Hey Pojonians! TK's back! This time, I've got a strategy for Kakuna, from the new Neo:Discovery expansion. Here's the stats for those who don't have it. Kakuna 70 HP, Grass Pokemon Stage 1: Evolves From Weedle GG: Secrete Poison: During your opponent's next turn, whenever your opponent's attacks damages Kakuna (even if Kakuna is knocked out), your opponent's Active Pokemon is now Poisoned and Kakuna does 10 damage to each of your opponent's Benched Pokemon (don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon). Weakness: Fire Resistance: none Retreat Cost: 2 As we all know, from a previous article I wrote, Kakuna evolves into quite possibly the best plant Pokemon of our time, Beedrill. But what if you can't get to the big guy? You need to do some stalling, and that's what Kakuna does best. "Why is that, Tangela Kid?" Because, using Secrete Poison puts the ball in your opponent's court. Do they attack you, whether or not they knock out Kakuna doesn't matter, and take Poison and 10 to the Bench? Or will they wait a turn, hoping the situation will improve? The consequence for attacking this card makes your opponent stop and think about just how badly they want to hit you. Auto-Poison and 10 to the Bench isn't something you just shrug off as you level everything in your way towards victory. The only way around it is to: A)Pass your turn and wait for something better to happen B)Gust the Kakuna for something else, which is good, because now you can get Beedrill ready out of harm's way C)ER the stupid Kakuna and hope they don't recover next turn "But Tangela Kid, some people would rather kill the Kakuna before the Poison King can come out and pay the consequences." That's right. Unfortunately, there is the problem of actually being able to KO Kakuna in the first place. If they can do that, psychology comes into play. Knowing immediate and possibly harsh retaliation is coming right after that offensive move is nerve-racking. They may cave into the pressure and pass. Like Ness's intimidation strategy of playing utra-fast, the mental factor plays well here. "You're not suggesting Kakuna is a 5-star Pokemon, are you Tangela Kid?" Of course not. Far from it. Beedrill is the star of this line, but sometimes, stalling is necessary in this game. Kakuna can stall quite well. Not as well as a Skarmory with 4 Metal Energy and a successful Steel Wing, but well. You might get your opponent to pass their turn without attacking, or might get Kakuna gusted to the bench without paying that hefty Retreat Cost. Nothing you can build a deck around here, but I hope you still got some useful information in this article all the same. The next time you're in a situation where this is a possibility, please consider it. Until then, I'm the Tangela Kid, and you're not. Jeff "Tangela Kid" Betten simpson_fan21@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com