Fun thing to note: Clefairy and Clefable's Metronome were actually mistranslated and WotC made no effort to offer an errata for them. You can see that Metronome plays very differently in the Japanese version of the TCG and the Game Boy game, as Metronome still requires effects like discarding cards in order to use the attack it's copying. While its effect in English reads as "Metronome copies that attack except for its Energy costs and anything else required in order to use that attack, such as discarding Energy cards," the attack is supposed to be translated as "Metronome copies that attack except for its Energy costs. You must do anything else required in order to use that attack, such as discarding Energy cards."
Wizards was weirdly obstinate about both banning cards and issuing errata (or rather, NOT banning cards or issuing errata.) The non-holo Dark Vileplume only has Fighting as a weakness instead of Fire - but I think they did say to treat it as Fire. But where it got real bad was with Neo Genesis Slowking, whose Pokemon Power is only supposed to work while Slowking is Active. As good as their marketing and distribution was, they did severely and permanently harm the competitive aspect of the game outside of Japan.
The mistranslation definitely hurt and never understood why they didn't do an errata. As for bans and limit, wizard did try a few things but their hands where mostly tied thanks to Nintendo
@@cyberdragonzekrom6790 I'd really recommend looking at Ruby Retro's videos on the history of competitive Pokemon TCG, they go into detail about how utterly toothless Wizards of the Coast were during that period. It wasn't that WotC wouldn't issue errata or bans, it's that they were forbidden from doing so and no amount of begging to Nintendo would let them try to fix the game. It was a really unfortunate situation for players, especially once Slowking showed up and ruined the format, but WotC were trying behind the scenes (and being blasted for unfortunately failing to fix things)
@@Julford That is a big claim, and if true, it only makes Nintendo / TPC look like even bigger assholes for essentially backstabbing them and stealing all the work they put into printing, marketing, and distribution. However, I have to doubt it very hard because the early game in Japan did have bans and a complex limitation system similar to YGO Duel Links. I don't see why Nintendo would have tied Wizards' hands internationally when they were implementing such rules domestically.
@@cyberdragonzekrom6790 it isn't too far-fetched if you think about it. TPCi probably just wanted to save face and costs of issuing an errata and complicating a tournament scene full of children. How they did the tournaments in Japan was controversial as well, limiting it to only children age groups.
Putting Wigglytuff last is WILD. Wigglytuff and Scyther were the most impactful Pokemon to the game when Jungle was released. Wigglytuff created an entire deck archetype that dominated competition. Potential turn 2 70 damage to instantly KO Hitmonchan and Scyther. Wigglytuff is so so strong, way better than all the crap you put above it lol
If I had a nickel for every time Paraspectre vastly underestimated a powerful pink Colorless Pokemon in these retro reviews, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. That said I do love these, because Paraspectre's opinions are unique to him and it's fun to hear his take on these cards just based on his own experiences and nothing else. It's just a good time all around.
lol you'd probably have four nickels because he underestimated Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Lickitung and Chansey in the base set video... but like you said, its just casual.
Paraspectre drinking game: 1. He shows the photo of him playing games with his friends - do a shot 2. He uses the phrase 'Shroom" or Shroomy"' - do a shot 3. He says "But come on" - down your drink. Add any other rules I've missed! P.s. love you and your content ❤❤❤
Life is always a bit better whenever Paraspectre posts a new video. Jungle is super nostalgic… I remember really liking the CGI illustrations of the Oddish line. Also I think someone in Japan got a good placement at a tournament with a Fearow deck! Absolute Chad!
Sorry to be here correcting you again. You are absolutely entitled to your opinions, but I hope you don't mind some explanations for why other people might disagree with some of your rankings. Colorless: Dodrio is a good choice for the best uncommon, for the reasons you stated. But I'm pretty sure that it was mostly overlooked at the time, and it's only modern reexaminations of the format that really realized how good it is. But Lickitung is definitely the next best, though it was also overlooked at the time. You don't have to like stall strategies, but you have to realize that they are very effective. Kangaskhan is a solid choice for best rare. It was never really the main focus of any deck, but it saw consistent play in all sorts of decks because of Fetch. Pidgeot is cool, and I do like how unique Hurricane is. Unfortunately, most decks in this era preferred to use basic Pokemon as their attackers, so Hurricane wouldn't hurt them as much as you'd like. In fact, Scoop Up was very commonly used to effectively Hurricane yourself to avoid knockouts. And of course being a stage 2 Pokemon really didn't help things either. Clefable is solid, and did see some play. Fun fact: Clefable and Clefairy's Metronome attacks were mistranslated, and the Japanese versions do require you to discard energies and pay other costs when you use them. I'm guessing they work like that in the GBC games too? Snorlax is very good, but saw much more play a few sets into the future. Wigglytuff honestly competes with Kangaskhan for the top spot though. It was the focus of several top decks through these early formats, and IIRC, it was one of the only meta-defining evolved Pokemon of the era. You have to remember that there were a lot of options for drawing and searching at the time, so it wasn't very hard to fill up your bench for Do the Wave, and if you found a PlusPower along the way, that's enough damage to knock out all of the Haymaker threats. Fighting: Your ranking seems good to me. With how strong Hitmonchan was, I could almost imagine Marowak being used to search it out, if the format was slower and didn't have so many draw cards. Though even then, its energy cost does seem high for that. Fire: Not much to say here either. But you know, even if you wanted to use Flareon, Base Set Charmeleon is basically the same thing, but slightly better. Grass: Your uncommon rankings seem fine, though I think you are overestimating how good Exeggutor is. (And I say this as someone who did try using it in a budget version of this format.) It definitely has the potential to do mass damage and win a game out of nowhere, but the luck required makes it unlikely to do so, unless you get a lot of energies on it. Like, you need at least 7 energies to have a 50% chance to knock out the main threats of this format with their 70 HP. And to get that many energies, you're going to have to stall for quite a while, since I'm pretty sure there aren't any ways to cheat energies onto it at this point. I agree with your rare rankings, but honestly, Scyther is even better than you described. Because its stats were so solid, and its important attack used colorless energy, it could, and did, get used in any deck. Lightning: I can't help but see Jolteon's extended paw as anything but a fist, and that's weird. That's all I have to say here. Psychic, Water, and Trainers: ...What do you want from me? Type rankings: While Grass is definitely the star of the show, I'd actually say that Colorless is the best type. Scyther is the only Grass type that really did anything, and while it is probably the best individual card in the entire set, especially when the set was release, I think that Colorless had more cards that were almost as good as Scyther, and saw just as much play as it.
