Pokémon TCG Neo Southern Islands illustrations by Keiko Fukuyama 😍

illus. Keiko Fukuyama "Togepi" from Southern Islands

The gang has safely docked 🏝

This isn't really a spoiler because you learn nothing 😋

Pokemon Card of the Day #3005: Vileplume (Southern Islands)

First off, I do know you can't actually read anything on this card from the picture here. This is just what happens with this style of Holo card, I'll be extra careful to type what the card says to make up for it.

Vileplume was one of the few cards in Southern Islands that was interesting from a playing perspective. The only other one to do that on its own was Jigglypuff, which forced switches, while Onix and Ivysaur evolved into good things from other sets. This Vileplume provided somewhat weak damage that always came with some sort of Special Condition, and it was that Special Condition that made Vileplume kind of interesting. Maybe not to run a full line of to build a deck around, but as a way to really annoy something while using some tricks to get it into play. The Rocket-On format did have these tricks, so this card was at least worth a look.

Vileplume had 70 HP, which was low for a Stage 2, though it could still take a single hit against a decent number of opponents. The Fire Weakness made life rather easy for Blaine's Arcanine, Typhlosion, and Magcargo, giving up a Prize with little downside for the Fire-types. The Retreat Cost here was 2, and the way you'd build a deck with this Vileplume often struggled to fit many switching cards. Sometimes you'd just have to put up with it.

Paradise Pollen required a single Grass Energy. You got to flip a coin and, if heads, you removed 2 damage counters from Vileplume as well as 2 damage counters from 1 of your Benched Pokemon. This wasn't a lot of healing in the first place, and considering you needed a flip for it to work at all you'd just want to avoid this attack.

Horrid Pollen required 2 Grass and a Colorless Energy to use. The attack dealt a relatively poor 30 damage. There was another coin flip here, and if heads the Defending Pokemon was Paralyzed while Tails meant it was Confused instead. Either outcome was pretty good, since Confused back then meant paying for retreat cost then flipping to see if retreating worked. Against something like Feraligatr, this could take off half its HP and set a nasty Special Condition, which was pretty cool.

Vileplume, admittedly, wasn't great, as Crobat was better about 70% of the time. The consistency in getting the 2-hit KO was just enough along with the Special Conditions to make this worth a look, especially if you were using Brock's Ninetales to work with a variety of Evolved Pokemon. Crobat had the chance to get the clean KO sometimes and got Confusion and slightly higher damage on average, so you'd usually just go with that in other cases. You might even be using both in a Brock's Ninetales deck. It was still something, and Vileplume was one of the better cards in a subset that was almost all about collecting.

IMG_2827 - 2003

Is prince Hans danish?? Scandinavian???

Southern Islands Rainbow Island holo mew complete 3 card set with all its original packaging from Japan! So happy I snagged this it’s a beauty🥰✨🌈

illus. Keiko Fukuyama "Raticate" from Southern Islands

Pokemon Card of the Day #2999: Jigglypuff (Southern Islands)

Jigglypuff was not something you'd expect to get much out of, seeing that it did no damage and didn't even help set up. What it did do, however, is force switches at a time where Trainer lock, from either Slowking or Dark Vileplume depending on the ruleset, was quite common. With the existence of a card that could sometimes just win a game if the opponent was locked into the wrong Pokemon, this was a notable role, even if there was some competition for it.

The stats were pretty unimpressive, but you'd expect that on a Jigglypuff. 50 HP meant that even moderate hits were a problem, with the note that Jigglypuff could be the type of Pokemon that just got in and did its job quickly. It was not the easiest target due to this and the tendency to be paired with cards that locked Trainers. The Fighting Weakness meant that there was always the threat of a Tyrogue KO if the opponent could get back to it, while a Psychic Resistance was nice to see for Dark Gengar, Espeon and the like. The Retreat Cost was fine at just 1, letting you switch out to the Murkrow you were almost certainly using with this.

Tempting Eyes needed a Colorless Energy, and while it did no damage, it was very notable. It let you choose 1 of the opponent's Benched Pokemon and switch it with the Defending Pokemon. It was basically Gust of Wind in attack form, and if you could get something that wasn't able to do much back up front and had Trainer denial (mostly Slowking back in the pre-errata days), you could set up for a Mean Look from Murkrow on the next turn. You could also try this with Dark Vileplume in the modern take on Rocket-On, and if it all went together it was devastating. It was, however, a long combo if you needed to also use Smeargle to change the type of something, so that gave time for the opponent to find a way out.

Sing also needed just a Colorless Energy but was awful. It was simply a coin flip that, if heads, put the Defending Pokemon to Sleep. This was not worth your time.

Jigglypuff got a bit of play back in the Slowking era, as it could force a switch to what you wanted without an opponent's Slowking forcing you to flip coins like you'd have to with Double Gust. It even kept some value in the more recent post-errata version of the format with Dark Vileplume. That being said, if going for the full lock thing, Erika's Victreebel was strong competition, as while that took a lot more deck space, you got to have it sit on the Bench and keep flipping for chances, giving you an opportunity to get everything in place in 1 less turn and the ability to try more than once at it. Jigglypuff, however, needed just one spot in the deck and was guaranteed to do its role, but had to attack and wasn't the most sturdy thing in the world. Erika's Victreebel is generally preferred today, but Jigglypuff had plenty of advocates in the past and certainly is worth considering if you really want the forced switching aspect without worrying about locks or coin flips.