A Complete Comprehensive Decklist Guide To The GEN 1 Pokemon

A Complete Comprehensive Decklist Guide To The GEN 1 Pokemon TCG Metagame
Written By: Sean S.
TCGONE IGN: PhanTomato
Created: January 10, 2018


Important Things To Read
0.0~~~~Introduction
0.1~~~~How This Guide Works
0.2~~~~Terminology
0.3~~~~Important Elements of the BS-On Metagame

Normal Type Deck Archetypes
1.0~~~~Normal Type Overview

1.1~~~~Wigglytuff + Multicolored BB
1.2~~~~Wigglytuff + Muk + Multicolored BB
1.3~~~~Wigglytuff + Aerodactyl + Psychic BB
1.4~~~~Wigglytuff + Mankey Hand Disruption

1.5~~~~Clefable + Psychic BB + Fighting BB
1.6~~~~Clefable + Psychic BB + Fire BB

1.7~~~~Erika’s Dragonair + Grass BB
1.8~~~~Pidgeot + Scyther Pivot

1.9~~~~Snorlax + Sleep Spam + Grass BB
1.10~~~Snorlax + Sleep Lock + Electric BB
1.11~~~Snorlax + Sleep Spam + Confusion Spam

Grass Type Deck Archetypes
2.0~~~~Grass Type Overview

2.1~~~~Muk + Dark Muk + Grass BB
2.2~~~~Muk + Dark Muk + Stall BB
2.3~~~~Muk + Electric BB
2.4~~~~Muk + Stall BB

2.5~~~~Dark Vileplume + Dark Muk
2.6~~~~Dark Vileplume + Multicolored BB
2.7~~~~Dark Vileplume + Dark Golduck + Psychic BB

2.8~~~~Venusaur + Healing + Grass BB
2.9~~~~Venusaur + Healing + Multicolored BB

2.10~~~Exeggutor + Electrode
2.11~~~Dark Weezing Swarm
2.12~~~Grass BB + Normal BB + Lt. Surge’s Fearow
2.13~~~Koga’s Beedrill Speed Swarm
2.14~~~Koga’s Zubat Speed Swarm

Water Type Deck Archetypes
3.0~~~~Water Type Overview

3.1~~~~Blastoise + Typical Water BB
3.2~~~~Blastoise + Misty’s Poliwhirl

Fire Type Deck Archetypes
4.0~~~~Fire Type Overview

4.1~~~~Blaine’s Charizard + Fire BB

4.2~~~~Arcanine + Electrode
4.3~~~~Blaine’s Arcanine + Fire BB

4.4~~~~Brock’s Ninetales + Wigglytuff

Psychic Type Deck Archetypes
5.0~~~~Psychic Type Overview

5.1~~~~Alakazam + Stallers + Psychic BB
5.2~~~~Dark Alakazam + Pivot Stallers
5.3~~~~Sabrina’s Alakazam + Psychic BB

5.4~~~~Promo Mew(two) Duo + Aerodactyl + Normal BB
5.5~~~~Gengar + Psychic BB

Electric Type Deck Archetypes
6.0~~~~Electric Type Overview

6.1~~~~Dark Raichu + Electric BB

6.2~~~~Rocket’s Zapdos + Electabuzz + Scyther
6.3~~~~Electrode + Zapdos + Electric BB
6.4~~~~Quad Rocket’s Zapdos
6.5~~~~Rocket’s Zapdos + Chansey

6.6~~~~Slowbro Healing + Electric BB

Fighting Type Deck Archetypes
7.0~~~~Fighting Type Overview

7.1~~~~Brock’s Sandslash + Fighting BB

Two Colored Types Combination Deck Archetypes
8.0~~~~2 Colored Type Combination Overview

8.1~~~~Fire BB + Electric BB Active Stall
8.2~~~~Grass BB + Electric BB Haymaker
8.3~~~~Haymaker Variant + MP Mewtwo

Three Colored Types Combination Deck Archetypes
9.0~~~~3 Colored Type Combination Overview

9.1~~~~Traditional Haymaker
9.2~~~~Rocket’s Haymaker Variant
9.3~~~~Electrode + Multicolored BB

Credits and Recognition
10.0~~~Sources of Motivation and Major Contributors
10.1~~~Active Members in the TCGONE Site and Gen 1 Community
10.2~~~Components This Guide Still Needs



0.0~~~~Introduction
    My name is Sean Swanson. I am 17 and live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States with my parents and two cats. I received my first cards from my cousins discarded collection when I was just four years old. Pokemon has been a lifelong hobby for me, but my interest has gone through many phases throughout this time ranging from interacting with others on online community sites, playing on the official Pokemon TCG Simulator, competitive TCG events, playing VCG casually, to not even paying attention to the vast and expansive world of Pokemon at all. Because of these experiences, I know a lot about the game. I wanted to share my knowledge with the Gen 1 community as I feel that there is a lack of quality databases for new players to learn from. I really enjoy helping others with the same goals as mine. These are the main reasons as to why I decided to create this guide.

The best way to contact me is via TCGONE when I'm online or make your quickplay decklist public on the site with a description of how your suggested deck works and functions. I really enjoy exchanging ideas about anything Pokemon, and if I feel that the ideas will improve this guide, then I will include your ideas along with your name or tcgone.net IGN in the contributions list at the bottom of this guide. In that list I will also include my inspirations to complete this guide, as they mean a lot to me.



0.1~~~~How This Guide Works
    This guide is categorized by the type of Pokemon most used in each deck. Each type will have an overview, detailing the strengths, weaknesses, and powerful Pokemon for each type. The deck archetypes in each color coded category are not sorted by viability, but grouped together when using the same Pokemon in multiple decks that use the same Pokemon. If you want to search for decks containing a specific card, press “control + f” for Windows and Android devices or press “command + f” on IOS devices. The amounts of each card are not perfect or rigid, as each player’s style dictates the amounts of each card to include in a deck. The counts that I include are to provide a baseline for player’s to start off with. Suggestions that include specific card count modifications for existing decks will probably not be added, as they are usually irrelevant in the grand scheme of the improvement of this guide.



0.2~~~~Terminology
The following acronyms will be used throughout the guide as a tool to keep the explanations shorter and more concise.
OHKO = One Hit Knock Out
2HKO = Two Hit Knock Out
KO = Knock Out
BB = Big Basics
Haymaker = Strong, unevolved basics that deal DMG easily and put quick pressure on the opponent
ER = Energy Removal
SER = Super Energy Removal
CPU Search = Computer Search
DCE = DCE
GoW = Gust of Wind
DMG = Damage
Donk = Winning on the first turn of the game
Topdeck Mode = Being unable to draw cards or obtain draw cards with the trainers  or Pokemon in your hand, relying solely on your 1 card draw at the start of your turn.
Weak = Has a weakness to a specified type
HP = Hit Points/Life Points/Health



0.3~~~~Important Elements of the BS-On Metagame
Legal Sets: Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, Gym Challenge, and Black Star Promos were the valid sets to use in this format, and I will only be using cards from those sets for the decklists in this guide.

Weakness: A Pokemon’s weakness is a important thing to cover up or defend. Water types that hit fire types for weakness really matter when almost all Pokemon in this rotation have 100HP or less.Weakness turns 2HKO’s into OHKO’s and the fact that almost all Pokemon have a weakness to some type means that it is wise to evaluate what your weakness’ type is weak to and to try to pair two colors together that will “cover each other’s weakness”.

Example: I am playing grass types like Scyther. Scyther is weak to fire type attacks. Fire types are weak to water types. I should consider adding water Pokemon like Lapras into my deck to counter the fire Pokemon that KO Scyther easily.

Resistance: Similar to weakness, resistance can really shift the battle into your favor. Because a lot of DMG outputs are less than 50 or 60, a -30 resistance can really make your opponent take more time to KO your Pokemon, in time giving you more time to KO their Pokemon. Also, weaknesses can be covered by resistances, which provide a more defensive approach to dealing with threats to your deck.

Example: I am playing cards like Electabuzz. Electabuzz has a weakness to fighting. I should consider adding cards with a resistance to fighting so that I can stifle the fighting attacks that come my way by retreating my lightning Pokemon or not benching them when fighting Pokemon are a threat.

Energy Acceleration: Pokemon, trainers, or energy that allow a player to play more than the one manual energy attachment per turn are a real asset for attackers that require a lot of energy. A prime example of this is Blastoise from Base Set. It allows you to attach as many water energy as you want during your turn, providing BS Articuno with the energy it needs so that it can use its powerful three and four energy attacks.

Haymaker Pokemon: Having a variety of both evolutions and basic Pokemon makes a deck really well rounded to face the opposing metagame. Basic Pokemon, specifically Haymaker Pokemon are a good inclusion to almost any deck, providing a secondary attacker to their corresponding type. Haymaker Pokemon also provide cheap, reliable, and fast attackers to patch up weakness problems for your main Pokemon or provide a helpful resistance to a common type in the metagame that might otherwise threaten your deck.



1.0~~~~Normal Type Overview
Strengths: With the ability to use any type of energy, normal types are the best users of DCE, which basically provide two energy in one turn. Normal types make great use of DCE because of their unrestricted energy costs to attack. Unique attacks and abilities help normal types fit in well into many different archetypes, and allow normal types to thrive in the BS-On metagame. Almost all normal types are resistant to Psychic, which is a prominent type in the BS-On metagame.

Weaknesses: Fighting types, specifically Hitmonchan BS pose a huge threat to the survival of normal types. With the ability to deal 40 DMG with one fighting energy, BS Hitmonchan can 2HKO all non-flying normal types while having a hefty 70HP of its own for a basic. Also, many non-flying normal types have mediocre retreats costs which allow you opponent to use GoW to stall for time when they are under pressure.

