First of all...It helps to have your pokemon collection with 100 cards or more. This will help you make a deck, but to make great decks that always win that takes experience on how to play the game. This will help you make an ok deck. The more cards you have the better.

Follow Each of these step by step. Do get a good deck follow these beginning to end

1. Look to see what type of pokemon you have the most of....set all those pokemon aside in your "deck" pile.Having Doubles or Extras is good (ex. If you have mostly grass pokemon put them all in your "deck" pile)

2. Get all the energy you have that is the same type as your pokemon....put that in your "deck" too. (Ex. If you have lots of Grass Pokemon...put in all your grass energy)

2.A If you have more than 25 energy take some out until you have 25

2.B If you have less than 25 put in energy of any type and call it "Grass" until you can trade or buy more energy

3. Take out your trainer cards....put in all the Prof. Oaks (real), Bills, Computer Searches, or Pokedex`s you have into the "deck"

4. Make sure you have no more than 4 of each card in your "deck" pile....DONT do this with the energy..leave it in (EX. If you have 5 Bulbasaurs take 1 out, so you have 4)

5. If you have more then 3 of any level 1 pokemon take the extras out of the "deck" (EX. If you have 4 Ivysaurs take one out so you have 3)

6. If you have more then 2 of any level 2 pokemon take the extras out of the "deck" (EX. If you have 3 Venusaurs take 1 out, so you have 2)

7. This is the confusing step....For each of your pokemon if it has an evolution make sure there is at lease one less card of that evolution then the number of the pokemon before it.

(EX. If you have 4 Bulbasaurs make sure you have 3 or less Ivysaurs, If you have 3 Ivysaurs make sure you have 2 or less venusaurs)

(EX2. If you have 2 Bulbasaurs, Make sure you have have 1 or less Ivysaurs, and NO Venusaurs)

8. If you have evolutions with out basic pokemon take them out (EX. an Ivysaur without a Bulbasaur)(EX2. Venusaur without Ivysuar)

9. Count the cards in your "deck" pile

9A. If you have EXACTLY 60 your done and you have a deck now

9B. If you have less than 60 you need to buy more cards or add another type of pokemon

9C. If you have more than 60 (Thats good) keep on going

10. If you have more than 12 trainers....take out all the pokedex`s (if you have em, also remember you should only have Oaks, Bills and Computer Searches) until you have exactly 60...If you still have more than 60 keep on going.

11. If you have some pokemon without any evolutions take some out until you have exactly 60...If you still have more than 60 then keep on going (EX. 4 Bulbasaurs without Ivysaurs, then take em out)

12. If you still have more than 60 cards...use your best judgement and take out some cards you dont need. (EX. If you want alot of pokemon that has confusion then take out alot of pokemon that dont have confusion).

11. If you have more than 60 cards now....you have a big collection....and you could of spent the money on a car or something. Just use your judgement again and take out some less needed cards.

12. After you learn how to use the deck you may want to take out some pokemon and add some trainers....thats ok..it may make the deck better.

TIP: When testing what cards should go in and go out...only switch

When I 1st saw the spoiler the only good card i saw was Pokeball. Then I studied longer and saw other good cards in Jungle. Here are the cards and their moves that make em good (or bad)

Primeape and his Fury Swipes ([FF] Fury Swipes (20x)Flip 3 coins. Does 20 damage times number of heads) is a potential 60 damage for only 2 fighting is really good. The only downside is you need the sucky Mankey.

Nidoran (F)`s call Friend ([GG] Call Friend ()Choose a Nidoran (F) or Nidoran (M) from your deck and add to your bench. Then reshuffle.). That move will have whole deck built around it. Because it speeds up a deck dramaticly

Paras`s Mushroom spore ([GG] Mushroom Spore ()Defender is now Asleep) is a great move beacuse it is a %100 chance of the defender sleeping. Exeggutes hypnosis ([P] Hypnosis ()Defender is now asleep.) is even better.

