Hi

Everyone says certain cards stink, right? Well, the reason for this is their rarity. If a card is holographic, then it's probably pretty good, like Venusaur, Blastoise, Alakazam, etc. Then there is the not-so-good-cards, like Base Set Gastly, Staryu, and Tangela, which are all common. If a card is holographic, then there will always be a strategy that it can execute, with very few exceptions. Many of you will be thinking, "What about Charizard? Or Zapdos?". Well, these cards are ment to be built on the bench, until you can bring them out and clean up your last prizes. Jungle Electrode sucks, right? WRONG? If used correctly, he can be put in an Anti-Raindance. 40 damage to the defending Pokemon(most Raindancers have lightning weakness), and 20 to all their benched water Pokemon. There are cards that I just can't seem to figure out though, like the Magnetons(although the Rocket Magneton has potential) and Kabutops(I'll mention these later). So yes, all those cards that don't seem to have potential usually do.

Next, the rares. Cards like Magneton and Kabutops could have been rare, but for some reason they were made holo. Cards like Dugtrio and Dragonair, though, I can uderstand. These cards can be powerful, but they take ages to build. If the energy cost was less, they probably would have been holographic. Some people argue over Electabuzz being rare and not holo, but he was probably rare because of high retreat and possibility of damage to self.

Uncommons. These guys can rarely have decks built around them, mainly 'cause of unreliability. Exeggutor could totally wreck your opponent's game, but you have to flip a coin. Raticate could take your opponent down fast, but lower HP is a drawback. There is one card that I like, though, and that is Butterfree. More HP than Kabutops, better retreat cost, and resistance to fighting make this guy better than Kabutops, yet it's not even a rare card. Why? I don't know, just like Magneton.

Now, for the commons. Some of the worst cards are commons, and their sole purpose is to evolve into that killer Stage 1. Others, like Machop, Magnemite, and Ponyta are fill ins for Hitmonchan, Electabuzz, and others. Why then, do you suppose, that Bill, Gust of Wind, and Energy Removal are common? They are essential to almost EVERY deck. The hard to get cards usually take strategy, while these aren't difficult to figure out at all.

This is my philosophy on the rarities of cards. Basically, if it's really good but not hard to use, it's more difficult to obtain. If it is really good and essential to many decks, then it is much easier to obtain.