Powerful Normal Type Pokemon: Clefable JU, Wigglytuff JU, Snorlax JU, Erika’s Dratini, Ditto FO, Kangaskhan JU, Erika’s Jigglypuff, Lickitung JU, Erika’s Dragonair, Koga’s Ditto



1.1~~~~Wigglytuff + Multicolored BB
3 Wigglytuff JU
3 Jigglypuff JU
2 Ditto FO
3 Scyther JU
2 Erika’s Dratini
=13
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Lass
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
3 Defender
2 Challenge!
2 No Removal Gym
=33
8 Grass Energy
2 Full Heal Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The classic yet effective standard Wigglytuff decklist. Built to attack on turn 2 with Wigglytuff’s “Do The Wave” attack with a full bench, this deck relies on speed and secondary attackers such as Erika’s Dratini, Scyther, and Ditto to pick up the slack when Wigglytuff either cannot attack or is against fighting type Pokemon. No Removal Gym is a crucial aspect for any Wigglytuff deck as it deters the opponent from using ER and SER to discard your DCE’s that are SER important to being a fast paced deck. Lass also helps to deter ER and SER from your opponent’s hand, keeping all trainers in each player’s decks and helping to prevent from decking yourself out. Opposing Hitmonchan hit Wigglytuff for weakness, ER and SER cut off the energy supply for Wigglytuff’s 3 energy attack, and Magmar FO are effective against this deck. Surprisingly, Magmar is sometimes able to stall and wait for poison DMG to accumulate onto Wigglytuff and can hit Scyther for weakness. Overall, Wigglytuff archetypes are one of the best decks in the format, with both power, versatility, and good matchups against most of the metagame.



1.2~~~~Wigglytuff + Muk + Multicolored BB
3 Wigglytuff JU
3 Jigglytuff JU
2 Muk FO
2 Grimer FO
4 Scyther JU
1 Erika’s Jigglypuff
=14
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Lass
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
2 Defender
2 Challenge!
2 No Removal Gym
=32
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14
Strategy/Card Explanations:
Similar strategy to the one directly above, however this deck variation utilizes one of the best forms of shutdown to Blastoise, Aerodactyl and other ability based archetypes, Muk. With no Ditto or Erika’s Dratini, The Scyther count is now maxed to increase setup consistency. Defender can also be used to prevent KO’s on Wigglytuff and sometimes Scyther. This deck is not as fast as the archetype without Muk, but is more adept at dealing with a wider variety of the ability based metagame. Difficult match ups for this archetype include ER, SER, and energy acceleration from the discard pile. Fighting types such as Hitmonchan are less of a threat with the higher count of Scyther in this deck.



1.3~~~~Wigglytuff + Aerodactyl + Psychic BB
3 Wigglytuff JU
3 Jigglypuff JU
2 Aerodactyl FO
3 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Mew WBSP
2 Erika’s Dratini
=15
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Mysterious Fossil
3 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Trader
3 Plus Power
2 No Removal Gym
=30
11 Psychic Energy
4 DCE
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck is played very differently than the speed Wigglytuff variants shown above. The addition of Aerodactyl might seem counterintuitive, however the idea is to evolve 1-2 Jigglypuff into Wigglytuff, then quickly get Aerodactyl out to shut off your opponents evolutions right afterwards. With few evolutions on your opponents field, you should be able to OHKO many of their weak basics using Wigglytuff and MP Mewtwo also devolving your opponent’s few powerful evolution Pokemon with Mew’s first attack. Erika’s Dratini synergies well with almost any Aerodactyl archetype because of its ability, which only allows a maximum of 10 DMG per turn from opposing basic Pokemon. This stall tactic works well late game if you need to buy time to power up a Mewtwo to attack with. Wigglytuff and Erika’s Dratini cover up Mewtwo’s weakness to psychic by having a resistance to psychic, making them good partners. Haymaker archetypes do well against this deck, especially if they have Hitmonchan, because they do not have any evolutions for Aerodactyl to lock them out of. Hitmonchan hits Wigglytuff for weakness, and they setup more consistently than you do, with space for ER and SER in most Haymaker decks.



1.4~~~~Wigglytuff + Mankey Hand Disruption
3 Wigglytuff JU
3 Jigglypuff JU
3 Mankey JU
2 Scyther JU
1 Brock’s Mankey
1 Ditto FO
=13
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 Rocket’s Sneak Attack
4 Rocket’s Trap
3 Lass
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Challenge!
=37
4 Grass Energy
4 DCE
2 Full Heal Energy
=10

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This variant of the Wigglytuff archetype focuses on hand disruption and making your opponent rely on the top card of their deck to be the card they need. To accomplish this, Rocket’s Sneak Attack, Rocket’s Trap, Mankey’s ability, and Lass are used to limit your opponent’s hand size. Usually, you should use Mankey to look at your opponent’s hand first, then utilize the deck’s hand disruption to its full effect, such as using Lass when you know that your opponent’s hand has a lot of trainers. The 3 count of CPU Search is lower than usual, because you do not need maximum consistency when you can disrupt your opponent’s setup enough to slow them down. The Full Heal Energy is in case your opponent uses GoW and applying status conditions to eliminate your weak Mankey or render their abilities useless. This deck relies on your opponent’s top card of their deck to not help them, but if they draw cards such as Professor Oak, then your efforts of disrupting their hand are useless and the process essentially deplete your resources. This deck struggles when your opponents target and OHKO your 30HP Mankey and gain easy prize cards.



1.5~~~~Clefable + Psychic BB + Fighting BB
3 Clefable JU
3 Clefairy BS
3 Hitmochan BS
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Mr. Mime JU
=13
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 Item Finder
4 CPU Search
3 ER
3 SER
2 Gust of Wind
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Plus Power
=33
7 Fighting Energy
7 Psychic Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The substantial 3-3 Clefable line paired along with Hitmonchan and Mewtwo result in the perfect Weakness/Resistance combination. Because of Hitmonchan’s low energy cost for its first attack, MP Mewtwo’s ability to get energy from the discard, and Clefable’s one energy copy attack, Pokemon Center is a good fit for this deck. Mr. Mime along side both ER and SER provide good buffers for opposing high DMG attacks. Magmar FO instead of BS Hitmonchan is a suitable substitution if you struggle against Scyther. If Scyther JU, Electabuzz BS, or Rocket’s Zapdos are being utilized, then replace 4 Pokemon Center and 2 Switch with 2 Scoop Up, 2 Plus Power, 1 Bill and 1 GoW along with changing fighting energy to electric energy. This deck struggles with Hitmonchan if you are unable to get Mewtwo powered up. With other decks that heal such as Blaine’s Charizard, Venusaur, and Alakazam archetypes, this deck struggles because the DMG output of your Pokemon depends on your opponents having a lot of heavy DMG attacks and using those attacks against them with
Clefable.



1.6~~~~~Clefable +  Psychic BB + Fire BB
3 Clefable JU
3 Clefairy BS
3 MP Mewtwo WBSP
3 Magmar FO
=12
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
3 GoW
2 Switch
4 Pokemon Center
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
=34
7 Fire Energy
7 Psychic Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Very similar deck to the one above, this deck just uses different Haymaker Pokemon to fulfill different purposes against the opposing BS-On metagame. The main difference in this deck’s Pokemon lineup is Magmar, who strengthens the matchup against Scyther, usually a soft counter to Clefable archetypes. Without Himonchan as an attacker, Pokemon Center becomes even more powerful, because Magmar’s second attack costs one less energy than Hitmonchan’s second attack. Magmar also is able to stall a few turns with it’s first attack, buying time for you to setup a MP Mewtwo, or another Clefable to attack with later on. Very similar trainers are used, because the strategy of each deck is very similar, however the main changes are 3 Plus Power instead of 2, 3 Gust of Wind instead of 2, and 3 CPU Search instead of 4. I made the CPU Search change after I realized that I was discarding 1-2 copies of CPU Search each game, because I didn't need any other cards from my deck. I decided to drop 1 copy because I never really needed all 4 copies, replacing it with more useful utility cards such as GoW, and Plus Power. This deck is stronger against Scyther, however weakens the matchups against non-flying normal types, Electabuzz, and opposing Clefable archetypes.



1.7~~~~Erika’s Dragonair + Grass BB
4 Erika’s Dragonair
4 Erika’s Dratini
2 Erika’s Jigglypuff
2 Rocket’s Scyther
2 Scyther JU
=14
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 GoW
2 Switch
4 Brock
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Defender
2 Erika’s Maids
2 No Removal Gym
=32
8 Grass Energy
4 DCE
2 Potion Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck’s purpose is to use Erika’s Dragonair to spread DMG around your opponent’s bench, while minimizing the amount of DMG you take from flipping tails on the first attack for Erika’s Dragonair. Brock and Defender help mitigate DMG on your own side while Erika’s Maids helps get Erika’s Dratini, Dragonair, and Jigglypuff into play quickly. Most of the Pokemon in this deck synergize well with DCE, and Erika’s Dragonair can recycle them back into your deck with its second attack. Utilizing the second attack of Erika’s Dragonair is beneficial when your opponent has a really high investment attacker such as Blaine’s Charizard, Blastoise BS, or any Pokemon that has a lot of energy attached to it. Potion Energy is an inclusion that can be replaced with more grass energy, however I thought it would work well with the ability that Erika’s Dratini has to mitigate most DMG from basic Pokemon. ER and SER can really stop the attackers in this deck from functioning, so No Removal Gym is a good stadium for this deck.



1.8~~~~Pidgeot + Scyther Pivot
4 Pidgeot JU
2 Pidgeotto BS
4 Pidgey BS
4 Scyther JU
=14
2 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 Erika
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Lass
2 GoW
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
3 Pokemon Breeder
3 Pokemon Trader
=32
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The name of this deck says it all, SPEED. Pidgeot and Scyther both have a zero retreat cost, allowing you to pivot attackers effortlessly and keep up momentum. Both Erika and Bill are used to accelerate the setup process By obtaining an insured amountof cards in your hand. An interesting combo that is used in this deck is Erika + Bill + Lass, which allows you to limit your opponents hand size after you play all the trainers you need during your turn, making your opponent's hand only comprise of energy and Pokemon. This stifles their setup process, allowing you to get multiple Pidgeot into play without too much problem. If your opponent ever manages to setup something substantial, use Pidgeot’s second attack to shuffle it back into your opponent’s deck Plus Power is used to secure KO’s with Pidgeot that would otherwise result in the defending Pokemon to get shuffled back into your opponent’s deck and not giving yourself a prize card. Public enemy #1 of this deck is Electric Pokemon, specifically Electabuzz BS and Rocket’s Zapdos. These Pokemon can either OHKO or 2HKO every Pokemon in this deck with their attacks that hit Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Pidgeot for weakness.



