HS—Undaunted

Harness the awesome power of Forretress (3/90) in the HS—Undaunted expansion! This Metal-type Pokémon shows superior capabilities in both offense and defense, boasting two good attacks. Its Mirror Shot attack does 30 damage and there’s a 50% chance the Defending Pokémon won’t be able to attack on its next turn (unless your opponent retreats the Defending Pokémon or evolves it), keeping Forretress safe from retribution. Then, Forretress can tap into other Forretress and Pineco that you have in play by using the aptly named Everyone Explode Now attack. You’ll do 30 damage to the Defending Pokémon multiplied by the number of Forretress and Pineco you have in play! There is one drawback, however—this attack will also cause 30 damage to each of those Pokémon. However, in this case, it certainly looks as if the positives outweigh the negatives!

With its amber eyes glowing and its sharp teeth bared, Gliscor (4/90) swoops down to cause mayhem for your opponent! A powerful one-two punch of attacks from this Fighting-type Pokémon not only does significant damage but also inflicts a pair of Special Conditions. First, for only 1 Fighting Energy, Gliscor’s Ninja Fang attack does 30 damage, and if the Defending Pokémon doesn’t have any damage counters on it, the attack also Paralyzes that Pokémon. This is an excellent first strike when a new Pokémon enters the fray. Then, while that Pokémon is Paralyzed, follow up with Gliscor’s Poison Jab attack, which not only causes 50 damage but has the added benefit of Poisoning the Defending Pokémon! When tremendous damage meets stunning Special Conditions, that’s where you’ll find Gliscor!

The Big Boss Pokémon Honchkrow (15/90) stares menacingly with glowing red eyes, ready to strike at any time—and there’s nowhere for your opponent’s Pokémon to hide! This Stage 1 Dark-type Pokémon’s two attacks work in concert to unleash havoc everywhere! First, Honchkrow’s Whirlwind attack will deliver 20 damage to the Defending Pokémon and force your opponent to swap that Pokémon with a Benched Pokémon. Then, keep your eye on that target (even though it has been retreated to the Bench) with the Blindside attack, which hits a Pokémon of your choice for 50 damage—as long as it has damage counters on it already. This powerful dual-threat will blow your opponent’s Pokémon away!

Another interesting Eevee-evolved Pokémon joins the action in HS—Undaunted: the Grass-type Pokémon Leafeon (17/90). Leafeon sports an attack that, when used correctly, can be absolutely terrifying to your opponent. Miasma Wind does 50 damage times the number of Special Conditions affecting the Defending Pokémon. So, for example, if the Defending Pokémon is both Asleep and Poisoned, this attack does 100 damage! Further, Miasma Wind costs only 1 Colorless Energy to use, making it incredibly easy to employ. To give Miasma Wind something to work with, Leafeon’s other attack, Soothing Scent, does 30 damage and puts the Defending Pokémon to Sleep; this attack is also pretty easy to use, as it requires only 1 Grass Energy. Or you can always keep Leafeon on your Bench and use Espeon Prime’s (81/90) Evolution Memories Poké-Body to use these attacks in conjunction with other Eevee evolutions and keep your opponent guessing!

The new Pokémon LEGENDs have already proven themselves to be powerful additions to your deck, although a little tricky to get into play...until now! The Legend Box (75/90) Trainer card is a must if you plan to play Pokémon LEGEND cards. You get to look at the top 10 cards of your deck and, if you turn up both the top and bottom half of a Pokémon LEGEND pair, you can play them to your Bench immediately. In addition, you can attach any Energy cards you find in those 10 cards directly to the Pokémon LEGEND you’ve just played! You’re allowed to put into play only 1 Pokémon LEGEND each time you use Legend Box. So, make sure to include as many Legend Box Trainer cards as you need when playing any deck that uses Pokémon LEGENDs!

The mental connection of Espeon Prime (81/90) is on full display in the HS—Undaunted expansion. Using the Evolution Memories Poké-Body, Espeon Prime has the power to tap into any other Eevee Evolution you have in play. This means it can use any attacks from other Eevee-evolved Pokémon as its own! HS—Undaunted features Eevee Evolutions such as Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Umbreon, so Espeon Prime will have plenty to choose from.

