EmeraldSky
Make the Colors in the Sky!
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- At the arcade, playing DDR with Ash
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Episode 19: Strategy in the Cards
"Yume, I choose you!" Ash called, making a lavender twin tailed cat Pokemon materialize in the group's camp.
Mitsuna smiled when she saw the Pokemon Ash had summoned. "Oh, an Espeon! Did you catch it by the Lake of Outrage on the mainland?"
"Nope--this one was a gift on a previous trip." Ash explained. "She's very nice to have if you need something in the middle of nowhere."
Inspired, Brock asked Yume "Hey, Yume--can you please spawn a table so we can have dinner? The Combusken tikka marsala's just about done..."
With pleasure. Yume replied. The ruby on her forehead glowed, creating an elegant table with five settings as Brock tended the thick orange curry simmering over the campfire.
[Mmm...smells amazing!] Goukai smiled as Yume sent bowls of the steaming hot mixture to each place at the table, complete with a Kubfu sized bowl for Goukai.
"Nice, you put extra paneer in mine!" Misty smiled as the group settled in to enjoy the curry and the sides Brock had prepared.
"I picked up some good paneer in the last town we passed, so making some fresh curry was a no brainer." Brock smiled as he stashed what cold ingredients he didn't use in a storage cooler. "But if Mitsuna wants to try a Kantonian delicacy, let me know."
"I've always wanted to try some real Kanto style ramen." Mitsuna suggested. "None of this cheap plastic noodles in the store..."
"Well, real Kantonian and Johtonian ramen is nothing like those cheap packs at the store at all." Brock replied.
With Mitsuna and Brock occupied talking about food, Goukai noticed a tin depicting a Cinderace kicking a fireball peeking from Ash's bag. [Hm...what's in here?]
Ash noticed Goukai admiring the tin. "Those are trading cards--once we're done with dinner, I can teach you how to play the game that goes with them."
"They're called trading cards because you can trade with people to get the cards you want." Mitsuna explained. "Some people play the game that goes with them, and some just collect them for the pictures."
"Ash, Misty and I play the game competitively and just for fun." Brock went on.
He watched as Yume cleared the table and sent the dishes for Misty's team to wash. "You can win some nice prizes if you play competitively, including the rarest cards, special cards you can't get in a card shop, money, and other nice things."
"But in order to keep things fair, the judges of competitive play say that you can't use certain cards due to game breaking effects, or can only use so many of a card." Ash explained. "Those that compete are expected to know what cards are restricted and banned in competition. But in a friendly match like this, you can use whatever cards you like."
"Brock and I will play each other for an example game." Misty offered as Yume conjured a TCG play mat on the table.
---------
"Just like a martial arts battle or Pokemon battle, a TCG match requires strategy, tactics, and a little luck." Ash explained as he watched Misty and Brock shuffle their decks. "So while the rules may look complex, it's not too difficult to learn the game."
Yume conjured a coin before Misty and Brock. Pikachu face is heads...Kanto League crest is tails.
"In order to begin a match, you start by flipping a coin." Ash explained as Yume telepathically flipped the coin. "The one who calls the toss correctly has the option to go first, although they can let the other player go first, too."
"Heads!" Misty called.
"Tails." Brock called.
Once the coin had hit the ground, Yume warped the coin to the mat's dividing line to show the results to the group. Misty has won the toss--do you wish to go first?
"Sure!" Misty replied before retrieving a Primarina deck tin from her bag. "I'll use my Rainbow Tide deck for this match."
"I'm using my Eighteen Tales deck for this exhibition match." Brock replied as he retrieved a deck tin depicting both the normal Ninetales and the Alolan Ninetales together.
Yume noticed Goukai watching in awe at Misty and Brock setting up their play areas. Would you like a deck of your own to play with?
[Yeah!] Goukai smiled. [Do they have decks with all the Urshifu forms?]
Yume created a circle of twelve deck tins around Goukai, which formed a neat pile before him. Here you are--if you ever want to play against Ash, you have a deck for each Urshifu form.
"Let's use the Crystal Fist Urshifu deck as a visual aid." Ash located a deck tin depicting a Gigantimaxed Urshifu that appeared to be made of shiny green crystal. "The object of the game is to defeat your opponent in a simulated Pokemon battle. You can do this by knocking out all the opponent's Pokemon or if they have no more cards they can draw."
[Sounds easy enough...] Goukai mused.
"Cards come in four types--Pokemon cards..." Ash showed Goukai a copy of a Kubfu the Wandering Warrior card. "...energy cards..." He showed Goukai a Grass Energy card. "item cards..." He showed Goukai a Potion card. "...and Trainer cards." He showed Goukai a copy of a The Wise Prof. Oak card. "A legal deck is 60 cards--no more and no less."
"You can get in big trouble if you have more or less than that and the judges catch you." Brock warned as he set up his bench.
Ash led Goukai to Misty's side of the table, where she was ready to begin the friendly game. "Feel like explaining to Goukai what a set up play area looks like?"
"Sure..." Misty smiled. "Once who goes first has been determined, you shuffle your deck and draw seven cards--this is your starting hand. If you don't get a Pokemon you can play on the first try, you reshuffle your deck and try again until you do. However, every time you try again, your opponent gets one more card."
She showed Goukai a copy of a Bubbling Joy, Popplio card. "This is a Basic Pokemon card--every Pokemon in the game starts like this. If you end up with a lot of these in your starting hand, you pick one to lead with, and put the rest in the bench area."
"You may sometimes hear Pokemon in the bench area referred to as 'on standby' or 'in reserve'." Brock explained, gesturing to his finished bench area with three Pokemon. "It still means that these Pokemon are not ready to be actively played just yet. They can still be affected by attacks from the Pokemon that are actively in play..."