@@av2279 They can be if they're unfounded on any basis of fact, and let's be real, whether or not Paraspectre likes a card or not is almost entirely random.
@@StarkMaximum Um, no. If an opinion is "founded on a basis of fact," then it is... a *fact*, not an opinion. No opinion is based on fact. They are feelings, not facts. That's the definition of an opinion.
So the big thing about the pokemon you describe as being "stall tactics." The idea isn't to whittle down the opponent with them or mill them out or anything like that, but rather to have them in the active slot while you build up your bench. Chansey' scrunch off a double colorless lets you get your evolutions to get Blastoise's Rain Dance active, or fill the rest of your bench for a Do the Wave, or better yet, once Alakazam is out, lets you push all your active sweeper's damage counters onto her. Lickitung is similar, buying extra turns with a single of any energy at the cost of having less HP to soak hits, but it should be evident with how much hype Exeggutor has that getting as many turns to stack it up with Double Colorless and other energies for the Eggsplosion can be devastating.
Love love love your suggested lore for Jungle set. I feel like lore wasn't really a thing for the TCG before, like, Team Rocket or the Gym sets. It became an increasingly larger focus with the later Wizards and Nintendo sets. Cool to see the TCG eventually establish its identity, though it does feel a bit funny thinking back to these sets that I grew up with. Kind of the same thing you get with Legendary Pokémon in the main games; subsequent generations would emphasize the Legendaries as mythological figures or embodiments of ideologies, which makes the legendary birds feel less mighty in comparison. Ah, well, I don't mind the series I grew up with.
If I was asked to rank every card in Jungle, it would be this: 1st place. Scyther. 2nd place. Wigglytuff. 3rd place. Mr. Mime. 4th Place would probably be Lickitung, due to Tongue wrap being super annoying. Especially in the Gameboy games! 5th Place would be Kangkashan. Another big basic, Just like Lickitung but provides some nice draw power. Honorable mentions should go to Exeggutor for being able to do INFINITE damage! And Dodrio for its Retreat Aid!
I know you said it's your opinion and stuff, but BOY is Wiggly great in a Haymaker deck- easily being able to start throwing out 60 damage a turn on turn 2, with the crazy amount of draw present in the early TCG. It's actually in the deck I've been piloting in the TCG for GBC release on Switch Online!
I agree with everyone else, Wigglytuff does not deserve to be last out of the colorless. It's one of the best cards in the set with it's Do-the-Wave attack doing loads of damage
The picks seem so trolly, i know you preface with its "opinion" but for all three normal categories com, unc, and rare you last place choice was literally the most played and best option. Jiggly most hp let it survive things most basics dont. Lickitonge same reasoning plus could never be knocked out in one hit by hitmonchan. Wigglytuff do the wave was literally a top 5 attack even through rockets.
As far as “most played,” that is never anything I’ve cared about. I really am basing these on my own experiences and opinions. I don’t play the game with any actual people either. With that said, it probably is my fault for trying to rank these by “the best.” I’ll probably change up the format from here. My thoughts in regards to Wigglytuff are if your deck focuses on getting out a ton of Pokémon as fast as possible, it’s a great card. If the deck doesn’t focus on that, it’s mediocre. I ranked these by how they play into standard decks without a theme.
I can't tell if you're trolling or not. Wigglytuff is absolutely the best pokemon in the whole set but you ranked pokemon like snorlax over him. he has the potential to do 60+ damage on turn two.
@@mude_13 I know but he ranked scyther as best grass pokemon because he was in haymaker, same with hitmonchan and electabuzz. wigglytuff is just the best, meta or not.
It's generally seen as Top 3 nowadays, but it's definitely the best Evolved Pokemon of it's time. Top Pokemon of Jungle are something like 1/2.Scyther/Lickitung 3.Wigglytuff 4/5.Dodrio/Mr. Mime 6.Clefable 7.Kangaskhan 8.Jigglypuff 9.Tauros 10.Rapidash
I very clearly remember my Mother taking us to Dollar General to buy us a pack of Pokemon Cards as a kid every Friday if we made an A on our spelling test when I was in Kindergarten and jungle was the set that I remember getting off the shelf. I don't remember base set as clearly in my head as in I can't ever remember picking it off store shelves. I had a lot of base set cards so we had to have bought them at some point. Your memory is kind of in and out that young. I remember getting really annoyed as a kid because I kept pulling the same holos over and over from Jungle when I really wanted one of the big 3 like Blastoise or Charizard. I didn't understand that not all the cards could be in the pack and there was only 48 possible pulls. I probably had 2 of every colorless holo, Victreebell, Venomoth, Nidoqueen and Mr.Mime. As a kid you were just stoked to even pull a holo, but I really wished I could have got one of them. I only ever saw them in person at my neighbors house. Some older kids in 3rd grade had them.
@@denis2381 Wow that makes sense, not being vaccinated toooootally means I wouldn't have gotten a virus that's been spreading yet again compared to being vaccinated, you're soooo smart
Funny story, for Christmas I got 3 first edition booster packs as a kid and I got, no foolin', Wigglytuff (foil), Scyther (foil), and Flareon (non foil)
As someone who never had cards as a kid (though I did eventually get a few hand-me-downs during the Johto sets), I only saw this set when it was covered in magazines. I always associated it with that scene in the beginning of the Pokemon movie, when they venture into the jungle to find that fossilized Mew brow - in fact, I couldn't help but think of both expansions as modeled after the movie. I only just realized Mewtwo and Mew weren't actually part of the Jungle set. My favorites are definitely Tauros and Pidgeot in this set. Both feature really cool artworks, but Pidgeot's also looks amazing in pixelart - and since I only really experience the TCG through the GB games, that's a bunch of extra points. Tauros is one of those mons I stick into any deck that has a few spaces left. It's just a really nice card to throw out. Dodrio was actually the center piece of my very first complete deck in the Gameboy game, since back then, retreat costs were the bane of my existence. I recently grew to love the Nidos too, but only in TCG2, since a Nido focused deck actually becomes very viable there - Nidoran F fills your bench and then evolves into Vending Nidorina to have a cheaper Do the Wave style attack.