Exeggutor`s Max barrage ([1] MAX Barrage (20x)For each energy attached to Exeggutor flip a coin.Does 20 damage times the number of heads.) is the most deadly deadly attack in pokemon.Chanses are with 4 energy you`ll deal 40 damag

Pikachu`s spark ([LL] Spark (20)Choose one of opponent's Benched Pokémon and deal 10 damage to it.(Fails if opponent has no benched Pokémon)) is also very good. If your opponent retreats a near KO`ed pokemon pikachu can pick em off. In the right cases you could get 2 prize cards.

Jolteons pin missle ([1LL] Pin Missile (20x)Flip 4 coins. Does 20 damage times the number of heads.) is potentally 80 damage even if you only get 1/2 the flips your dealing 40 damage for only 3 energy

Jigglypuffs lullaby ([1] Lullaby ()Defender is now asleep.) is a great move for only 1 colorless. a good cornerstone in every deck.

Both of Kangaskahn`s moves ([1] Send Kid ()Draw 1 card.,[4] Comet Punch (20x) , Flip 4 coins. Kangaskhan does 20 damage times number of heads.) make him one of the best pokemon in the game. Every deck must have Kangaskahns.

Those were the good cards now here are the cards to avoid.

Mankey for 30 HP, spy (Once each turn, before you attack, you may look at acard from either draw pile, either prize pile, or opponent's hand.Cannot be used if Mankey is Asleep, Confused or Paralyzed.) isnt worth it.

Mr. Mime I dont care if he is a rare. With only 40 HP he will drop like a fly even with invisible wall (Any attacks 30 damage or greater done to this card are prevented.Cannot be used if Mr. Mime is Asleep, Confused or Paralyzed.)

Goldeen`s 40 HP and only 1 weak move ([W] Horn Attack (10)) make her one to avoid

In every card game quickness and combos are the key to victory. Most games use combos to help with speed of a deck,but Wizards on pourpose did not put any combos in Pokemon that would win a game for a player. So how do you win in Pokemon? Use some of the se not-so Secrets.

The 1st secert to a good deck is to use Pokemon that strike quickly. (Ex.Machop 20 damage for only one fighting energy).Quick Pokemon can KO your opponents Pokemon before he gets his deck going, maybe you`ll even get a prize card you needed.

The 2nd seceret is "Card Advantage". Card advantage is very important in Pokemon.There are two types of card advantage; The first is Offensive card advantage,using one card to get rid of several of your Opponents cards.(Ex.Using gust of wind to put a weak Pokemon in play than KO`ing that weak Pokemon and all the energy cards on it). The second type is Drawing advantage, Using 1 card like Bill to get 2 more, You end up with one more card in your hand than before.(Ex. Kangaskahn from the Jungle expantion lets you draw multiple cards.)

The 3rd Secret is Energy. Energy is the MOST IMPORTANT part of Pokemon.Too little energy wont let you do anything and too much energy will give you less Pokemon or Trainers to draw.Never have less than 20 energy in a deck,it just wont work.The max amont of energy you should have is 30.

The 4th secret is game control. Game control is an Attack, Ability, or
Trainer that prevents an opponents deck from doing what its supposed to do. An Example of good game control is energy removal, if you remove alot of your opponents energy it makes it difficult for him to win. Another example is Gust o Wind .If your opponent has a charizard in play use a well timed Gust o Wind to get rid of that pesky Pokemon.

Well thats all I hoped I`ve made you think about how a deck should be built.

The Basic Deck Shell

Every winning deck I`ve seen has the same basic cards in them. These cards are Bill , Computer Search , Pokedex and Always Prof. Oak.Why do most deck have these cards? For speed!.

Bill is Basicly trading one card (Bill) for 2 new cards. Every deck should play with 4 Bills! Look at all the Major deck types Rain Dance,Energy Removal ,Ivysaur/Charizard, and Haymaker all have 4 Bills.

Computer search is a Guaranteed "Get what you want card". Lets say you have Charizard and Venasaur out and you need an Ivysaur, trade Computer search and and a crappy card (Ex. Energy) for that one card that will win your game.

Pokedex is a good card but very underrated. If you have a Pokedex and a Bill in your hand, You can arrange the top 5 cards of your library and then draw the 2 cards that you want the most.

