Mega Pidgeot EX -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of M Pidgeot EX from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Mega Pidgeot EX is a Mega Evolution, EX, colorless type Pokemon card with a HP of 220. It has a x2 weakness to lightning type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon, and a free retreat cost.  Mega Pidgeot EX does not have an Ability and it only has one move.  The only move that this card has is called Mach Cyclone, for three colorless energy cards this move does 130 damage, plus you may have your opponent switch their active Pokemon with a benched Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
Before I start with the strategy, remember that this card is a Mega Evolution card and an EX card so if you use this card in your deck and it gets knocked out, your opponent gets to take two prize cards instead of one and when you evolve an EX card into its Mega Evolution, your turn ends, you cannot do anything else.  So knowing these things, you'll always want to use Mega Evolution cards with caution, and you'll always want to use the appropriate Spirit Link trainer card to evolve the EX card into its Mega EX form so you don't have to end your turn.  So knowing how Mega EX cards work and knowing that Pidgeot EX from this set is solid overall, having two good moves, one that copies the move recently used on Pidgeot and the second which does 80 damage to the defending Pokemon and 20 damage to a benched Pokemon of your opponent's, this card makes perfect sense to use with Pidgeot EX.  So with Pidgeot EX, you can easily put it into the active Pokemon spot to start the game and use Mirror Move to copy the opposing Pokemon's move, then if you can't get Mega Pidgeot into play right away you could spread damage around with Feather Lance and do 100 total damage a turn, what you'll want to remember is that both of the Pokemon in this line only require colorless energy cards so they can be used in any type deck and can be used with Double Colorless energy making both Pidgeot and Mega Pidgeot's slowest moves take only 2 energy cards.  Ideally, this line would be used in a spread attack type deck, you could do 20 damage to a couple of benched Pokemon with Pidgeot's Feather Lance move, then start using Mach Cyclone to continuously move either already damaged Pokemon into the active Pokemon spot, or do 130 damage a turn to several Pokemon in a row, then move something into the active Pokemon spot that does 20 or more damage to all of your opponent's benched Pokemon knocking multiple out at once.  Either way, if you're looking to do some major damage with your deck, and fairly quickly, this is definitely a line to use.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 5 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is one of the best Mega EX cards from the Evolutions set, plus it isn't a reprint of previous Mega EX cards like some of the others in this set.  Overall, this card is pretty powerful, doing 130 damage a turn to the defending Pokemon, but what makes it even better is that you can essentially spread damage around with this attack by utilizing Mach Cyclone's second half of the attack and forcing the opponent to switch their active Pokemon after being attacked, thus setting up for multiple knock outs later in the game.  In addition to the powerful move on Mega Pidgeot, a free retreat cost means you can move this card in and out of the active Pokemon spot at will, without having to waste energy cards.  Together with Pidgeot EX from this set, which I gave a 3 out of 5 rating, I would give these two Pokemon combined a 5 out of 5 rating, all because the two cards work so well together, and fit into so many decks.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Mega Pidgeot EX from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Rattata, which is from this same set. Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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True or False?  In the English TCG, this Mega Pidgeot card has the highest HP of all Pidgeot cards.
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Pidgeot EX -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Pidgeot EX from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Pidgeot EX is a basic, EX, colorless type Pokemon card with a HP of 170. It has a x2 weakness to lightning type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Pidgeot EX does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Mirror Move, for one colorless energy card this move does the same amount of damage that your opponent's Pokemon did to Pidgeot EX during their last turn.  Pidgeot EX's second move is called Feather Lance, for three colorless energy cards this move does 80 damage, plus it does 20 damage to one of your opponent's benched Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, because Pidgeot EX is a basic Pokemon card you won't need to use any other cards with this card.  But remember, because this card is an EX card, if this card is knocked out, two prize cards are taken instead of one.  Pidgeot EX does have a Mega EX in this set, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, so you'll want to make sure and read that review.  On its own, the first thing I want to point out is that this card is a colorless type Pokemon card, meaning that it can be used in any type deck, or you could use Double Colorless energy cards with it, making Feather Lance need only 2 energy cards instead of 3.  Ideally, this card would be kept on the bench until a powerful attacking Pokemon is put into the active Pokemon spot by your opponent, then you can move Pidgeot EX into the active Pokemon spot, let it take damage for one turn, of course, less than 170, and then use Mirror Move the next turn to do up to 160 damage for only one energy card.  This is a risky strategy to use, since it would be quite easy to knock out Pidgeot EX the next turn, but being able to do 160 damage in one turn for only one energy card isn't something you see done often.  Feather Lance isn't that great of a move overall, especially on an EX, but like I mentioned, if you use a Double Colorless energy card and 1 Basic energy card, for 2 energy cards it is a much better move, and makes Pidgeot eligible to be used in a spread attack type deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is an average EX Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  To me, there are lots of options and strategies you can use Pidgeot EX in, but overall, it is neither terrible or amazing.  So if you're looking for some power, from a card that can use any type energy, this is a one to consider.  I would really wait until tomorrow's review and see what Mega Pidgeot EX is like to know if this line should be used in a deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Pidgeot EX from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Mega Pidgeot EX, which is from this same set. Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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True or False?  This is the first English set to include Pidgeot as an ultra rare.