@@Paraspectre It's also a lot of fun to guess the songs. And I get the distinct impression that the two of us had very similar games libraries as kids. ;)
Wow! Dodrio seems like the first evolution card that actually seems worth it to me! It pairs super well with its basic counterpart since you can have doduo out as your first Mon, tank a couple hits while powering up another Pokémon then retreat for free into it. THEN, you can evolve into dodrio for a surprise free retreat from that Mon into a powerful rage attack. Really neat
One of my favorite bits of trivia about this set is the misprint unlimited holofoil cards. The first run of the holofoil sheet without 1st edition stamps also accidentally omitted the set symbol. These actually made it into the wild before it was caught and corrected.
Mankey and Dodrio are my favorite bench sitters just to keep their abilities for the match. The retreat cost reduction is great when needed, and peek can be great for figuring out which prize card you should pull after a knockout.
Yeah I love Mankey, I'm a huge fan of cards that give the player knowledge for free. 30 HP does mean you have to always be really nervous about a potential free knockout from a Gust of Wind, though, so it has enough risk involved with the card that I've never thought it was overpowered or anything.
Wigglytuff is so aweaone in the gbc game, carried my first playthrough. Feels like you can just toss her into a 'haymaker' type deck and suddenly you have an amazing finisher
Base Set and Jungle are my 2 main favorites. I got Pokémon Blue right at the time it came out in the USA and the excitement with those sets gave me some of the best memories. Buying them when they came out at the local game stores was epic and I remember when they were 2.99 a pack.
Wake up honey its a new Paraspectre video where he makes wild and probably wrong takes on old Pokémon card formats, but neither of us were old enough to play back then so we won't know any better.
Cant wait to see more of my childhood cards! I remember butterfree bejng one of my first cards i ever had so it holds a special spot in my heart. Eevee, jigglypuff, persian and meowth are also super nostalgic to me. Seeing their art just makes me so happy
It speaks to the potency of the Jungle set that despite being middling in the normal uncommons, that lickitung all these years later has become a staple pillar of the neo-haymaker decks.
my first jungle purchase was power reserve and 3 booster packs. my godmother, who was as old as a great-grandma, understood what the cards meant so she bought me a free base set pack. i pulled non-holo electrode and holo scyther and vaporeon. the base pack had a clefairy, and at first my nana was like that card is too girly for you. i explained about clefable. i managed to find some extra change at the mall to buy a 4th pack, holo clefable. i used that as part of my deck for awhile, with clefable and electrode (and scyther) or a blastoise/vaporeon deck (with scyther). i still had my beedrill deck too so scyther was like, THE THING. everyone tried to get my holo scythers, i got a full 4 before i got my first non-holo
Nice video, hope to see more of this, i love them, also did you know that some years ago was discovered that a strategy with lickitung is the best deck, beating almost everytime the haymaker strategy, crazy
Just minutes ago I was wondering when there would be a new Paraspectre video! It’s been some time since I’ve heard from my favorite southern Ohio UA-camr!
great needle drops in this video Clefable was the best in my neighborhood but (and i didn't know this until watching retrospectives as an adult so i can't blame you) do the wave was a whole paradigm, up there with rain dance and haymaker as the deck du jour for a time
Wigglytuff was viable competitively all the way to BASE-NEO. In fact, it was the most stable of all archetypes until it was rotated out. You could splash Muk, Dodrio, full trainer disruption, and so much more. You would see more Raindance decks overshadowing Wave Decks due to linear line of play for children piloting it in the states in the 2000s. How Wigglytuff isn’t over Snorlax seems like a hot take.
I came across a German-language Water Blast theme deck at a Dollar General in the early 2000s; I was in the American Midwest so I have no idea how it ended up there.
Exeggutor is easily the most slept on card. It sweeps the entire TCG GBC game by itself. 1 stage evolution, 1 energy cost, with no cap on damage. Two double colorless energy gives him 80 damage output. And you can keep adding to it in order to get more flips. It's absolutely absurd, it can clear out Chansey in a single attack.
The fact that it never detaches but continues to grow in power is absurd. It does what Charizard and friends want to do but better. And it is COLORLESS, you can attach ANYTHING and it works. Double colorless gives you 2 flips for 1 energy.
You were not guaranteed a holo in the base set, only one rare. I remember pulling many non holo trainer cards for my rates in base set. Wasn’t until fossil set that I pulled my first holo
Parasect got so shafted, compare it to Jigglypuff. They have the exact same sleep attack, but Parasect's costs TWO COLORED energy while Jigglypuff's costs only one colorless!!
This probably doesn't apply to the gameboy game, but mirror move has a use as a deterrent. Your opponent might think twice about using a stronger move if it could knock out their active pokemon or give you access to a useful utility move.
I’ve always wondered if you can freely mix and match sets and publication years in the card game or if there’s restrictions (not including banned cards)
All I want to do is play the tcg when I see these cards. As a kid I play a little bit, but it was mostly just collecting. Now, that we know how to play with more strategy, it would be neat to build decks and battle.
Random suggestion for a future inclusion, I'd love to hear the Star Soldier Vanishing Earth music playing in the background sometime, it's the same composer Ichiro Shimakura and a lot of the tracks past stage 1 sound like straight outta TCG GB 1+2. Underrated soundtrack and a connection many don't know.
Kind of surprised to see flareon as the most expensive Eeveelution, seeing as how Flareon is the worst in-game Eeveelution, and also since Charizard is probably the most popular starter, even disregarding the relative power of the Eeveelutions, you'd expect people with nostalgia for their in-game teams not to pick Flareon, but maybe the fact that Charizard was most popular meant that, for the TCG, anything that fits in a fire type deck is at a premium.