Prof. Oak is a EXTREMLY GOOD card but can be very dangerous if used badly.Unless you know what your doing 2 Prof. Oaks is good. Puting in 4 Oaks could "Deck" you in long games only use 4 Oaks if your playing a Fast (and good) deck.If you have and Oak ALWAYS put in at least 2.

Im working on a Project deck for next week using these shell decks.

When the Jungle Expansion comes out on July 1st many new deck types will show up on the scene, but why make a new and untested deck, when you can make an old and dominating deck better. Lets work on the popular "Rain Dance" deck (This may be different from the normal "Rain Dance");

Pokemon (18)

4 Squirtle (need for evolutions, it is also defensive so it can start a match).

4 Blastoise (Backbone of the deck. Card that absolutely cannot be a prize.)

4 Rattata (Easy retreater)

4 Doduo

Trainers (20)

4 Professor Oak (Replaces a small useless hand with energy for Rain Dance.)

4 Bill (Instant ammo for Computer Search or Item Finder.)

4 Item Finder (Get back that Professor Oak or Computer Search.)

4 Computer Search (Grab the evolutions and grab the Oak you didn't draw.)

4 Pokemon Breeder (Fast Evolve for Blastoise; necessary unless you use Wartortle.)

4 Pokemon Trader (Get key Pokemon; Blastoise doesn't do anything without Squirtle.)

Energy (22)

22 Water Energy

The trick to playing this deck is to start with any basic but preferably one of the retreating Pokemon. While they soak up damage, use the trainers to quickly go through your deck for the Blastoise and Squirtle.

Now to change this deck you need "Search your deck for..." cards and a cheap retreatable creatures. Those cards in the Jungle expansions are

Pokéball

Flip a coin. If heads, may search for any Pokemon and

put it in your hand. Reshuffle your deck afterwards.

Why put this in? This is a "Search your library for..." card, this speeds up your deck greatly

Name: Kangaskhan

Type: Colorless

Evolution: Basic

HP: 90

Retreat Cost: 3

Attacks:

[1] Send Kid ()

Draw 1 card.

[4] Comet Punch (20x)

Flip 4 coins. Kangaskhan does 20 damage times number of heads.

Why put this in? Send kid is a great attack,not for damage, but for the draw a card. Kangaskahn can take alot of damage also.Don't worry about the retreat cost just leave it out until it gets KO`ed.

Now to take out some cards. First what can the Kangaskahn replace?, Doduo seems to be the most useless Pokemon in the entire deck because its damage isn't always guaranteed and it doesn't have alot of HP. So we replace Doduo with Kangaskahn.

Secondly, what do we take out for the Pokéball?. Pokemon Trainer is a pointless card, why use a card to evolves a Pokemon when you can evolve it anyway

Heres the deck now

RAIN DANCE as of 7/1/99

Pokemon (16)

4 Squirtle 4 Blastoise

4 Rattata 4 Kangaskahn

Trainers (24)

4 Professor Oak 4 Bill

4 Item Finder 4 Computer Search

4 Pokéball 4 Pokemon Breeder

Energy (20)

20 Water Energy

This deck now increases your drawing ability and increases your chance of getting your key Pokemon

This Stuff is pretty advanced If you understand the gamereally well read on....

What does the term engine mean?

In the Magic: The gathering the term "Engine" means; playing a combo that keeps going and going often leading to a win.Most "Engines" are unpopularbut players use them because they win so much.

Huh?

Let me show you:Here are the core cards (Pokeball is from the Jungle expantion) X= Any Pokemon you want

(28) Trainer cards

4 Bill 4 Pokedex

4 Prof. Oak 4 Pokeball

4 Item Finder 4 Computer Search

4 Pokemon Trader

(12) Pokemon

4 Basic "X" (Mulligan as much as possible it dont matter)

4 stage 1- "X" 4 stage 2- "X"

(20) Energy

20 Energy that goes with Pokemon "X"

I made a fake version of this deck.Im going to play it aginst a fake opponent. Let me see how many turns it takes to get out the Stage 2-"X" out:

1st Turn:

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-Bill Basic "X"

-Energy

-Pokedex

-stage 1- "X"