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Clefairy -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Clefairy from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Clefairy is a basic, fairy type Pokemon card with a HP of 40.  It has a x2 weakness to metal type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to darkness type Pokemon, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Clefairy does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Sing, for one colorless energy card this move puts the defending Pokemon to sleep if you get a heads when flipping a coin.  Clefairy's second move is called Metronome, for three colorless energy cards, this move allows you to use one of your opponent's Active Pokemon's attacks and use it as Clefairy's attack.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Clefairy is a Basic evolution Pokemon with a Stage 1 evolution in Clefable, it is always a good idea to use the full line together, however, there isn't a Clefable in this set, since there wasn't one in the Base Set, but it first appeared in the Jungle set.  Because of this, I will be reviewing Clefairy on its own, but the newest set to feature Clefable would be BREAKpoint.  So, on its own, I would not recommend using Clefairy in a deck, the main reason for this is its low HP, because of how low the HP is, you can really only use this card the first turn in the game, if used later in the game, it is pretty much guaranteed for a one hit knock out.  If you do decide to use Clefairy in the active Pokemon spot, attaching a Trick Coin Pokemon Tool card to Clefairy would give you a better chance at putting the defending Pokemon to sleep when using Sing.  Metronome would be a great move if Clefairy had a higher HP, but the move is too slow to be that great, the only way you could use it would be to set up Clefairy on the bench and when the defending Pokemon has a high attack that would knock itself out, you could put Clefairy into the active Pokemon spot and use Metronome, just know, Clefairy will more than likely be knocked out the next turn.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering Clefable, this is a below average Basic Pokemon card, all due to its low HP.  Other than that, I do like the fact Clefable has two moves, one that can inflict a special condition and the other that can do some major damage when facing a powerful Pokemon.  But, without using Clefable in your deck, I would not recommend using Clefairy on its own.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Clefairy from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Pidgeot EX, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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How does Clefairy evolve into Clefable? 
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Hitmonchan -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Hitmonchan from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Hitmonchan is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with a HP of 90.  Hitmonchan has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  This Hitmonchan card does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Jab, for one fighting energy card this move does 30 damage.  Hitmonchan's second move is called Special Punch and for three energy cards, two fighting and one colorless, this move does 90 damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Hitmonchan is a basic Pokemon card with no evolution forms, you'll only have to use this card in a deck if you want to use Hitmonchan.  So knowing this, this card would make an excellent starter type Pokemon in a fighting type deck, and 4 of these could easily be used in a deck.  You can get this card into the active Pokemon spot the very first turn and do 30 damage the first two turns, then do 90 damage starting the 3rd turn.  What makes this card an excellent starter type Pokemon is that it can attack for one energy card, do well above average damage when attacking, and it has a high retreat cost for such a quick attacking Pokemon.  Other than having two colorless energy cards for its retreat cost, this is a pretty perfect card, this is a straight up attacking card that should be in most fighting type decks out there, if you're looking for Basic Pokemon to use.  This card was also featured in the Evolutions theme deck featuring Mewtwo, so even the Pokemon company knew this card was good.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 5 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion this is a well above average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I mentioned in the strategy section of this post, other than requiring one more energy card to retreat than its Jab move, this card is outstanding.  It is an amazing starter type Pokemon, yet can be set up on the bench and be used later in the game, no matter how you use this card, it is one powerful attacker, and I highly recommend it!

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Hitmonchan from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Clefairy, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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What is the name of Hitmonchan's baby evolution form?
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Onix -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Onix from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Onix is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with a HP of 100.  It has a x2 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  Onix does not have an Ability, but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Harden, for one fighting energy card this move says that any damage done to Onix during your opponent's next turn is prevented if that damage is 60 or less.  Onix's second move is called Rock Throw, for two fighting energy cards this move does 40 damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Onix is a basic Pokemon card with a Stage 1 evolution in Steelix, you'll more than likely want to use this card with its evolution form, but because Evolutions is a Base Set reprint set, it does not include a Steelix card, the most recent to include Steelix is Plasma Freeze, which means you would have to be playing the expanded format to be able to use this complete line.  If you really want to play Steelix in your deck, you could use the EX and Mega EX form from Steam Siege.  So, on its own, Onix, you certainly could try and use this card as a starter type Pokemon in your deck, using Harden several turns in a row to prevent damage and to set up your bench.  Or, you could use Harden the first turn and Rock Throw after that to do a good amount of damage to your opponent's weaker Pokemon.  Ideally, I would recommend using the first strategy, using Harden several turns, the only problem with this strategy is that Onix has a higher retreat cost than attack cost, so you'll have to add additional energy or use a trainer, plus, with so many EX cards starting the game in the active Pokemon spot, you could get hit with more than 60 damage quite soon in the game, meaning Harden does little for you.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering any Steelix cards, this is an average to slightly below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I mentioned above, this card could be used as a starter type Pokemon in a fighting type deck, since it is a great card for stalling and for attacking, but because 70 damage isn't that much in today's TCG and Onix's retreat cost is high, I would be weary on depending on this card too much in decks.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Onix from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Hitmonchan, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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How does Onix evolve into Steelix?
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Machamp BREAK -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Machamp BREAK from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  The way a BREAK card works is that you place it on top of the Pokemon with the exact name, so this card would be placed on top of Machamp, making this BREAK card a Stage 3 evolution.  It is placed horizontally on the card it evolves from and can use that Pokemon's Abilities and Attacks as well as what is on the BREAK card.  Machamp BREAK is a BREAK, Stage 3, fighting type Pokemon card, with a HP of 190.  It has the same weakness, resistance and retreat cost as the Machamp you're evolving it from.  Machamp BREAK does not have an Ability and it only has one moved called Boomerang Lariat, for three fighting energy cards this move does 100 damage, however, it also makes any of Machamp's moves during its next turn do 100 additional damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Machamp BREAK is a Stage 3 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Machop into play, evolve it into Machoke, and then into Machamp.  All three of those Pokemon are in the XY Evolutions set and I've reviewed all three the past few days.  If you read the reviews of those cards you'll know that I thought both Machop and Machoke were below average overall, both had potential to do a good amount of damage, but Machop required two energy cards to attack and its move was based off of coin flips, and Machoke had two good moves, but after the first time attacking, both of its moves were worse.  Machamp from this set I thought was very good, its Ability and move were both powerful, its Ability put 3 damage counters on the defending Pokemon if it attacked Machamp while Machamp was in the active Pokemon spot, and then Machamp's move, Seismic Toss, did 120 damage for three fighting energy cards.  So knowing this about the first 3 Pokemon in this line and looking at Machamp BREAK, if you're building a fighting type deck and are already using the Machamp line from Evolutions, I would highly recommend using the same number of Machamp BREAK cards as you're using Machamp, not only does Machamp BREAK have a higher HP, but it can make Machamp do 220 damage a turn with Seismic Toss.  So, I would try and set this line up on the bench, potentially using Rare Candy trainers, then go back and forth between Boomerang Lariat and Seismic Toss to do 100 damage then 220 damage every other turn.  So, if you're willing to give your deck time to set up this line, you're in for a powerful line of attacks from both Machamp and Machamp BREAK.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 5 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is a well above average BREAK Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  What I like best about this card is the fact it makes Machamp from this set even more powerful, making it able to do 220 damage in one turn for only three fighting energy cards.  Really, with this whole line, the only negative is that it takes awhile for the Pokemon to get set up, but if you can use some Rare Candy trainer cards to skip Evolution stages, this line is a powerful one for a fighting type deck, and overall I would give it a 4 out of 5 rating.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Machamp BREAK from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Onix, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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How many total BREAK cards are in the XY Evolutions set?
