Alright, this is it, I have had it. After reading the various responses to Mr
Monkey's "State of Pokemon" analysis, I can honestly say that I can agree
with both points.

First off, the game is going stale, face it people. The DCI and major
tourneys are seeing the same old, same old decks. Sneasel, Slowking, and Hays
are more popular than practically any deck out there. Now, there ARE good
Rogue decks, however. (For those of you that do not know what Rouge means, it
means "original, or creative") Slowking IS annoying AND obnoxious. You have
to see that by now. And the cards that stop Slowking are Igglybuff and Magby.
But if you can never get either of the cards, then you are in for a rough
match. First Turn Kills, and Second Turn Kills are also still very real.
Crucial Cleffa/Lassings can also determine victory or defeat. Saying that the
game isn't stale, is downright wrong.

Leagueplay, however, is a completely different story. Leaguers go to league
to experiment, and play friends, etc, etc. I go to leagues when I get the
chance, to test out possible Rogue decks to use in Tournament enviroments. I
am experimenting with a Blastoise/Misty's Poliwhirl deck even as I write this
article. Every once and awhile, one needs to put their competitive playing
atmosphere on hold, and take a break. I was on edge, and going CRAZY trying
to make a good deck. Just take a break, if you belong to a league, go to one,
play a new deck, have FUN. Don't stress out over Pokemon, its a GAME. (A
lesson I learned painfully)

It depends all on the atmosphere you are exposed to. If you are ALWAYS
playing competitively, you will see all that is wrong with the card game. The
broken cards, the luck factor, FTK, and Lassings. The leaguers are exposed to
Stage 2's and Moo Moo Milks. The creativity and enjoyment flows through these
areas. (Or at least should). What is the point of this article? Well my
message is, build some different decks, experiment with friends, cut loose
every now and then. Don't let competition get you all confused and screwed
up. And for those DCI tourneys with the bad enviroments, well counter them,
and just grin and bear it sometimes.

James "Gymbo" Ferrell

Any questions, deck help, or just wanna chat?
E-mail me: XGymbo01X@cs.com
AIM: XGymbo01X