Haha! I bet you will like the comments on this video too. The Japanese packs are visually so much cooler; also Pinsir is hiding up in the trees. I'm a fan of Electrode and chain lightining in the GB TCG game. I've never had it hit me, mostly because I'll use it in a colorless deck which helps with that. I also enjoy Fossil Zapdos for the same type of effect. It seems so strong to damage spread; of course its little damage all over versus a big blast to the active. Stalling to me is also a boring way to play, but there have been times, yes against the computer in the GB TCG game so probably wouldn't work irl, when you "sacrifice" a tanky mon up front while you power Exeggutor to 8+ flips on a big eggsplosion and then when the tank takes its last hit, its time to launch a few eggs baby. I know there are more detailed and more real versions of stall decks, but minor small tactics to ready and then counter is a fun aspect to the overall stall strat.
Despite being such a small set, Jungle is really fucking good. Wigglytuff, Scyther, Mr. Mime, Lickitung, etc, though it is a shame that there's only 1 trainer, and it's not even a good one. It's also a cool set cause it introduced the eeveelutions, and kickstarted my appreciation for them. I had all 3 of them back in the day, though they were all the non-holo versions (or at least I hope they were all the non-holo versions considering their prices now). I'm surprised by their prices though. I figured Vaporeon was the most popular and liked of the 3, with Flareon being the least popular, but price wise, it's the exact opposite of that. Maybe it has to do with the artwork or something, idk.
@@griifster99 If you are wondering why Vaporeon fetches a lesser price I imagine it's because it was included in one of the prebuild decks so I imagine there are just more of it in circulation.
I wonder if Mr. Mime would be overpowered in the modern TCG. Basically nothing can hit for under 30, and I don't think there's an easy way to status it? I dunno, haven't really played the TCG since XY.
Wigglytuff!! AHHHH!!! I'm just kidding lol. It's fine. Looking forward for the next one (Fossil, yeah?). That should round out the 3 sets for the GBC TCG game. The game was part of my childhood and yeah, back then I thought Wigglytuff sucks too lol.
I understand these are just your preferences and I think that’s awesome and unique. That being said, it would only take 10 min to google the meta cards. It might be fun to talk about how your opinion varies from the pics at the time. (And calm the comment section) haha. Keep up the good work❤
Yeah that has never been anything I really care about haha. That’s why I never looked into it. With that said, it’s my fault for trying to rank them by “the best.” I might change up the format a little
@@Paraspectre that’s fair! At the end of the day it’s your channel! You gota make the content that makes you happy. Otherwise it feels like to much work haha
Nah it's Exeggutor, the man is busted and doesn't have a check aside from Mr. Mime, until Mew is released in japan only. Mime doesnt even counter him since he can teleport out, so it's really just mews beam.
I don't really see Exeggutor as being that good. Not a terrible card but not I don't think it's close to being the best card in the set. On average you get 10 extra damage for 1 energy card which is not a great rate and I don't think human players would allow you to build it up with half a dozen energy cards or more without knocking it out. Anyway looking forward to Fossil now,
Wigglytuff was great back in the day. Definitely the best one.
Do the Wave!
True Wigglytuff was a beast
Was it? It was the center of a good deck, but staple means almost everyone used it regardless of deck type
Parasceptre has never used a Do The Wave deck to deal 60 damage starting turn 2 before 😍
@@TheWonkster you're right. Ill edit the comment
Fun thing to note: Clefairy and Clefable's Metronome were actually mistranslated and WotC made no effort to offer an errata for them. You can see that Metronome plays very differently in the Japanese version of the TCG and the Game Boy game, as Metronome still requires effects like discarding cards in order to use the attack it's copying. While its effect in English reads as "Metronome copies that attack except for its Energy costs and anything else required in order to use that attack, such as discarding Energy cards," the attack is supposed to be translated as "Metronome copies that attack except for its Energy costs. You must do anything else required in order to use that attack, such as discarding Energy cards."
Wizards was weirdly obstinate about both banning cards and issuing errata (or rather, NOT banning cards or issuing errata.) The non-holo Dark Vileplume only has Fighting as a weakness instead of Fire - but I think they did say to treat it as Fire.
But where it got real bad was with Neo Genesis Slowking, whose Pokemon Power is only supposed to work while Slowking is Active.
As good as their marketing and distribution was, they did severely and permanently harm the competitive aspect of the game outside of Japan.
The mistranslation definitely hurt and never understood why they didn't do an errata. As for bans and limit, wizard did try a few things but their hands where mostly tied thanks to Nintendo
@@cyberdragonzekrom6790 I'd really recommend looking at Ruby Retro's videos on the history of competitive Pokemon TCG, they go into detail about how utterly toothless Wizards of the Coast were during that period. It wasn't that WotC wouldn't issue errata or bans, it's that they were forbidden from doing so and no amount of begging to Nintendo would let them try to fix the game. It was a really unfortunate situation for players, especially once Slowking showed up and ruined the format, but WotC were trying behind the scenes (and being blasted for unfortunately failing to fix things)
@@Julford That is a big claim, and if true, it only makes Nintendo / TPC look like even bigger assholes for essentially backstabbing them and stealing all the work they put into printing, marketing, and distribution.
However, I have to doubt it very hard because the early game in Japan did have bans and a complex limitation system similar to YGO Duel Links. I don't see why Nintendo would have tied Wizards' hands internationally when they were implementing such rules domestically.
@@cyberdragonzekrom6790 it isn't too far-fetched if you think about it. TPCi probably just wanted to save face and costs of issuing an errata and complicating a tournament scene full of children. How they did the tournaments in Japan was controversial as well, limiting it to only children age groups.
2:10 long-necked Exeggutor? they were foreshadowing Alolan Exeggutor.
Oh my friend, you underestimate Wigglytuff’s power. That thing is NASTY in battles. An easy 60 damage 3 turns in
27:16 a small error Butterfree’s Mega Drain heals for half the amount rounded up not the full amount dealt.