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Machamp -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Machamp from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Machamp is a Stage 2, fighting type Pokemon card, with a HP of 160.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Machamp's Ability is called Counterattack, this Ability says any time Machamp is attacked when in the active Pokemon spot, put 3 damage counters on the attacking Pokemon.  Besides the Ability, Machamp only has one move called Seismic Toss, for three fighting energy cards this move does 120 damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Machamp is a Stage 2 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Machop into play and then evolve it into Machoke before you can evolve Machoke into Machamp, both of those Pokemon are from this set and I've reviewed both of them the last two days.  Machamp does have an evolution in Machamp BREAK, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow.  If you read the reviews of Machop and Machoke from this set, I gave both cards a below average rating, individually and combined.  Machop did have a solid HP and could do up to 40 damage per turn, but it was slow on the attack and its only move was based off of coin flips.  Machoke also had a solid HP and it had two moves, both doing a fair amount of damage originally, but both moves counteracted each other making each worse the longer Machoke was in the active Pokemon spot.  So knowing this about the first two Pokemon in this line and looking at Machamp, it makes most sense to set this line up on the bench, once you get three energy cards on Machamp you can then do at least 120 damage per turn just by using Seismic Toss and utilizing its Ability.  Essentially, if you're building a fighting type deck, this is a line to consider, mainly because of how powerful Machamp is.  Because the first two Pokemon in this line aren't that great, I would only use a 1-1-1 line of this Pokemon family, or use more Machamp in your deck and use a Rare Candy trainer.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average Stage 2 Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Other than requiring 3 energy cards to attack, this card has a very good HP, an amazing Ability, and a powerful move.  So if you have the patience to get this card set up, it is a great attacker for a fighting type deck.  Altogether, I would give the line of Machop, Machoke, and Machamp a 3 out of 5 rating.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Machamp from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Machamp BREAK, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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True or False?  The Base Set Machamp was only available in 1st edition print.
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Machoke -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Machoke from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card set.  Machoke is a Stage 1, fighting type Pokemon card, with a HP of 90.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Machoke does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Karate Chop, for two fighting energy cards this move does 60 damage minus 10 damage for each damage counter on Machoke.  Machoke's second move is called Submission, for three fighting energy cards, this move does 80 damage, however Machoke does 20 damage to itself.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Machoke is a Stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Machop into play (I reviewed Machop from this set yesterday) and then evolve Machop into Machoke.  Machop does have a Stage 2 evolution in Machamp, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, that you'll probably want to use with this Pokemon line but since I haven't reviewed that card yet, the strategy below will act like Machoke is the final evolution in this line.  So if you read my review of Machop, you'll know that I thought it was a below average Basic Pokemon card overall.  The card actually had an above average HP and could do up to 40 damage a turn, but the card was limited in that it only had one move, required two energy cards to use that move, and this move was based off of coin flips, meaning it may end up doing zero damage every turn.  So knowing this about Machop and looking at this Machoke card, I cannot recommend using either in a deck, I could see using Machop if you know that Machoke is a decent card to use, but really, both of Machoke's moves work to make the other move worse.  For one turn, this card may be okay, doing 60 damage for two energy cards with Karate Chop, but as soon as Machoke gets attacked or if you decide to use Submission, Machoke gets more damage put on it, plus Karate Chop does much less damage.  So it seems like with this line that it would be best to use the full line, up to Machamp, and only keep Machop and Machoke in the active Pokemon spot for a turn or two each, never for any long periods of time.

Pokemon Card Rating:  
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an average to slightly below average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Similar to Machop, this card has some good things going for it, it has a solid HP and two powerful moves, at least at first.  However, like I mentioned above, after one turn with Machoke, you'll either be doing less damage when attacking with Karate Chop, or you'll be attacking Machoke when using Submission.  So, since I gave both Machop and Machoke 2 out of 5 ratings from this set, combined they get the same rating from me, 2 out of 5.  Look elsewhere for fighting type Pokemon to use.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Machoke from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Machop's Stage 2 evolution in Machamp, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Machoke evolve into Machamp?
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Machop -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Machop from the XY Evolutions set.  Machop is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with a HP of 70.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Machop does not have an Ability and it only has one move.  The only move that this card has is called Dual Chop, for two fighting energy cards, this move does 20 damage times the number of heads you get when flipping two coins.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Machop is a basic Pokemon card with a Stage 1 evolution in Machoke, and a Stage 2 evolution in Machamp, which I'll be reviewing the next couple of days, you'll more than likely want to use some of those Pokemon with this card, however, since I have not reviewed any of those cards yet, I will just act like Machop does not have any evolution forms and that it will be used on its own.  On its own, it would be most likely to use a card like this as a starter type Pokemon, since it wouldn't evolve into anything else, unfortunately, this card isn't a great starter type Pokemon for two reasons, the first is that it can't attack for only one energy card and the second reason is that its only move, requires coin flips, which means it could end up doing zero damage every turn.  So while I would not recommend using this card on its own, if you're using the full line of this Pokemon family, it is worth attaching a Trick Coin item to Machop and seeing if you can do 40 damage a turn with Dual Chop, at least for one turn, since 70 HP is above average and it should be able to survive one turn before needing to evolve.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is a slightly below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I stated above, on its own, this card should not be used, since it is limited in only having one move, and that one move based on coin flips and requiring two energy cards.  However, when used with Machoke, this card isn't all that bad since it has an above average HP and potential to do 40 damage a turn.  So, to summarize, if you're looking for a Basic Pokemon card to use in a Fighting type deck, I would look elsewhere.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Machop from the XY Evolutions Pokemon card set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Machop's Stage 1 evolution in Machoke, which is also from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Machop evolve into Machoke?