1.9~~~~Snorlax + Sleep Spam + Grass BB
4 Snorlax JU
4 Drowzee TR
2 Rocket’s Scyther
2 Scyther JU
=12
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 ER
3 SER
3 Lass
3 Gust of Wind
3 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
=33
8 Grass Energy
4 DCE
3 Full Heal Energy
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Sleep spam is considered as a gimmicky strategy, however it can be really effective and annoying for your opponent, so I decided to include some variants in this guide. Snorlax is unable to be affected by special condition, making it immune to the sleep condition it would otherwise contract due to Drowzee’s ability. Near maximum counts of ER and SER are necessary to disrupt your opponent’s energy and firepower, since this deck does not deal a lot of DMG at once, relying on the 30 and 40 chip DMG per turn and the stalling capabilities that this deck has. The secondary attackers in this deck, Scyther and Rocket’s Scyther provide a useful resistance to fighting types such as Hitmonchan which hit Snorlax for weakness. Full Heal Energy allows these secondary attackers to attack even after being asleep from Drowzee’s ability. The increased Switch count is to have an option to retreat when your opponent uses GoW to bring an heavy, four energy retreat cost Snorlax to the active position. Because of the high amount of bench sitters in this deck, starting with a single Drowzee could lead to potential donks and easy prizes for your opponent.



1.10~~~Snorlax + Sleep Lock + Electric BB
3 Snorlax JU
2 Electabuzz BS
2 Rocket’s Zapdos
2 Aerodactyl FO
4 Drowzee TR
=13
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
4 Mysterious Fossil
2 Gust of Wind
3 Switch
3 Defender
=32
8 Lightning Energy
3 Full Heal Energy
4 DCE
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Similar strategy to the other Sleep Spam variants, however this deck adds a new layer of evil, evolution lock in the form of Aerodactyl. With your opponent unable to evolve their Pokemon and relieve them of the inspecial conditions, they have an even lower chance of being able to attack during their turn. Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz provide an extra attacking option, with Rocket’s Zapdos providing the crucial fighting resistance that this deck needs. In the early game, it is best to use the first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos to power itself up, while manually attaching energy to Snorlax on the bench. Mysterious Fossil can provide other functions besides evolving into Aerodactyl, as it is able to soak up one, 10 DMG attack from your opponet giving you more time to power up your other attackers, and provide a one-time free retreat opportunity. Never promote Aerodactyl as your active unless it is the only option, as it is frail, has a high retreat cost, and is very important to being able to defeat decks that use evolution Pokemon. If your opponent manages to get out Muk FO before you get out Aerodactyl, then your opponent will be able to evolve Pokemon however they like, and not be statused by the sleep inducing ability of Drowzee.



1.11~~~Snorlax + Sleep Spam + Confusion Spam
4 Snorlax JU
3 Drowzee TR
3 Scyther JU
2 Dark Gloom TR
3 Oddish TR
=15
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 ER
3 SER
3 Lass
3 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
=30
6 Grass Energy
4 DCE
4 Potion Energy
=14


Strategy/Card Explanations:
Confusion was a really powerful status condition in the BS-On metagame. It had a 50% chance of preventing your opponent from retreating and attacking, dealt 20 DMG if they failed to attack, and made them pay the retreat cost even if they failed to pivot out of the active slot. Similar to the previous two decklists, this deck focused on applying annoying status conditions, and dealing chip DMG with Snorlax and patching up the fighting weakness with Scyther. Drowzee is still included to provide a turn 1 opportunity to apply status conditions, however it is at a lower count due to the inclusion of Dark Gloom. Because this deck does not have Rocket’s Scyther, I felt that I could add more non-grass energy without problems, so I decided to add Potion Energy which sometimes making 2HKO’s on Snorlax and Scyther not happen, allowing you to attack for one more turn, dealing that much more chip DMG to your opponent. Lass might seem odd to include in a deck like this, however most of the trainers in this deck can be used instantly, allowing Lass to remove more trainers from your opponent’s hand than your hand. The 4 ER, 3 SER, 3 GoW, 3 Lass, and 4 Potion Energy provide plenty of disruptive power throughout the match, pushing the envelope on how annoying decks can be in the BS-On metagame.



2.0~~~~Grass Type Overview
Strengths: Grass type Pokemon are one of the most powerful types in the BS-On format. Many different strategies stem from strong grass types and their unique attacks, abilities and characteristics. Prominent aspects of grass Pokemon such as Scyther JU’s zero retreat cost, Muk ability lock, Dark Muk’s active lock, Dark Vileplume’s item lock, Venusaur’s energy movement, and Rocket’s Scyther’s Shadow Images attack give them a important place in many decks, even some that do not use grass energy. Within the grass type Pokemon category, many beefy stage 2 powerhouses exist that can easily turn the tide of the game into your favor.

Weaknesses: Nearly every grass type is weak to fire, making Magmar FO, and Blaine’s Charizard extremely strong against them. Although the stage 2 powerhouses are quite strong, they take a long time to evolve and power up, which can be costly against fast decks like Haymaker variants, as well as quick, heavy hitting stage 1 decks.

Powerful Grass Type Pokemon: Scyther JU, Rocket’s Scyther, Exeggutor JU, Venusaur BS, Dark Vileplume TR, Muk FO, Dark Muk TR, Pinsir JU, Dark Gloom TR, Dark Weezing TR, Koga’s Beedrill, Koga’s Zubat.



2.1~~~~Muk + Dark Muk + Grass BB
3 Dark Muk TR
1 Muk FO
4 Grimer FO
3 Scyther JU
1 Erika’s Jigglypuff
=12
4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 SER
4 ER
3 Gust of Wind
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Narrow Gym
=34
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The main attackers in this deck are Dark Muk and Scyther. Dark Muk’s ability which increases the retreat cost of the defending Pokemon by two allows the residual poison DMG to rack up, making KO’s easier due to your opponent retreating less. The two count of Pokemon Trader is to get out Fossil Muk when you need it, making the Blastoise, Aerodactyl and Venusaur matchups that much easier. ER and SER along with Narrow Gym make the Wigglytuff matchup manageable, which would otherwise be difficult for this deck to face. One might think that Muk’s ability lock would hurt Dark Muk, but for most matchups that getting Muk into play is a benefit, the opposing Pokemon usually has a retreat cost of 2 or more which makes Dark Muk’s ability less useful. The main threat to this deck succeeding is and fire types such as Magmar and Blaine’s Charizard which hit Muk, Dark Muk, and Scyther all for weakness.



2.2~~~~Muk + Dark Muk + Stall Basics
3 Dark Muk TR
1 Muk FO
4 Grimer FO
3 Scyther JU
2 Chansey BS
1 Ditto FO
=14
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
3 Gust of Wind
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Trader
=31
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Same strategy as the previous deck, but in this case the supporting Pokemon are there to buy time for Dark Muk’s poison DMG to accumulate over the turns that Chansey keeps your opponent from dealing enough damage to KO anything. Ditto might seem like an odd inclusion, however it's versatility along with DCE is incredible even in a deck that contains Muk and it’s ability locking capabilities. Scyther is there for free retreat and to provide a support attacker role to the deck’s structure. 3 Scoop Up, 3 ER, 3 SER, and 2 GoW are the disruption backbone for most decks in the BS-On format, and this deck is no different. This deck does not struggle as much with decks with many high HP Pokemon because of inclusions such as Chansey and Ditto to deal large chunks of DMG, however it loses a small amount of the turn 2 attacking capabilities that the previous deck has.



2.3~~~~Muk + Electric BB
2 Muk FO
2 Grimer FO
3 Rocket’s Zapdos
3 Electabuzz BS
2 Scyther JU
=12
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
4 SER
2 Gust of Wind
2 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Defender
2 Narrow Gym
=33
11 Lightning Energy
2 Grass Energy
3 DCE
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This variant of Muk utilizes all attacks of Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz which together cover the otherwise threatening fighting types. Utilizing ER and SER is more effective than Rocket’s Sneak Attack and Rocket’s Trap because SER puts lightning energy into the discard pile for the first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos. Defender helps Rocket’s Zapdos from taking too much recoil damage, and the inclusion of grass energy helps with that as well. There are many cards that I would like to include more of such as Scoop Up, GoW, SER, Plus Power, and others. Narrow Gym, usually an uncommon card to include was added because it limits the DMG output of Wigglytuff, and other Pokemon that rely on bench sitters to become powerful. Also, this deck does not suffer much from a 4 Pokemon slot bench. Scyther was included for free retreat, an all colorless attack, a minor weakness, and another attacking option, similar reasons as to why it is included in a lot of decks in this guide. Not much can break down this deck single-handedly, however decks that do not utilitize abilities take advantage of the slightly slow setup that is due to the space that the Muk evolution line occupies.



2.4~~~~Muk + Stall BB
3 Muk FO
3 Grimer FO
3 Lickitung JU
2 Kangaskhan JU
3 Chansey BS
=14
4 Erika
3 Computer Error
3 Imposter Professor Oak
4 Tickling Machine
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
2 GoW
4 Scoop Up
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
=35
6 Grass Energy
4 DCE
2 Full Heal Energy
=12

Strategy/Card Explanations:



2.5~~~~Dark Vileplume + Dark Muk
3 Dark Vileplume TR
2 Dark Gloom TR
3 Oddish TR
3 Dark Muk TR
3 Grimer FO
3 Rocket’s Scyther
2 Scyther JU
2 Ditto FO
=21
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Boss’s Way
=19
12 Grass Energy
4 DCE
3 Full Heal Energy
=19

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Trainer lock was one of the most influential types of locks in the BS-On format. Dark Vileplume blocks both players from using trainers, hence the decreased quantity of trainers in this archetype, and the absence of commonly used trainers such as Item Finder. Boss’s Way is used to Dark Pokemon into play such as Muk, Gloom, and Vileplume. Both versions of Scyther and Ditto were used as quick attacking basics, allowing the deck to deal DMG while evolving your Oddish and Dark Gloom. Usually, your opponent’s deck will have a lot of trainers, so getting Vileplume into play is a priority so that around half of the cards of their deck will be useless for the rest of the game. Dark Muk’s secondary poison effect works well with Dark Vileplume’s ability, because the opponent cannot use Switch or retreat easily due to the combination of trainer lock and Dark Muk’s ability. If you opponent uses Muk FO or strong fire type BB, then you should expect a loss because of opposing Muk’s ability lock allowing both players to use trainers even if Dark Vileplume is in play. With the very small amount of trainers in this deck, it cannot keep up with other fast-paced decks when trainers are able to be played.



