As discussed in previous articles, there are plenty of Status Effects in Pokémon TCG Pocket. One of the most common Status types seen in Poison. To recap, the Poison effect deals 10 damage at the end of every turn until removed. And there are plenty of Pokémon who take advantage of this effect! In this article we’ll look at some Pokémon who can inflict or combo with Poison and how to use them in battle!
Weezing:
Our first Pokémon comes from the Genetic Apex set and is our first of 4 Dark Pokémon featured in this article. From first glance there are a couple of glaring problems with this Pokémon. It doesn’t do that much damage for a Stage 1 Pokémon, only dealing 30 damage for 1 Energy. Its retreat cost is also abnormally high at 3 Energy. But its Ability is where it really shines! If Weezing is in the Active Spot, once per turn you can inflict Poison on your opponent. This alone gives it a lot more potential! However we wouldn’t recommend building a whole deck around it. Instead we’d recommend trying to combo with other Status Effect Pokémon. Examples are Nihilego and Typhlosion (which can inflict Burn to deal even more damage!). So while this Pokémon might be a little outdated, it can still be effective if used properly!
Toxicroak:
This is another Stage 1 Dark Type Pokémon although this has more reasonable stats. First its retreat cost is only 1 Energy which is a lot better than Weezing’s. Although its attack looks worse than Weezing’s at first glance! It does no visible damage although its Poison effect is very interesting. When you use its attack it Poisons the opposing Active Pokémon. However, instead of doing 10 damage per turn Poison will do 20 damage per turn! You can also combo this effect with Pokémon mentioned previously like Typhlosion! There are also other Pokémon that have this effect such as Toxapex (Everyday Wonders). So while Toxicroak is an option to use with this effect, there are others out there that can also help you!
Nihilego:
This is our third Dark Type Pokémon in this article and one that’s the most commonly used in battles! This also has a low attack similar to Weezing but with more Energy cost. It does 30 damage for 2 Energy but it also Poisons your opponent as a result. However, its Ability is why its commonly used in Poison decks. Nihilego’s mere presence increases the damage dealt by Poison by 10. If you have 2 Nihilego’s on your Field Poison can do 30 damage per turn! Any Pokémon that can inflict Poison will combo well with this Pokémon. They can also be a good obstacle to protect your Pokémon on the Bench. While they don’t have much health at only 70HP, the damage they can do can ward opposing Pokémon off. Plus you can help the health problem by giving it a Giant Cape or coming prepared with Potions.
Dragalge EX:
Our final Pokémon is our first and only EX Pokémon featured in this article! It’s also by far the most powerful Pokémon out of the four featured here. Firstly, it deals a whopping 80 damage for 2 Energy. It also has 150HP which means it’s safe from a lot of strong attacks. Its ability is interesting though since it’s essentially an automatic tool. If Dragalge EX is damaged by the opposing Active Pokémon it Poisons it. If you know your Tools, this is the exact same effect as the Poison Barb Tool. This means you can put other Tools on Dragalge to make taking it down more annoying. For example, you can put the new Elegant Cape on it to give it 30 more HP! With this Pokémon as your centerpiece, this can be a dangerous Pokémon to deal with!
There are plenty more Poison Pokémon in the game and we may get to them another time. But these Poison Pokémon can be extremely helpful in battle dealing extra damage. Experiment around with these Pokémon and see how you can utilize Poison in your games!