Hi! This is my first time writing TCG tips for Pojo, so I hope that I have
done well.
This is my opinion of the top 5 Pokemon of each type (excluding steel and
evil) from the Base Set through the Team Rocket set (excluding promos). I
hope that these Top 5 lists will help you when making a deck.  -Ricky

Top 5 Grass Pokemon:

5. Venomoth: With pretty good HP, no retreat, and resistance to fighting,
this moth is tough. Plus, with the ability to change types and (if heads)
confuse and poison, you'd better watch out for it.

4. Dark Muk: Its HP may be low, but its power is great in stall decks! Plus
20 damage and automatic poison, this guy is a great stage 1!

3. Exeggcutor: High HP but high retreat, this guy is well rounded. Teleport
can save him in desperate situations and with the help of Venusaur's Energy
Trans, this coconut tree can do a heap of damage with Big Eggsplosion.

2. Venusaur: High HP + 2 retreat + awesome Pokemon power + killer attack =
one of the best grass Pokemon out there.

1. Scyther: I confess. I just had to put it here. I have 4 in my deck, and
it's truly the best grass Pokemon. No retreat cost, resistance to fighting
and 70 HP is great. But when you add Swords Dance and Slash, this mantis
doesn't need to pray anymore!

Honorable Mention: Dark Vileplume: To tell you the truth, I have never tried
this card out in a deck. Actually, I don't even have it. But my friend has an
awesome deck with 2 of these, so I thought it deserved an honorable mention.

Top 5 Fire Pokemon:

5. Charizard: Most people would have ranked this higher, but not me. I made a
deck with it thinking that Charizard was the best card out there, but I was
wrong. It has excellent HP (120), wonderful attack damage (100), and
resistance to fighting. Plus the Pokemon Power is good, too. But when you
read the fine print under the attack, this card goes from #1 to #5.
Discarding 2 energy cards is bad, especially when you have 2 Double Colorless
Energies powering it up. If you do, then you have to discard both of them
when you use Fire Spin.

4. Fossil Magmar: This card is really good, especially if you're feeling
lucky today. 70 HP is great for a basic, and only 1 retreat is awesome. For 1
fire energy you do 10 damage plus a chance for the opponent's attack to fail.
And for only 2 fire energy, you do 20 damage plus a chance to poison. With
its low retreat and attack cost, Magmar is a great basic.

3. Flareon: Flareon has high HP and 1 retreat, which is good for a stage 1.
It becomes better since it evolves from a colorless Pokemon and has a
colorless attack, which makes him splashable. And with Flamethrower, you'd
better steer clear of this puppy.

2. Dark Charizard: Just when you think that your Mr. Mime deck is safe
against Charizard, Dark Charizard attacks. With 1 energy of any type, you can
Nail Flick away all Mr. Mimes in at least 4 turns. And when a Chansey or
Snorlax appears, use Continuous Fireball in hopes of destroying them and all
other high HP basics.

1. Ninetales: Most people don't even put Ninetales on a top 10 fire type
list. I
put it in the number 1 slot because of its high HP, low retreat, and high
attack damage. I've always wondered why no one used Ninetales, and I still do.

Honorable Mention: Rocket Charmander: Its HP isn't good, but you could use it
in desperate situations. For example, let's say that your opponent has a
Weedle out, and you have a poisoned Moltres out, which has 4 fire energy, but
you never seem to get heads when you attack with Dive Bomb. You have a Rocket
Charmander and put it on your bench. You retreat Moltres, so he's cured of
poison. Then you send out your Rocket Charmander. Since you have no fire
energy in your hand, you use Gather Fire, take one of Moltres' fire energy
and use Fire Tail for the win!

Top 5 Water Pokemon:

5. Seaking: 70 HP is good and 1 retreat is great. Plus 30 damage for 1 water
energy and 1 colorless is awesome.

4. Lapras: 2 retreat for a basic isn't so good. But when you add the attacks
and high HP, I'd recommend him, especially in Raindance decks.

3. Gyarados: 100 HP and resistance to fighting are wonderful for a stage 1.
Add
Dragon Rage and you've got one killer Pokemon!

2. Dark Golduck: Draw 3 cards for 1 psychic energy!? 50 damage for 2 psychic
and 1 colorless!? This is amazing! He's great in psychic decks and gives you
an advantage when battling fire types.

1.Blastoise: Raindance is awesome when you need to power up your Pokemon
fast! Hydro Pump is awesome, too. It can do 60 damage for 5 water energies!
100 HP makes it hard to faint.

Honorable Mention: Rocket Magikarp: He is pretty much the same as the Base
Set Magikarp, but Rapid Evolution makes it worth using. For 3 water energies,
you can search your deck for Gyarados or Dark Gyarados, and put it on
Magikarp. With those 3 water energies, it's ready to do Dragon Rage with
Gyarados and Ice Beam with Dark Gyarados.

Top 5 Lightning Pokemon:

5. Dark Raichu: With 70 HP, it is one of the few "Dark" Pokemon with good HP.
Surprise Thunder is a good attack, especially if you flip 2 heads in a row.
I've seen some good decks using this card, so you might want to try him out.

4. Base Electrode: Its Pokemon Power is great! It's extremely helpful when
it's about to die. Instead of just discarding it, you could use it to help
other Pokemon power up. Electric Shock is a good attack, too.

3. Fossil Raichu: Although it has a costly attack, its high HP makes up for
it. Gigashock is great. Just when your opponent thinks that his/her dying
Pokemon on the bench is safe… BAM! You attack it on the bench!