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Dugtrio -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Dugtrio from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Dugtrio is a Stage 1, fighting type Pokemon card, with a HP of 90. It has a x2 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Dugtrio does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that Dugtrio has is called Slash, for two colorless energy cards this move does 40 damage.  Dugtrio's second move is called Earthquake, and for three fighting energy cards, this move does 130 damage, however it does do 20 damage to each of your own benched Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Dugtrio is a Stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Diglett into play (I reviewed Diglett from this set yesterday) and then evolve Diglett into Dugtrio.  If you read yesterday's review of Diglett, you'll know that I thought it was a below average Basic Pokemon card overall.  The main reason it was below average is because of its low HP, of only 40.  Other than that, if you can get two energy cards on it, the one move it does have is solid, it allows you to do 30 damage to one of your opponent's benched Pokemon.  So knowing this about Diglett and looking at this Dugtrio card, I actually think the best approach with this line is to use several Diglett and Dugtrio in a fighting type deck, you could then have several Diglett on your bench and use Earthquake every single turn without doing damage to your benched Pokemon, since Diglett's Ability prevents it from taking damage while on the bench.  Outside of that, this card can attack quickly, especially if you're using 4 Double Colorless energy cards in your deck, it only needs 1 energy card to do 40 damage.  So overall, this is definitely a line to consider when deck building, if you can quickly heal your own Pokemon or if you use multiple Diglett on the bench, Earthquake is a very powerful move that doesn't require that many energy cards to use, or if you want to use Dugtrio early in the game, 40 damage a turn only two turns into the game is good too.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is an above average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  To me, this card really doesn't have any negatives on it, it has a solid HP, two moves, one powerful, the other quicker but still doing above average damage, and it works perfectly with the Diglett from this set.  For this reason, even though I only gave Diglett a 2 out of 5 rating on its own, combined they get a 4 out of 5 rating for me, I like how the two cards work together, and the potential to do 130 damage a turn every turn with Dugtrio.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Dugtrio from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Machop, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Diglett evolve into Dugtrio?
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Diglett -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Diglett from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Diglett is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with a HP of 40.  It has a x2 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Diglett's Ability is called Submerge and says that as long as Diglett is on your bench, all damage from attacks are prevented from it.  Besides the Ability, Diglett just has one move called Dig Through, for two energy cards, one each of fighting and colorless, this move does 30 damage to one of your opponent's benched Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Diglett is a basic Pokemon card with a Stage 1 evolution in Dugtrio, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, you'll more than likely want to use this card with that Pokemon.  However, since I haven't reviewed that card yet, I'll just act as though I plan on using this card without its evolution.  So, on its own, the first thing you'll want to reference is Diglett's low HP, so unless you can attach something to Diglett to make it higher, I would not recommend using this card in the active Pokemon spot, especially since it can't attack for only one energy.  So it would stink as a starter type Pokemon, and quickly get knocked out late in games.  However, if you can get its HP up to 60 or more, and are building a spread attack type deck, Dig Through is a solid move, allowing you to do 30 damage to any of your opponent's benched Pokemon.  So I could see in a spread attack type deck, attaching an item to this card to makes its HP higher, than using Dig Through a couple of turns, putting 30 damage on some weaker Pokemon of your opponent's.  You could then move in a more powerful Pokemon to the active Pokemon spot, one that does 20 or more damage to all benched Pokemon, and you could knock multiple Pokemon out at once.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering Dugtrio, this is a below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I mentioned in depth above, there are certain situations where this card can be useful, but for the most part, any card that has such a low HP isn't a good card for battling.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Diglett from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Diglett's Stage 1 evolution Dugtrio, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
True or False?  The Alolan form of Diglett has blonde hair. 
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Sandshrew -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Sandshrew from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Sandshrew is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with a HP of 60.  It has a x2 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Sandshrew does not have an Ability and it only has one move.  Its only move is called Sand Attack, for one fighting energy card this move does 10 damage, plus, if your opponent's Pokemon tries to attack during their next turn, they must flip a coin, if tails, the attack does nothing.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Sandshrew is a Basic evolution Pokemon with a Stage 1 evolution in Sandslash, it is always a good idea to use the full line together, however, there isn't a Sandslash in this set, since there wasn't one in the Base Set, but it first appeared in the Fossil set.  Because of this, I will be reviewing Sandshrew on its own, but the newest set to feature Sandshrew would be BREAKthrough.  So, on its own, this card could definitely work as a starter type Pokemon in a fighting type deck.  It could work as a starter type Pokemon because it can attack for only one energy card, it has a solid HP, and a low retreat cost.  Plus, when using Sand Attack, it could prevent your opponent from attacking, either giving you more time to set up your benched Pokemon, or a turn not to take major damage from a powerful Pokemon like an EX later in the game.  So while I would rather turn to Sandslash late in games, this card could be used throughout, so if you're building a fighting type deck, I would recommend taking a look at this card.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering Sandslash, this is an average Basic Pokemon card overall from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I mentioned above, not only can this card attack for one energy card, but it can potentially block your opponent from attacking, so this card works perfectly as a starter type Pokemon since it can quickly attack and it can give your own bench time to be set up.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Koffing from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Mewtwo, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
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At what level does Sandshrew evolve into Sandslash? 
