Jellicent (Noble Victories NVI 31) – Card of the Day

pokemon-paradijs.comEver had an evil jellyfish about half the size of a car come after you? Didn’t think so.

Such a monster came out in card form in the Noble Victories expansion. As awesome as such a Pokémon sounds, its impact on the metagame has been, well, lackluster. Since this card evolves from another Pokémon, though, let’s look at that first.

Frillish NVI has an excellent 80 HP, but a mediocre Retreat of 2. Weakness to Lightning may hurt it as Zekrom’s Outrage becomes a 2HKO, and a single-Energy Lost Burn becomes a 1HKO. Frillish’s only attack costs two Energy and does a measly 20 damage. Even if Frillish also had the standard 1 for 10 attack, the damage output wouldn’t be anything extraordinary. Overall, the sheer bulk of Frillish is a great asset to its later Evolution, since Frillish will likely stick around long enough to evolve.

Evolving Frillish boosts HP by 30, but also gives it 1 more Retreat. Lightning Weakness is also pretty bad, though 110 HP barely avoids a single-Energy Lost Burn 1HKO. These are sub-par stats for a Stage 1 Rare, but other redeeming qualities might be found in its attack and Ability.

Cursed Body is pretty decent as it makes your opponent carefully consider attacking. Confusion is a very annoying Special Condition, though it is not the best due to flippiness. Hydro Pump supplements the Ability, a decent attack that allows Jellicent to tank, kind of.

pokemon-paradijs.comBut let’s go back to Cursed Body. This Ability inflicts the Confused Special Condition, which can be very powerful if luck is on your side. In comparison, Paralysis, a deadly Special Condition, simply prevents your opponent from attacking; if your opponent fails the Confusion flip, not only will the attack be unsuccessful, but the Pokémon will also take 30 damage.

However, there is also the chance that Confusion will have no effect at all. Because it is luck-based, Confusion is generally more of an annoyance than a threat, especially since Retreating eliminates the Special Condition. Since it is unreliable and can be shed, Confusion is isn’t the best thing to base a strategy around.

Everything about Jellicent makes it seem like a tank, except for its HP. Unfortunately, Jellicent’s sub-par HP is its greatest weakness. In a format where 120 damage can be dealt on turn one, Jellicent will not last long. Maybe if Jellicent had 30-40 more HP, it could be very powerful.

As is, however, Cursed Body’s Confusion status isn’t strong enough to give the card a place in the metagame, and its attack, while decent, is largely outclassed. Finally, Lightning Weakness in a format with multiple powerful Lightning types hinders Jellicent’s tanking abilities.

Samurott BLW 32, though a Stage 2, tanks far better than Jellicent, since it has more HP, a more useful Ability, and a more powerful attack. Here’s a chart so you can see the difference between their attacks:

pokemon-paradijs.comJellicent overtakes Samurott at 6 W Energy. However, this is an impractical amount of Energy to have on Jellicent due to its poor defensive capabilities. Jellicent’s attack is less useful than it could be.

Does all of this mean that Jellicent is condemned to the binder? Not necessarily. Jellicent has a few options that might be fun to play, if bad in the metagame.

Since Jellicent easily inflicts Confusion, Leafeon UD’s Miasma Wind could work with this card. However, there is the problem of the 3 Retreat Cost, as well as the fact that Jellicent must be attacked for the Ability to take effect. In this respect, Hypno HS, Houndoom Prime, and especially Roserade UL more easily inflict Special Conditions.

Another use for Jellicent could be in Water decks looking for a (very) soft counter to Magnezone Prime. If your opponent KOes Jellicent with Magnezone, not only will that Pokémon Lost Burn two Energy (giving you a chance to catch up a little) but the Confusion status can be devastating in three ways.

First, they can’t use Magnetic Draw with that Magnezone. Second, if you get lucky on Confusion flips, it will lock the metal monstrosity out of attacking. Third, the high Retreat means that manually switching Magnezone would be a tricky task. Still, if they hit a Switch, it’s pretty much all over, and you give up a Prize card anyway.

Overall, Jellicent’s uses are few and far between. It may have a rather unique Ability, but poor stats and a mediocre attack aren’t helping things. Overall, I’d give it a 5/10 Mediocre.

Anyway, have a good day (or afternoon, depends on when you’re reading this). And stay away from man-eating jellyfish!