Contest PokéBeach Create-A-Card: March 2017 - Nationalites - Results Are Now Up!

SwannaHP100Water Type
Stage 1 Pokémon - Evolves from Ducklett
swanna.gif

NO. 581 White Bird Pokémon HT: 4'03" WT: 53.4 Ibs.

[Ability] Gorgeous Feather
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may reveal an Energy card from your hand. If you do, draw a card and heal 10 damage from all of your [W] Pokémon.

[W] Raindrop Dance 10+
This attack does 10 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to your Pokémon.

[W][C][C] Hurricane Peck 60
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent returns one of their Benched Pokémon to their hand.

Weakness – Lightning (x2)
Resistance – Fighting (-20)
Retreat Cost – 1
It administers sharp, powerful pecks with its bill. It whips its long neck to deliver forceful repeated strikes.
Hello, it's 3:30am and I forgot to do this until now. Have to do it now because I'm busy until hours after the deadline tomorrow. I chose Swanna because the Mute Swan is one of England's national animals! I tried to make it some odd combination of British things like being a bit of a pain in the arse to everyone for Hurricane Peck (you know what I'm talking about here), and the whole looking after our own thing in Georgeous Feather. Raindrop Dance is there so Swanna can actually hit for something. Hope everything checks out!
 
Basic Cobalion HP 110 Metal

cobalion.gif

NO. 638 Iron Will Pokémon HT: 6'11" WT: 551.2 lbs.

Ability: Sacrifice for Freedom
Once during your turn (before your attack), if this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon and Keldeo, Terrakion, and Virizion are on your Bench, you may Knock Out this Pokémon. Turn 3 of your face-down Prize cards face up. (Those Prize cards remain face up for the rest of the game.) If any of them of are Pokémon, take that Prize card.

[M][M][C] American Dream
Flip 2 coins. If both of them are heads, put your opponent's Active Pokémon onto your Bench. (Any attached cards, damage counters, turns in play, and any other effects remain on that Pokémon.)

Weakness: [R] x2 Resistance: [P] -20
Retreat Cost: [C][C][C]
Cobalion is a defender for all Pokémon. When a human hurts a Pokémon, it will personally punish them.
As an American, I wanted to design something that represented the good side of my country, and I feel that this card accomplishes just that. Cobalion is a the leader of the Swords of Justice, the group of legionaries that fight for freedom, just like how in many ways America is the leader of the United Nations, the world organization that fights for freedom.
Sacrifice for Freedom represents that sacrifices that America, with the help of its allies, makes to win freedom across the globe. Cobalion may go down in battle, but by doing so, it helps win the war.
American Dream demonstrates the power of the American Dream, which causes many people from other countries (and in this case Pokémon from your opponent) to move for a better life. In this case, they decide to join you in battle.
When it comes to balance, the one thing I struggled on was Sacrifice for Freedom. At first, I wondered if a deck with 60 Pokémon could abuse its ability, but by stipulating that Cobalion must be Active, that can be prevented (since a Lysandre/Parallel City would force the deck to run some form of retreat aid, therefore ruining the 60 Pokémon strategy).
As for wording, the one thing of note is that historical precedent seems to be towards not saying "Pokémon Cards", like you would with "Energy Cards" (instead, you just say Pokémon).
"Common Wording Errors" compilation, Greedy Dice, Gallade (Psychic Cut), Reuniclus (Link Fusion), Ninja Boy, Gothitelle (Doom Decree), Slurpuff (Tasting), Town Map, Cofagrigus (Six Feet Under), Cobalion (Steam Siege), Ultra Ball.
 
feraligatrcacentry_zpswsgtt7np.png

No long description right now. Australia is known for its crocodiles and its crocodile attacks. So here's a Krookodile Feraligatr.

I didnt realise the deadline was today, could've sworn it was the 30th. But hey, I made it in.
 
Aaaaaand that's a wrap, everyone! Thanks for submitting!

And that also brings us to the fan-voting portion of the CaC! Members may select one entry from each category that they think did the best, and cast their votes here:

Vote here for image-based.
Vote here for text-based.