2.6~~~~Dark Vileplume + Multicolored Basics
3 Dark Vileplume TR
2 Dark Gloom TR
4 Oddish TR
3 Rocket’s Scyther
3 Rocket’s Hitmonchan
2 Hitmonchan BS
2 Scyther JU
2 Ditto FO
=21
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 Computer Search
1 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Pokemon Trader
2 Pokemon Breeder
=19
8 Fighting Energy
6 Grass Energy
4 DCE
2 Full Heal Energy
=20

Strategy/Card Explanations:
A quick hitting version of the previous decklist, this variation takes advantage of your opponent not being able to use Switch or GoW. Rocket’s Scyther and Rocket’s Hitmochan have first attacks that would normally be reset if the opponent were to play a phasing/switching card, however with trainer lock, this is no longer possible. The regular versions of Scyther and Hitmonchan are in this deck for backup attackers while Ditto’s inclusion is to provide a soft check to setup attackers that are capable of steamrolling through your Pokemon, such as Rocket’s Zapdos and MP Mewtwo. Boss’s Way was replaced by more Pokemon Trader, due to the decreased amount of Dark Pokemon. Full Heal Energy was added due to the inability to switch or retreat easily other than Scyther, and to cure the confusion induced when using Dark Gloom’s ability. This deck has the same weaknesses as almost all other Vileplume decks; fire types, dead hands, and ability lock, which usually results in losses against those types of decks.



2.7~~~~Dark Vileplume + Dark Golduck + Psychic BB
3 Dark Vileplume TR
3 Dark Gloom TR
4 Oddish TR
2 Dark Golduck TR
4 Psyduck WBSP
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Snorlax JU
2 Mr. Mime JU
2 Kangaskhan JU
=24
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Pokemon Breeder
=18
11 Psychic Energy
4 DCE
3 Full Heal Energy
=18

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck is a more intensified version of the Dark Vileplume archetype. With Psyduck WBSP, you can theoretically item lock your opponent the entire game with a combination of it’s first attack, and then transitioning into attacking for DMG when Dark Vileplume is in play. The ideal starter for this deck is Psyduck, which is why four copies are included into this deck to have the best chance of having it in your starting hand. In addition to dealing DMG, Dark Golduck serves a useful purpose of being an option to draw extra cards when under item lock, while putting energy into the discard for MP Mewtwo’s first attack. Dark Golduck also provides a counter to the fire types that usually destroy Dark Vileplume archetypes, making it a incredibly useful addition to this variant. This archetype struggles less with fire types, but is somewhat slower to setup than most Dark Vileplume archetypes, creating potential opportunities for SER fast decks to KO or donk the low HP basics in this deck.



2.8~~~~Venusaur + Grass BB
3 Venusaur BS
2 Ivysaur BS
3 Bulbasaur BS
3 Scyther JU
2 Kangaskhan JU
2 Pinsir JU
=15
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
2 Switch
4 Pokemon Center
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
2 No Removal Gym
=31
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck focuses on healing at the right moments to remove as much DMG off your side of the field as possible. To do this, Venusaur’s ability which allows you to move around grass energy endlessly throughout your Pokemon in play is paired with Pokemon Center which wipes all damage from all your Pokemon and discarding the energy attached to the ones that were healed. Keeping your energy spread out among your benched Pokemon with this deck is crucial to not losing too much energy at once if your opponent happens to use GoW to kill a weak benched Pokemon. This is one of the only decks that is beneficial to use only 3 Professor Oak, because discarding a lot of resources such as Pokemon Center, Grass Energy, or part of the Venusaur line will hurt the late game effectiveness of this deck. Most of the other trainers are standard for the BS-On format, but increasing cards such as Pokemon Trader, Pokemon Breeder, GoW, and Scyther can benefit this deck greatly, although space is very limited when using stage 2 Pokemon. Fire types are the biggest threat to this deck, solely because of the weakness of grass energy, while ER and SER are a close second, as this deck has no energy acceleration.



2.9~~~~Venusaur + Multicolored BB
3 Venusaur BS
2 Ivysaur BS
3 Bulbasaur BS
3 Scyther JU
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Hitmonchan BS
2 Kangaskhan JU
=17
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
2 Switch
4 Pokemon Center
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
2 No Removal Gym
=29
8 Grass Energy
4 Rainbow Energy
2 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explantions:
This is my unique take on the classic Venusaur deck archetype in attempt to improve matchups against Wigglytuff, Alakazam, and fire types. Rainbow Energy is allowed to be moved around by Venusaur, and it can also be used as fighting or psychic energy for Hitmonchan and MP Mewtwo. MP Mewtwo can get the rainbow energy back from the discard with it’s first attack and accelerate the energy onto your side of the field. The DCE is for Scyther or Kangaskhan, so that they can attack when your opponent thinks that their Pokemon can be safe from attacks for one more turn. The combination of Scyther’s fighting resistance, with Kangaskhan’s fighting weakness and psychic resistance to cover MP Mewtwo and Hitmonchan’s weakness is enough to cover most types effectively. The one problem with relying on Rainbow Energy is that when all of them are in the discard, MP Mewtwo and Hitmonchan become useless as their attack costs cannot be fulfilled with the other energy in this deck. This is why ER and especially SER are the bane of this deck’s existence, even with No Removal Gym in this deck, because they can potentially remove all the Rainbow Energy in one turn.



2.10~~~Exeggutor + Electrode
3 Exeggutor JU
4 Exeggcute BS
3 Electrode BS
3 Voltorb BS
2 Scyther JU
=15
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 Item Finder
4 Computer Search
2 GoW
2 Switch
3 Potion
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Defender
2 Pokemon Trader
2 No Removal Gym
=31
3 Grass Energy
4 DCE
4 Potion Energy
3 Full Heal Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanation:
The goal of this deck is to stack as many energies as possible onto one Exeggutor, then keep it alive for as long as it takes for you to win. To achieve this Potion Energy Defender, and Potion are used to keep it alive, while Electrode’s sacrificial ability, DCE, No Removal Gym, and Nightly Garbage Run put energy onto Exeggutor quickly. Everything in this deck is fairly standard, however only 3 Professor Oak is used so that there are less scenarios when DCE is discarded from your hand. It is best to keep your special energy, especially DCE on the field as long as possible because the amount of energy on Exeggutor determines the maximum DMG it can deal. Obviously with a coin flipping attack, there is always a chance of getting zero head flips, so when using this deck, hope for the best, but expect the worst. ER and SER cripple this deck’s effectiveness, because they can remove Electrode from Exeggutor as well as DCE which makes No Removal Gym that much more crucial to this deck’s effectiveness. Magmar also makes this deck suffer, as Exeggutor is weak to fire, and is susceptible to status conditions like poison, confusion and sleep.



2.11~~~Dark Weezing Swarm
4 Dark Weezing TR
4 Koffing FO
2 Scyther JU
2 Erika’s Dratini
=12
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 Nightly Garbage Run
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Erika’s Kindness
4 Defender
2 Challenge!
2 The Boss’s Way
2 Transparent Wall
=32
8 Grass Energy
4 Potion Energy
2 Full Heal Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
A interesting budget deck back in the BS-On format. This deck aims to OHKO enemies by having as many Dark Weezing and Koffing in play as possible. On the downside, Dark Weezing’s second attack deals 20 DMG to all of your Dark Weezing and Koffing in play, so this deck needs to include ways to heal or mitigate recoil DMG to prevent your opponent from taking easy prizes. The high counts of Defender, Potion Energy, Transparent Walls, and Erika’s Kindness are used to reduce the amount of recoil damage that Dark Weezing and Koffing take. Challenge! and The Boss’s Way help get multiple Koffing into play and eventually you will be able to evolve them. Oddly enough, Erika’s Dratini fits quite well into this deck, providing a buffer against Haymaker and BB decks so that multiple Dark Weezing can be brought into play to KO the opposing Pokemon. Scyther is included to provide a free retreat option as well as a secondary attacker in case the Dark Weezing/Koffing combo is either not setup yet or they are in your discard pile. 4 Nightly Garbage Run is used to help retrieve the Weezing evolution line from the discard pile, however it is not always in your hand when you need it, making Scyther and Erika’s Dratini very useful in this deck to buy time against more powerful opponents.



2.12~~~Grass BB + Normal BB + Lt. Surge’s Fearow
3 Rocket’s Scyther
3 Lickitung JU
2 Pinsir JU
2 Scyther JU
2 Lt. Surge’s Fearow
3 Lt. Surge’s Spearow
=15
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
3 GoW
2 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Defender
=31
10 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
A pseudo active stall deck featuring four of the best stallers in the BS-On metagame, Rocket’s Scyther, Scyther, Lickitung, and Pinsir. Using the stall aspects of these Pokemon, you should be able to effectively chip away at your opponent's Pokemon until they eventually get KO’ed. The heavier hitters of this deck are Pinsir and Scyther, while Lickitung, and Rocket’s Scyther are capable of stalling out your opponent for longer periods of time. Lt. Surge’s Fearow has the unique characteristic of being able to prevent your opponent from retreating, making them either burn 1 Switch, or take more damage next turn. This is important because it limits the number of times that the opponent can save their Switch card for the paralysis that Pinsir and Lickitung induce. ER, SER, Defender and Scoop Up are the trainers to be used for keeping your Pokemon alive longer and limiting your opponent’s DMG output. Fire types can hit all of the basics in this deck for weakness, and deal significant DMG to Lt. Surge’s Fearow. Electric Pokemon such as Electabuzz can potentially OHKO Lt. Surge’s Fearow, and give the other Pokemon in this deck a taste of their own medicine using its first attack, Thundershock.



