An Analysis on Bellossom UD - by Yoshidude10
Hello everyone! I'm here to give you guys a little analysis on Bellossom UD. First off, for any of you who need a look at Bellossom, here it is:
So let's look at Bellossom. A Fire Weakness will get you into trouble with Reshiram and other Fire type attackers, like Emboar and Typhlosion, but the Water resistance can help when Bellossom is facing a Blastoise UL or a Samurott BW. Dance 'til Dawn is a somewhat risky move, and should never be used unless you are in absolute dire straits, because of its relatively low damage output, its flippiness, and the fact that Bellossom falls Asleep after it attacks.
However, the true key in Bellossom is its Poke-Power, Hustle Step. With the right Pokemon in play, Bellossom can be the key in everlasting life for many Pokemon. Let's take a look at some of the Pokemon that can assist Bellossom.
First off, we have Reuniclus BW. How exactly does Reuniclus help? First off, let's say that your opponent attacks your Active Pokemon for 60 or more damage. Bellossom will heal 10, but that would mean your Active Pokemon would only have 10 damage removed from it, leaving it vulnerable to be KO'd the next turn. However, if you have Reuniclus, you can move the damage to all of the Pokemon in play, and then use Hustle Step to remove more damage (for example, if you have 6 Pokemon in play, 1 Bellossom removes 60 damage!). If there is still damage left after Damage Swap is used, you can then move the damage back to the Pokemon you choose.
One problem with Reuniclus, however, is that the card Pokemon Catcher easily targets Reuniclus, and with its low 90 HP, it can easily be KO'd, and the player will find themselves without another Reuniclus to set up. So how do we stop Pokemon Catcher from preventing the beatiful combo from Bellossom + Reuniclus from working?
This is a card that most people are familiar with, it's Vileplume! Vileplume UD is very well-known for its Poke-Body, Allergy Flower, that prevents both players from using Trainer - Item cards. Vileplume can be used for so many different reasons, including being used in the new and popular "The Truth", which also uses Vileplume + Reuniclus to lock Item cards, with Pokemon Catcher being the most helpful Item being locked, because with Vileplume, your opponent can no longer drag up Reuniclus and KO it. Vileplume also locks Pluspower, which can prevent a lot of OHKO's on your Pokemon, and it also locks Rare Candy, which can slow your opponent down, including many other useful Item cards.
Another pro to Vileplume is that Bellossom and Vileplume both evolve from
Gloom, so you don't have to add any extra Pokemon to fit room for Vileplume! You may want to add extra Oddish, in order to prevent Catcher from KO'ing too many early in the game, but if Vileplume can be set up T2 or T3, your opponent will probably end up being locked the entire game.
Now we need a few attackers that can take a variety of different attacks from various Pokemon, such as Reshiram, Zekrom, Magnezone Prime, Gothitelle, and many other Pokemon. So what Pokemon can we use?
These three cards can all be used as attackers for this deck, due to their flexibility, low energy costs, high HP (can act like a damage sponge), and high damage outputs.
First off, Donphan Prime uses one Fighting energy to use Earthquake, which does 60 to your opponent's Active Pokemon, and 10 to all of your benched Pokemon. As bad as the damage might seem, the damage can fuel the attack Outrage on Reshiram and Zekrom, and Bellossom heals off the damage with Hustle Step. Donphan's Exoskeleton Poke-Body makes it that much harder to KO it, and it can be easily charged up to use Heavy Impact if it needs to. Its four Retreat Cost is horrendous, though, and on top of that, Vileplume locks Items, so Switch cannot be used. This makes retreating Donphan a hassle, so once it is in the Active position, you should be prepared to keep it there.
Reshiram and Zekrom both use Outrage to their advantage, and with Reuniclus, tanking with lots of damage is a solid option. They can use the damage to their advantage, and being Basics, they are easily swarmable and can be placed quickly and attack the turn you place it down, with the help of Double Colorless Energy, and Reshiram and Zekrom can each be used to counter different Pokemon, depending on the Pokemon each may have to face (for example, Zekrom deals with Yanmega, SEL, and Samurott/Blastoise, while Reshiram can get rid of Donphan, and anything else Zekrom cannot handle). They can also sit on the bench and hold damage if the Bellossom(s) are not out yet (or all of the damage has not been removed yet). If desired, the player can even run Fire/Lightning energy to let Reshiram/Zekrom use their second attacks, Blue Flare and Bolt Strike, but it is not recommended, as the energy takes up valuable space and are unsearchable once Vileplume comes into play.