Putting Wigglytuff last is WILD. Wigglytuff and Scyther were the most impactful Pokemon to the game when Jungle was released. Wigglytuff created an entire deck archetype that dominated competition. Potential turn 2 70 damage to instantly KO Hitmonchan and Scyther. Wigglytuff is so so strong, way better than all the crap you put above it lol
If I had a nickel for every time Paraspectre vastly underestimated a powerful pink Colorless Pokemon in these retro reviews, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
That said I do love these, because Paraspectre's opinions are unique to him and it's fun to hear his take on these cards just based on his own experiences and nothing else. It's just a good time all around.
Jigglypuff was in a ton of early tournament decks.
lol you'd probably have four nickels because he underestimated Jigglypuff, Wigglytuff, Lickitung and Chansey in the base set video... but like you said, its just casual.
Paraspectre drinking game:
1. He shows the photo of him playing games with his friends - do a shot
2. He uses the phrase 'Shroom" or Shroomy"' - do a shot
3. He says "But come on" - down your drink.
Add any other rules I've missed!
P.s. love you and your content ❤❤❤
Take a shot if that guy Milton McShade starts singing a cover song
I love this. And I’m going to try to do these things more often
Life is always a bit better whenever Paraspectre posts a new video.
Jungle is super nostalgic… I remember really liking the CGI illustrations of the Oddish line. Also I think someone in Japan got a good placement at a tournament with a Fearow deck! Absolute Chad!
Sorry to be here correcting you again. You are absolutely entitled to your opinions, but I hope you don't mind some explanations for why other people might disagree with some of your rankings.
Colorless:
Dodrio is a good choice for the best uncommon, for the reasons you stated. But I'm pretty sure that it was mostly overlooked at the time, and it's only modern reexaminations of the format that really realized how good it is.
But Lickitung is definitely the next best, though it was also overlooked at the time. You don't have to like stall strategies, but you have to realize that they are very effective.
Kangaskhan is a solid choice for best rare. It was never really the main focus of any deck, but it saw consistent play in all sorts of decks because of Fetch.
Pidgeot is cool, and I do like how unique Hurricane is. Unfortunately, most decks in this era preferred to use basic Pokemon as their attackers, so Hurricane wouldn't hurt them as much as you'd like. In fact, Scoop Up was very commonly used to effectively Hurricane yourself to avoid knockouts. And of course being a stage 2 Pokemon really didn't help things either.
Clefable is solid, and did see some play. Fun fact: Clefable and Clefairy's Metronome attacks were mistranslated, and the Japanese versions do require you to discard energies and pay other costs when you use them. I'm guessing they work like that in the GBC games too?
Snorlax is very good, but saw much more play a few sets into the future.
Wigglytuff honestly competes with Kangaskhan for the top spot though. It was the focus of several top decks through these early formats, and IIRC, it was one of the only meta-defining evolved Pokemon of the era. You have to remember that there were a lot of options for drawing and searching at the time, so it wasn't very hard to fill up your bench for Do the Wave, and if you found a PlusPower along the way, that's enough damage to knock out all of the Haymaker threats.
Fighting:
Your ranking seems good to me.
With how strong Hitmonchan was, I could almost imagine Marowak being used to search it out, if the format was slower and didn't have so many draw cards. Though even then, its energy cost does seem high for that.
Fire:
Not much to say here either.
But you know, even if you wanted to use Flareon, Base Set Charmeleon is basically the same thing, but slightly better.
Grass:
Your uncommon rankings seem fine, though I think you are overestimating how good Exeggutor is. (And I say this as someone who did try using it in a budget version of this format.) It definitely has the potential to do mass damage and win a game out of nowhere, but the luck required makes it unlikely to do so, unless you get a lot of energies on it. Like, you need at least 7 energies to have a 50% chance to knock out the main threats of this format with their 70 HP. And to get that many energies, you're going to have to stall for quite a while, since I'm pretty sure there aren't any ways to cheat energies onto it at this point.
I agree with your rare rankings, but honestly, Scyther is even better than you described. Because its stats were so solid, and its important attack used colorless energy, it could, and did, get used in any deck.
Lightning:
I can't help but see Jolteon's extended paw as anything but a fist, and that's weird.
That's all I have to say here.
Psychic, Water, and Trainers:
...What do you want from me?
Type rankings:
While Grass is definitely the star of the show, I'd actually say that Colorless is the best type. Scyther is the only Grass type that really did anything, and while it is probably the best individual card in the entire set, especially when the set was release, I think that Colorless had more cards that were almost as good as Scyther, and saw just as much play as it.
Paraspectre: I'm no expert, this is just my opinion and just for fun.
You:
@@av2279 "You are absolutely entitled to your opinions"
@@StarkMaximum "Sorry to be here correcting you again."
I wasn't aware opinions could be "corrected."
@@av2279 They can be if they're unfounded on any basis of fact, and let's be real, whether or not Paraspectre likes a card or not is almost entirely random.
@@StarkMaximum Um, no. If an opinion is "founded on a basis of fact," then it is... a *fact*, not an opinion. No opinion is based on fact. They are feelings, not facts. That's the definition of an opinion.
So the big thing about the pokemon you describe as being "stall tactics." The idea isn't to whittle down the opponent with them or mill them out or anything like that, but rather to have them in the active slot while you build up your bench. Chansey' scrunch off a double colorless lets you get your evolutions to get Blastoise's Rain Dance active, or fill the rest of your bench for a Do the Wave, or better yet, once Alakazam is out, lets you push all your active sweeper's damage counters onto her.
Lickitung is similar, buying extra turns with a single of any energy at the cost of having less HP to soak hits, but it should be evident with how much hype Exeggutor has that getting as many turns to stack it up with Double Colorless and other energies for the Eggsplosion can be devastating.
Love love love your suggested lore for Jungle set.
I feel like lore wasn't really a thing for the TCG before, like, Team Rocket or the Gym sets. It became an increasingly larger focus with the later Wizards and Nintendo sets. Cool to see the TCG eventually establish its identity, though it does feel a bit funny thinking back to these sets that I grew up with. Kind of the same thing you get with Legendary Pokémon in the main games; subsequent generations would emphasize the Legendaries as mythological figures or embodiments of ideologies, which makes the legendary birds feel less mighty in comparison. Ah, well, I don't mind the series I grew up with.