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Mew -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Mew from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Mew is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 40.  Mew has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Mew has an Ability called Neutral Shield that says all effects of attacks, including damage, are prevented from this Pokemon if being attacked by Evolution Pokemon.  Besides the Ability, Mew just has one move called Psy Bolt, for two energy cards, one each of colorless and psychic, this move does 30 damage, plus, if you get a heads when flipping a coin, this move paralyzes the defending Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Mew is a basic Pokemon card with no evolution forms, you'll only have to use this card in a deck if you want to use Mew.  So knowing this, usually with Basic Pokemon like Mew, you'll want to try and use this card as a starter type Pokemon for your deck, however, even though it has an extremely low HP, the strategy with this card would be to get two energy cards on it and keep it on the bench, moving it into the active Pokemon spot only when facing Stage 1 or Stage 2 cards, thus, preventing your opponent from attacking.  The only real downfall with this card is its extremely low HP, all your opponent has to do is switch out their active Pokemon for a Basic evolution and they can start attacking Mew right away, and with only 40 HP, it is really easy to get knocked out in one turn.  So while I really like Mew's Ability, unless you like to play with fire, and aren't too worried about getting knocked out by playing a card with only 40 HP, I would definitely not use more than 1 of these cards in a deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion this is an average Basic Pokemon card overall from the XY Evolutions set.  Despite the extremely low HP and the fact that Mew can't attack for only one energy card, this card still gets an average rating from me because of its Ability, plus if you set this card up on the bench, it may prevent your opponent from using many of their evolution cards at all.  So if you're looking for some strategy with a card, I would recommend taking a look at this Mew card for your deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Mew from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Sandshrew, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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True or False?  Mew is the only card from the Evolutions set, excluding ultra rares and secret rares, not to originally have been in Base Set.
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Mewtwo -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Mewtwo from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Mewtwo is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 130.  Mewtwo has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  This Mewtwo card does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Psychic, for two colorless energy cards, this move does 20 damage plus 20 more damage for each Energy attached to the defending Pokemon.  Mewtwo's second move is called Barrier, for two psychic energy cards, this move prevents all effects of attacks, including damage, done to Mewtwo during your opponent's next turn, this move can't be used twice in a row.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Mewtwo is a basic Pokemon card with no evolution forms, you'll only have to use this card in a deck if you want to use Mewtwo.  So knowing this, this card would work as a very powerful Basic Pokemon card if you're using 4 Double Colorless energy cards in your deck, if you draw both Mewtwo and the Special energy card when you start the game, you can do 20 or more damage the first turn of the game and do even more damage every time your opponent attaches an energy card to their active Pokemon.  So if you're building a psychic type deck, I could see using up to 4 of these in a deck, I just think they are that good.  Plus, if you use them as a starter type Pokemon, you could use Barrier every other turn to help set up your bench.  Of course this card would be good later in the game as well, since later in games, Pokemon that require more energy are ready for attacking, Psychic will do even more damage.  So again, I highly recommend this card for psychic type decks, and was a huge fan of it when I reviewed the Mewtwo theme deck from this set.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion this is an above average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  I really don't think this card has any weaknesses, it has a solid HP, and two great moves, one offensive and one defensive, it can be used as a starter type Pokemon as well as late in games.  So again, if you're building a psychic type deck, I strongly recommend giving this card a look!

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Mewtwo from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Mew, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
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What is the name of the theme deck that features this Mewtwo card?
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Koffing -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Koffing from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Koffing is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 60.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Koffing does not have an Ability and its only move is called Foul Gas.  This move, requires two psychic energy cards to use and does 10 damage, plus the move poisons the defending Pokemon if you get a heads when flipping a coin, or confuses it, if you get a tails.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Koffing is a Basic evolution Pokemon with a Stage 1 evolution in Weezing, it is always a good idea to use the full line together, however, there isn't a Weezing in this set, since there wasn't one in the Base Set, but it first appeared in the Fossil set.  Because of this, I will be reviewing Koffing on its own, but the newest set to feature Weezing would be Fates Collide.  So, on its own, I would not recommend using Koffing in any deck, regardless if it is a psychic type deck or not.  Because this card can only do a maximum of 10 damage per turn and it can't attack for one energy card, this card is slow overall, and weak as an attacker.  If you're looking for a similar card to this one to use in your deck, yesterday's card, Drowzee, can attack for only one energy card, plus you can use Confuse Ray on that card, which is nearly identical to Koffing's Foul Gas move.  So, the only way I could see using Koffing in a deck is if you are using it with Weezing, even then, your best bet would be to set up the line on the bench.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 1 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering Weezing, this is a well below average Basic Pokemon card overall, and one I would not recommend using in a deck, especially on its own.  Although this card does have a solid HP, and an okay move, it is too slow and too weak to be any good in the TCG, and you should definitely look elsewhere for a Basic psychic type Pokemon to use in your deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Koffing from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Mewtwo, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Koffing evolve into Weezing? 
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Drowzee -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Drowzee from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Drowzee is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 60.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Drowzee does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Pound, for one colorless energy card this move does 10 damage.  Drowzee's second move is called Confuse Ray, and for two psychic energy cards, this move does 10 damage, plus it confuses the defending Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Drowzee is a Basic evolution Pokemon with a Stage 1 evolution in Hypno, it is always a good idea to use the full line together, however, there isn't a Hypno in this set, since there wasn't one in the Base Set, but it first appeared in the Fossil set.  Because of this, I will be reviewing Drowzee on its own, but the newest sets to feature Hypno cards would be BREAKpoint and Sun & Moon.  So, on its own, Drowzee could work as a starter type Pokemon in a psychic type deck, it has a solid HP, low retreat cost, and two moves.  You could potentially start the game with Drowzee in the active Pokemon spot, use Pound the first turn, and Confuse Ray after that, hopefully confusing the defending Pokemon, making them do damage to them-self, and giving you more time to set up your benched Pokemon.  This card could also work later in the game, if it survives an attack, and could prevent defending Pokemon from attacking with Confuse Ray.  So, I could definitely see using this card in a psychic type deck, but because it can't do more than 10 damage a turn, I wouldn't use 4 of these in a deck, maybe 1 or 2.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering Hypno, this is an average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Outside of doing a maximum of 10 damage per turn, there really aren't any negatives with this card, it has a solid HP, low retreat cost, and two moves, one that attacks quickly, and the other that does damage and inflicts a special condition.  So if you're building a psychic type deck, this is definitely a card to consider.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Drowzee from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Koffing, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Drowzee evolve into Hypno? 