So now we have the following; A healer, a locker, a damage mover, and main attackers. These four things all come into play in helping to make this deck work. So what are we missing that will make the deck better? Items and Supporters, of course! I'll give a quick review on how each card I mention can help the deck and Bellossom.
Pokemon Collector: Pokemon Collector is an obvious choice to use. It is run in a playset in almost every deck, due to it being extremely useful to grab any Basic Pokemon you might need. Getting 2-3 Oddish out T1 is very important, due to Catcher KOs on your Oddishes. Having 2 or 3 Oddish out guarantees that you will be able to get a Vileplume out to prevent any more Catcher KOs. Pokemon Collector on the first turn can be really important to grab any other Basics you may need, including Solosis, Phanpy, Reshiram, and Zekrom. Oddish and Solosis are usually the most useful choices, though.
Sunflora HGSS: Sunflora HGSS is the searching accelerator, being able to grab a Vileplume and possibly using Rare Candy on an Oddish T2, or maybe you need that Gloom/Bellossom to evolve another Oddish. Sunflora can be really helpful in speeding up the searching process, and once Vileplume comes into play, Sunflora is your only searching device (excluding Pokemon Collector and another card mentioned soon). Although Sunkern is a horrible starter to begin with, you can usually get away with a Sunflora T2 to get things rolling for you. Just be careful of Sunflora being dragged up by Pokemon Catcher, though.
Pokemon Communication: Another staple card seen in many decks, Pokemon Communication can get rid of a bunch of extra Basics in your hand, and in exchange, you can grab Pokemon Sunflora can't get, like the Reuniclus line, the Donphan line, or Reshiram/Zekrom. If Sunflora can't come out early in the game, then Pokemon Communication is a great alternative for searching out the Vileplume you need. Without Pokemon Communication, pulling off a T2 Vileplume would be rather difficult. However, this card is optional, due to the fact that Sunflora and another card are already built-in search cards, and this card cannot be played under Item Lock.
Rare Candy: Mentioned briefly before in the analysis, Rare Candy is the only card that makes a T2 Vileplume/Reuniclus/Bellossom possible. You'll usually want to go for Vileplume with Rare Candy, which is why the rest of the Rare Candies are usually dead draws after Vileplume is set up. However, this deck is required to run at least 3, so Vileplume can be set up as fast as possible. However, Rare Candy can also be used to evolve other Pokemon if you have the necessary materials (without taking away the materials needed to set up Vileplume). One thing, though; always make sure you use Rare Candy on your other Pokemon, if you have the opportunity, before you Rare Candy into Vileplume, because once you set up Vileplume, Rare Candy loses it usefulness.
Twins: Twins is a absolute necessity in any deck that involves Vileplume, because Twins is one of the most important search cards that you can use if you are behind in prizes (which happens quite often), and can be played under Item Lock. Twins can be used over and over, if you choose to grab one card and then Twins, and repeat the process, being able to grab 5 cards of your choice from the deck (assuming all four Twins are in the deck, and you grab Twins over and over; in the rare occasion that you play all 4 Twins from your hand without searching for them, you can grab up to 8 cards of your choice). Catcher KOs on Oddish happen often, and Twins can be used to grab a Rare Candy if you need Vileplume up, and sometimes you can KO one of your own Pokemon in order to use Twins (like putting 3 damage counters on Solosis with Damage Swap).
Professor Oak's New Theory: Professor Oak's New Theory, abbreviated PONT, is another common staple card seen in many decks. Hand refresh is hard to come by in this deck, so using PONT is a good idea to get a new hand, whether it be before or after Vileplume is set up. PONT also helps to grab Bellossom if a Gloom was in play for one turn, so you can begin the everlasting lock and heal process. PONT can also help if you have a large hand and a small deck left, so it will buy you a few more turns.
