Discussion Why do Restored Pokemon see so little play?

Mr. Rhyperior

Mr. Rhyperior

The Drill Pokemon. An evolve form of Rhydon.
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Hello, guys!

Fossils became even more harder to play because of the changes since BW-era. They became like a "Great Ball" effect Item cards, instead of being like a "Robo Sub" that has an HP and vulnerable from being KO'ed. Some fossils like Archeops see some bit of a play, but in other way not like this. Here are some reasons why Fossils almost not see some play.

  • Restored Pokémon - Restored Pokémon are Basic-like Pokémon that places on the bench only with the effect of the Fossil Item cards. If you try to build a Fossil deck, you must have an at least 1 Basic Pokémon to start up with, and that makes it hard.
  • Prone to Item Lock - Fossils are Items, means something like Trevenant will say "Hi!" to you for the rest of the game, and you'll getting stuggle to play Restored Pokemon, unless something like Twist Mountain will ease up your difficulty.
  • 4 per deck - All cards can run up to 4 per deck except Which I hate the most. If you play 4 Aerodactyl and 4 Old Amber, not all 4 Aerodactyl can be sent out in play with your 4 Old Amber Item cards.
Are you agree to my point?
 
I do agree with you. Fossils will not see much play until Pokemon changes its mechanic or do something to put them in play a little easier.
For example, it would be good if you can put a Restored Pokemon as active at the beggining of the game, something like STS Talonflame. I know that is not a complete solution, but at least is something to begin with.
 
when they made the change to restored Pokémon they tried to justify making restored poke harder to get out by having stats for a stage higher then they were, but then pretty much next set they introduced EX, fast basics with higher stats then stage 2, why both with fossils when the big EXs are so easy to get out.

the other main problem fossil have had is the ways to get them out are very inconsistent/inconvenient, take fossil researcher FFI he brings 2 restored poke from deck to bench but only 2 out of 9 types are available and those Pokémon only have 1 card to their name. Compare this to fossil excavator which could grab the trainer basic, stage 1 or stage 2 from discard and put in hand of any fossil poke, not as powerful but much more flexible. another example of inconvenient is omaster FCO it's ability can get a restored from deck to bench but its a stage 1 fossil so we have to either use a fossil card to get it out then evolve to be able to use it or use archies.

mariano's talonflame suggest would be good, I'd also like to see Fossil researcher reprinted and able to grab 2 of any restored poke and put them on bench. I'd also like a mysterious fossil type card that would grab any restored from bottom 7 that way you can run multiple restored without having to clutter your deck up.
 
treyh37 said:
when they made the change to restored Pokémon they tried to justify making restored poke harder to get out by having stats for a stage higher then they were, but then pretty much next set they introduced EX, fast basics with higher stats then stage 2, why both with fossils when the big EXs are so easy to get out.

the other main problem fossil have had is the ways to get them out are very inconsistent/inconvenient, take fossil researcher FFI he brings 2 restored poke from deck to bench but only 2 out of 9 types are available and those Pokémon only have 1 card to their name. Compare this to fossil excavator which could grab the trainer basic, stage 1 or stage 2 from discard and put in hand of any fossil poke, not as powerful but much more flexible. another example of inconvenient is omaster FCO it's ability can get a restored from deck to bench but its a stage 1 fossil so we have to either use a fossil card to get it out then evolve to be able to use it or use archies.

mariano's talonflame suggest would be good, I'd also like to see Fossil researcher reprinted and able to grab 2 of any restored poke and put them on bench. I'd also like a mysterious fossil type card that would grab any restored from bottom 7 that way you can run multiple restored without having to clutter your deck up.
Click to expand...
Fossil Researcher only works for Amaura and Tyrunt, while Excavation Kit is for Kanto Fossils.
 
Like Baby Pokemon, I would not be surprised to see PCL abandon Fossil Pokemon entirely, especially considering that there aren't any in gen 7.
 
PMJ said:
Like Baby Pokemon, I would not be surprised to see PCL abandon Fossil Pokemon entirely, especially considering that there aren't any in gen 7.
Click to expand...

There aren't any new Fossil Pokes in Gen 7, but the Gen 4 & 5 Fossils are available.

But yeah, after they made restored pokemon, they were harder to get out.

EDIT: You can also get an Aerodactyl in the seafolk village.
 
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That isn't what I meant at all. You can get babies in gen 7 even though no new ones were introduced. Obviously. I apologize for not being clearer though.
 
Mr. Rhyperior said:
Fossil Researcher only works for Amaura and Tyrunt, while Excavation Kit is for Kanto Fossils.
Click to expand...
Rhyperior my point was that those cards are limited to those few types when it should be all the fossil/restored poke if TCPi wanted them to be useful.
 