Fan Voting deadline is at noon EST on Thursday, March 30, or at the time of this post in your own timezone.
 
About 1-2 days left for fan voting...

Someone should change the title now to "Contest - PokeBeach Create-A-Card Contest - Nationalites - Fan Voting now Up!".
 
Staraptor GX – Normal – KP 230
Phase 2– Entsteht aus Staravia
Pok%C3%A9monsprite_398_XY.gif

[C]Ingenieurwesen
Während deines nächsten Zuges macht dieses Pokèmon doppelt so viel Schaden. Wenn an dieses Pokèmon [M] Energie angelegt ist mache stattdessen 2,5 fachen Schaden. (nachdem Schwäche und Resistenz verrechnet wurden) (Wenn das Ergebnis nicht auf einer 0 endet. Runde ab)

[C][C]Einigkeit 10+
Die Attacke macht 10 Schaden plus 10 für jedes Staralili, 20 für jedes Staravia und 50 für jedes Staraptor oder Staraptor GX auf deiner Bank

[C][C] Recht und Freiheit GX 180
Nimm dieses Pokemon und alle an es angelegte Karten auf deine Hand.

Schwäche: Elektro (x2)
Resistenz: Kampf (-20)
Rückzug: [C] [C] [C]
Die Muskeln in seinen Flügeln und Beinen sind stark. Es kann im Flug sogar ein anderes Pokémon tragen.
Staraptor GX – Normal – HP 230
Stage 2– Evolves from Staravia
Pok%C3%A9monsprite_398_XY.gif

[C] Percise Engineering
Staraptor GX attacks do twice as much damage during your next turn. If you have an [M] Energy attached to this Pokèmon they do 2.5 times as much damage instead. (after applying Weakness and Resistance) (If the damage does not end on a 0, Round it off)

[C][C]Unity 10+
This damage does 10 Damage plus 10 for each of your benched Starly, 20 for each of your benched Staravia and 50 for each of your benched Staraptor or Staraptor GX.

[C][C] Justice and Freedom GX 180
Take this card and everything attached to it back into your hand

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance:Fighting (-20)
Retreat: [C] [C] [C]
The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokémon.

So. I represent the mighty germans. And as such I chose Staraptor because of 1. a Starling is a really common bird over here. 2 Staraptor kinda looks like a eagle which is our code of arms. 3. Its pretty much a walking german flag becaue of its color sheme and 4. these "standard birds" of each generation usually don't get much love. And Staraptor is #HellaTight. It ain't no gull but still pretty close

So the attack names are all germany centered. But not in the stereotypical way.
Attack one is all about the stereotype that germans are engeeniers. And about german cars and pretty much everything technical having a great reputation. So it makes sense that it's one of these "you can do double damage next turn" but i allways thought these attacks are a bit nonesenseical. So i felt like there should be a way to make it more worth it. (but the Rounding Off part was kinda hard to Phrase. Because i don't think that was a thing ever in the TCG.)
The second and third attack are about the german national anthem, which first words are "Unity and Justice and Freedom"
So for "Unity" it made sense to me make it about "The power of the people" and the germans are known to rebuild their own country. (bvs we did that twice after the wars).
Justice and Freedom GX is pretty straight forward. But i read it as "deal justice and then be free". Sooo do quite a lot of damage and then take it back into your hand which is handy because you can deny pricecards that way. So get "Percise Engineering" in -> take damage -> get a definite Knock out -> take it back into your hand
So I like this card because it is risk and reward again. Even if it got quite a lot of HP. One Solgaleo GX and a few other Pokèmon can knock it out one or two hit. So doing the first attack is quite risky but if you get though with it you do massive damage.

Also i wanted to do it in german aswell for obvious reasons :p. I didn't put thaat much afford into its wording but not that many people gonna understand it anyway. I focused on the english one to not have a debacle like last time ^^.
Some cards i kinda used for refrence are Gyarados' Full Retaliation out of the AoR set and Pelipper's first attack from SM1

I was LITERALLY about to throw my desk into the air and find a free German course :'U

Someone should change the title now to "Contest - PokeBeach Create-A-Card Contest - Nationalites - Fan Voting now Up!".

Done.
 