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Haunter -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Haunter from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card set.  Haunter is a Stage 1, psychic type Pokemon card, with a HP of 70.  It has a x2 weakness to darkness type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Haunter does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Hypnosis, for one psychic energy card this puts the defending Pokemon to sleep.  Haunter's second move is called Dream Eater, for two energy cards, one each of psychic and colorless, this move does 80 damage, however, this move does nothing if the defending Pokemon isn't asleep.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Haunter is a Stage 1 evolution form Pokemon, you'll first have to get Gastly into play, before you can evolve it into Haunter.  Gastly does have a Stage 2 evolution form in Gengar, which isn't in the Evolutions set, but is most recently in BREAKthrough and Generations, that you could use with this line.  If you read my Gastly review from this set, you'll know that I thought it was a very poor Basic Pokemon overall, mainly because of its low HP, only 40, but also because even though it had two moves, the only one that could do any damage when attacking required two energy cards.  Essentially, you'll never want to use Gastly in the active Pokemon spot, instead you'll want to set this line up on the bench.  So knowing this about Gastly from this set and that Gengar isn't in this set, looking at this Haunter card, it follows in the same footsteps as Gastly in that it has too low of an HP, to be competitive in today's game, and even if you do get it set up, you first have to use Hypnosis, and then you have only a 50% chance of the defending Pokemon being asleep still when you can use Dream Eater the next turn and do 80 damage, and with only a 1 in 2 chance of being able to ever attack with this card, I'll have to pass on this card, and pass on the this Pokemon family completely, at least the ones from the Evolutions set.

Pokemon Card Rating:  
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is a well below average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Very similarly to how I rated Gastly from this set, this card only gets a 2 rating from me because it has two moves, otherwise, it has such a low HP, and such a low chance of doing damage when attacking it really isn't worth using.  Together with the also poor Gastly, I would give this line of Pokemon a 1 out of 5 rating, either look elsewhere, or never let these two Pokemon reach the active Pokemon spot.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Haunter from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Drowzee, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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In Pokemon GO, how many Gastly candy does it take to evolve Haunter into Gengar?
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Gastly -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Gastly from the XY Evolutions set.  Gastly is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 40.  It has a x2 weakness to darkness type Pokemon, a-20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Gastly does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Little Grudge, for one psychic energy card this move makes it so that if the defending Pokemon knocks Gastly out during its next turn, an energy card is discarded from that attacking Pokemon.  Gastly's second move is called Nightmare, for two energy cards, one each of psychic and colorless, this move does 20 damage, plus if you get a heads when flipping a coin, the defending Pokemon is asleep.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Gastly is a Basic evolution with a Stage 1 evolution in Haunter and a Stage 2 evolution in Gengar, you'll more than likely want to use Gastly with those two Pokemon, I will be reviewing Haunter from this set tomorrow, and since Gengar was not in the original Base Set, but in Fossil, there is not a Gengar in this set, the newest sets to include Gengar would be BREAKthrough and Generations.  Since I have not reviewed Haunter from this set yet, I will try and look at Gastly on its own, and consider if it is feasible to use this card in a deck.  So, on its own, just by looking at Gastly's HP, you will know that this isn't a card that should be used on its own, or at all in the active Pokemon spot.  Looking at the two moves that Gastly has confirms this thought, since it requires two energy cards to even attack, so you would definitely not want to use a Pokemon that is slow on the attack and has a low HP in the active Pokemon spot, not at the beginning of the game as a starter type Pokemon, and definitely not later in the game when it will easily get knocked out in one turn.  Little Grudge does help, but if you can't use it before getting attacked, it won't do anything at all.  So the best bet with this card is to play it with Haunter and Gengar and keep it on the bench, evolving it there.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is a well below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set, a card that only gets a 2 out of 5 rating from me because it has two moves, otherwise this card is a no-brainer 1 out of 5 rating card.  This card just has too low of an HP to be competitive in today's game, and the moves on this card do nothing to help its low HP.  So look elsewhere for psychic, starter type Pokemon for your deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Gastly from the XY Evolutions Pokemon card set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Gastly's Stage 1 evolution in Haunter, which is also from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
In Pokemon GO, how many Gastly candy does it take to evolve Gastly into Haunter?
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Nidoking BREAK -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Nidoking BREAK from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  The way a BREAK card works is that you place it on top of the Pokemon with the exact name, so this card would be placed on top of Nidoking, making this BREAK card a Stage 3 evolution.  It is placed horizontally on the card it evolves from and can use that Pokemon's Abilities and Attacks as well as what is on the BREAK card.  Nidoking BREAK is a BREAK, Stage 3, psychic type Pokemon card, with a HP of 180.  It has the same weakness, resistance and retreat cost as the Nidoking you're evolving it from.  Nidoking BREAK does not have an Ability and it only has one moved called Toxic Drill, for three energy cards, two psychic and one colorless, this move does 120 damage, plus it poisons the defending Pokemon and makes them put 2 damage counters on that Pokemon instead of 1 between turns.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Nidoking BREAK is a Stage 3 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Nidoran into play, evolve it into Nidorino, and then into Nidoking.  All three of those Pokemon are in the XY Evolutions set and I've reviewed all three the past few days.  If you read the reviews of those cards you'll know that I thought both Nidoran and Nidorino were below average overall, both cards were somewhat solid outside of their moves, but since both cards relied on coin flip based moves to do a majority of their damage, I did not recommend using them individually or together.  With that being said, I am a huge fan of Nidoking from this set, although it is slow to get into play, it can attack fairly quickly and has two moves, one doing solid damage for only two energy cards and the other doing major damage to the defending Pokemon plus any Basic Pokemon your opponent has on their bench, so since Nidoking was so good from this set, I gave the entire line a 3 out of 5 rating and recommended using the line in a psychic type deck or a spread attack type deck.  With how good Nidoking from this set is, if you're already building a deck around Nidoking, definitely include this BREAK card, the only downside is that it will be even slower to set up, definitely use Rare Candy if you can, but once you have this card in play, it has a high HP, and two very powerful moves, you can use Nidoking's Tail Swing attack and do 100 damage plus spread attack for three energy cards, or for three energy cards do 120 damage to the defending Pokemon and poison it with Nidoking BREAK's Toxic Drill.  So really, the only debate with this line is if you want to spend most of your battle setting up this line, or if you'd rather include something in your deck that is much quicker to get set up and use.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average BREAK Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  This card works very well with the Nidoking from Evolutions, giving it two powerful, fairy quick attacking moves.  So again, if you're looking for more HP and more power attacking from Nidoking, definitely include this BREAK card in your deck.  Combined with all of the other Nidoran evolution forms in this set, I would give the entire family a 4 out of 5 rating, the Stage 2 and BREAK cards bring up this line and should cause those deck building to always consider using this line.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Nidoking BREAK from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Gastly, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
How many total BREAK cards are in the Evolutions set?
