Chris is the resident Pokemon expert on the podcast, so it's only fitting that he show his (our, lol) favorite cards. Not our best cards or most valuable cards, but our favorite.
Check out our Pokemon card episode.
1. Togepi (Southern Islands)
Togepi is cute as hell, let's just be open about that. As one of the few Pokémon in the franchise to appear in the generation 1 animated series before the card was released or the Pokémon became available in gameplay, Togepi holds a unique place in early Pokémon lore.
The reverse holographic on this card makes it stand out, and the Southern Islands art style adds a fun, friendly feel to the card.
2. Gardevoir ex (Sandstorm)
This card won me a lot of matches when I played at the EX Sandstorm prerelease tournament in Salt Lake City. The gripping holographic edges and ephemeral art style add a mysterious sense of power to the card.
The Psystorm attack is utterly devastating, especially in later stages of gameplay when players have more Pokémon in play and more energy attached to those Pokémon. Along with Mewtwo ex (#9 on this list), Gardevoir ex makes a formidable psychic one-two punch.
3. Blastoise (Base Set)
The real OG. Blastoise was a cold-blooded killer in the card game, and he is one tough-looking customer. He's essentially a ninja turtle but with guns.
Oddly, although Blastoise has a weakness to grass-type Pokémon in the Gameboy games, this card has weakness to electric-type Pokémon.
It makes sense in the games: a player who chooses a starter will always have a rival with a type advantage as the game goes on to make things a little tougher.
But in the cards, when it comes to the big three, Venusaur is weak against fire and Charizard is weak against water, but Blastoise is the only one without a disadvantage against the other two. It's the ultimate gen. 1 flex.
4. Hitmontop (Neo Discovery)
I really like the kind of paper cutout-ish art style on this card.
It makes for a very smooth holographic background and some fun, exciting movement in the picture.
This card is in sort of a trio with two generation-1 Pokémon, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, as all three of them evolve from the baby Pokémon Tyrogue.
This direct connection back to the original Pokémon brought home to me that the expansion into a second generation of Pokémon wasn't a cheap gimmick, but a continuation of an already great story, like a sequel.
That sense of as-yet-undiscovered lore out there in the ether combined with already established stories and Pokémon gave young Chris a real sense of wonder about a world I would learn was far bigger than I had previously known.
5. Ho-oh (Neo Revelation)
I am a big rainbow guy, so it's natural I would gravitate toward a legendary rainbow Pokémon. Ho-oh is the first Pokémon to have a hyphen in its name, which is a neat little detail.
The art here is outstanding, giving a real in-your-face rush to the player. The power of Sacred Fire makes Ho-oh formidable on any team, and it certainly changes the game when put in play.
Additionally, Ho-oh is visible as an unnamed, massive flying Pokémon at the end of the first-ever episode of the Pokémon animated series, which debuted way earlier than the release of generation 2, including Ho-oh.
The creators therefore must have had the discovery of the second generation in mind from the beginning, which led to an engaging sense of world-building from the very outset.
6. Shining Tyranitar (Neo Destiny)
This card is straight up baller. Tyranitar changed the game with its insanely powerful move set and high hit points, and it really brought the concept of strong dark-type Pokémon to bear on the world.
It led the way for generation 2 in making an impact on the world of Pokémon from the very beginning.
The concept of shining Pokémon is a fun little wrinkle in the universe and seeing that on cards with a holographic Pokémon rather than a holographic background is a very cool, artistic twist on the usual formula. Shining Pokémon are ultra-rare, as you can see from the trio of stars in the lower right-hand corner of the card. This bad boy is an all-time favorite.
7. Shining Gyarados (Neo Revelation)
Okay, just when I said the shining concept of reversing the holographic was so cool, along comes the pater familius of shining Pokémon.
This card looks unbelievably cool with the storm raging and the helpless oarsman in awe of the giant, red-eyed sea monster thrashing in the waves.
The holographic print on this card has a couple of little swirls, which adds some uniqueness to the print.
The energy requirements of the card make gameplay a little tricky, but a deck featuring combined types can be a lot of fun when the lake monster comes to the field. This card's connection to storyline of the second-generation Gameboy games adds to the fun of being part of an interconnected universe, which raises
the stakes a little each time the card is played.
8. Erika's Dragonair (Gym Heroes)
This card is so sweet visually. Dragonair is showing off all its wyrm-y power in the cool draconian pose, and the bright near-pastel palate of the holographic background makes a strong impact and puts the marine blue of Dragonair's color in stark relief.
In the handheld games and animated series, Erika is by far the chillest trainer. She seems to be above the silliness of the Pokémon league, but she is still an absolute heavyweight on the battlefield.
Erika's Dragonair doesn't make an appearance outside the card game, but that is another dimension of added lore that leaves it to the player to fill in the gaps, which makes it all the more fun to play the card.
9. Mewtwo ex (EX Ruby; Sapphire)
The other half of a deadly combo for me during my playing days.
Psychic cards rule because their most common weakness is (or used to be, at least) other psychic cards.
That meant if a player wanted to have a type advantage, they would have to have a psychic deck to match and would run the risk of being on the ropes with fighting or grass types.
The ex style of cards really works for me with the expanded holographic area and more active card layout. Mewtwo is obviously a giant in popular Pokémon imagination and getting to use the card in gameplay makes the game that much more intense as a result. Mewtwo ex is like my tournament AmEx: I don't leave home without it.
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