Professor Elm's Training Method: Professor Elm's Training Method, abbreviated PETM, is an odd choice for most decks, because for the most part, it slows many decks down due to its existence as a Supporter. For this reason, many players dismiss as a compeditive card, but Bellossom sees it as a way to get it in play. With PETM, you can grab a Gloom if you have Bellossom in your hand, or Bellossom if Gloom is in play. Professor Elm's Training Method is yet another search card that has proven its worth over and over in this deck.
Cheren: Cheren is a cool source of drawpower that is actually pretty decent under Item Lock. Drawing 3 cards gives Bellossom a huge boost, and it also opens room to grab a needed energy or Evolution card, maybe even a Basic you may have needed earlier in the game. Cheren is simple and straightforward, but it provides a massive amount of support for this deck.
Flower Shop Lady: Man, does this card help late-game. If you find yourself getting KO'd and need some recovery, Flower Shop Lady is the perfect choice. If, for some reason, you have to sacrifice Bellossom, you can recover it again with Flower Shop Lady, and the reason it is played over Super Rod is because Super Rod cannot be played under Item Lock. FSL also buys you some extra time if the deck is running low, and can be the deck's last saving breath.
Pichu: Pichu is the preferred starter for this deck, as its purpose is to act as a Pokemon Collector and fill up your Bench. If you went first, your opponent still can't evolve their Pokemon, and if you whiff a Collector T1, Pichu fills its shoes. Also, it can stall for a little bit with Sweet Sleeping Face, and makes decks like ZPST suffer from not being able to KO anything while Pichu is sleeping.
Double Colorless Energy: Double Colorless Energy serves the purpose of charging up Reshiram and Zekrom, and is usually the only Energy card used to power them up. Without it, you would have to use Fighting Energy that would be taken away from Donphan.
Fighting Energy: This is fairly obvious, as the only two Energy cards Donphan functions off of is Rainbow Energy. However, Fighting Energy can be fetched out of the discard pile with FSL, so Fighting Energy is preferred.
Rescue Energy: In the occasion that your opponent can land enough damage to score a KO on one of your attackers, Rescue Energy is useful to recover the Pokemon, and can be played under Item Lock. If Bellossom is vulnerable to being KO'd, you can attach a Rescue Energy, and then if it is KO'd, you can set it right back up again. Although it isn't the best choice to use as recovery, it still helps.
Now that you know the cards that should be played in the deck, let's get right to the decklist!
4 - 3 - 2 / 2 Vileplume / Bellossom (all UD)
3 - 2 - 2 Reuniclus BW (all BW)
2 - 2 Donphan Prime (Phanpy is HGSS)
2 - 2 Sunflora HGSS
2 Reshiram BW
2 Zekrom BW
2 Pichu HGSS
Total Pokemon: 31
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Twins
3 Rare Candy
3 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Cheren
2 Professor Elm's Training Method
1 Flower Shop Lady
Total T/S/S: 19
4 Fighting Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
2 Rescue Energy
Total Energy: 10
Strategy: Try to use Pichu or Pokemon Collector to grab as many Basics as you can, and try the best you can to set up Vileplume T2. If your opponent KO'd something on T1, use Twins to get Vileplume set up, and start getting the components for Reuniclus and Bellossom. Bellossom uses Hustle Step, combined with Damage Swap from Reuniclus, to heal off all the damage that could possible be given. Sunflora searches out all of the Grass types, and Donphan Prime/Reshiram/Zekrom are the attackers. PETM is another search card, while PONT is a nice hand refresher, and FSL is an excellent recovery card to retrieve KO'd Bellossom or attackers, as is Rescue Energy. DCE powers up Outrage, Rare Candy helps set up Vileplume, and everything else is self-explanatory.
To wrap up things, I really hoped everyone appreciated the time I put into this analysis to explain why Bellossom can shine so much, and why it has potential when played correctly. Please PM me if you have any questions, you can post on my profile to ask a question, or you can post here and let me know how I did writing the analysis. I hoped you enjoyed, and I strive to see players use this card in the future! Remember, next time you run Vileplume + Reuniclus together, why not try Bellossom?
