Discussion Using Pokemon Communication

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Geist1848

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I am going over my deck lists and trying to decide when to include Pokemon Communication of simply keep the standard Ultra ball and Nest ball mainstays (and Mysterious Treasure of course.)

For instance, in a Zoroark list that has many different stage twos and a high number of total pokemon, Pokemon Communication seems a superior choice compared to Ultra Ball. But when running a deck like a Zapdos shrine that has almost all basic pokemon (maybe except Magcargo) and between 14 and 16 pokemon it would seems that Ultra Ball might be the better choice since there are lower odds of having an extra pokemon in hand that would be required to use Communication.

What are some of general thoughts out there of when to use Pokemon Communication and when to just keep using Ultra Ball?
 
Yo. Consider that Pokemon Communication lets you swap one Pokemon for another Pokemon. That means any Pokemon. It's an item, so it doesn't lose you the opportunity of playing a Supporter you might need. For Communication to work you'll have to have a Pokemon in hand in the first place.. That would probably be a Pokemon you just don't need to play at the time.

Ultra Ball requires you to discard two cards, and you might not want to do that, to get any Pokemon you want out of your deck. This is great for not just finding what you want, but getting a Pokemon when you don't have anything at all.

In a Zoroark deck Communication may be handy since you're discarding cards for the Trade ability— why discard more. Seems better that you would have the option of just putting a Pokemon back in the deck to draw it or pull it later. I can't speak to Zapados though since I haven't played that deck yet, but others here have I'm sure.
 
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Geist1848 said:
I am going over my deck lists and trying to decide when to include Pokemon Communication of simply keep the standard Ultra ball and Nest ball mainstays (and Mysterious Treasure of course.)

For instance, in a Zoroark list that has many different stage twos and a high number of total pokemon, Pokemon Communication seems a superior choice compared to Ultra Ball. But when running a deck like a Zapdos shrine that has almost all basic pokemon (maybe except Magcargo) and between 14 and 16 pokemon it would seems that Ultra Ball might be the better choice since there are lower odds of having an extra pokemon in hand that would be required to use Communication.

What are some of general thoughts out there of when to use Pokemon Communication and when to just keep using Ultra Ball?
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Ultra Ball can always be played on your first turn and will never fail you. Pokemon Communication (PC) will make sure you do not waste useful resources and save them for later. This is why as you described, PC can be more valuable in a deck that is very tight in space. PC is dependent as you said on the number of Pokemon your deck plays. As a rule of thumb, and you nailed it pretty well, when you have over 15 Pokemon, PC can become an interesting card to include to boost your consistency without having to fear that you brick on turn 1 so it can compete to a certain level with Ultra Ball.

I am guessing that you are playing Oranguru/Magcargo with Tapu Koko PS in your Shrine deck? Discarding energies would then be required for Dance of the Ancient so Ultra Ball would most likely be more valuable. Also if you use Oranguru you can get stuck more often with 3+ cards by playing PC over Ultra Ball which can be a liability. In this type of deck I would at first hand consider playing 4 Ultra Ball and then include Pokemon Communication to further improve consistency if the space allows it.
 
Probably it will work well as a two copy in Lost March (for swapping Jumpluff with Skiploom) and in decks using Eevolutions (for swapping the eevolution with an Eevee or what you need at the moment).
 
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