Toxic SP (TCG)

That awesome Toxicroak card that came with your Player's Guide is more than just a unique promo card—it's the centerpiece of a great deck that you can build for yourself! Using cards from Platinum and Platinum—Rising Rivals 10-card booster packs, you can build the Toxic SP Theme Deck and take the deck up against all comers! It's been played against some truly great decks and done admirably, and maybe once you've played it for a while, you'll have your own ideas about how to make it better. Who knows—maybe you can make it so strong that it could go all the way to the Pokémon TCG World Championships!

Weavile is your main deck searcher. Make it your Active Pokémon and use its Call for Family attack to put the Toxicroak and Honchkrow on your Bench. Repeat this attack to put Skuntank and our star, Toxicroak , on your Bench as well. Now all that's missing to start up our fantastic Poison-and-damage combo is for you to get a Stadium card in play. If you don't have Galactic HQ available, retreat Weavile and bring up Honchkrow to search for it. Put Galactic HQ in play, retreat Honchkrow and up Toxicroak . With Skuntank sitting on your Bench, you can use its Poison Structure Poké-Power to Poison your opponent's Active Pokémon. (If your opponent's Active Pokémon can't be Poisoned this way—it's a Pokémon SP or your opponent has shut down your Poké-Powers—see the next page for an alternative strategy. Now that the Defending Pokémon is Poisoned, use Toxicroak 's Deep Poison attack. It does 60 damage and the Defending Pokemon takes 10 damage between each turn from its Poisoning. Now this damage-creating combo should cause your opponent some pain for a while, but when he or she manages to Knock Out your Toxicroak ...it's time for Toxicroak to bring your opponent a little more pain and woe.

Toxicroak does 60 damage with its Poison Revenge attack and Poisons the Defending Pokémon (no mater what kind of Pokémon you are facing). On the next turn, it does only 20 damage, so save it for later by using its Leap Away Poké-Power. Remember, you do have to flip a coin, so just in case, keep a Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poké Turn in your hand. Then, no matter what, you're getting your funky Toxicroak back. Now here's what to do if your opponent's Active Pokémon can't be Poisoned by Skuntank's Poison Structure Poké-Power. Along flies Crobat ! Before you bring up the Toxicroak , bring up Crobat and use its Toxic Fang attack. It seriously Poisons the Defending Pokémon, which takes 2 damage counters between turns! Next turn, bring in Toxicroak and add on that awesome 60 damage. No matter how much HP the Defending Pokémon has, it's not going to last long when you're doing 100 damage total per turn.

Cyrus' Conspiracy is the engine of this deck. Once you have one, search each turn for a Team Galactic's Intervention G-101 Energy Gain, a Basic Energy card, and another Cyrus's Conspiracy. And, once you run out of Cyrus's Conspiracy cards, search for Looker's Investigation and you draw 5 new, all-useful cards on your next turn.

Now, why have Mismagius in this deck, you ask? Mismagius will act as your starting Basic Pokémon if you don't have Weavile in your first hand, and for the real treat, it will Level Up to Mismagius LV. X and become a mover—and saver—of your Pokémon Tool cards. Pay the Retreat Cost to keep Mismagius LV. X on your Bench and perform its Magical Return Poké-Power to take back your Energy Gain cards once you don't need them anymore.

• Toxicroak G – Your secondary attacker. Use it to attack after your Active Pokémon gets Knocked Out, then bring it back to your hand with Leap Away.
• Toxicroak G – Your main attacker. Put Toxicroak in the Active position and attack with Deep Poison once the Defending Pokémon is Poisoned.
• Weavile G - Your Pokémon wrangler. Its Call for Family will give you all the Pokémon you need to set up Toxicroak 's Deep Poison attack.
• Skuntank G – Your main Poison inflictor. Keep it on the Bench and use its Poison Structure Poké-Power to poison the opponent's Active Pokémon.
• Honchkrow G – Your source for Stadium and Team Galactic's Intervention Trainer cards.Use its Honch's Command attack to get a Team Galactic HQ and an Energy Gain (or a Poké Turn or SP Radar if you don't have Weavile in play).
• Crobat G - Your secondary Poison inflictor. If your opponent has an Active Pokémon SP, Skuntank's Poké-Power won't cause it to be Poisoned. Crobat comes through with a double-time Poison with its Toxic Fang attack.
• Mismagius GL - Your Benchwarmer. Keep it on the Bench until you get Mismagius LV. X in your hand. Bring Mismagius to the Active Position, Level Up, and then pay the Retreat Cost.
• Mismagius GL LV.X - Your Pokémon Tool mover. Keep it on the Bench and use its Magical Return Poké-Power to get back your Energy Gain cards once you have the Energy necessary to use the Active Pokémon's attack.
• Cyrus's Conspiracy - Your deck's engine. Once you get one, you can search your deck for another, and a basic Energy card and Team Galactic's Invention Trainer card, all the same time.
• Looker's Investigation - Your backup engine. Once you run out of Cyrus's Conspiracy Supporter cards, grab one to look at your opponent's hand, and the choose who gets to draw a new five-card hand.
• Bertha's Warmth - Your last-second healing. Use this Supporter on your Active Pokémon when you don't have a backup ready to go: otherwise, use a Poké Turn instead. You shouldn't ever get this card using a Cyrus's Conspiracy or you'll break the engine. You've been warned.
• Team Galactic's Invention G-101 Energy Gain - Your instant Energy source. Put it on your Active Pokémon when you are still one Energy short of using it to attack but can't attach any more Energy this turn.
• Team Galactic's Invention G-105 Poké Turn - Your last-second Pokémon saver. Whenever your Pokémon is at risk of being Knocked-Out, bring it back to your hand, and send out the next powered-up Pokémon.
• Team Galactic's Invention G-109 SP Radar - Your secondary Pokémon wrangler. When you don't have Weavile in play, use SP Radar to get it in play to use its Call for Family attack.
• Pokémon Rescue - Your Pokémon Retriever. If either Toxicroak gets Knocked Out, bring it right back on with this card.
• Galactic HQ - Your Skuntank Poison enabler. To use Skuntank 's Poison Structure Poké-Power, you need to have this Stadium card in play. It also puts 2 damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon whenever they evolve.
• Psychic Energy - Your main Energy source. Use Cyrus's Conspiracy to load up your Active Toxicroak with Energy.
• SP Energy - Your alternative Energy source. You can't search for them, but when they come up, they give you the type of Energy you need.
• Darkness Energy - Your last-resort Energy source. If you're put in a position where Honchkrow or Weavile meeds to attack, here's your Energy. But first, how and why'd you let yourself to get in such a dire position?