-Prof. Oak

-energy

-Pokeball

Ill play an energy on Pokemon "X"

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-Bill Basic "X" (1xEnergy)

-Energy

-Pokedex

-stage 1- "X"

-Prof. Oak

-Pokeball

Use Pokedex to Arrange the Top 5 cards of my Library

Computer Search (you can draw this with Bill)

Item Finder (you can draw this with Bill too)

Pokemon Trader

energy (put the energy last because you cantenergy play it until then)

energy

Then use bill to draw computer search and item finder

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-computer search Basic "X" (1xEnergy)

-Energy

-stage 1- "X"

-Prof. Oak

-Pokeball

-item finder

Use computer search to search for Stage 3-"X" discard

pokeball (beacuse you already have your pokemon) and

an Prof oak (you can get it back later with item

finder)

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-Energy Basic "X" (1xEnergy)

-stage 1- "X"

-item finder

-stage 2-"X"

That was the 1st Turn...Big combo huh?

2nd Turn

Draw your card then evolve "X" and put energy on him

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-Pokemon Trader stage 2-"X" (2xEnergy)

-item finder

-stage 2-"X"

Hmm you know your going to draw 2 more energy the next 2 turns so just end your turn now

3rd turn

Draw,Evolve again,and Play another energy

Hand: Pokemon in play:

-Pokemon Trader stage 2-"X" (3xEnergy)

-item finder

Hmm? Your gonna get another energy next turn too.

4th Turn

Draw,Play the energy and kick butt (most major decks dont need more than 4 energy cards.You could keep on going with this combo if you need more energy.

POKEMON IN PLAY

STAGE 2 "X" (4xENERGY)

4 turns thats VERY FAST! This may be a Major deck type in the future.I played this 2 more times it averages a 5th

turn STAGE 2

In pokemon there are very few combos that are effective.Here are some that may help your deck

Bill and Pokedex

Use Pokedex to look and rearrange your top 5 cards of your library,put the 2 best cards on top, then use Bill.

Pokemon Flute and Gust o` Wind

Use the flute to return one of your opponents lame Pokemon to his bench ,then use Gust o` Wind to switch his good Pokemon in play for a crappy Pokemon on his bench.

Prof Oak and Item Search

Use Prof. Oak to draw 7 cards.If you get an Item search in those 7 cards you can use it to bring back Prof Oak to use him again later.

Venusaur and Pokecenter

Useing Venasaur rearrange all enengy on a pokemon with no damage counters then play Pokecenter and all your damaged Pokemon are healed.Then rearrange all the energy back to the healed Pokemon.

Charizard and Blastoise

Dont Work.

Magnimite and Defender

Protect Magnemite from 20hp of the 40hp Selfdestruct damage, so it can Selfdestruct again!

Chansey, Switch,And a Powerful Pokemon by Pidgeot458

Use Chasney to take alot of HP and build up your powerful Pokemon on the bench. When he is ready to come out use Switch to switch the Chansey for a good Pokemon.

In the Pokemon there are cards that are just bitches to kill.They hard to kill because they have damage prevention attacks that let very little or no damage in the next turn. These are called "Wall" Pokemon. Wall Pokemon are best used in a slow deck to stall until you can get your deck going.

A prime example of a Wall Pokemon is Chansey. Using her scrunch move Chansey takes damage about half the time and has 120 HP so even if you do damage her,It probably didnt KO her.

Unless your deck is ment to be very fast you should have a Wall Pokemon in it.Here are some good Wall Pokemon for each energy type.These are the best for each color but maybe not hte best in the game.

Colorless: Chansey (120 HP and the Scrunch move she is hard to kill,should be in every deck)

Psychic: Mewtwo (You can discard a energy card to remove a all damage counters from him)

Grass: Bulbasur (Leach seed does wonders for Bulbasaurs life span)

Fighting: Onyx (Both the 90 HP and Harden make Onyx a good wall)

Water: Squirtle (Squirtle may have only 40 HP but withdraw prevents the damage half the time)

Fire : (There are no real good Walls with Fire Pokemon)

Electric : Zapdos (May not be the best wall in the game but at 90 HP is good for an electric Pokemon.