Its funny that you put lickitung last because it was found to be a surprisingly good haymaker card
For sure. I did say I can see it being the best too. I just personally like it the least
If I was asked to rank every card in Jungle, it would be this: 1st place. Scyther. 2nd place. Wigglytuff. 3rd place. Mr. Mime.
4th Place would probably be Lickitung, due to Tongue wrap being super annoying. Especially in the Gameboy games!
5th Place would be Kangkashan. Another big basic, Just like Lickitung but provides some nice draw power.
Honorable mentions should go to Exeggutor for being able to do INFINITE damage! And Dodrio for its Retreat Aid!
Love this set, so many good cards like scyther, Licky, mime, wiggly, executor, and some underrated ones like seaking and dodrio.
I know you said it's your opinion and stuff, but BOY is Wiggly great in a Haymaker deck- easily being able to start throwing out 60 damage a turn on turn 2, with the crazy amount of draw present in the early TCG. It's actually in the deck I've been piloting in the TCG for GBC release on Switch Online!
I agree with everyone else, Wigglytuff does not deserve to be last out of the colorless. It's one of the best cards in the set with it's Do-the-Wave attack doing loads of damage
The picks seem so trolly, i know you preface with its "opinion" but for all three normal categories com, unc, and rare you last place choice was literally the most played and best option.
Jiggly most hp let it survive things most basics dont.
Lickitonge same reasoning plus could never be knocked out in one hit by hitmonchan.
Wigglytuff do the wave was literally a top 5 attack even through rockets.
Full disclosure i love ur videos, but i just couldnt do this one.
As far as “most played,” that is never anything I’ve cared about. I really am basing these on my own experiences and opinions. I don’t play the game with any actual people either. With that said, it probably is my fault for trying to rank these by “the best.” I’ll probably change up the format from here. My thoughts in regards to Wigglytuff are if your deck focuses on getting out a ton of Pokémon as fast as possible, it’s a great card. If the deck doesn’t focus on that, it’s mediocre. I ranked these by how they play into standard decks without a theme.
I can't tell if you're trolling or not. Wigglytuff is absolutely the best pokemon in the whole set but you ranked pokemon like snorlax over him. he has the potential to do 60+ damage on turn two.
I've been playing the TCG on Gameboy and Wigglytuff is the secret to winning regardless of what type you're up against
He literally said he doesn't know about the meta and doesn't take this stuff too seriously.
@@mude_13 I know but he ranked scyther as best grass pokemon because he was in haymaker, same with hitmonchan and electabuzz. wigglytuff is just the best, meta or not.
It's generally seen as Top 3 nowadays, but it's definitely the best Evolved Pokemon of it's time. Top Pokemon of Jungle are something like
1/2.Scyther/Lickitung
3.Wigglytuff
4/5.Dodrio/Mr. Mime
6.Clefable
7.Kangaskhan
8.Jigglypuff
9.Tauros
10.Rapidash
@@fawfulmark2 hardly anyone knew lickitung was as good as it is back then tho
Shoutouts to Alolan Executor on the boxart.
I didn’t even notice it but yeah. #foreshadowing
I love how every single video includes that same picture of you as a kid
I really hope I haven’t accidentally missed a video with it
I very clearly remember my Mother taking us to Dollar General to buy us a pack of Pokemon Cards as a kid every Friday if we made an A on our spelling test when I was in Kindergarten and jungle was the set that I remember getting off the shelf. I don't remember base set as clearly in my head as in I can't ever remember picking it off store shelves. I had a lot of base set cards so we had to have bought them at some point. Your memory is kind of in and out that young. I remember getting really annoyed as a kid because I kept pulling the same holos over and over from Jungle when I really wanted one of the big 3 like Blastoise or Charizard. I didn't understand that not all the cards could be in the pack and there was only 48 possible pulls. I probably had 2 of every colorless holo, Victreebell, Venomoth, Nidoqueen and Mr.Mime. As a kid you were just stoked to even pull a holo, but I really wished I could have got one of them. I only ever saw them in person at my neighbors house. Some older kids in 3rd grade had them.
Lickitung is an absolute beast. It is THE staple in all stall decks I’ve played.
Omg yes a new retro card video!!! Extra nice since I have covid, thank you Paraspectre!
Wishing you a swift and smooth recovery! Take care out there
@@darkninjafirefox Thanks ^_^
@@denis2381 Wow that makes sense, not being vaccinated toooootally means I wouldn't have gotten a virus that's been spreading yet again compared to being vaccinated, you're soooo smart
Funny story, for Christmas I got 3 first edition booster packs as a kid and I got, no foolin', Wigglytuff (foil), Scyther (foil), and Flareon (non foil)
As someone who never had cards as a kid (though I did eventually get a few hand-me-downs during the Johto sets), I only saw this set when it was covered in magazines. I always associated it with that scene in the beginning of the Pokemon movie, when they venture into the jungle to find that fossilized Mew brow - in fact, I couldn't help but think of both expansions as modeled after the movie. I only just realized Mewtwo and Mew weren't actually part of the Jungle set.
My favorites are definitely Tauros and Pidgeot in this set. Both feature really cool artworks, but Pidgeot's also looks amazing in pixelart - and since I only really experience the TCG through the GB games, that's a bunch of extra points. Tauros is one of those mons I stick into any deck that has a few spaces left. It's just a really nice card to throw out. Dodrio was actually the center piece of my very first complete deck in the Gameboy game, since back then, retreat costs were the bane of my existence.
I recently grew to love the Nidos too, but only in TCG2, since a Nido focused deck actually becomes very viable there - Nidoran F fills your bench and then evolves into Vending Nidorina to have a cheaper Do the Wave style attack.
Also, I have a Mankey in every deck I make. He lets you make informed decisions about which prizes you draw
Can’t wait for the Team Rocket set review. It’s my favorite set!
Nice music selection, as expected.
