Needing only one Energy to attack, it’s easy to heal with Pokémon Center & Scoop Up. With 90 HP and the ability to paralyze, Lickitung is great at stalling your opponent.

Lickitung was never given the credit it deserved back in 1999, but in re-exploring the Base & Jungle format nearly two decades later, I realized it was one of the best Pokémon of its time. This included the Haymaker itself, which gained another solid Basic Pokémon to pair with Hitmonchan. The hope was that Scyther would mark the beginning of the Haymaker deck’s demise, and while it certainly made things harder for Hitmonchan, the card’s versatility was taken advantage of by basically every deck. But Scyther’s most notable feature was that its Slash attack required only Colorless Energy, allowing it to fit into any deck. It boasted an impressive 70 HP, it had a zero retreat cost and it was weak to Fire, not Lightning, meaning Haymaker decks could not hit its Weakness. Those that had decent attacks, like Farfetch’d, were weak to Lightning, which allowed Haymaker decks to switch into Electabuzz and score an easy knockout. While there was no shortage of Fighting-resistant Pokémon in Base Set, none of them were particularly impressive. Given the strength of Hitmonchan, Fighting Resistance was a very valuable attribute on a Pokémon in the early days. Let’s take a look at the most impactful cards from the Jungle set. A mere 48 cards (64 including non-holographic versions of holo cards), Jungle remains the smallest expansion set the game would ever see, but nonetheless left players hopeful that new decks and strategies could be developed. Named Jungle, it debuted in the US in Summer of 1999, six months after the release of Base Set. With Haymaker so dominant, players happily welcomed the game’s first expansion set. Since the deck itself played no Evolved Pokémon, it had plenty of room for additional Trainer cards, like Energy Removal & Super Energy Removal, which prevented opponents from launching their strongest attacks. Built around the heavy-hitting duo of Hitmonchan and Electabuzz, it struck quickly, relying on Gust of Wind and PlusPower to knock out weak Basic Pokémon before they could evolve into their more powerful forms. Introduction The iconic Haymaker duo of Hitmonchan and Electabuzzīefore the game’s first expansion debuted, there was no question that Haymaker was the game’s best deck. Tips for Winning in the Base & Jungle Format.

Base one hitmonchan