2.13~~~Koga’s Beedrill Speed Swarm
4 Koga’s Beedrill
4 Koga’s Kakuna
4 Koga’s Weedle
2 Koga’s Ditto
=14
2 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 Erika
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Imposter Oak’s Revenge
3 GoW
4 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
2 Good Manners
2 Fuschia City Gym
=34
12 Grass Energy
=12

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The reason as to why this deck works so surprisingly well is because the sheer speed this deck has. The maximum 4-4-4 Koga’s Beedrill evolution line is used to take full advantage of Koga’s Kakuna’s ability that allows you to evolve it into Koga’s Beedrill on the turn you play it if you flip heads. The first attack of Koga’s Beedrill is a special condition frenzy, applying both paralysis and poison if heads is flipped. The addition of Koga’s Ditto is to have a secondary attacker in case you are going up against fire types or have it in your starting hand on turn 1. Plus Power was added instead of Koga, because Koga’s Beedrill already has a chance to apply the poison special condition, making Koga less useful in this situation. 4 Nightly Garbage Run was utilized to be able to always have a steady stream of Koga’s Beedrill ready to attack throughout the course of the game. Erika + Imposter Oak’s Revenge + Fuschia City Gym make up the defensive side of the deck, allowing you to manipulate your opponent’s hand, and return Koga’s Beedrill to your hand, subsequently healing all damage from it. Similar to the previous deck, fire types pose a huge threat, specifically Blaine’s Charizard who is able to heal off the chip damage from poison, so going for the risky second attack of Koga’s Beedrill is the most realistic way of winning that matchup.



2.14~~~Koga’s Zubat Speed Swarm
4 Koga’s Zubat
2 Scyther JU
=6
4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 ER
2 SER
2 Lass
2 Gust of Wind
4 Plus Power
4 Defender
4 Koga
4 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Fuschia City Gym
=44
10 Grass Energy
=10

Strategy/Card Explanantions:
A suprisingly good deck that shows just how devastating the disruption cards in the BS-On metagame can be. For only two energy, Koga’s Zubat is able to consistently deal 40 DMG every turn, as long as no other Koga’s Zubat are in your discard pile or prize cards.  Because it's owner is Koga, trainers such as Fuschia City Gym and Koga can be used to heal and deal more residual damage respectively. The addition of Plus Power alongside Koga may seem redundant, however the effects of each trainer stack, so Koga’s Zubat could theoretically deal 80 DMG + poison the defending Pokemon if 4 Plus Power and 1 Koga are used. Because Koga’s Zubat has only 40HP, the addition of Defender, ER, SER, GoW, Lass and Fuschia City Gym are mandatory to minimize the amount of times your opponent will be able to secure KO’s throughout the game. Scyther is in this deck to solely provide attacking options against decks that have Magmar, who is able to OHKO Koga’s Zubat using only 2 energy. This deck’s greatest strength is speed, so dealing 30-40 DMG on turn 2 is very important to apply early pressure.



3.0~~~~Water Type Overview
Strengths: Water types have one of the most defining abilities in the BS-On format, Rain Dance. Blastoise BS has an ability that allows you to attach infinite water energy from your hand during your turn. This alone holds a lot of power, but combining it with its above average and expensive attack allows it to deal DMG on it’s own as well as be a bench sitter only used for its ability. Outside of Blastoise and the heavy attackers that it powers up, there are some powerful water type attackers that are able to make full use of Blastoise’s ability.

Weaknesses: The fact that most water types are weak to electric Pokemon is very significant, as Rocket’s Zapdos, Electabuzz BS, Dark Raichu TR, and other electric Pokemon run rampant in the BS-On metagame. A few water Pokemon are weak to grass types, which is also a very commonly used type in the metagame. Outside of Blastoise, few water Pokemon have abilities that allow them to shine on their own without having to attack to be beneficial in popular decks.

Powerful Water Type Pokemon: Blastoise BS, Articuno JU, Dark Golduck TR, Dark Blastoise TR, Gyarados BS, Misty’s Poliwhirl, Misty’s Seadra, Dark Vaporeon TR, Psyduck TR/WBSP, Tentacool FO, Lapras FO.



3.1~~~~Blastoise + Typical Water BB



3.2~~~~Blastoise + Misty’s Poliwhirl



4.0~~~~Fire Type Overview
Strengths: Fire types are not always seen as a threat, however in my opinion they are one of the most underestimated types when it comes to deckbuilding. Pairing fire types with electric Pokemon is a good option, because they cover up the water weakness offensively, hitting them for weakness. Cards such as Blaine’s Charizard, Blaine’s Rapidash, Blaine’s Arcanine, Moltres FO, and Arcanine BS are best used by themselves, while others like Magmar FO can be used with other colored types in the same deck. Fire types hit one of the most prominent types, grass for weakness resulting in good matchups against a multitude of decks.

Weaknesses: Hefty attack costs and discarding lots of  energy are the common downfall among fire type Pokemon. Some of the most powerful attacks belong to fire Pokemon, however the risky nature and heavy discard costs of those attacks deter players from using them in decks.

Powerful Fire Type Pokemon: Blaine’s Charizard, Magmar FO, Blaine’s Arcanine, Moltres FO, Arcanine BS.



4.1~~~~Blaine’s Charizard + Fire BB + Healing Trainers
4 Blaine’s Charizard
2 Blaine’s Charmeleon
4 Blaine’s Charmander
2 Magmar FO
=12
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Gust of Wind
2 Switch
4 Pokemon Center
4 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Blaine
=32
16 Fire Energy
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Perhaps the most consistent of the fire type deck archetypes, Blaine’s Charizard is definitely one of the most versatile stage 2 Pokemon in the BS-On metagame. It is able to consistently deal 40 DMG unless you whiff manual fire energy attachments, which rarely happens due to the high count of fire energy in this deck. The maximum amount of Nightly Garbage Run was included because lots of fire energy will be put into the discard pile throughout the match, returns them to your deck increases the consistency of the deck, recovers the pieces of the thick Blaine’s Charizard evolution line, and prevents losing the game by decking out. Pokemon Center is really beneficial for this deck, because Blaine’s Charizard rarely has any energy at the start of your turn, negating the downside of discarding energy after using Pokemon Center. Cinnabar City Gym is a useful stadium that can be used to remove the water weakness from Pokemon owned by Blaine, drastically improving the matchup against Blastoise archetypes and other water types. The deck lacks power outside of the Blaine’s Charizard evolution line, so failing to get Blaine’s Charizard into play quickly can be a problem. Mr. Mime is one of the best counters to Blaine’s Charizard, however Magmar helps cover that weakness, with the ability to 2HKO Mr. Mime with its second attack.



4.2~~~~Arcanine + Electrode
4 Arcanine BS
4 Growlthe BS
3 Electrode BS
3 Voltorb BS
2 Magmar FO
=16
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Gust of Wind
2 Switch
3 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Defender
2 Pokemon Trader
2 No Removal Gym
=30
10 Fire Energy
4 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck revolves around Arcanine, who is able to dish out massive amounts of DMG, but has high energy costs, and discarding penalties. To mitigate these losses, Arcanine is paired with Electrode, who is able to provide a double rainbow energy at the cost of self sacrifice and your opponent claiming a prize card. Defender is able to negate much of the recoil damage from Arcanine’s second attack, while the high count of Nightly Garbage Run allows fire energy and Pokemon to be recycled from the discard back into your deck. Magmar provides a early game attacker that is also able to stall while you setup multiple Electrode and power up Arcanine’s attacks. Usually, in a deck with 3 and 4 energy costs to attack it would include more fire energy however, Electrode provides sufficient amounts of energy for the attackers in this deck. The deck really struggles with Blastoise variants as most Arcanine can be OHKO’ed by most water attacks, but to mitigate this, 2-3 Rainbow Energy or Lightning could be added in place of 2-3 Fire energy to allow Electrode to suprise OHKO Blstoise with it’s only attack. However this hurts Arcanine because of the 10 DMG it takes from attachment, or worsening consistency. If you are running into a lot of Blastoise variants, then playing a couple Rainbow Energy or Lightning Energy is recommended.



4.3~~~~Blaine’s Arcanine + Fire BB
3 Blaine’s Arcanine
4 Blaine’s Growlthe
3 Magmar FO
3 Electabuzz BS
=13
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Gust of Wind
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Energy Retrieval
3 Defender
4 Blaine
2 No Removal Gym
=30
10 Fire Energy
3 Lightning Energy
4 DCE
=17

Strategy/Card Explanations:
A similar strategy to the one above, however the energy acceleration comes from a different source. Blaine is the source of energy for Blaine’s Arcanine, allowing you to attach 2 Fire Energy from your hand to any Blaine’s Pokemon in one turn. The combination of Blaine + Stall BB such as Electabuzz and Magmar allow you to power up multiple Blaine’s  Arcanine and attack with them throughout the match. Four copies of Defender were added to mitigate the recoil from Blaine’s Arcanine and Electabuzz first attacks as well as keep Blaine’s Arcanine alive longer than typically possible. Compared to the deck above, this deck has a better matchup against Blastoise archetypes, however it does not have as much high DMG options, due to Blaine’s Arcanine having to discard three energy for 120 DMG with its second attack. This makes the deck fairly weak against Alakazam, Chansey, and decks that use healing trainers, because this deck is usually incapable of using the second attack Blaine’s Arcanine to achieve KO’s consistently. The damage you deal with the other attacks can be healed off every turn by your opponent, so I added more energy recovery than usual with the inclusion of 2 copies of Energy Retrevial to be able to consistently use the second attack Blaine’s Arcanine if necessary.



4.4~~~~Brock’s Ninetales + Wigglytuff
4 Wigglytuff JU
4 Brock’s Ninetales
4 Brock’s Vulpix
1 Clefable JU
3 Magmar FO
2 Erika’s Dratini
=18
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
2 Switch
3 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Pokemon Trader
2 Challenge!
4 Brock’s Protection
=29
9 Fire Energy
4 DCE
=13

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Pokemon owned by Brock in the BS-On format have many benefits over other owners due to the Pokemon tool, Brock’s Protection. This card completely negates ER and SER from effecting Pokemon with Brock in its name. Because of the ability that Brock’s Ninetales has to be able to transform into any evolution card, it grants protection from ER and SER to stage 1 and stage 2 Pokemon that are usually crippled by those cards. With this deck I decided to pair Brock’s Ninetales with Wigglytuff, because it is one of the strongest stage 1 Pokemon in the format, and it also happens to be weak to energy disruption. The high counts of Challenge and Pokemon Trader is necessary to get the correct Pokemon out and with the high amount of them, it is usually helpful in your hand. The inclusion of more Fire Energy would be nice, however like most Brock’s Ninetales archetypes, the deck is low on extra space for cards that aren't necessary for the deck to function. It is important to keep your bench as full as possible throughout the game due to Wigglytuff’s dependency on it for DMG output. This deck cannot function without abilities, so Muk FO completely wrecks this deck’s strategy. Lack of consistency also becomes a issue with all of the evolved Pokemon in this deck, so utilizing your Pokemon Trader, Professor Oak, CPU Search, and Bill to their full capability is important to the success of this deck.