It’s a lot of fun figuring out what songs go where
@@Paraspectre
It's also a lot of fun to guess the songs. And I get the distinct impression that the two of us had very similar games libraries as kids. ;)
Wow! Dodrio seems like the first evolution card that actually seems worth it to me! It pairs super well with its basic counterpart since you can have doduo out as your first Mon, tank a couple hits while powering up another Pokémon then retreat for free into it. THEN, you can evolve into dodrio for a surprise free retreat from that Mon into a powerful rage attack. Really neat
One of my favorite bits of trivia about this set is the misprint unlimited holofoil cards.
The first run of the holofoil sheet without 1st edition stamps also accidentally omitted the set symbol. These actually made it into the wild before it was caught and corrected.
Keep doing these kind of vids! This was good
Thank you 😊
Excellent video. Love the idea of exploring every single card in the set. Keep up the great work!!
Mankey and Dodrio are my favorite bench sitters just to keep their abilities for the match. The retreat cost reduction is great when needed, and peek can be great for figuring out which prize card you should pull after a knockout.
Yeah I love Mankey, I'm a huge fan of cards that give the player knowledge for free. 30 HP does mean you have to always be really nervous about a potential free knockout from a Gust of Wind, though, so it has enough risk involved with the card that I've never thought it was overpowered or anything.
I can see that for sure. Mankey is like a stealth mon that you aren’t meant to fight with.
Wigglytuff is so aweaone in the gbc game, carried my first playthrough. Feels like you can just toss her into a 'haymaker' type deck and suddenly you have an amazing finisher
Base Set and Jungle are my 2 main favorites. I got Pokémon Blue right at the time it came out in the USA and the excitement with those sets gave me some of the best memories. Buying them when they came out at the local game stores was epic and I remember when they were 2.99 a pack.
Wake up honey its a new Paraspectre video where he makes wild and probably wrong takes on old Pokémon card formats, but neither of us were old enough to play back then so we won't know any better.
Cant wait to see more of my childhood cards! I remember butterfree bejng one of my first cards i ever had so it holds a special spot in my heart. Eevee, jigglypuff, persian and meowth are also super nostalgic to me. Seeing their art just makes me so happy
It speaks to the potency of the Jungle set that despite being middling in the normal uncommons, that lickitung all these years later has become a staple pillar of the neo-haymaker decks.
my first jungle purchase was power reserve and 3 booster packs. my godmother, who was as old as a great-grandma, understood what the cards meant so she bought me a free base set pack.
i pulled non-holo electrode and holo scyther and vaporeon. the base pack had a clefairy, and at first my nana was like that card is too girly for you. i explained about clefable. i managed to find some extra change at the mall to buy a 4th pack, holo clefable. i used that as part of my deck for awhile, with clefable and electrode (and scyther) or a blastoise/vaporeon deck (with scyther). i still had my beedrill deck too so scyther was like, THE THING. everyone tried to get my holo scythers, i got a full 4 before i got my first non-holo
Nice video, hope to see more of this, i love them, also did you know that some years ago was discovered that a strategy with lickitung is the best deck, beating almost everytime the haymaker strategy, crazy
I can believe it. As I said, I could see Lickitung being the best
I love this series
Thank you!
Great Vid, love coming back to this when I am cooking or playing the TCG on the GBC
I think you should keep going after the WoC era. I think the 3rd and 4th gens had some of the best sets and I would love to see them covered in depth!
They would be new to me!
Yay for new content!
Great video as always, love that you fit in the unused goldeneye jungle theme.
Was it an unused theme? I thought it sounded unfamiliar haha
Yay! You will get to fossil soon! I freaked out so happily when in my first pack I got Holofoil first editiin Aerodactyl!!!
Insane parkour in your ad
You may not believe me, but I did my own stunts there. It’s true.
Jungle was my favorite set!
So glad I have this video to watch tonight
I still have my original 1st Ed flareon. And it's wierd jungle has the most nostalgia for me as well.
Every time I see that Jolteon art, my first thought is that it has little stubby legs as opposed to one paw just being really close to the camera...
Just minutes ago I was wondering when there would be a new Paraspectre video! It’s been some time since I’ve heard from my favorite southern Ohio UA-camr!
Thanks for the bedtime story papa Paraspectre
love these videos
great needle drops in this video
Clefable was the best in my neighborhood but (and i didn't know this until watching retrospectives as an adult so i can't blame you) do the wave was a whole paradigm, up there with rain dance and haymaker as the deck du jour for a time
Wigglytuff was viable competitively all the way to BASE-NEO. In fact, it was the most stable of all archetypes until it was rotated out. You could splash Muk, Dodrio, full trainer disruption, and so much more.
You would see more Raindance decks overshadowing Wave Decks due to linear line of play for children piloting it in the states in the 2000s.
How Wigglytuff isn’t over Snorlax seems like a hot take.
I came across a German-language Water Blast theme deck at a Dollar General in the early 2000s; I was in the American Midwest so I have no idea how it ended up there.
Exeggutor is easily the most slept on card. It sweeps the entire TCG GBC game by itself. 1 stage evolution, 1 energy cost, with no cap on damage. Two double colorless energy gives him 80 damage output. And you can keep adding to it in order to get more flips. It's absolutely absurd, it can clear out Chansey in a single attack.
The fact that it never detaches but continues to grow in power is absurd. It does what Charizard and friends want to do but better. And it is COLORLESS, you can attach ANYTHING and it works. Double colorless gives you 2 flips for 1 energy.
😂 just got there, lol omg I'm so happy you agree. Exeggutor was so strong they created Mew to counter him and Watergun spam
There were some nasty Haymaker decks with Wiggly back in the day. When that nasty Rocket Zapdos came out? Good night.
As a kid, I’d always get the wigglytuff booster because for whatever reason I’d always get a holo
You were not guaranteed a holo in the base set, only one rare. I remember pulling many non holo trainer cards for my rates in base set. Wasn’t until fossil set that I pulled my first holo
Parasect got so shafted, compare it to Jigglypuff. They have the exact same sleep attack, but Parasect's costs TWO COLORED energy while Jigglypuff's costs only one colorless!!