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Nidoking -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Nidoking from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Nidoking is a Stage 2, psychic type Pokemon card, with a HP of 150.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  Nidoking does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Rumble, for two energy cards, one each of psychic and colorless, this move does 40 damage, plus it makes the defending Pokemon unable to retreat during your opponent's next turn.  Nidoking's second move is called Tail Swing and for three energy cards, two psychic and one colorless, this move does 100 damage, plus it does 20 damage to each of your opponent's benched Basic Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Nidoking is a Stage 2 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Nidoran into play and then evolve it into Nidorino before you can evolve Nidorino into Nidoking, both of those Pokemon are from this set and I've reviewed both of them the last two days.  Nidoking does have an Evolution in Nidoking BREAK, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow.  If you read the reviews of Nidoran and Nidorino from this set, I gave both cards below average ratings individually and combined.  Both cards were fairly solid overall, but were potentially weak on the attack, since both Pokemon had coin flip based moves, where you could do up to 20 and 90 damage respectively, or have some bad luck and do no damage at all when attacking.  So for pretty much that reason alone, both cards were below average in my eyes.  So knowing this about Nidoran and Nidorino and looking at this Nidoking card, it makes a lot of sense to set up this entire line on the bench, using only a 1-1-1 line of this Pokemon family.  You can get three energy cards on Nidoking and then use Tail Swing every single turn.  This card becomes even more powerful if you are using it in a spread attack type deck, since the benched Pokemon of your opponent's will probably have damage on them when Nidoking is in the active Pokemon spot, and if they are Basic Pokemon, they will probably have lower HP already, meaning, Tail Swing could knock out multiple Pokemon at once.  Even if you start with Nidoran in the active Pokemon spot and evolve your way up while attacking, Nidoking can do average damage for two energy cards.  So, if you're building a psychic type deck or one that spread damage around, I would definitely consider including this line in your deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average Stage 2 Pokemon card, this card would be absolutely dominate if it did 20 damage to all of your opponent's benched Pokemon with Tail Swing, but doing 100 damage to the active Pokemon and attacking benched Basic Pokemon is powerful enough, and it makes me want to include this entire line in a deck.  Altogether, Nidoran, Nidorino, and Nidoking from this set get a 3 out of 5 rating from me, as a whole they are solid.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Nidoking from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Nidoking BREAK, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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At what level does Nidorino evolve into Nidoking?
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Nidorino -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Nidorino from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card set.  Nidorino is a Stage 1, psychic type Pokemon card, with a HP of 90.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Nidorino does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Horn Attack, for one psychic energy card this move does 20 damage.  Nidorino's second move is called Fury Attack and for three colorless energy cards this move does 30 damage times the number of heads you get when flipping three coins.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Nidorino is a Stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Nidoran into play (I reviewed Nidoran from this set yesterday) and then evolve Nidoran into Nidorino.  Nidoran does have a Stage 2 evolution in Nidoking, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, that you'll probably want to use with this Pokemon line but since I haven't reviewed that card yet, the strategy below will act like Nidorino is the final evolution in this line.  So if you read my review of Nidoran, you'll know that I thought it was a below average Basic Pokemon card overall.  It did have a solid HP, low retreat cost, and a quick move, but it was limited in that it only had the one move, and that only move was coin flip based, meaning it could do up to 20 damage per turn or do 0 damage per turn.  So knowing this about Nidoran and looking at this Nidorino card, this card is similar to Nidoran in that it can attack quickly, but this card can actually do damage every turn with Horn Attack, albeit, 20 damage is not much for a Stage 1 card.  The move you'll want to use with Nidorino is Fury Attack, just like Nidoran, you'll want to attach a Trick Coin item card to Nidorino so that you have two chances at flipping the 3 coins when using Fury Attack, giving you the best chance at getting 3 heads and doing 90 damage a turn, plus this move only requires colorless energy cards, meaning you could use a Double Colorless energy card plus 1 more Basic energy card and do up to 90 damage for only two energy cards.  With all of this being said, Nidorino goes the same route as Nidoran, although it is solid overall, because it can't do much damage with its first move and its second move is coin flip based, I would pass on using this line, especially with using Nidoking in your deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:  
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an average to slightly below average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  This card is pretty solid overall, having an average HP, lower retreat cost, and two solid moves, one quick, and one that can do major damage.  But since the main way to do damage with Nidorino is coin flip based, just like Nidoran from this set, I would not recommend using this line in a deck, and together would give the two cards a 2 out of 5 rating.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Nidorino from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Nidoran's Stage 2 evolution in Nidoking, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
At what level does Nidoran evolve into Nidorino?