5.0~~~~Psychic Type Overview
Strengths: Unique abilities and attacks that work with many types of decks are the main traits of psychic types in the BS-On format. Psychic types have many ways to prevent DMG, such as Haunter FO, and Mr. Mime JU, providing good wall options when building stall decks. Stall decks also have Alakazam BS who is able to manipulate all DMG counters on your side of the field. This ability combined with healing trainers such as Pokemon Center and Scoop Up make for an effective strategy to deck out your opponent. Psychic BB Pokemon play an integral role in many Haymaker variants. MP Mewtwo, Mew WBSP, Rocket’s Mewtwo, Jynx BS, and Mr. Mime JU are basics that can deal quick damage and apply pressure early in the game. Psychic types also have access to multiple stage 2 evolution lines that work well in the metagame such as Sabrina’s Alakazam, Alakazam BS, Sabrina’s Gengar, and Dark Alakazam TR.

Weaknesses: The weakness of almost all psychic Pokemon is psychic, so when two psychic decks face each other, whoever sets up the fastest usually wins. Normal types are resistant to psychic, and because psychic types do not typically deal more than 60 DMG, they end up needing 3 or more turns to KO one normal Pokemon. Psychic attacks sometimes cost a lot of energy to use, and there is no form of universal energy acceleration for them to power up their attacks in a short amount of time.

Powerful Psychic Type Pokemon: MP Mewtwo WBSP, Mew WBSP, Jynx BS, Mr. Mime JU, Alakazam BS, Sabrina’s Alakazam, Rocket’s Mewtwo, Haunter FO, Gengar FO, Dark Alakazam TR, Mewtwo BS, Slowbro FO.



5.1~~~~Alakazam + Stallers + Attackers
3 Alakazam BS
2 Kadabra BS
3 Abra TR
1 Haunter FO
1 Gastly FO
3 Chansey BS
3 MP Mewtwo WBSP
1 Tentacool FO
=17
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
2 Switch
4 Scoop Up
3 Pokemon Center
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
=30
9 Psychic Energy
4 DCE
=13

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck focuses on both healing and attacking. MP Mewtwo and Mr. Mime both soak up and deal DMG, with the 1-1 line of Haunter to provide free retreat and rotate between attackers whenever one of them receives  heavy DMG. 1 copy of Tentacool is mandatory in all Alakazam stall decks because of its ability to remove damage from the field if Alakazam is in play. This deck is really tight on space, so less disruption and healing cards were included because of the space needed for energy. The deck effectively combines the strengths of stall and Haymaker, but because of the lack of space for trainers, it also possesses the weaknesses of both archetypes as well. Psychic types are a big problem for this deck, as most of them are able to OHKO Mewtwo, and deal heavy DMG to Alakazam if GOW is used. This deck struggles with Goop Gas Attack and Muk FO, however this deck has the attacking options to KO Muk if necessary. Haymaker decks can easily OHKO Abra and Tentacool gaining quick prizes and putting stress on your ability to have Nightly Garbage Run in your hand to revive them from the discard pile.



5.2~~~~Dark Alakazam + Pivot Stallers
4 Dark Alakazam TR
3 Dark Kadabra TR
4 Abra TR
2 Haunter FO
2 Gastly FO
2 Erika’s Dratini
=17
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
3 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Defender
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Resistance Gym
=29
10 Psychic Energy
2 Full Heal Energy
2 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explantions:
This deck focuses on a hit and run tactic, a very uncommon strategy in the BS-On metagame. Dark Alakazam deals 30 DMG then returns itself to the bench allowing you to promote one of the two walls in this deck, Erika’s Dratini and Haunter. Haunter conviently has no retreat cost allowing quick access to Dark Alakazam the following turn, while Erika’s Dratini provides a buffer from BB such as MP Mewtwo and Mr. Mime JU. Another noteable aspect of this deck is Dark Kadabra, whose ability provides an alternate draw engine for this deck and frees up space for other trainers because Professor Oak is less necessary. Resistance Gym is used over No Removal Gym because even though ER and SER are really annoying, normal types that resist psychic such as Clefable and Wigglytuff take no damage from the first attack of Dark Alakazam, and can either threaten to KO it or use Dark Alakazam’s first attack against you and switch to the bench afterward. In short, Dark Alakazam’s very low 60HP for a stage 2 makes it less effective against quick, heavy DMG deck archetypes that include cards such as Wigglytuff, Clefable, Ditto, and MP Mewtwo. It's high energy cost also makes it somewhat weak to ER and SER.



5.3~~~~Sabrina’s Alakazam + Psychic BB
4 Sabrina’s Alakazam
2 Sabrina’s Kadabra
4 Sabrina’s Abra
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
3 Rocket’s Mewtwo
2 Mr. Mime JU
=17
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Pokemon Breeder
2 Pokemon Trader
2 Resistance Gym
=29
14 Psychic Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Sabrina’s Alakazam is able to copy all of your psychic type Pokemon’s attacks. With its beefy 80HP, it is able to withstand multiple hits and deal lots of damage in return. It can copy the powerful attacks of Rocket’s Mewtwo and MP Mewtwo that deal 60 DMG and 40 DMG respectively. 3 Pokemon Breeder and 2 Sabrina’s Kadabra are used to be able to get your Sabriba’s Alakazam out quickly. Normal Types pose a threat to the DMG output of the Psychic attackers in this deck, so I decided to add Resistance Gym to help mitigate that DMG deficit. No special energy were used because the majority of energy costs in this deck require Psychic energy to be functional, so adding cards such as Full Heal Energy would decrease the deck’s consistency. If Resistance Gym gets replaced by another stadium, or is not able to be played or obtained, then most normal type decks such as Wigglytuff and Clefable become a defensive stop to this deck. Opposing MP Mewtwo’s can pose a threat if they are able to setup faster than you can get Mr. Mime into the active position.



5.4~~~~Promo Mew(two) Duo + Aerodactyl + Normal BB
2 Aerodactyl FO
3 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Mew WBSP
2 Erika’s Jigglypuff
3 Erika’s Dratini
=12
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Mysterious Fossil
3 Plus Power
2 Lass
3 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Resistance Gym
=32
10 Psychic Energy
4 DCE
2 Full Heal Energy
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The classic combo of evolution lock with a slight twist. Mew adds a new layer of strategy, providing an option to completely removing your opponent's evolution Pokemon from the field, stripping them down to their basic Pokemon only. This strategy combined with Aerodactyl’s ability prohibits your opponent from evolving their basics that next turn, therefore weakening your opponent’s side of the field and main strategy. Scoop Up was added instead of the usual Switch because it provides an alternative option to heal your Pokemon and promote a new one simultaneously. Most Aerodactyl decks use only 2 Aerodactyl and 3 Mysterious Fossil because once one of
them is in play, no more Mysterious Fossil can be evolved, due to Aerodactyl’s ability stopping both players from evolving Pokemon, not just your opponent. Resistance Gym is a typical inclusion to many decks that use Psychic type attackers in order to better face Pokemon such as Wigglytuff, Snorlax, Kangaskhan, and Clefable. Plus Power is combined with Mewtwo’s second attack to OHKO 50HP basic Pokemon. All Aerodactyl decks are slightly weak to Haymaker, since the Haymaker decks have more space for useful trainers such as ER, SER, Defender, and Lass and do not rely on evolution Pokemon for their main strategy.



5.5~~~~Gengar + Psychic BB
4 Gengar FO
3 Haunter FO
4 Gastly FO
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Mr. Mime JU
2 Ditto FO
=17
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 Lass
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Plus Power
2 Pokemon Breeder
2 Resistance Gym
=29
12 Psychic Energy
2 DCE
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:



6.0~~~~Electric Type Overview
Strengths: Electric types have access to many ways to accelerate energy from the discard pile. Cards such as Lt. Surge’s Electabuzz G1, Rocket’s Zapdos, and Lt. Surge’s Electabuzz G2 have attacks that do this, and can dish out significant DMG to your opponent as well. Not many Pokemon in the BS-On metagame resist electric types, so many electric types don't have to be paired with much other than something to patch up the common fighting weakness many electric Pokemon share.

Weaknesses: Nearly all electric types that cannot fly are weak to fighting types, so when using electric types, make sure to pair them with Pokemon that resist fighting. Rocket’s Zapdos is a huge asset to the success of electric types, providing a key resistance to fighting and a really good attacking option for decks that need a early game attacker or heavy hitting BB. Recoil damage and self sacrifice is a common theme among electric types. Pokemon such as Electabuzz BS, Rocket’s Zapdos, Electrode BS, Lt. Surge’s Magneton, Magneton BS, and Zapdos FO are all good examples that exemplify this characteristic of electric type Pokemon.

Powerful Electric Type Pokemon: Rocket’s Zapdos, Electrode BS, Dark Raichu TR, Lt. Surge’s Electabuzz G1, Lt. Surge’s Electabuzz G2, Electabuzz BS, Zapdos BS, Zapdos FO, Lt. Surge’s Magneton, Dark Jolteon TR.



