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- ↓ 1.18
- ꩜ 2.83
- ↑ 5.00
Whenever an attack, Pokémon Power, or Trainer card discards another player’s non-{C} Energy card from a Pokémon, return that Energy card to its owner’s hand. (Energy cards that are discarded when that Pokémon is Knocked Out don’t count.)
· Stadium rule: This card stays in play when you play it. Discard this card if another Stadium card comes into play.
illus. Shin-ichi Yoshikawa + CR CG gangs
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coolestman22
was this even close to an ER/ER2 counter?
Adam Capriola
I’m not sure! I didn’t play back during the Neo days. I would guess no though.
Cabd
ER/ER2/SER’s main issue was that it set you back on attachments in a format with only one type of energy acceleration. So yeah, it goes back to your hand and all, but you still are behind an attachment when your attack cost is in the multiples.
coolestman22
That’s the reason it wouldn’t that I was thinking of. Thanks for telling me!
Sam Chen
No Removal Gym was the preferred ER/SER counter.
Warnock 2022
I do like that this card put a new spin on countering ER/SER. Creative concept!
DaneeBound
During Japan’s Secret Super Battle rules (which predated both the Hall of Fame restricted list and any formal rotation) this was very much an essential inclusion in many decks.
The way these rules worked, was: your deck cannot contain fewer than 20 Pokémon, 10 Trainers and 15 Energy. Plus every pre-Neo Pokémon was limited to 2 along with EVERY Trainer and Special Energy from both Base and Neo. Meanwhile a handful of specific cards were straight-up limited to 1, including SER, the regalia of hand-destruction, Sneasel, Muk, Dark Vileplume, the entire Haymaker core, and many others. This was conceptually similar to the short-lived Prop 15/3 format WotC would later attempt to implement. Though it was both more lenient on how many Trainers a deck could have, and at the same time more restrictive on how many of a given Trainer you could have.
The essential Trainer base of a Secret Super Battle format deck was:
2x ER and 1x SER, for removal
2x Ecogym, as explained above
2x Focus Band, for Cleffa plays
1x Imposter Oak’s Revenge and 2x Lass, for disruption
2x Bill, 1x Oak and 2x Elm, for draw power.
The remaining 5 trainer slots would then each be filled by a one-of of either Gust of Wind, Double Gust, Computer Search, Item Finder, Scoop Up, Pokémon Trader, Super Energy Retrieval, Misty’s Wrath, Erika, Secret Mission or PokéGear.
The restrictions conditioned players to be very conservative with their resources. Computer Search, Item Finder and Super Energy Retrieval are barely a one-of here, because discarding two cards from hand to tutor or recover another one is a really uneven trade in a format where all your good cards are limited or semi-limited. This is also why No Removal Gym was barely considered over Ecogym, because to use it means putting a huge discard cost on your own removal. Only decks that didn’t run removal themselves could justify running No Removal Gym over Ecogym (which in this restrictive format was practically zero).
Adam Bigott
This card is neat. Why don’t we have more neat cards like this?
Adam Capriola
Whoever is on the card design team now lacks creativity.
MarxForever
I see no evidence of this supposed “lack of creativity”.
NicholasInzeo
love the art work. I wouldn’t mind spending a weekend in there
Ambassador
This card’s original name is エコロジム – I don’t know why WOTC dropped the “ro” (lo), but “Ecologym” is a catchier name that even fits the portmanteau naming convention many Pokémon (and in-universe item names, etc.) go by.