My son and I play 1st gen only. Everything up to Neo Genesis. Mostly because that is all I have, and secondly because I think the game suffered from power creep after that, but that is another story. So, my first pack I ever opened contained a holo chansey. I was stocked because Chansey was my favorite pokemon at the time. Anyways, I tried to use it, but as you may know it only has 2 moves (scrunch and Double-edge). The few times I used the guy he was gone pretty quick as I would load up energy on him, KO a pokemon and then lose him on the next turn, which in its own right is a great end game move, but when I would do this early on it didn't avail me the opportunity to capitalize on Chansey's strength. So, fast forward some 20 years and I was playing a game with my son when I suddenly realized Chansey's real power. He is a damage magnet. A basic pokemon with 120 HP and a 2 white energy "attack" which negates all damage (scrunch). Oh, the possibilities! That is when I realized he is a super speed bump. 120 HP with the ability to ignore damage gives me time to build up my benched team in preparation for the next assault which begins with a superb Double Edge from Chansey (which knocks him out so I can send out the next big hitter).
Anyways, just wanted to share insight, which I am sure isn't anything new as the card is nearly as old as me.
Anyways, just wanted to share insight, which I am sure isn't anything new as the card is nearly as old as me.