Hi Pojo readers!  I have a new strategy for you guys, it's about the ratios
of pokèmon.  For those of you who don't have a 6th grade education yet, the
ratios in pokèmon are what we talk about when we say a 4-3-2 ratio on the
Blastoise family.  4 Squrtle, 3 Wartortle, 2 Blastoise.  Get it now?  Well
then, there are many different ways to use different ratios to your
advantage.  Most of us count how many of the 2nd stage we have, then build a
ratio on it, and when in doubt, we fall back on the good ol' 4-3-2 ratio. 
But, there are different strategies on the ratios.  The 4-3-2 ratio works if
you don't nessesarily need the 2nd stage very early, but need him later in
the game after the dust settles to finish off.  For example, it might work
with Venusaur, so later in the game when you have lots of grass energy out,
you can move them all over the place.  But it wouldn't work with a Blastoise
in a rain dance very well, since you need him earlier.  A 4-3-3 or 4-4-3
ratio would work well in that situation.  4-3-3 would be good, but if you
have that extra 1st stage, add it to speed up its arrival.  Never go 4-4-4,
because you will have a lot of 2nd stages in your hand after you get the
first or second out.  Now, I usually would recommend 4 of the Basic Pokèmon,
but 3 can work too.  Lets say that you play a Venusaur deck, with the
Beedrill line in for backup speed.  Well, you might go 4-3-2 on the Venusaur
family, and 3-2-2 or 3-3-2 on the Beedrill family.  That can save space, and
still get the pokèmon out on time to battle.  3-2-2 might work better since
it saves more space, and you don't need that secondary family as much. 
Never have less than three of the Basic pokèmon if it evolves.  If a family
stops at the 1st stage of evolution, then go 4-4 or 4-3 if it is a main
evolution, and 3-3 or 3-2 if it isn't.  Try to think of it as a pyramid.  It
starts out with a big base, and gets smaller and smaller as it gets to the
top.  The bigger the base, the sturdier the pyramid is, but if it gets too
small at the top, it might snap off at the tip... or in pokèmon, you won't
get the 2nd stage.  Oh, and if you have a basic in your deck, don't go more
than one less of the next stage, and don't go more on the next stage then
the one before it.  Now, I'm not only talking about the Pokèmon themselves. 
No, I'm going to keep jabbering on a little more, and tell you a good way on
which energy to put in and how much of each.  First, you have to decide how
much energy to have in your deck.  I'd say about 22-25, 22 being minimum and
25 being maximum.  If you play a haymaker, go with 18-23, but steer away
from 18.  If you play a huge evolution deck, go with 25-28, only play 28 if
its a fire discarding deck though.  Now, take all of your pokèmon (besides
the colorless ones) that are going to be in your deck.  Count the number of
energy symbols on each one, but not the colorless ones.  You might be
confused, so here's an example.  If you have 4 Charmanders and three
Charmeleons in your deck, each Charmander is worth one fire energy since
each one has one fire energy symbol on it.  You might count it two though
since it discards, but I wouldn't since it has a colorless move too.  And
each Charmeleon counts as two fire energy, since each one has two fire
symbols on it.  He discards energy, but he has a colorless move too.  So
altogether, you have ten fire energy symbols on your fire cards.  Now, you
take the next color in your deck, lets say psychic.  You have 4 Abra, 3
Kadabra, and 2 Alakazam.  Well, the Abra each count as one, so you have four
right there.  The Kadabras are three each, since they discard for Recover,
and that makes nine, plus four, is 13 so far.  Now, each Alakazam is three
too, but since you probably don't use him to attack, count each one as one
energy, so now you have 15 psy.  So, altogether, you have 10 fire and 15
psy.  But that's not how much energy you have nessesarily in your deck.  If
you want 25 energy in your deck, that's fine, but lets say you only want 23
energy in your deck.  Then, you divide 10 (amount of fire) by 23, which
gives you about 0.43.  Then you divide 15 (amount of psy) by 23, which gives
you about 0.65.  Now, 0.65 equals 65/100 of psy in your deck and 43/100 of
fire in your deck.  Now, these round to 61 and 39.  We have to round them
off to make them equal 100.  So, 61% of your energy has to be psychic, and
39% fire.  61% of 23 is 14.03, rounded to 14, and 39% of 23 is 8.97, rounded
to 9.  So you should have 9 fire energy and 14 fire energy.  This formula
has been perfected over several... umm, well actually about five minutes. 
But it is a bit complicated, and estimating works too.  There are, of
course, no trainer ratios, so finally, I'm finished.  I hope this helps you
in successful deck building.  CYA!
~David

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com