PsyBurn [Psychic/Fire]
by Ali Sattar
Toys "R" Us
Miami,Flo.
3/4/01
About 20 other Competitors

This's my first post,and I really hope I didn't screw anything
up...Anyway,this's about my new deck,Psyburn. As the name states,it's a
Psy/Fire deck; something I've always dreamt of!

Last Saturday,I went to my local Toys "R" Us,and,for the first time,joined a
tournament. The catch was that you have to give up some cards. For
example,sometimes it's 1 Rare,or 3 Uncommon,etc.

Knowing I'm not the best player in the world,I did some practice-runs before
I actually entered the tourney. Needless to say,PsyBurn [co-built by my
friend and yours truly] won all 3 2-prize battles. Here's a card-list:

Pokemon:
1 Charizard
1 Ninetales
2 Charmeleon
2 Magmar
3 Charmander
1 Vulpix
3 Abra
1 Mr. Mime
1 Dark Alakazam
2 Dark Kadabra
3 MP1 Mewtwo

Trainers:
1 Bill
4 Potion
1 Pokeball
2 Here Comes Team Rocket
1 Rocket's Sneak Attack
1 The Boss's Way

Energy:
15 Fire
15 Psychic

Now,keep in mind that this's only the 2nd deck I've ever custom-built,so
you'll most likely find lots of bugs in it. For example,I got a lot of
remarks [at the tourney] about not having enough Bills,and no Prof. Oaks.
Well,I'm not big on Trainers,that's all.

Of course,the first three warm-up battles were against Hispanic kids,whose
only two words of English were "Hello," and "Pokemon!" [I guess you could
say I'm exaggerating...or not]. They all either had a mono-type deck,or
Pokemon of ALL types!

When I finally felt comfortable enough to sacrifice my holo Mr. Mime,I
entered the tournament. My first battle was against a Psychic deck - bummer.

Round 1- Johnny [Psychic/Dark]
Johnny gave me some trouble,but not much. I knew him from school,and we were
pretty good friends...good enough for him to gimme some off-the-record tips
before the match. When the judge came over and wrote down we were battling,I
immediately pulled out a strong hand-Magmar,Mewtwo & Charmander.

He got a Drowzee and a Dratini [apparently,his deck also had norms]. Took a
while to get Magmar [active PKMN] powered up-two Energy Removals-but when he
did,Drowzee was history,and Dratini seemed doomed. Suddenly,something REALLY
unexpected happened...

HE PULLED DRAGONAIR AND DRAGONITE USING HTE SAME BILL!! Of course,I
immediately sensed a cheat,but,being the good friends we are,I let it pass.
Needless to say,Dragonite whooped me down to my last Basic- Charmander. I
really needed a Charmeleon at that point!

Well,I didn't get my Charmeleon,and he won due to no Basic PKMN on the
bench. I'm pretty sure he wanted to win "fairly," but it was a win
none-the-less! Of course,I immediately traded in my non-holo Raichu for a
continue. I couldn't have hoped for a better 2nd round...

Round 2-Danny [Ice/Grass]
Danny was a breeze,or so I suspected. He was doomed from the first hand,when
he drew a Bellsprout,an Oddish,and a Scyther. Scyther might've been a
challenge,but I was lucky enough to get Charizard,my heavy-hitter,out fast.

Danny knew he was screwed,but then out popped an Oak,and he got a 2nd
chance. With only 3 of 6 prizes to go,he needed something good...fast.
Luckily [for me,anyway],all he got was another Scyther,a Jinx,and a Gloom.

He immediately evolved his Gloom,and I had to retreat Charizard. He took out
my Mewtwo,and all I had left was my Dark Kababra. DaK [my pet-name for Dark
Kadabra...yes,I'm pathetic] pulled through,and got me a victory! Long live
Matter Exchange!!

Round 3- René: Gym Leader [Water/Electric]
THIS one I'll remember for a long time to come! Compared to René's deck,mine
was crap! He had a Raindance and a strong Electric deck in one! His
Blastoise Raindanced/Powered up his Bench,and I was at his mercy.

With only one Magmar left,it was hopeless! He creamed me flat! Of
course,being the nice guy he is,he later gave me some decent tips and advice
on how to build future decks. Luckily,I wrote it all down. Unluckily,I think
I threw away that paper >= [

NeoTrainerX
xbladez911@hotmail.com

PS: Johnny laughed me out of the Pokemon-section,and into the video-games.
You can guess whether I'm still HIS friend or not...