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Nidoran -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Nidoran from the XY Evolutions set.  Nidoran is a basic, psychic type Pokemon card with a HP of 60.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Nidoran does not have an Ability and it only has one move.  The only move that this card has is called Double Stab, for one psychic energy card this move does 10 damage times the number of heads you get when you flip 2 coins.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Nidoran male is a basic Pokemon card with a Stage 1 evolution in Nidorino, and a Stage 2 evolution in Nidoking, which I'll be reviewing the next couple of days, you'll more than likely want to use some of those Pokemon with this card, however, since I have not reviewed any of those cards yet, I will just act like Nidoran does not have any evolution forms and that it will be used on its own.  On its own, this card could be used as a starter type Pokemon since it only requires one psychic energy card to attack, but unless you want to include 4 Trick Coin item cards from the Phantom Forces set in your deck to give you two shots at flipping the coins when using this move, you'll not want to use this card without using at least Nidorino.  So on its own, unless you are okay with coin flip based moves, this card should not be used in a deck, it is solid all around, but just is risky on the attack.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is a slightly below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I stated above, this card is average overall, having a solid HP, low retreat cost, and a quick move, but because the only move that this card has is based on a coin flip, you could end up using this card in the attack Pokemon and doing no damage at all.  So if you're building a psychic type deck, I would recommend looking elsewhere for a starter type Pokemon to use.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Nidoran from the XY Evolutions Pokemon card set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Nidoran's Stage 1 evolution in Nidorino, which is also from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
What was the original amount of HP on the Nidoran card from Base Set?
Please respond with the correct answer and a link to your YouTube channel. 24 hours from now I will be randomly selecting a correct response to my question and sending a private message to this person with a free code on YouTube.

Zapdos -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Zapdos from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Zapdos is a basic, lightning type Pokemon card with a HP of 110.  Zapdos does not have a weakness, but it has a -20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Zapdos does not have an Ability, but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Thunder, for four energy cards, two lightning and two colorless, this move does 90 damage, however this move also does 30 damage to Zapdos.  Zapdos' second move is called Thunderbolt and for four lightning energy cards this move does 170 damage, however all energy attached to this Pokemon must be discarded after performing this move.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Zapdos is a basic Pokemon card with no evolution forms, you'll only have to use this card in a deck if you want to use Zapdos.  So knowing this, Zapdos does have a very high HP for a Basic Pokemon, especially as far as Evolutions Pokemon goes, but that HP still isn't high enough to last long in the active Pokemon spot when the quickest move Zapdos has requires four energy cards, and even then, that move does additional damage to Zapdos.  So I would recommend not using this card in a deck, the only way I could see this card being used is if you want to set it up completely on the bench, and then use Thunderbolt once, knocking out the defending Pokemon and then retreating Zapdos the next turn.  You could also try and keep Zapdos on the bench if you're using Electrode from Evolutions in your deck and then use Electrode's Ability, knocking it out and using it as two lightning type energy cards on a Pokemon, you could then do 90 damage with Thunder for only two energy cards, the Electrode and a Double Colorless special energy card.  In the long run however, like I mentioned earlier in this section, this card is just way too slow on the attack and unless you can quickly get energy cards on this card, there is no need to use this card in a deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion this is a below average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Even though this card has a solid HP, and no weakness, it is still a poor Pokemon card overall, with two very slow moves, that both make attacking two turns in a row extremely tough.  So unless you can quickly get four energy cards on Zapdos, stay clear of this card and definitely don't use it in your deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Zapdos from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Nidoran male, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
What is the main color on the shiny version of Zapdos?
Please respond with the correct answer and a link to your YouTube channel. 24 hours from now I will be randomly selecting a correct response to my question and sending a private message to this person with a free code on YouTube.

Electabuzz -- Evolutions Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Electabuzz from the XY Evolutions Pokemon Card Set.  Electabuzz is a basic, lightning type Pokemon card with a HP of 70.  It has a x2 weakness to fighting type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to metal type Pokemon, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  Electabuzz does not have an Ability, but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Thunder Shock, for one lightning energy card this move does 10 damage, plus it paralyzes the defending Pokemon if you get a heads when flipping a coin.  Electabuzz's second move is called Thunder Punch and for two energy cards, one each of colorless and lightning, this move does 30 damage, however you must flip a coin when using this move, if you get a heads this move does 10 damage more, if you get a tails, Electabuzz does 10 damage to itself.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Electabuzz is a basic Pokemon card with a Stage 1 evolution in Electivire, you'll more than likely want to use this card with its evolution form, but because Evolutions is a Base Set reprint set, it does not include a Electivire card, the most recent to include Electivire is BREAKpoint.  So, on its own, only looking at this Electabuzz card, if you're building a lightning type deck and are looking for a starter type Pokemon, I would give this Electabuzz card a look.  It can do more than just 10 damage for one energy card, it can also paralyze the defending Pokemon, thus giving you more time to set up your benched Pokemon.  Add a Trick Coin trainer to Electabuzz and it will benefit both moves, so you could either continue doing 10 damage a turn and paralyze the defending Pokemon with a heads flip with Thunder Shock, all while setting up your benched Pokemon, or you could try and knock out the defending Pokemon by doing 40 damage a turn with Thunder Punch.  No matter the move you use on Electabuzz, you're going to need some luck, but I would still consider using this card as a starter type Pokemon in a deck, since it has a fairly high HP, and two solid moves, just watch out for that retreat cost, it is two colorless energy cards instead of one.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  So in my opinion, on its own, without considering any Electivire cards, this is an average to slightly above average Basic Pokemon card from the XY Evolutions set.  Like I mentioned above, if building a lightning type deck, this card is worth consideration as a starter type Pokemon, I like that this card has a higher HP, and two solid moves, it is just a little risky with two coin flip based moves, but overall it is a solid card.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Electabuzz from the XY Evolutions set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Zapdos, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
Electabuzz is no longer a Basic Pokemon that doesn't evolve, in what generation of Pokemon was Electivire introduced?
Please respond with the correct answer and a link to your YouTube channel. 24 hours from now I will be randomly selecting a correct response to my question and sending a private message to this person with a free code on YouTube.