To Be Continued...
"Yume, I choose you!" Ash called, making a lavender twin tailed cat Pokemon materialize in the group's camp.
Mitsuna smiled when she saw the Pokemon Ash had summoned. "Oh, an Espeon! Did you catch it by the Lake of Outrage on the mainland?"
"Nope--this one was a gift on a previous trip." Ash explained. "She's very nice to have if you need something in the middle of nowhere."
Inspired, Brock asked Yume "Hey, Yume--can you please spawn a table so we can have dinner? The Combusken tikka marsala's just about done..."
With pleasure. Yume replied. The ruby on her forehead glowed, creating an elegant table with five settings as Brock tended the thick orange curry simmering over the campfire.
[Mmm...smells amazing!] Goukai smiled as Yume sent bowls of the steaming hot mixture to each place at the table, complete with a Kubfu sized bowl for Goukai.
"Nice, you put extra paneer in mine!" Misty smiled as the group settled in to enjoy the curry and the sides Brock had prepared.
"I picked up some good paneer in the last town we passed, so making some fresh curry was a no brainer." Brock smiled as he stashed what cold ingredients he didn't use in a storage cooler. "But if Mitsuna wants to try a Kantonian delicacy, let me know."
"I've always wanted to try some real Kanto style ramen." Mitsuna suggested. "None of this cheap plastic noodles in the store..."
"Well, real Kantonian and Johtonian ramen is nothing like those cheap packs at the store at all." Brock replied.
With Mitsuna and Brock occupied talking about food, Goukai noticed a tin depicting a Cinderace kicking a fireball peeking from Ash's bag. [Hm...what's in here?]
Ash noticed Goukai admiring the tin. "Those are trading cards--once we're done with dinner, I can teach you how to play the game that goes with them."
"They're called trading cards because you can trade with people to get the cards you want." Mitsuna explained. "Some people play the game that goes with them, and some just collect them for the pictures."
"Ash, Misty and I play the game competitively and just for fun." Brock went on.
He watched as Yume cleared the table and sent the dishes for Misty's team to wash. "You can win some nice prizes if you play competitively, including the rarest cards, special cards you can't get in a card shop, money, and other nice things."
"But in order to keep things fair, the judges of competitive play say that you can't use certain cards due to game breaking effects, or can only use so many of a card." Ash explained. "Those that compete are expected to know what cards are restricted and banned in competition. But in a friendly match like this, you can use whatever cards you like."
"Brock and I will play each other for an example game." Misty offered as Yume conjured a TCG play mat on the table.
---------
"Just like a martial arts battle or Pokemon battle, a TCG match requires strategy, tactics, and a little luck." Ash explained as he watched Misty and Brock shuffle their decks. "So while the rules may look complex, it's not too difficult to learn the game."
Yume conjured a coin before Misty and Brock. Pikachu face is heads...Kanto League crest is tails.
"In order to begin a match, you start by flipping a coin." Ash explained as Yume telepathically flipped the coin. "The one who calls the toss correctly has the option to go first, although they can let the other player go first, too."
"Heads!" Misty called.
"Tails." Brock called.
Once the coin had hit the ground, Yume warped the coin to the mat's dividing line to show the results to the group. Misty has won the toss--do you wish to go first?
"Sure!" Misty replied before retrieving a Primarina deck tin from her bag. "I'll use my Rainbow Tide deck for this match."
"I'm using my Eighteen Tales deck for this exhibition match." Brock replied as he retrieved a deck tin depicting both the normal Ninetales and the Alolan Ninetales together.
Yume noticed Goukai watching in awe at Misty and Brock setting up their play areas. Would you like a deck of your own to play with?
[Yeah!] Goukai smiled. [Do they have decks with all the Urshifu forms?]
Yume created a circle of twelve deck tins around Goukai, which formed a neat pile before him. Here you are--if you ever want to play against Ash, you have a deck for each Urshifu form.
"Let's use the Crystal Fist Urshifu deck as a visual aid." Ash located a deck tin depicting a Gigantimaxed Urshifu that appeared to be made of shiny green crystal. "The object of the game is to defeat your opponent in a simulated Pokemon battle. You can do this by knocking out all the opponent's Pokemon or if they have no more cards they can draw."
[Sounds easy enough...] Goukai mused.
"Cards come in four types--Pokemon cards..." Ash showed Goukai a copy of a Kubfu the Wandering Warrior card. "...energy cards..." He showed Goukai a Grass Energy card. "item cards..." He showed Goukai a Potion card. "...and Trainer cards." He showed Goukai a copy of a The Wise Prof. Oak card. "A legal deck is 60 cards--no more and no less."
"You can get in big trouble if you have more or less than that and the judges catch you." Brock warned as he set up his bench.
Ash led Goukai to Misty's side of the table, where she was ready to begin the friendly game. "Feel like explaining to Goukai what a set up play area looks like?"
"Sure..." Misty smiled. "Once who goes first has been determined, you shuffle your deck and draw seven cards--this is your starting hand. If you don't get a Pokemon you can play on the first try, you reshuffle your deck and try again until you do. However, every time you try again, your opponent gets one more card."
She showed Goukai a copy of a Bubbling Joy, Popplio card. "This is a Basic Pokemon card--every Pokemon in the game starts like this. If you end up with a lot of these in your starting hand, you pick one to lead with, and put the rest in the bench area."
"You may sometimes hear Pokemon in the bench area referred to as 'on standby' or 'in reserve'." Brock explained, gesturing to his finished bench area with three Pokemon. "It still means that these Pokemon are not ready to be actively played just yet. They can still be affected by attacks from the Pokemon that are actively in play..."
To Be Continued...