Hello everyone! I'm here to give you guys a little analysis on Bellossom UD. First off, for any of you who need a look at Bellossom, here it is:
So let's look at Bellossom. A Fire Weakness will get you into trouble with Reshiram and other Fire type attackers, like Emboar and Typhlosion, but the Water resistance can help when Bellossom is facing a Blastoise UL or a Samurott BW. Dance 'til Dawn is a somewhat risky move, and should never be used unless you are in absolute dire straits, because of its relatively low damage output, its flippiness, and the fact that Bellossom falls Asleep after it attacks.
However, the true key in Bellossom is its Poke-Power, Hustle Step. With the right Pokemon in play, Bellossom can be the key in everlasting life for many Pokemon. Let's take a look at some of the Pokemon that can assist Bellossom.
First off, we have Reuniclus BW. How exactly does Reuniclus help? First off, let's say that your opponent attacks your Active Pokemon for 60 or more damage. Bellossom will heal 10, but that would mean your Active Pokemon would only have 10 damage removed from it, leaving it vulnerable to be KO'd the next turn. However, if you have Reuniclus, you can move the damage to all of the Pokemon in play, and then use Hustle Step to remove more damage (for example, if you have 6 Pokemon in play, 1 Bellossom removes 60 damage!). If there is still damage left after Damage Swap is used, you can then move the damage back to the Pokemon you choose.
One problem with Reuniclus, however, is that the card Pokemon Catcher easily targets Reuniclus, and with its low 90 HP, it can easily be KO'd, and the player will find themselves without another Reuniclus to set up. So how do we stop Pokemon Catcher from preventing the beatiful combo from Bellossom + Reuniclus from working?
This is a card that most people are familiar with, it's Vileplume! Vileplume UD is very well-known for its Poke-Body, Allergy Flower, that prevents both players from using Trainer - Item cards. Vileplume can be used for so many different reasons, including being used in the new and popular "The Truth", which also uses Vileplume + Reuniclus to lock Item cards, with Pokemon Catcher being the most helpful Item being locked, because with Vileplume, your opponent can no longer drag up Reuniclus and KO it. Vileplume also locks Pluspower, which can prevent a lot of OHKO's on your Pokemon, and it also locks Rare Candy, which can slow your opponent down, including many other useful Item cards.
Another pro to Vileplume is that Bellossom and Vileplume both evolve from
Gloom, so you don't have to add any extra Pokemon to fit room for Vileplume! You may want to add extra Oddish, in order to prevent Catcher from KO'ing too many early in the game, but if Vileplume can be set up T2 or T3, your opponent will probably end up being locked the entire game.
Now we need a few attackers that can take a variety of different attacks from various Pokemon, such as Reshiram, Zekrom, Magnezone Prime, Gothitelle, and many other Pokemon. So what Pokemon can we use?
These three cards can all be used as attackers for this deck, due to their flexibility, low energy costs, high HP (can act like a damage sponge), and high damage outputs.
First off, Donphan Prime uses one Fighting energy to use Earthquake, which does 60 to your opponent's Active Pokemon, and 10 to all of your benched Pokemon. As bad as the damage might seem, the damage can fuel the attack Outrage on Reshiram and Zekrom, and Bellossom heals off the damage with Hustle Step. Donphan's Exoskeleton Poke-Body makes it that much harder to KO it, and it can be easily charged up to use Heavy Impact if it needs to. Its four Retreat Cost is horrendous, though, and on top of that, Vileplume locks Items, so Switch cannot be used. This makes retreating Donphan a hassle, so once it is in the Active position, you should be prepared to keep it there.
Reshiram and Zekrom both use Outrage to their advantage, and with Reuniclus, tanking with lots of damage is a solid option. They can use the damage to their advantage, and being Basics, they are easily swarmable and can be placed quickly and attack the turn you place it down, with the help of Double Colorless Energy, and Reshiram and Zekrom can each be used to counter different Pokemon, depending on the Pokemon each may have to face (for example, Zekrom deals with Yanmega, SEL, and Samurott/Blastoise, while Reshiram can get rid of Donphan, and anything else Zekrom cannot handle). They can also sit on the bench and hold damage if the Bellossom(s) are not out yet (or all of the damage has not been removed yet). If desired, the player can even run Fire/Lightning energy to let Reshiram/Zekrom use their second attacks, Blue Flare and Bolt Strike, but it is not recommended, as the energy takes up valuable space and are unsearchable once Vileplume comes into play.