2. Jungle Electrode: With 10 more HP than its Base Set twin, he's protected
from those annoying 80 damage attacks. Tackle makes it a splashable card, and
Chain Lightning destroys all those 1 type decks!

1. Electabuzz: 70 HP is great for a basic, and it has one of the best 1
energy attacks in the whole card game! Add another energy, and you can do a
possible 40 damage!

Honorable Mention: Jungle Pikachu: 50 HP is pretty good, and Spark is great
for a bench attack deck, but the attack cost is just a wee bit high.

Top 5 Fighting Pokemon:

5. Dark Machoke: The HP is kinda low, and the retreat cost is kinda high, but
the attacks make it worth playing. Drag Off is good when there's a weak
Pokemon on your opponent's bench, and Knock Back is great when getting rid of
all those Pokemon with resistance to fighting.

4. Hitmonlee: 20 damage to any benched Pokemon is awesome, but High Jump Kick
is even better, especially when battling Pokemon with resistance to fighting.

3. Aerodactyl: Finally! A way to prevent Gengar, Blastoise, and all those
other great evolution cards. And with Wing Attack's colorless energy
requirement, you can use him anywhere!
 
2. Rhydon: 100 HP is incredible for a stage 1! Horn attack is great also. Ram
is kind of a costly attack, but it's worth it.

1. Hitmonchan: 20 damage for 1 energy, 40 for 3? This is a great basic! Add
the 70 HP, and you'll be seeing it everywhere!

Honorable Mention: Machamp: I don't see people using this card a lot, and I
don't know why. But if you ask me, this guy is great! 100 HP is great, and
Seismic Toss is good. But with his Strikes Back power, I'm surprised that I
don't use it myself!

Top 5 Psychic Pokemon

5. Mr. Mime: Invisible Wall is great against those heavy hitters, and
Meditate wears Pokemon away slowly. Mr. Mime is THE Charizard killer.

4. Dark Alakazam: Horrible HP for a stage 2, but Teleport Blast is a great
hit-and-run attack. Plus, with Mind Shock, you can get around all those
annoying colorless Pokemon with psychic resistance.

3. Dark Hypno: Okay HP for a stage 1, but Bench Manipulation makes it all
worthwhile. Bench Manipulation a super effective on all those many Wigglytuff
decks out there, since it damages more when the opponent has his/her bench
filled, and you don't apply weakness or resistance for the attack.

2. Alakazam: Damage Swap is one of the best powers out there, and Confuse Ray
is great when it confuses. A good combo is with him and Tentacool. Swap
damage counters to Tentacool, and then use Cowardice to get rid of them.

1. Gengar: Curse and Dark Mind are great together. Plus only 1 retreat, no
weakness, and resistance to fighting, he is definitely the best psychic
Pokemon card.
 
Honorable Mention: Jynx: 70 HP is great for a basic, and Meditate is just
awesome when the defending Pokemon has damage counters on it.

Top 5 Colorless Pokemon:

5. Chansey: 120 HP is truly insane for a basic. Scrunch is a great staller,
and Double-Edge gives you the offensive punch that you need!

4. Dark Dragonair: 60 HP isn't that good for a stage 1, and Tail Strike isn't
exactly the best attack, but Evolutionary Light got it in the number 4 slot.
Getting and evolution card every turn is extremely helpful, especially in
those decks with lots of stage 1's and 2's.

3. Clefable: 70 HP is good for a stage 1, and Minimize is an awesome staller,
but copying an opponents attack for 1 energy?! That's unbelievable!
 
2. Kangaskhan: Fetch is a wonderful staller, and 90 HP will keep it out there
for a long time. Maybe even enough time to power up for Comet Punch!

1. Wigglytuff: Lullaby isn't too good, but 80 HP and Do the Wave are awesome!
Do the Wave is especially good in a deck with lots of basics and the
Challenge trainer card.

Top 5 Trainer Cards:

5. Professor Oak: Have a really bad hand? Then use Oak to get rid of it and
get a fresh, new one!

4. Gust of Wind: Use Pokemon Flute too revive your opponents dead weak
Pokemon, then Gust of Wind them out to kill them again.

3. Bill: Draw 2 cards for free? I'll take it!

2. Nightly Garbage Run: This awesome trainer can help prevent decking, and
bring back that strong Pokemon you lost before.

1. PlusPower: It's amazing what an extra 10 damage can do to help you win. I
highly recommend that you have 4 of these in all of your decks.

Honorable Mention: Challenge: Either a free Bill or a full bench. Both are
good but which one you get is up to your opponent.

Top 5 Energy Cards:

5. Full Heal Energy: 1 colorless is pretty bad, and Full Heal is pretty bad,
too. But together, they're pretty good.

4. Potion Energy: Pretty much the same as Full Heal Energy, bad separately,
good together.

3. Double Colorless Energy: A great energy card. 2 in 1! A great deal.

2. Rainbow Energy: Great in decks with lots of different types of Pokemon. 10
damage is a small price to pay to use this card.

1. All Basic Energies: I couldn't decide which one was the best, so I had to
squeeze them all into the number 1 slot. I mean, come on! Without these, you
couldn't even build a deck!

Honorable Mention: Sorry, no more energies, so no honorable mention energy
card.

I hope that I have helped you in picking cards and making strategies for your
decks. Email me with any questions or comments regarding my lists at:

DigitalBoy88@aol.com