Hello Six Prizes. It’s been a while since I’ve had the ambition to sit down and hammer out an article, but with all the new cards and possibilities crawling from the floorboards, I figure it’s time to start writing again. Today we have a Pokémon that hasn’t been too hyped, but may have the potential to be a deadly weapon. Granted I only ran into this Pokémon at the Noble Victories pre-release, I saw some hidden power in this card.
Bisharp is a Stage 1 Dark Type Pokémon with 90HP. With even less than 100HP, he is not the sturdiest Pokémon by any means. Weakness only makes it worse by adding Donphan to the list of Pokémon that can one hit Ko it, along with any other Fighting type Pokémon that can do at least 50 damage.
While the weakness is disappointing, being Dark type has its advantages. There are always the Special Dark energies, along with the potential to add Dark type tech Pokémon such as Zoroark. That, and for those of you who know about the “Dark Rush” set that is on its way, you’ll remember the new Item “Dark Patch”. The card allows a player to attach a Basic Dark energy from their discard. Combine it with Junk Arm, and Dark goes on the list of types with usable energy acceleration.
Now onto why I think this card really shines. His first attack “Finishing Blow” costs one Dark energy and does a base of 20. The effect is what makes the attack. If the Pokémon already has damage on it, the attack does 50 more damage. The attack then does 70 damage for one energy. Add a Special Dark into the mix, and account for the minimum of 1 damage counter already there and the defending Pokémon is sitting on 90 damage when the turn ends.
“But Travis, how does the Defending Pokémon already have a damage counter on it?” Please hold all questions until the end of the article.
Bisharp’s second move “Night Slash” doesn’t come across as dangerous. It costs a Dark and a Colorless, and only does thirty, but again, the effect is key. The effect allows you to switch Bisharp with a benched Pokémon. Maybe a combo with Gothitelle or Druddigon with a Rocky Helmet could be used with this attack. This could be used as a backup plan to build damage, or stall the opponent with a lock. The possibilities go on.
Bisharp would obviously need a couple of partners to bring him to his full potential. For one thing, Bisharp needs someone to place damage on the other side, preferably without attacking. The two Pokémon that come to mind are Kingdra Prime and Chandelure NVI. Both use abilities to place damage on the other side of the field. Chandelure would take a bit more work to use, as it has to be active, but maybe a Dodrio tech could improve his usefulness. Only time and testing will tell.
The problem with bench sitters is that Catcher is being used so much. It’s dangerous to have important Pokémon just chilling on the bench. This is why I believe if this deck were to work it would need thick lines of the snipers, or trainer locking Pokémon such as Vileplume or Gothitelle.
This card has the potential to become lethal, especially with Dark types getting a whole set of support in the future. Overall I’d give this card a 6/10 for playability, but an 8/10 for potential. Am I just buying this card a first class ticket for the hype train, or can it actually stand out? Let’s see what you all think.
