There is no best or worst type of Pokemon, as each group has its strengths and weaknesses. All advantages and exploits upon the ever-evolving environment of a battlefield are immensely situational. Be it in the video games, anime, or the Pokemon TCG, strategy and planning are the most important factors in attaining victory.
Fire-type Pokemon in the TCG are known for hitting harder than most, though this method alone can be risky as the best cards and strategies for a fire deck can require a lot of time or energy to pull off. To properly scorch foes, every trainer aiming to fight alongside the flames needs to consider a few things if they want to be successful.
“Burn” is the newest special condition out of all the status ailments that can be inflicted upon foes in the TCG. It acts like Poison in that it consistently chips away at the afflicted Pokemon’s HP every turn until healed, though it does 20 HP worth of damage per turn instead of Poison’s 10 HP damage-over-time. The way to heal a Burn is by flipping a coin after taking damage and getting heads unless a trainer uses an item like Full Heal first. While not particularly dangerous to stronger foes, weaker unevolved Pokemon and those resistant to regular damage from fire attacks can be greatly weakened or knocked out passively from a Burn, making it an efficient and easy to implement strategy.
Quite a few of the most powerful Fire-type attacks have a negative effect, like discarding attached energies, in order to make them more balanced. Though, there is a way around losing energy upon each of one’s more fierce attacks. Trainer cards, like Energy Retrieval, can greatly alleviate frustration in this regard. Some Pokemon abilities and attack effects can do similar feats, therefore it is recommended that trainers intending on singeing foes should pack a few of these into their deck.
There are two main types of energy in the Pokemon TCG: normal energy and special energy. Normal energies are cards that provide one unit of energy to one Pokemon. Special energies provide one, or more, energies to a selected Pokemon and may also have additional effects. Heat [Fire] Energy cards are special energies introduced in the Darkness Ablaze expansion that came out during the summer of 2020. In addition to giving a Pokemon one Fire-type energy, they also heal the selected Pokemon for 20 HP upon being attached to them. Another excellent one is the Burning Energy card, which can be re-attached to a Fire-type Pokemon after it is used up by an attack.
A Fire-type Pokemon’s greatest weakness are Water-type attacks. In the TCG, most fire Pokemon take double damage from aquatic assaults, therefore Water-type decks can be very difficult to go up against. To avoid having one’s deck doused into submission, trainers should endeavor to have a few water-counters in their fire deck.
Or at least a have a few Fire-type Pokemon that takes neutral damage to Water-type attacks, like Talonflame from the Darkness Ablaze expansion. Having some Grass-types or Electric-type Pokemon could also be useful counters, depending on one’s deck synergy.
Fire-type Pokemon hit hard, though they don’t usually have high HP. This makes them the glass cannons of the Pokemon TCG world. If one does not set up their offense in time, they may lose Pokemon needlessly to opponents with faster decks. A way to avoid this is to start off playing weaker and quicker Pokemon first. Preferably cards with low-energy cost attacks that can hinder the adversary while they are trying to set up strategies. Larvesta from the Darkness Ablaze expansion is a decent example of this, as it’s Singe attack guarantees a Burn on the foe and only requires one Fire-type energy to play, making it an optimal card to use at the beginning of a battle.
Fire-types excel at offense and don’t have great defense or recovery, making the kind of playstyle required for a successful fire deck obvious. With heavy-hitting yet energy-expensive attacks, players can one or two-shot many opposing Active Pokemon, though this momentum can be difficult to keep up. Make sure to set up attacking Pokemon with enough energy for them to be useful, especially if they burn through energy cards. Also remember not to neglect Pokemon on the Bench, as unexpected things can happen to render one’s Active Pokemon unsuitable for battle. Having a powered-up Bench Pokemon take to the field can allow a trainer to get a revenge-knock out and retake the advantage.
Since the very beginning of the Pokemon TCG’s existence, Charizard cards have been some of the most powerful in the series. Many are able to dish out 250-300 damage in a single turn, which can fell many foes even if they are at full health.
There are often huge energy requirements that come with implementing Charizard effectively but these are usually worth the time and effort as a well-fueled one can raze entire enemy teams to the ground.
Having powerful Pokemon and lots of energy is important but one should not forget to support them with the appropriate trainer cards. There are a few that can speed up the process of charging one’s Pokemon with energy. The Blacksmith Supporter card from the Flashfire expansion lets a trainer attach two energy cards from the discard pile directly onto a Pokemon. The Professor’s Letter Item card from the BREAKthrough expansion is another useful one if low on fuel, as it lets the player search their deck for two energies.
Having a core strategy to focus on is ideal in that this allows one to concentrate on doing one thing really well as opposed to doing multiple things in a mediocre manner, though relying on a single card is a bad idea. Decks need to contain a minimum of 60 cards, therefore even with four copies allowed per card, drawing one’s best Pokemon could take a while. Instead, pick a small group of cards that work well with one another and build a deck around them. It is also crucial to have the right number of Pokemon, trainer, and energy cards. Most decks use between 15 and 25 energies, though since Fire-types drain fuel a bit quicker it is recommended to lean toward having more of them than less.
Strategy and victory are important factors to be sure but don’t forget to enjoy the battle. Use Pokemon that are interesting and fun to build a strategy that feels right. There are no wrong ways to enjoy the Pokemon TCG and innovation by utilizing new strategies can be satisfying. This can even give a trainer a leg up on the competition by unleashing unexpected battling techniques.
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