Ivysaur -- Dark Explorers Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Ivysaur from the Dark Explorers Pokemon Card Set.  This is the first of several more uncommon Dark Explorers Pokemon card reviews I'll be doing. Ivysaur is a stage 1, grass type Pokemon card, with an hp of 90.  It has a x2 weakness to fire type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to water type Pokemon, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  Ivysaur doesn't have an Ability but it does have two moves, the first move is called Sleep Powder and for two energy cards, one each of grass and colorless, it does 20 damage and puts the defending Pokemon to sleep.  Ivysaur's second move is called Poison Powder which takes three energy cards, two grass and one colorless, does 50 damage and poisons the defending Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, you'll definitely want to evolve Ivysaur into Venusaur as soon as possible so you can do more damage and take more damage since Venusaur has a much higher hp.  I would preferably leave Ivysaur on the bench until I could evolve it into Venusaur but if you have to put Ivysaur into play, depending on the number of energy cards you have on Ivysaur will depend on the move you do.  I would use Poison Powder more often than Sleep Powder because it does more damage but if the defending Pokemon has more than 100 hp I would consider using Sleep Powder first and then Poison Powder after that.  One thing to keep in mind when moving Ivysaur from your bench to the active Pokemon spot is that it does have a high retreat cost so if you don't think you'll be able to evolve into Venusaur soon I would recommend not moving Ivysaur into that active Pokemon spot.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  This is a pretty average stage 1 Pokemon card, and surprisingly I wouldn't be too worried if I actually had to use it for awhile during the game, I think it could hold its own.  I like how both of its moves inflict special conditions and does damage, but Ivysaur is slow and doesn't have too high of an hp.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Ivysaur from the Dark Explorers set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Scyther from the same set.