Energy (EX Deoxys).
D) Type of attacks
Not taking these into account when playing a game will most certainly result in a loss for you. There are many attacks now that count the number of energy in play when figuring attack damage. Weather it’s on your side i.e. Magnaton (EX Dragons), your opponents side i.e. Jumpluff (EX Team Rocket Returns), attached to both actives i.e. Deoxys EX (97/107 EX Deoxys), or all energy in play i.e. Gardevoir EX (EX Sandstorm), this is probably the most important factor to watch for during game play.
Questions you may want to keep in mind when playing a game and building a deck, are:
Where do I want to leave my energy at the end of my turn?
Where do/will I need energy to attack now and on future turns?
Can I not place an energy this turn and still be able to attack with sufficient force in future turns?
If I place extra energy now will it increase my opponent’s attacks/advantage?
The best players will commit all these examples and many more to memory, at least enough to be able to, 1) anticipate the possibilities of them happening in a game that they are involved in and 2) consider them when building a deck.
Thank You for reading.
Dave Coleman II
PokeThoughts by Dave II:
Energy Placement
(The Most Important Strategic Element During the Game)
For much of this games history the victory has often gone to the player who was able to get the most energy in play the quickest. It is now becoming increasingly more important to pay particular attention to which Pokemon you attach energy to and when or when not to attach energy. There are now more things to take into consideration when deciding your energy placements than ever before. Such as:
A) Type of weakness’ in play (or potentially in play) and where energy is already attached
Although it is true that the first person to take his/her last prize wins the game, it is not always best to knock out one of your opponents pokemon when you have the chance. There are many factors involved in deciding which Pokemon to knock out. One of the main ones is which of your opponents have energy attached to them. One of my mantras for newer players is, “Attack the energy, not the Pokemon.” This morphs into “Attack the threat, not the Pokemon.” at latter stages of trainer development. You should keep in mind at this point that just because a Pokemon has energy attached to it doesn’t mean that it’s a bigger threat. Let’s say that your opponent has Fighting energy attached to his/her active Medicham (10/101 EX Hidden Legends) and a Lanturn (EX Hidden legends) on his/her bench with no energy attached. You have a Dark Crobat (EX Team Rocket Returns) active. The Lanturn is a much bigger threat because Dark Crobat is weak to electric and has resistance to fighting.
B) Type of energy in your hand and your attack costs
One of my favorite moves in Pokemon is to attach an energy that pays for a colorless portion of an attack only, first. This can leave your opponent unsure as to weather or not you have the specific energy color needed to fill the rest of the attack cost. Other times I may choose to attach an energy that pays for the specific type of energy that an attack calls for first. Let me explain further.
Scenario 1: I have a Dark Crobat on my bench with no energy attached to it. I have a Grass and an Electric energy in my hand. I’ll choose to attach the Electric energy so that my opponent has to figure the odds that I have or can get a Grass energy, as opposed to having to figure the odds on me having or being able to get any energy. You can also use this also expose the potentially less important energy to a sudden attack. At this point you should also keep in mind yourself the odds that you can get a Grass energy should your opponent play a card like Rockets Admin. (EX Team Rocket Returns). Factors to keep in mind when making this decision are: the number of prize cards you have left, the number of Grass energy left in your deck, the number of drawing cards you have left in your deck, and if you play Energy Recycle System (EX Dragons) and have a Grass energy in your discard pile.
Scenario 2: I have the same Grass and Electric energy in my hand, but I have an active Pokemon that is in danger of being knocked out. The only way that my opponent has to knock out my active is with a 70 HP Pokemon that is weak to Grass. By attaching the Grass energy to Dark Crobat on my bench I’m letting my opponent know that if he/she uses said Pokemon to knock out my active I am in a really good position to immediately return the favor. This may then buy me the time to draw into some way to save my active Pokemon, such as a Mr. Briney’s Compassion (EX Dragons).
C) Energy manipulation
Energy manipulation can often make the decision of where and when to place energy easier, but can also make for some tough quandaries. Such as:
Do I attach for my turn and use Blaziken’s (EX Ruby and Sapphire) Fire Starter Poke Power to attach two fire energy to a Team Aqua’s Manectric so that I can move them on a future turn, or will this leave my energy too concentrated and vulnerable to attack?
Energy manipulation has six basic forms.
1) The ability to move energy from one Pokemon to another (either by Trainer cards, attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Dark Dragonite (EX Team Rocket Returns), Metagross (EX Hidden Legends), Team Magma’s Claydol (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Energy Switch (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Ninjask (EX Dragons), Dark Electrode (EX Team Rocket Returns).
2) The ability to bring energy into play from the discard pile (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Blaziken (EX Ruby and Sapphire), Metagross (EX Deoxys), Mewtwo EX (EX Ruby and Sapphire).
3) The ability to bring energy into play from the deck (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Gardevoir (EX Ruby and Sapphire), Electrike (EX Deoxys), Dark Electrode (EX Team Rocket Returns).
4) The ability to attach extra energy cards from your hand (either by attacks or Poke Powers), i.e. Roselia (EX Dragons), Blastiose EX (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green).
5) The ability to remove energy from play (other than by retreating) i.e. Energy Removal 2 (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Articuno EX (EX Fire Red and Leaf Green), Lanturn (EX Hidden Legends).
6) The ability to increase energy in play via Special Energy i.e. Aqua or Magma Energy (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Double Rainbow Energy (EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua), Rocket Energy (EX Team Rocket Returns), Boost Energy (EX Deoxys), Scramble Energy (EX Deoxys).
D) Type of attacks
Not taking these into account when playing a game will most certainly result in a loss for you. There are many attacks now that count the number of energy in play when figuring attack damage. Weather it’s on your side i.e. Magnaton (EX Dragons), your opponents side i.e. Jumpluff (EX Team Rocket Returns), attached to both actives i.e. Deoxys EX (97/107 EX Deoxys), or all energy in play i.e. Gardevoir EX (EX Sandstorm), this is probably the most important factor to watch for during game play.
Questions you may want to keep in mind when playing a game and building a deck, are:
Where do I want to leave my energy at the end of my turn?
Where do/will I need energy to attack now and on future turns?
Can I not place an energy this turn and still be able to attack with sufficient force in future turns?
If I place extra energy now will it increase my opponent’s attacks/advantage?
The best players will commit all these examples and many more to memory, at least enough to be able to, 1) anticipate the possibilities of them happening in a game that they are involved in and 2) consider them when building a deck.
Thank You for reading.
Dave Coleman II
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