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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

 

Energy Switch

B&W

Date Reviewed: April 4, 2012

Ratings & Reviews Summary

Modified: 1.90
Limited: 3.50

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale.
1 being the worst. 
3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.

Back to the main COTD Page

Baby Mario
2010 UK National
Seniors
Champion

Energy Switch (Black and White)

Today we are going to look at one of those Trainers that just always seems to be around in the format (at least since its first printing in Aquapolis anyway).

Energy Switch is a Trainer-Item whose effect is as straightforward as its name: when you play it, you can move a Basic Energy from one of your Pokémon to another. Are there times when this would be useful? Of course there are. You can use it to power up an attacker which is more useful in a given situation than the one you have active; or it can be played when you need to preserve an Energy dropped on a Pokémon which is about to get KO’d.

However, Energy Switch is not a card that you see often in competitive decks for two main reasons. Firstly, there are superior alternatives: Shaymin UD (which, unlike Energy Switch is searchable) can use its Celebration Wind PokéPower to move any amount of Energy (including Special Energy) in any way you like; whilst the new Exp Share Tool is a more efficient way of keeping Energy in play as it is used whenever a Pokémon is KO’d and you have it attached to the Bench. Secondly, Energy Switch’s effect falls into that category of effects which are undeniably useful, but just not quite useful enough to justify space in a 60 card deck. If you ever find you have room for a couple of these it almost certainly means you have either left something out, or are not maximising your copies of better Trainers like Junk Arm, Pokémon Catcher, PlusPower or Switch.

Nevertheless, there are a few decks which I have seen run Energy Switch. Usually they are the kind of decks which run two or more Energy Intensive attackers (like, say the new EX Pokémon). A single copy or even two can be clutch in certain situations and will most likely come as a surprise to an opponent, leading to you being able to use an attack they did not anticipate. Overall, while I don’t think that Energy Switch is an especially important Trainer, it probably shouldn’t be forgotten as much as it is.

Rating

Modified: 2.25 (can be a niche card in a limited number of decks)

Limited: 4 (like almost any Trainer, you take it in this format. Very useful to preserve Energy drops)

virusyosh

Happy midweek, Pojo readers! Today we're going to review a Trainer - Item card that has been printed for quite some time now, most recently in Black and White. Today's Card of the Day is Energy Switch.
 
Energy Switch is a Trainer - Item, meaning you can use as many of them as you'd like per turn, but they're also blocked by Vileplume's Allergy Flower and Gothitelle's Magic Room. Energy Switch's effect is very simple, allowing you to move one basic Energy card attached to one of your Pokemon to another one of your Pokemon. This sort of effect is only used rarely in Modified, and is performed by Shaymin UL, which allows for more options (and more Energy movement) than Energy Switch. Therefore, most decks that would run Energy Switch will likely run Shaymin UL instead, as the Gratitude Pokemon can move Special Energy cards as well as multiple Energies at a time. Overall, Energy Switch is one of those necessary cards that is good for teaching people how to play the game, but doesn't have much of an effect on competitive play.
 
Modified: 1.5/5 Most decks run a lot of Special Energy right now making Energy Switch less useful, and Shaymin UL generally does a better job. It's best to steer clear.
 
Limited: 3/5 Energy Switch is actually pretty good in Limited. Chances are you'll be running multiple Pokemon types as well as limited acceleration, so being able to move an Energy from a damaged Pokemon to another in waiting before a KO can be absolutely clutch here. Overall, Energy Switch is a solid yet unspectacular pick for Limited.


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