But Espeon Prime doesn’t need to copy other Pokémon to attack. Its Solar Ray attack does a modest 30 damage, but when you use it, you also remove a damage counter from every Pokémon you have in play! Versatility, offense, recovery... Espeon Prime has it all!

Keep the heat on your opponent with Houndoom Prime (82/90)! The Defending Pokémon won't be able to run from Houndoom Prime’s Dark Clamp attack, which hits for a solid 70 damage. In addition, Dark Clamp prevents the Defending Pokémon from retreating during your opponent's next turn. Plus, attach a few Darkness Special Energy (also available in HS—Undaunted) to Houndoom, and suddenly you're doing triple-digit damage every turn. You can also stoke the flames with Houndoom Prime’s Fire Breath Poké-Power, which will Burn the Defending Pokémon if a coin flip comes up heads. The simplest way to cure a Burned Pokémon is to retreat it, of course, but Dark Clamp forces the Defending Pokémon to stay in battle! It's a blazing combination that will surely have your opponent fuming!

Add some spark to your deck with Raichu Prime (83/90), a resourceful Lightning-type Pokémon from HS—Undaunted! Raichu Prime has an incredibly powerful attack: you can unleash Mega Thunderbolt to do 120 damage to the Defending Pokémon, an almost unheard-of amount of damage for a Stage 1 Pokémon to do. The downside is that you have to discard all the Energy attached to Raichu Prime, but fortunately, it has a Voltage Increase Poké-Power, which lets you move Lightning Energy from other Pokémon to Raichu Prime, making it easier to charge up for another powerful Mega Thunderbolt attack!

With Scizor Prime (84/90), you can take advantage of the Special Energy in HS—Undaunted in two creative ways. Cards such as Darkness Special Energy (79/90) and Metal Special Energy (80/90), as well as the Double Colorless Energy from HeartGold & SoulSilver (103/123), are very popular right now. But they won’t do any good when the Pokémon they’re attached to must face Scizor Prime! Scizor Prime’s Red Armor Poké-Body prevents all attacks from an opposing Pokémon that has any Special Energy attached to it. Then turn the tables with Scizor Prime’s Metal Scissors attack, which does an extra 20 damage for every Metal Energy attached to Scizor Prime. That includes Special Metal Energy: the more Metal Energy you add to Scizor Prime, the more damage you do and the less damage it will take!

Looking for a new and creative way to get more cards into your hand? Consider Slowking Prime (85/90), a Psychic-type Pokémon with a skill that helps you while putting your opponent to the test! Slowking Prime’s Opponent’s Choice Poké-Power lets you draw two cards; then, your opponent chooses one for you to put at the bottom of your deck, and the other goes into your hand. Not only do you get a card, but your opponent has to decide which card is best for you not to have! Thus, the crafty Slowking Prime is content to sit on your Bench and cause all kinds of stress on your opponent. But when it’s time comes, Slowking Prime can also do some quality damage: its Super Psy Bolt attack blasts the Defending Pokémon for 60 damage!

The Pokémon TCG: HS—Undaunted expansion is packed with all kinds of Eevee Evolutions, one of which, Espeon Prime (81/90), we outlined earlier. With Umbreon Prime (86/90), you can make the most of all those Evolutions with one powerful attack. Umbreon Prime’s Evoblast attack does 50 damage plus an extra 10 damage for every Pokémon in play that evolves from Eevee! Since you can have four Eevee in your deck, that means you could potentially strike for 90 damage per turn! And if the pressure gets to be too much for Umbreon Prime, you can always pull it to safety with its Cloud-Covered Moon Poké-Power. Cloud-Covered Moon lets you flip a coin (as long as Umbreon Prime is the Active Pokémon) to return Umbreon Prime and all of the cards attached to it to your hand. Dish out incredible damage and avoid getting Knocked Out with this Pokémon that’s truly in its prime!