Dear Pojo,
Please post this article in the single strategy section, thanx.

    There are many cards from the semi new fossil expansion, and many of them
have caught my eye.  But there was one card that didn't catch my eye, and it
wasn't before my friend but it in his bodyguard when I finally realized how
good that card actually was.  If you don't already know what a bodyguard deck
was, I'm here to tell you.  A bodyguard is a form of beatdown.  The major
difference between them is that a bodyguard usually deals less damage than a
regular beatdown, but it has the power to heal its pokémons, which is a
valuable advantage in battles.  The card that he put in his deck, was Golbat.
    Now I know you're probably saying "Golbat?  He sucks!"  But I want you to
take another look at one of the best stage 1 evolutions.

Name:        Golbat
Type:        Stage 1 -- from Zubat
Card #:      card 34 of 62
Rarity:      Uncommon
Color:       Grass
HP:          60 HP
Weakness:    P
Resistance:  F -30
Retreat:     0
Pokémon #:   42
Species:     Bat
Level:       29
Attack:      [3]  Wing Attack  (30)
Attack:      [1GG]  Leech Life  (20)
             Remove a number of damage counters from Golbat equal to the
damage
             done to the Defending Pokémon (after applying Weakness and
             Resistance).  If Golbat has fewer damage counters than that,
remove
             all of them.

    The 60 HP is the major weakness that Golbat has.  Two slashes from a
scyther can kill the poor thing.  But Golbat can regain HP with its Leech
Life attack.  Leech Life is an excellent attack.  For GGC you can deal 20
damage and get a potion or super potion for free (since no pokémon has a
resistance to grass).  Also, you can attach an energy to Golbat and you get
to remove three damage counters.  Wing Attack is great since it requires only
colorless energies and it also deals 10 more damage than Leech Life, which
makes it a valuable attack when Golbat doesn't have any counters on it. 
Golbat and its basic form, Zubat, have a zero retreat cost making it easy to
move them around.  Its resistance to fighting means that a Hitmonchan or even
a Hitmonlee can't hurt Golbat if it uses Leech Life the next turn.  Its basic
form, Zubat, also has a resistance to fighting and Leech Life.  However,
Zubat's 40 HP means that it can be easily knocked out.  Overall, Golbat is a
very good pokémon and should get a second chance to be looked at by the
trainers of the world.

                            David "PokéTrainer" Zhang

Hatemails, comments, and others are welcomed at:
PokemonDWZ@aol.com
Note: I always look at my mails no matter if it's a hatemail or not so if you
have a comment, don't be afraid to send one.