So now we have the following; A healer, a locker, a damage mover, and main attackers. These four things all come into play in helping to make this deck work. So what are we missing that will make the deck better? Items and Supporters, of course! I'll give a quick review on how each card I mention can help the deck and Bellossom.
Pokemon Collector: Pokemon Collector is an obvious choice to use. It is run in a playset in almost every deck, due to it being extremely useful to grab any Basic Pokemon you might need. Getting 2-3 Oddish out T1 is very important, due to Catcher KOs on your Oddishes. Having 2 or 3 Oddish out guarantees that you will be able to get a Vileplume out to prevent any more Catcher KOs. Pokemon Collector on the first turn can be really important to grab any other Basics you may need, including Solosis, Phanpy, Reshiram, and Zekrom. Oddish and Solosis are usually the most useful choices, though.
Sunflora HGSS: Sunflora HGSS is the searching accelerator, being able to grab a Vileplume and possibly using Rare Candy on an Oddish T2, or maybe you need that Gloom/Bellossom to evolve another Oddish. Sunflora can be really helpful in speeding up the searching process, and once Vileplume comes into play, Sunflora is your only searching device (excluding Pokemon Collector and another card mentioned soon). Although Sunkern is a horrible starter to begin with, you can usually get away with a Sunflora T2 to get things rolling for you. Just be careful of Sunflora being dragged up by Pokemon Catcher, though.
Pokemon Communication: Another staple card seen in many decks, Pokemon Communication can get rid of a bunch of extra Basics in your hand, and in exchange, you can grab Pokemon Sunflora can't get, like the Reuniclus line, the Donphan line, or Reshiram/Zekrom. If Sunflora can't come out early in the game, then Pokemon Communication is a great alternative for searching out the Vileplume you need. Without Pokemon Communication, pulling off a T2 Vileplume would be rather difficult. However, this card is optional, due to the fact that Sunflora and another card are already built-in search cards, and this card cannot be played under Item Lock.
Rare Candy: Mentioned briefly before in the analysis, Rare Candy is the only card that makes a T2 Vileplume/Reuniclus/Bellossom possible. You'll usually want to go for Vileplume with Rare Candy, which is why the rest of the Rare Candies are usually dead draws after Vileplume is set up. However, this deck is required to run at least 3, so Vileplume can be set up as fast as possible. However, Rare Candy can also be used to evolve other Pokemon if you have the necessary materials (without taking away the materials needed to set up Vileplume). One thing, though; always make sure you use Rare Candy on your other Pokemon, if you have the opportunity, before you Rare Candy into Vileplume, because once you set up Vileplume, Rare Candy loses it usefulness.
Twins: Twins is a absolute necessity in any deck that involves Vileplume, because Twins is one of the most important search cards that you can use if you are behind in prizes (which happens quite often), and can be played under Item Lock. Twins can be used over and over, if you choose to grab one card and then Twins, and repeat the process, being able to grab 5 cards of your choice from the deck (assuming all four Twins are in the deck, and you grab Twins over and over; in the rare occasion that you play all 4 Twins from your hand without searching for them, you can grab up to 8 cards of your choice). Catcher KOs on Oddish happen often, and Twins can be used to grab a Rare Candy if you need Vileplume up, and sometimes you can KO one of your own Pokemon in order to use Twins (like putting 3 damage counters on Solosis with Damage Swap).
Professor Oak's New Theory: Professor Oak's New Theory, abbreviated PONT, is another common staple card seen in many decks. Hand refresh is hard to come by in this deck, so using PONT is a good idea to get a new hand, whether it be before or after Vileplume is set up. PONT also helps to grab Bellossom if a Gloom was in play for one turn, so you can begin the everlasting lock and heal process. PONT can also help if you have a large hand and a small deck left, so it will buy you a few more turns.
