Pokemon Examination:
Dark Muk
With an interesting and useful Power,
and one that I think might spawn a new type of deck, Dark
Muk becomes a card that I want to
examine.
Name: Grimer
Type: Basic Pokemon
Card #: 57 of 82
Rarity: Common
Color: Grass
HP: 40 HP
Weakness: Psychic
Resistance: none
Retreat: 1
Pokemon #: 88
Species: Sludge
Level: 10
Attack: [G] Poison Gas
The Defending Pokemon is now Asleep.
Attack: [GG] Sticky Hands (10+)
Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 10 damage plus 20 more
damage and the Defending Pokemon is now Paralyzed; if tails, this
attack does 10 damage.
Name: Dark Muk
Type: Stage 1 -- from Grimer
Card #: 41 of 82
Rarity: Uncommon
Color: Grass
HP: 60 HP
Weakness: Psychic
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2
Pokemon #: 89
Species: Sludge
Level: 25
Power: "Sticky Goo"
As long as Dark Muk is your Active Pokemon, your opponent pays 2
more to retreat his or her Active Pokemon. This power stops
working while Dark Muk is Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed.
Attack: [GG] Sludge Punch (20)
The Defending Pokemon is now Poisoned.
Strategy: You would never use Grimer
without Dark Muk, in my opinion. But anyway...Grimer is an
okay Pokemon. Unfortunetaly, his
40HP won't last long. But...Poison Gas is interesting. First of
all,
it is unusual that an attack is called
Poison Gas and it causes Sleep. Huh? But moreover, you can
look at Poison Gas as a Grass type of
Smokescreen. Magmar's Smokescreen causes the opponent to
flip a coin if they choose to attack on
the next turn. Sleep, if automatic, causes the opponent to flip
a coin at the beginning of their turn to
see if their Pokemon wakes up. Thus, automatic Sleep will
prevent enemy attack, retreat, &
power on the next turn 50% of the time. Not bad. Poison Gas is
needed to keep Grimer alive and is handy
as a 1 Energy attack. Dark Muk is, in my opinion, a very
important Pokemon. Notice right
away that Sticky Goo ONLY WORKS IF DARK MUK IS YOUR
ACTIVE POKEMON. That sentence
alone may cause readers to hit back on the browser. There are
downsides to that fact. Dark Muk
possesses only 60 HP, and it can get killed by 2 Slashes or 3
Jabs. Because of that, the
opponent's Active Pokemon might want to stay in the active position.
However, you might be able to turn the
tables on that by using Sludge Punch. I really like this
move. 20 damage for 2 Grass Energy
and automatic Poison. Has anyone every used Fossil Magmar
and been frustrated by coin flips?
Dark Muk Poisons automatically. That status effect may make
the opponent want to retreat.
Strengths: Poison Gas has a 50/50 chance
of stopping all Power, Attack, and Retreat of the
opponent's Active Pokemon on the next
turn. Sticky Hands can also do strong damage as well.
Dark Muk's Sticky Goo ability is very
strong, just think of it. Promo Mewtwo has to pay 4 to
Retreat, as does Hitmonchan and
Electabuzz. Kangaskhan has to pay 5, and Snorlax 6! Putting Dark
Muk out against Kangaskhan or Snorlax
and adding Energy Removals can be a good staller. Dark
Muk's Attack, Sludge Punch, is very good
as well, a Grass version of Magmar's Smog; only you
don't have to flip heads to poison.
Weaknesses: Low amounts of HP, at 40 and
60, will hurt the line. Also the weakness to ever popular
Psychic Pokemon. Promo Mewtwo can
take it down with just one Psyburn. Grimer's Sticky Hands
can do a very unimpressive 10 damage no
frills for 2 Grass Energy, and when that happens it won't
help you much.
Conclusion: Dark Muk has many good
points and bad points. Overall, though, I think Dark Muk is
worth putting into some decks because of
that fact that Poison does a lot more damage than you
would think. One damage counter
after every turn can be devastating. Watch out for Psychics,
though, and try your best to keep the
Sludge Monster out of harm's way.
Thanks,
Sidewinder