6.1~~~~Dark Raichu + Electric BB
3 Dark Raichu TR
4 Pikachu WBSP
2 Electabuzz BS
3 Rocket’s Zapdos
2 Scyther JU
=14
4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 GoW
2 Scoop Up
3 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Pokemon Trader
3 Plus Power
3 Defender
=31
12 Lightning Energy
3 Full Heal Energy
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck’s win condition is to use a slew of electric Pokemon to barrage your opponent’s active and benched Pokemon to oblivion. Dark Raichu’s attack is the main focus, hitting every Pokemon on your opponent’s bench for potentially 20 DMG, and dealing 30 DMG to the active. While weak to Hitmonchan BS, this strategy works well against decks with multiple low HP basics that can easily be KO’ed by the bench sniping capabilities of Dark Raichu. Because of Dark Raichu’s weakness to fighting types, and has a generally low damage output spread out, Rocket’s Zapdos seemed like a perfect pairing, who has the high, active focused, DMG output that compliments Dark Raichu really well. I added Electabuzz and Scyther to stall and provide more of a fighting resistance. Defender, along with Plus Power allows your Pokemon to prevent more KO’s due to the recoil from both Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz, and apply more pressure on your opponent's field. Plus Power also bolsters the weak 30 DMG output that Dark Raichu does to the opponent’s active Pokemon. Three Nightly Garbage Run instead of the usual two were added to the deck in order to make up for the extra energy investment needed for the attackers in this deck . The deck’s main weakness is Hitmonchan who is able to OHKO Pikachu with only 1 Fighting Energy and 1 Plus Power and hit Electabuzz for weakness. Although ER and SER seem like a problem at first glance, the energy disruption from those cards provides more fuel for Rocket’s Zapdos to accelerate energy from the discard pile.



6.2~~~~Rocket’s Zapdos + Electabuzz + Scyther
4 Rocket’s Zapdos
4 Electabuzz BS
2 Scyther JU
=10
4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 SER
3 ER
2 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
3 Defender
=35
10 Lightning Energy
2 DCE
3 Full Heal Energy
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
The deck focuses on the strong electric type BB that very few Pokemon resist. Rocket’s Zapdos is the main heavy hitter of the deck, dealing 70 DMG and 30-40 DMG to itself, depending on how many lightning energy are attached to it. The first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos is really good in the early stages of the game, allowing you to attach energies to Electabuzz and Scyther on the bench manually while simultaneously powering up Rocket’s Zapdos from your discard pile. SER, Scoop Up, CPU Search, Item Finder, and Professor Oak will be the main ways energy goes to the discard pile throughout the game for Rocket’s Zapdos to use as fuel for its first attack. Electabuzz provides this deck with a good stall option, and a lighter attacking option that requires less energies to deal good DMG. Scyther is the deck’s form of pivoting other than Scoop Up which is mostly use for healing Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz when they are severely weakened. Defender mitigates recoil DMG that accumulates from the second attacks of both Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz. Like most Haymaker archetypes, the best counters resist the Haymaker Pokemon, but this deck is less easy to counter because of the very few Pokemon with electric resistances in the BS-On metagame.



6.3~~~~Electrode + Zapdos + Electric BB
3 Electrode BS
4 Voltorb TR
3 Zapdos BS
3 Electabuzz BS
=13
4 Professor Oak
4 Bill
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Lass
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Energy Retrieval
4 Defender
2 No Removal Gym
=32
15 Lightning Energy
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:



6.4~~~~Quad Rocket’s Zapdos
4 Rocket’s Zapdos
=4
3 Professor Oak
4 Erika
4 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 SER
4 ER
3 Imposter Oak’s Revenge
3 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
3 Defender
=40
12 Lightning Energy
4 Full Heal Energy
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Basically my version of a deck using only 4 copies of one Pokemon. Rocket’s Zapdos is probably the best candidate for this, because it has no weakness, stellar attacks, and has lots of synergy with many trainers in the BS-On metagame. I used the Erika + Professor Oak’s Revenge strategy to disrupt the opponent's hand, and provide a more explosive draw engine compared to using only Bill and Professor Oak The main purpose of a substantial portion of the trainers in this deck are to put energy into the discard pile for Rocket’s Zapdos to accelerate onto itself. Cards such as SER, CPU Search, Item Finder, Scoop Up, Professor Oak, and Professor Oak’s Revenge are used for this purpose along with disrupting your opponent’s hand, energy supply, and other important aspects in the game. Plus Power and Defender allow Rocket’s Zapdos to secure KO’s and reduce the recoil damage it takes from it’s second attack. Scoop Up is better than the usual Switch in this deck because of the utility it provides to both heal, switch, and put more energy in the discard pile for the first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos. The only big threat to this deck is Clefable, as it is able to OHKO Rocket’s Zapdos by copying their attacks for only one energy, while you need 4 energy to be able to KO Clefable. Adding 2 Electabuzz BS is a consideration to help against Clefable, provide a cheap, secondary attacking option, and apply special conditions when needed to stall your opponent from attacking.



6.5~~~~Rocket’s Zapdos + Chansey
4 Rocket’s Zapdos
4 Chansey BS
=8
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
2 Lass
3 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
4 Defender
=38
10 Lightning Energy
4 DCE
2 Full Heal Energy
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:



6.6~~~~Slowbro Healing + Electric BB
3 Slowbro FO
3 Slowpoke FO
4 Electabuzz BS
3 Rocket’s Zapdos
=13
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
2 GoW
2 Scoop Up
4 Pokemon Center
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
=33
11 Lightning Energy
3 Full Heal Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
An interesting approach on a electric BB archetype, this deck aims to heal off the damage that Electabuzz and Rocket’s Zapdos rack up on themselves with their second attacks. Slowbro moves the recoil DMG from the attackers to itself, and then heals all of the DMG by using Pokemon Center, keeping Rocket’s Zapdos and Electabuzz healthy throughout the game. Maximum copies of Pokemon Center and Item Finder were used to provide the most opportunities to heal when necessary. SER, Professor Oak, and CPU Search are the main ways Lightning Energy reaches the discard pile, so using them early is important to provide fuel for the first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos. Scoop Up gives you even more ways to heal your Pokemon, and is this deck’s form of switching. Overall this deck has good matchups against much of the metagame, however it is slightly difficult to start healing quickly, because multiple Slowbro need to be in play for it to be effective.



7.0~~~~Fighting Type Overview
Strengths: Although strong fighting types of the BS-On era are not very plentiful, they are very potent and have significant power within the metagame that force decks to account for fighting types such as Hitmonchan BS, who dominated the game at the peak of the release of the Jungle expansion. The fast and cheap attacks of many fighting type Pokemon allow them to fit into many different types of haymaker decks.
Fighting types do not share one common weaknesses, so mono fighting type decks are viable and not necessarily weak to any one type if constructed properly.

Weaknesses: As stated above, the dominance of fighting types took a hit with the release of Scyther JU. In the Base Set expansion, few Pokemon were used with fighting resistances other than Farfetch’d and Doduo, so Pokemon such as Hitmonchan were running rampant without effective checks. After the Jungle expansion was released, several other powerful cards with fighting resistances were released, furtherly decreasing the prominence of fighting types in the metagame such as Rocket’s Zapdos and Rocket’s Scyther.

Powerful Fighting Type Pokemon: Hitmonchan BS, Rocket’s Hitmonchan, Brock’s Sandslash, Mankey JU, Aerodactyl FO.



7.1~~~~Brock’s Sandslash + Hitmonchan
4 Brock’s Sandslash
4 Brock’s Sandshrew
3 Hitmonchan BS
2 Rocket’s Hitmonchan
=12
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 ER
4 SER
2 GoW
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Plus Power
4 Brock’s Protection
2 Pewder City Gym
=35
14 Fighting Energy
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck exemplifies the strengths of fighting type Pokemon. Pokemon owned by Brock are basically unaffected by ER and SER, due to the Pokemon tool, Brock’s Protection which can only be attached to Brock’s Pokemon. The rest of the cards in this deck are fairly standard, with slight variations in the stadium of choice, and the maximum amount of ER and SER. This deck’s stadium, Pewter City Gym allows Pokemon owned by Brock to bypass the fighting resistances most decks have. When faced against archetypes that include cards like Scyther, Rocket’s Zapdos and Rocket’s Scyther, use Brock’s Sandslash to demolish them. I added ER and SER, because this deck rarely loses energy from the field unless your opponent KO’s multiple Pokemon, so opponents cannot use ER and SER to consistently level out the amount of energy that each player has. This deck aims for consistent DMG output, and to provide an example of how fighting types can overcome the abundant amount of fighting resistances in the metagame that often deter players from utilizing fighting type Pokemon in their decks.



8.0~~~~Two Colored Types Combination Overview
Strengths: Decks that utilize two different Pokemon types are quite common in the BS-On metagame, however decks that use two different energy types are much less common. Although less abundant in the metagame, decks that two energy types have access to more attackers and more opportunities to hit opposing Pokemon for weakness. Pokemon such as Scyther JU are able to be run with any type of energy, however the option to use its first attack makes it that much stronger. Other examples that show how two energy types can be beneficial to a deck can also include Rocket’s Zapdos, who takes less recoil DMG when using 3 lightning energies + 1 other energy as opposed to just 4 lightning energies.

Weaknesses: The main weakness of decks that utilize two different types of energy is the situations that you might not have the right energy at the right time. This might result in not being able to attack when you need to, reducing the pressure you put on your opponent. Most decks that use two different types of energy utilize haymaker Pokemon, which are known for their early pressure on weak basics, so when you miss an attacking opportunity, then it gives your opponent more time to evolve their Pokemon, and strengthen their board position.

Powerful Two Type Pokemon Combinations: Electabuzz BS + Scyther JU, Hitmonchan BS + Scyther JU, Magmar FO + Electabuzz BS, Magmar FO + Hitmonchan BS, Magmar FO + Rocket’s Zapdos.



8.1~~~~Fire BB + Electric BB Active Stall
4 Magmar FO
3 Electabuzz BS
3 Lickitung JU
=10
3 Professor Oak
4 Erika
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
4 ER
3 SER
3 Imposter Oak’s Revenge
2 GoW
4 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
=36
6 Lightning Energy
8 Fire Energy
=14

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Magmar, Electabuzz, and Lickitung are three of the most capable stallers in the BS-On metagame, so combining them for a deck archetype in this guide seemed like a good idea. Magmar is the most useful of the three Pokemon in this deck, being able to take on the fighting types that threaten Electabuzz and Lickitung, and hit prominent grass types for weakness such as Scyther JU. Scoop Up, Erika + Imposter Oak’s Revenge along with ER and SER are the disruptive cards in this deck, altering the hand size, DMG output and energies that your opponent has throughout the game. Using multiple Erika, then proceeding to use Imposter Oak’s Revenge is suggested to prevent your opponent from having to many resources in their hand. 1 less copy of Professor Oak was used, because you will usually have large hand sizes, making Professor Oak more detrimental to the resource conservation of the deck throughout the game, and prevent yourself from losing the game due to having zero cards in your deck. Plus Power is to increase the DMG output of the attackers, as 10 DMG per turn is not sufficient by itself. If multiple Magmar are unable to be powered up early game, then Hitmonchan is able outright OHKO Electabuzz, and OHKO Lickitung with a Plus Power using its second attack.