Professor Elm's Training Method: Professor Elm's Training Method, abbreviated PETM, is an odd choice for most decks, because for the most part, it slows many decks down due to its existence as a Supporter. For this reason, many players dismiss as a compeditive card, but Bellossom sees it as a way to get it in play. With PETM, you can grab a Gloom if you have Bellossom in your hand, or Bellossom if Gloom is in play. Professor Elm's Training Method is yet another search card that has proven its worth over and over in this deck.
Cheren: Cheren is a cool source of drawpower that is actually pretty decent under Item Lock. Drawing 3 cards gives Bellossom a huge boost, and it also opens room to grab a needed energy or Evolution card, maybe even a Basic you may have needed earlier in the game. Cheren is simple and straightforward, but it provides a massive amount of support for this deck.
Flower Shop Lady: Man, does this card help late-game. If you find yourself getting KO'd and need some recovery, Flower Shop Lady is the perfect choice. If, for some reason, you have to sacrifice Bellossom, you can recover it again with Flower Shop Lady, and the reason it is played over Super Rod is because Super Rod cannot be played under Item Lock. FSL also buys you some extra time if the deck is running low, and can be the deck's last saving breath.
Pichu: Pichu is the preferred starter for this deck, as its purpose is to act as a Pokemon Collector and fill up your Bench. If you went first, your opponent still can't evolve their Pokemon, and if you whiff a Collector T1, Pichu fills its shoes. Also, it can stall for a little bit with Sweet Sleeping Face, and makes decks like ZPST suffer from not being able to KO anything while Pichu is sleeping.
Double Colorless Energy: Double Colorless Energy serves the purpose of charging up Reshiram and Zekrom, and is usually the only Energy card used to power them up. Without it, you would have to use Fighting Energy that would be taken away from Donphan.
Fighting Energy: This is fairly obvious, as the only two Energy cards Donphan functions off of is Rainbow Energy. However, Fighting Energy can be fetched out of the discard pile with FSL, so Fighting Energy is preferred.
Rescue Energy: In the occasion that your opponent can land enough damage to score a KO on one of your attackers, Rescue Energy is useful to recover the Pokemon, and can be played under Item Lock. If Bellossom is vulnerable to being KO'd, you can attach a Rescue Energy, and then if it is KO'd, you can set it right back up again. Although it isn't the best choice to use as recovery, it still helps.
Now that you know the cards that should be played in the deck, let's get right to the decklist!
4 - 3 - 2 / 2 Vileplume / Bellossom (all UD)
3 - 2 - 2 Reuniclus BW (all BW)
2 - 2 Donphan Prime (Phanpy is HGSS)
2 - 2 Sunflora HGSS
2 Reshiram BW
2 Zekrom BW
2 Pichu HGSS
Total Pokemon: 31
4 Pokemon Collector
4 Twins
3 Rare Candy
3 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Cheren
2 Professor Elm's Training Method
1 Flower Shop Lady
Total T/S/S: 19
4 Fighting Energy
4 Double Colorless Energy
2 Rescue Energy
Total Energy: 10
Strategy: Try to use Pichu or Pokemon Collector to grab as many Basics as you can, and try the best you can to set up Vileplume T2. If your opponent KO'd something on T1, use Twins to get Vileplume set up, and start getting the components for Reuniclus and Bellossom. Bellossom uses Hustle Step, combined with Damage Swap from Reuniclus, to heal off all the damage that could possible be given. Sunflora searches out all of the Grass types, and Donphan Prime/Reshiram/Zekrom are the attackers. PETM is another search card, while PONT is a nice hand refresher, and FSL is an excellent recovery card to retrieve KO'd Bellossom or attackers, as is Rescue Energy. DCE powers up Outrage, Rare Candy helps set up Vileplume, and everything else is self-explanatory.
To wrap up things, I really hoped everyone appreciated the time I put into this analysis to explain why Bellossom can shine so much, and why it has potential when played correctly. Please PM me if you have any questions, you can post on my profile to ask a question, or you can post here and let me know how I did writing the analysis. I hoped you enjoyed, and I strive to see players use this card in the future! Remember, next time you run Vileplume + Reuniclus together, why not try Bellossom?