This probably doesn't apply to the gameboy game, but mirror move has a use as a deterrent. Your opponent might think twice about using a stronger move if it could knock out their active pokemon or give you access to a useful utility move.
I’ve always wondered if you can freely mix and match sets and publication years in the card game or if there’s restrictions (not including banned cards)
All I want to do is play the tcg when I see these cards. As a kid I play a little bit, but it was mostly just collecting. Now, that we know how to play with more strategy, it would be neat to build decks and battle.
The Venomoth respect, Scott would be proud.
Random suggestion for a future inclusion, I'd love to hear the Star Soldier Vanishing Earth music playing in the background sometime, it's the same composer Ichiro Shimakura and a lot of the tracks past stage 1 sound like straight outta TCG GB 1+2. Underrated soundtrack and a connection many don't know.
Yeah, I don’t even know what that is ☺️
So the colorless energy do u have to use the colorless energy or can u use any energy 🤔
Kind of surprised to see flareon as the most expensive Eeveelution, seeing as how Flareon is the worst in-game Eeveelution, and also since Charizard is probably the most popular starter, even disregarding the relative power of the Eeveelutions, you'd expect people with nostalgia for their in-game teams not to pick Flareon, but maybe the fact that Charizard was most popular meant that, for the TCG, anything that fits in a fire type deck is at a premium.
Haha! I bet you will like the comments on this video too.
The Japanese packs are visually so much cooler; also Pinsir is hiding up in the trees.
I'm a fan of Electrode and chain lightining in the GB TCG game. I've never had it hit me, mostly because I'll use it in a colorless deck which helps with that. I also enjoy Fossil Zapdos for the same type of effect. It seems so strong to damage spread; of course its little damage all over versus a big blast to the active. Stalling to me is also a boring way to play, but there have been times, yes against the computer in the GB TCG game so probably wouldn't work irl, when you "sacrifice" a tanky mon up front while you power Exeggutor to 8+ flips on a big eggsplosion and then when the tank takes its last hit, its time to launch a few eggs baby. I know there are more detailed and more real versions of stall decks, but minor small tactics to ready and then counter is a fun aspect to the overall stall strat.
Nice use of the "Jungle Boogie" midi
Mr.Mime unfortunately has another drawback. It can negate its own damage as well if it’s 30 or more on meditate
Despite being such a small set, Jungle is really fucking good. Wigglytuff, Scyther, Mr. Mime, Lickitung, etc, though it is a shame that there's only 1 trainer, and it's not even a good one. It's also a cool set cause it introduced the eeveelutions, and kickstarted my appreciation for them. I had all 3 of them back in the day, though they were all the non-holo versions (or at least I hope they were all the non-holo versions considering their prices now). I'm surprised by their prices though. I figured Vaporeon was the most popular and liked of the 3, with Flareon being the least popular, but price wise, it's the exact opposite of that. Maybe it has to do with the artwork or something, idk.
Maybe because Flareon’s on the pack art? More iconic/representative of the set
@@griifster99 fair
@@griifster99 If you are wondering why Vaporeon fetches a lesser price I imagine it's because it was included in one of the prebuild decks so I imagine there are just more of it in circulation.
15:00 a timid Fairy Pokemon
Bench Attack deck playthrough when? (Electrode/Hitmonlee/SelfDestruct/ect.)
I wonder if Mr. Mime would be overpowered in the modern TCG. Basically nothing can hit for under 30, and I don't think there's an easy way to status it? I dunno, haven't really played the TCG since XY.
SWEEEET JUNGLE SET!
We need more structure deck runs on the TCG GBC game. Like the two mentioned in this video.
Definitely a possibility!
To be honest, the Water blast deck would be much weaker with goldeen and seaking and cubone.
Weaker, maybe. But more true to a Jungle deck. I still say Seaking is pretty underrated
Wigglytuff!! AHHHH!!!
I'm just kidding lol. It's fine. Looking forward for the next one (Fossil, yeah?). That should round out the 3 sets for the GBC TCG game. The game was part of my childhood and yeah, back then I thought Wigglytuff sucks too lol.
My first ever special box I got was Power Reserve
5:00 Excuse me, sir. Aren't you missing someone?
Pinsir is a good hider
Was anyone else subtly listening to the soundtrack 😂
I hope this is profitable for you so that you can continue with this series. I very much enjoy it.
Subbed
Wigglytuff is the best card in the game at the time.
I understand these are just your preferences and I think that’s awesome and unique. That being said, it would only take 10 min to google the meta cards. It might be fun to talk about how your opinion varies from the pics at the time. (And calm the comment section) haha. Keep up the good work❤
Yeah that has never been anything I really care about haha. That’s why I never looked into it. With that said, it’s my fault for trying to rank them by “the best.” I might change up the format a little
@@Paraspectre that’s fair! At the end of the day it’s your channel! You gota make the content that makes you happy. Otherwise it feels like to much work haha
look what all the low number of mons challenge runs have done to Wigglytuff 😅
starting against lickitung with a bad hand is just the pit worst
Oh I absolutely didn’t utilize Wigglytuff properly in my Easter challenge. But that wasn’t the point there ☺️
Me: Jigglypuff is the best.
Him: Jigglypuff is the worst.
Welp, time to stop the video.
jigglypuff is definitely the best.
Nah it's Exeggutor, the man is busted and doesn't have a check aside from Mr. Mime, until Mew is released in japan only. Mime doesnt even counter him since he can teleport out, so it's really just mews beam.
I don't really see Exeggutor as being that good. Not a terrible card but not I don't think it's close to being the best card in the set. On average you get 10 extra damage for 1 energy card which is not a great rate and I don't think human players would allow you to build it up with half a dozen energy cards or more without knocking it out.
Anyway looking forward to Fossil now,
In my eyes, if you manage to get enough energies on it, it’ll likely knock anybody out in one hit. Plus it could go into decks of any type too.
Jungle Boogie
Look like the jigglypuff is shiny it has green eyes like one
Jungle set best set
Nice
Vileplume :)
Add chapters so we can watch the parts we want and not ur thoughts or game strategies
Hi
53rd comment swag
Sup para! Hope there's a good lookin ivysaur in here