Aerodactyl FCO is seeing, simply because it is a very fearsome Pokemon. 120 HP is a lot one-Prize Pokemon, and being able to do 120 damage and discard a Special Energt for a DCE is nothing to balk at. Aerodactyl-based decks tend to be very Item Heavy, and use cards like Puzzle of Time and Fossil Excavation Kit to repeatedly use Old Amber Aerodactyl, since there is no way to guarantee it will be in the bottom seven cards of your deck. In Expanded play, this is often used in conjunction with the Maxie's Hidden Ball trick engine, which can also get Fighting typed Restored Pokemon into play, such as Archeops NVI. However, I think the biggest problem with Restored Pokemon, apart from the difficulty getting them out is that with a couple of exceptions they simply aren't strong enough to be worth the effort. In a format dominated by powerful Basic Pokemon-EX / Pokemon-GX, Stage 1s, and Mega Pokemon-EX, a card that's difficult to get out really needs to bring something game-changing the table. Just like with the occasionally Stage 2 (Decidueye-GX, Greninja, etc.) the Restored Pokemon that do see play are used as counters to the more mainstream decks, or have some atypical role.

I'm working off memory, but here is a list of all the Restored Pokemon I recall seeing in a competitive setting:

Archeops NVI : Used with the Maxie engine for its powerful Ability that prevents Pokemon from evolving. It's also a bench sitter, so you don't have to worry about streaming it.

Archen / Tirtouga PLB : These Pokemon were used solely for their Ability, Prehistoric Call, which would place them on the bottom of their owner's deck. They were played in quick-drawing decks such as Night March to prevent the player from decking out. This was done in the early days of Night March, before Puzle of Time made its debut in BREAKPoint, and Night March decks ran Basic Energy. The combo worked with Empoleon DEX, to discard the Restored Pokemon with its Ability, and endlessly place it back in the deck.

Aerodactyl FCO : With 120 HP and a formidable attack, this is the first Restored Pokemon to see competitive use in an attacking role

The other Restored Pokemon that have been released simply don't bring enough to the table to warrant their use, given the difficulty to get out. With the exception of Aerodactyl, they require successfully playing a fossil card, and then evolving to a Stage 1 or even a Pokemon BREAK. This simply isn't consistent. In Expanded play, you can consistently use Maxie's Hidden Ball Trick and Archie's Ace in the Hole to bring many Pokemon that evolve from Restored Pokemon out (since a vast majority are Fighting or Water), but even then Archeops NVI may be the only one worth the effort.
 
Restored Pokémon are one of the least printed Stages. Then pretty much everything @Mr. Rhyperior. ;)

Much like Baby Pokémon, I would prefer they abandon this mechanic unless something makes it truly necessary. Expanded may make that complex, but I'd rather have a mass errata/banning if necessary. Set all Evolution lines so that the Baby or Restored Pokémon is now a Basic, adjust the rest of the line accordingly. If they want to do something special with that. I just wish that the powers-that-be had done this during the HeartGold/SoulSilver series.
 
If they want to make Restored/Fossil Pokemon more usable, they could add a Nest Ball-esque card to get those Restored Pokemon in play without dealing with the "Bottom 7 cards" nonsense. Either that or have ways to put Restored Pokemon onto the bottom of the deck, akin to Prehistoric Call but as an Item card. Perhaps a Bridgette for Restored Pokemon? There is a lot of ways to make them viable, yet TCPi can't pull the trigger on it.

Honestly, the mechanic is a cool idea, but there is very little support for it. The support that is available is either too cumbersome or feeds into the inconsistency of the mechanic. Compared to Nest Ball, Ultra Ball, and Level Ball, Fossils are left in the dust the moment they are added in. Wobbuffet and Talonflame may ease the burden of getting fossils like Aerodactyl out yet, you have to do two things: You have to hamper your opponent's board with an Active Wobbuffet long enough to get it out. You have to burn most of your deck for multiple 120 HP "Basic" that can do 120 for a DCE.

In short, why play Aerodactyl/Restored Pokemon competitively when other decks can do it better?
 
fossil's used to be like robo substitute, BUT you couldnt start the game with them, so you had to have at least 4-5 basics in your deck
 
I've been running an aerodactyl Wobbuffet deck with some decent success in standard. Wobbuffet not only slows down your opponent, but keeps item lock out so that you can keep getting restored pokemon out. Along with aerodactyl being able to 2 shot most things with disruption it's pretty good. I would agree though that we need something like twist mountain or a supporter that brings them out, because especially with tapu lele it could give the deck some actual consistency. However, especially with fossil excavation kit, this deck doesn't suffer from the 3 things you listed. It still can brick really hard though, so it's not the most consistent.
 
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