8.2~~~~Grass BB + Electric BB
4 Rocket’s Zapdos
4 Rocket’s Scyther
=8
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
4 Item Finder
4 CPU Search
4 SER
3 ER
2 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
3 Defender
=36
8 Lightning Energy
4 Grass Energy
4 DCE
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
Coupling two of the best Haymaker Pokemon in the BS-On era, this deck aims to utilize the spectacular first attacks of Rocket’s Zapdos and Rocket’s Scyther to beat down and stall your opponent. Both of these Pokemon pair well with disruption cards, as it buys you time to setup multiple Rocket’s Zapdos and Rocket’s Scyther throughout the game, always having the energy advantage against your opponent. Plus Power, although not found in all decks containing Rocket’s Zapdos is useful to secure OHKO’s and 2HKO’s on low HP basics such as Squirtle BS who are weak to electric type Pokemon. Scoop Up is used as a healing and switching option that is better than switch, because there are no evolution Pokemon to be discarded as a side effect of Scoop Up mechanics. This deck basically automatically wins against decks with fighting type Pokemon, decks that rely on ER and SER, and Blastoise variants that do not use normal type attackers. I focused on ER and SER with this list, however another route that an be taken with this deck is to use Rocket’s Sneak Attack, Rocket’s Trap, Imposter Oak’s Revenge, Erika, and Lass in place of cards like ER, SER, and Plus Power, however I found that energy was easier to get into the discard pile with the decklist above compared to the advantages of hand disruption and manipulation.



8.3~~~~Haymaker Variant + MP Mewtwo
4 MP Mewtwo WBSP
3 Hitmonchan BS
3 Erika’s Jigglypuff
=10
4 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 SER
3 ER
2 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
2 Resistance Gym
=34
7 Psychic Energy
6 Fighting Energy
3 DCE
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck exploits the stellar attributes of Haymaker Pokemon to quickly KO your opponent’s weak basics. Hitmonchan and MP Mewtwo are the heavier attackers of this deck, while Erika’s Jigglypuff is meant to be used early on to deal 40 DMG on turn 1-2 with its second attack. The early pressure that this deck exerts on opponent’s results in easy wins, and even some donks. Since Hitmonchan and MP Mewtwo are both weak to psychic type attacks, Erika’s Jigglypuff was a perfect fit with its resistance to psychic and continuing the theme of early pressure. 4 SER, 3 ER, 3 Scoop Up, and 3 GoW are the disruptive backbone of most decks in the BS-On metagame. The 4 copies of Plus Power are especially important for the attackers in this deck to OHKO 50HP Pokemon, and allow Hitmonchan to 2HKO 70HP Pokemon. A good addition to this deck would be Rocket’s Mewtwo, who provides a pseudo staller for the deck, and a heavy third attack capable of more OHKO’s. I would remove 2 MP Mewtwo for 2 Rocket’s Mewtwo, and then switch 2 Psychic Energy and 2 Fighting Energy for 4 Rainbow Energy. The energy swap is to rack up some residual damage on Rocket’s Mewtwo for its first attack which swaps DMG counters with the opposing active Pokemon.



9.0~~~~Three Colored Types Combination Overview
Strengths: Decks that use three different types of energy are less common than two energy types in one deck. However, with the addition of another type, more Pokemon in the metagame can be hit for weakness. Basically, combining three types exemplify  both more weaknesses and resistances compared to using two types of energy.

Weaknesses: As stated above, decks that utilize three types of energy make it even more difficult to find the right energy at the right time, resulting in potentially more missed attacks and opportunities. With three energy types, playing Energy Search and Rainbow Energy is recommended, as those give outlets to multiple types of energy while only taking up a single card slot in your deck.

Powerful Three Type Pokemon Combinations: Hitmonchan BS + Electabuzz BS + Scyther JU, MP Mewtwo WBSP + Electabuzz BS + Scyther JU.



9.1~~~~Traditional Haymaker Variant
4 Hitmonchan BS
4 Electabuzz BS
4 Scyther JU
=12
3 Professor Oak
3 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
3 ER
3 SER
2 GoW
3 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
4 Plus Power
2 Defender
=32
7 Fighting Energy
5 Lighting Energy
4 DCE
=16

Strategy/Card Explanations:



9.2~~~~Rocket’s Haymaker Variant
3 Rocket’s Zapdos
2 Rocket’s Mewtwo
3 Rocket’s Scyther
2 Rocket’s Hitmonchan
=10
3 Professor Oak
4 Erika
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Imposter Oak’s Revenge
2 GoW
2 Scoop Up
2 Switch
2 Nightly Garbage Run
3 Energy Search
3 Plus Power
2 Defender
=32
6 Lightning Energy
4 Fighting Energy
4 Psychic Energy
4 Rainbow Energy
=18

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck takes the theme of “Rocket’s Pokemon Only” to the extreme, utilizing four different colors of Rocket’s Pokemon and energy. Unlike other Haymaker decks, this one does not use ER or SER, but instead attempts to bolster consistency by adding Energy Search, and maxed counts of  Item Finder and Erika. Erika alongside Imposter Oak’s Revenge is the the deck’s only form of disruption other than Scoop Up, so using the Imposter Oak’s Revenge in the most effective manner is important to winning matchups that involve decks that require many cards to implement their main strategy. Such decks include Dark Vileplume, Blastoise, Blaine’s Charizard, and Wigglytuff archetypes. With the many types of energy in this deck, it is best to use them in the correct ways. Electric energy should be discarded for the first attack of Rocket’s Zapdos, Psychic and Fighting Energy should be delegated to Rocket’s Mewtwo and Rocket’s Hitmonchan respectively, and Rainbow Energy to fill in the rest of the needed energy for Rocket's Mewtwo, Rocket’s Hitmonchan, and Rocket’s Scyther. The main difficulty for this deck is ER, SER, and knowing which energy to attach what Pokemon in any given scenario.



9.3~~~~Electrode + Multicolored BB
3 Electrode BS
3 Voltorb BS
2 MP Mewtwo WBSP
2 Magmar FO
2 Electabuzz BS
2 Scyther JU
=14
3 Professor Oak
4 Bill
3 CPU Search
4 Item Finder
2 Lass
2 Gust of WInd
2 Scoop Up
2 Nightly Garbage Run
2 Energy Search
2 Pokemon Trader
3 Plus Power
2 No Removal Gym
=31
3 Psychic Energy
3 Lightning Energy
3 Fire Energy
4 Rainbow Energy
2 DCE
=15

Strategy/Card Explanations:
This deck is one that I made myself after noticing that many prominent Haymaker Pokemon require two energies of a specific color in order to execute their second attack. Because of this shared trait, I decided to brainstorm ways to power up these powerful attacks in one turn, leading me to use Electrode, specifically its ability. Electrode provides two energies of any color you choose, which allows for more attacking options in the deck. Magmar and Electabuzz complement each other well, as Electabuzz counters Magmar’s weakness to water types offensively, with Mewtwo included to demolish fighting types such as Hitmonchan that hit Electabuzz for weakness. Scyther seemed like an obvious choice, with its all colorless attack cost, zero retreat cost, and all around utility that it provides for the deck. Hitmonchan could be added, however it decreases the deck’s consistency, and makes it even more difficult to have the right type of energy at the right time. The trainers in this deck are fairly standard, however there are some uncommon inclusions. Energy Search is included because sometimes you might not have the correct type of energy, and it is a valid target when using Item Finder when you desperately need an energy. Lass and No Removal Gym are to deter opponents from using ER and SER. This deck looses a lot momentum if No Removal Gym is not out quickly, if your opponent manages to play a counter stadium and force No Removal Gym to be discarded, or if No Removal Gym is one of your prize cards.



10.0~~~Sources of Motivation and Major Contributors
Huge shoutout to my best childhood friend Ethan Lee for playing the Pokemon TCG with me and spending countless hours playtesting with me when I try to build interesting rogue decks. Our shared enjoyment and enthusiasm to discover new strategies is something I don’t witness often in the Pokemon community.

Jason Klaczynski, for contributing his valuable and intuitive expertise on multiple Pokemon TCG blogs, sites, strategies, and archives that still stand today.

Axpendix, for being the TCGONE admin, a great developer and devoted coder for the site, and dedicating many hours of his life to enhance and improve the TCGONE program.

The countless YouTube channels that I have learned Gen 1 strategies from.
The Top Cut (No Longer Active)
World Renowned Heretic
TCG Pokemon Center
Semeai
Pokemon Evolutionaries
Derium’s Competitive Pokemon

Having no internet access and a lot of spare time for much of my weekends recently.

My desire to share my knowledge with the Pokemon community of TCGONE and players who are new to the Gen 1 metagame.

To all of the people who have read this guide. Sharing my knowledge is the main reason why I made this guide, and having people to share it with is very important to that process.



10.1~~~Active Members in the TCGONE Site and Gen 1 Community
Semeai (Check out his YT Channel)
ZF_Goku (Made and facilitated a Gen 1 tour in 2017)
Shax
TheEevee
hfryan
Alazor
Darth Ardios
DKQuagmire
Guly
Rival Gary
Ruse
linkrandomness
Saikon
No1Lives
0f3f
strikemasterice
Mewtwoandfriends
Vox
Blaze500
Green
darkmaster
Adding More Later!



10.2~~~Components This Guide Still Needs
3.1~~~~3.2 Decklists and Descriptions/Card Explanations Needed
2.4~~~~5.5~~~~6.3~~~~9.1 Descriptions/Card Explanations Needed
Proofreading, Revisions, Suggested Inclusions Made By Other Knowledgeable Gen 1 Players