Getting my daughter started

G

GamerRay

Aspiring Trainer
Member
After being crazy about the game when I was younger, I've always kept an eye on Pokemon through the years. When Netflix (finally) got the Pokemon shows, I was successful in showing it to my 3 and 5 year olds, officially hooking them on the world of Pokemon.

My daughter just turned 6 on Monday, and she really wants to learn the card game. My first thought was to buy her a starter set like I had when the game originally released, but after looking at the cards in the latest starters I feel like some things might be a bit too advanced for her first foray in to the game.

I thought a better workaround might be to build a couple decks myself so that she could use Pokemon she's familiar with. It's with great pride that I say she prefers the Indigo League Pokemon so far, so I'm trying to build decks using the original 151. B/W Pokemon would probably be okay as well since I finally convinced them to work through all of B/W before they go back to the Indigo League.

I'm hoping you guys can give me some ideas on two really cheap decks that are incredibly straightforward. After price-checking at TrollandToad, I'm going to pass on some final evolutions (like Charizard) until I'm sure she'll stick with the game. So here's what I've come up with, using fire and normal Pokemon since outside of Squirtle, Pikachu and Bulbasaur, she's really liked a lot of the fire Pokemon she's seen.

[I don't have set names by these, but I'd choose the ones that are cheap and have very basic attacks on them. I also realize that my selections are incredibly old, but I only played the TCG when it was first released so these are what I remember. Plus they seem much simpler for a 6 year old. However, I'm open to suggestions on everything!]

Fire

Pokemon: 23

  • 3 Charmander
    2 Charmeleon
    3 Vulpix
    2 Ninetails
    3 Ponyta
    2 Rapidash
    2 Jigglypuff
    1 Wigglytuff
    3 Eevee
    2 Flareon
Trainers: 17

  • 4 Bill
    4 Pokeball
    4 Potion
    4 PlusPower
    1 Professor Oak
Energy: 20

  • 20 Fire

Water

Pokemon: 21

  • 4 Squirtle
    2 Wartortle
    1 Blastoise
    4 Oshawott
    2 Dewott
    1 Samurott
    4 Poliwag
    2 Poliwhirl
    1 Poliwrath
Trainers: 26

  • 4 Pokeball
    4 Great Ball
    4 Potion
    4 Bill
    4 Switch
    4 Energy Retrieval
    2 Professor Birch
Energy: 13

  • 13 Water

The second deck will likely be very similar with trainers so that she can see us both using the same cards. I'll probably try to go electric-type so that if we ever switch decks, she can use Pikachu. Thoughts, suggestions, etc.

Thanks!

I went ahead and moved this to the New Player Help just because this is technically a New Player thing. Plus, I have made a few modifications to your list format as to make it coincide with the rules! Thanks! :D ~Kecleon
 
I feel like if you are going to just introduce her to pokemon. You might as well get a starter set. The deck you have built is the same deck build as a theme deck so theres no real reason to pick up singles. This way she will also have a final evolution at the very least. $30ish shouldn't break the bank for 2 theme decks.

If its not going to be really competitive, theres no reason to really make a deck from scratch.

If its just for the pokemon them selves. Then anything with her favorites should be fine.
 
Thanks Ivy. I may just go with some starters for sake of simplicity. I'm probably overthinking the importance of getting the deck "just right" for teaching her, but since this is the first hobby of mine that we could share, I'm trying to make sure it goes off without a hitch! I've been doing a lot of price comparisons as I've worked on the decks, and it looks like I just made the mistake of using Charizard to gauge the price of final evolutions... <$1 for most isn't bad at all, so final evolutions are there for everyone.

Here's a new water deck I worked on after talking to her about some of her favorite characters. I'm wondering if my proportions are okay. After looking at several competitive decks, it looks like 20 energy may be overkill. I don't have a lot of energy tutors (or whatever the vernacular is around here), so I figure I should run my numbers a tad higher than a competitive player might. Again, I tried to pick straightforward trainers that let her learn the basics of the game.

Water
Pokemon: 21
4 Squirtle
2 Wartortle
1 Blastoise
4 Oshawott
2 Dewott
1 Samurott
4 Poliwag
2 Poliwhirl
1 Poliwrath

Trainers: 26
4 Pokeball
4 Great Ball
4 Potion
4 Bill
4 Switch
4 Energy Retrieval
2 Professor Birch

Energy: 13
 
Oh, and also look into buying sleeves for both of you. They are an absolute must when playing with cards. :)
 
Since you have so many pokemon with evolutions in the deck. Perhaps look into picking up Evosoda. They should be pretty cheap. It can help speed up a deck and look for evolutions. For competitive play i would say its not very good, but with a deck with 1 final evolution per line, it could be worth it.
 
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