Pokémon Thread XXX: Hot Skitty on Wailord Action!

[OracleofWuffing]

Players each have sixty cards each, right? I wonder how long it'd take to win via deck out.

Each deck has 60 cards, your opening hand is 7 cards, and you set aside 6 cards at the start of the game that you draw each time you knock out an opponent's pokemon. You must draw a card at the start of every turn, so you're looking at about 47 turns. But even from day one, you had staples to discard your hand and draw seven or draw two cards, nowadays there are cards that are comparable to those as well as a lot more options, including discard pile manipulation. It's heavily dependent on individual deck builds. I've heard a Magic the Gathering player describe Pokemon's meta as closer to Rocket Tag, noting that decks actively include options to replenish themselves specifically because of how fast you'll draw cards.

--- Edit- Looks like the official rules for Regional Championships enforce a 50 minute + 3 turns time limit in best-of-three rounds. I don't know how frequently those requirements come up in actual play.

Oo, I remember learning about the Pachirisu. Park was just a teen back then. I wonder what makes a good e-sports player. Is it more like being a good chess player or more like being a good physical sports player?

Of the two options? I guess it'd be more like a good chess player, but I mean both of them are a lot of work into preparation and research, with a significant amount of improvisation and luck. I don't think it's worth it to draw a line between the two, you're playing a game either way. Sure, one's much more physical, but that's like 95% of the difference.

That's pretty cool. Were you a TCG player then?

I bought more decks and booster packs than I should have, I read magazines and online things, but Pokemon never caught on in my area. Most of my games were against myself. The Game Boy Color TCG title (which incidentally doesn't have people draw cards at all if their opponent has no basic pokemon in their opening hand, I wonder why) also helped, but I'm certain it is not the first video game in the world to adequately prepare someone for playing against a human opponent.