Did Blui's entry not make the cut?

Whoops! Looks like we missed him on the form. Sorry about that @Blui! It's a bit late to put him on the form now, but if you'd like to cast your vote for his entry instead, just send in a vote to @Jabberwock, who's looking after the polls this month. (And don't worry, it won't affect the judging. :p )
 
My bad, I've had no internet since last weekend, only getting back online now.

Some good looking entries here, good luck all.
 
Image-Based Results

Judge: @Jabberwock

pIricbk.png


Bouffalant is a nice original take on America. Making it the Bouffalant of a Gym Leader from the Manhattan-based region is another interesting touch. Not sure how well the art fits, but ah well.

As far as the card itself goes, it’s got a nice synergy between the Poké-Body and attack, and it’s not even overpowered. It is evo-hate in a format where evos were prevalent, which could be a good or a bad thing, but the effects are balanced and work well without being broken, so props for that.

Aesthetically, I like how you modified an HGSS blank for a Gym Leader card; the badge behind the text and Cheren’s head in the corner are nice touches that seem both creative and realistic.

Wording errors:
- Bouffalant is misspelled in the Poké-Body text. [-2 points]
- Poké-Body is missing an “as”. [-1 point]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Attack and Poké-Body names should align on the left side. [-2 points]

Creativity/Originality: 11/15
(Interesting choice of Pokémon; nice attack synergy.)
Wording: 12/15
(Couple spelling/grammar things.)
Fonts and Placement: 8/10
(Alignment.)
Believability/Playability: 5/5
(I could see this.)
Aesthetics: 3/5
(Nice Gym Leader touches.)
Total: 39/50

244-_British_Entei_A.png


Overall I’d say I this was a pretty well-executed card in terms of aesthetics and connections to the theme. The Union flag and the art really serve to bring home the connection, and they do so in a very visually pleasing way.

The card seems balanced enough; doing large amounts of damage for large attack costs is kinda what Evolutions-style cards do best. This one’s probably a bit more playable than most, which is fine.

Rule the Waves is a weird effect. I’d guess you mean at the start of both your turn and your opponent’s, but that needs a clarifying clause. I think it might be optimal for the Ability to activate whenever Entei is damaged by a [W]-type Pokémon’s attack, instead of every turn.

Four retreat cost is a lot. Of the existing Entei cards, only Entei-EX has had more than two. [G] Resistance also bugs me a bit, as [R]-type Pokémon generally don’t have that.

And you don’t lose originality points for using the same blank twice in a row, lol. Otherwise I’d have to dock everyone for too much BWXY. :p

Wording errors:
- “start of each turn” -> “beginning of each turn”. [-1 point]
- “weakness does not apply” -> “This Pokémon has no Weakness.” [-2 points]
- Majestic Fury should be worded like this: “If this Pokémon has more Energy attached to it than the Defending Pokémon, this attack does 30 more damage. If the Defending Pokémon has more Energy attached to it than this Pokémon, this Pokémon does 30 damage to itself.” [-3 points]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Attack text looks to be a bit off, like you’re using the wrong setting for Gill Sans. It should be Smooth, not Sharp or Crisp or whatever. [-1 point]
- Pokédex entry text has too much space between lines––reference existing Evolutions cards. [-1 point]

Creativity/Originality: 12/15
(Nice connections to Britain.)
Wording: 9/15
(One major rewording and a couple minor things.)
Fonts and Placement: 8/10
(See above.)
Believability/Playability: 5/5
(Seems balanced.)
Aesthetics: 4/5
(Some cool art and background holosheets.)
Total: 38/50

victini-png.13029


Return to Liberty is a very dangerous effect to give to a Basic Pokémon. This very easily turns a Brigette and a single Switch into any three Stage 1 Pokémon you like. The “If this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon” requirement doesn’t mean much, since it gets shuffled into the deck anyway to be replaced by another Victini. I think if anything like this Ability were ever to happen on a Basic Pokémon, it would have to be once per turn, not once per Pokémon. It’s just too easy to abuse otherwise.

Infiltrate is a decent generic attack, even if it’s not quite the first thing I think of for either Victini or America.

As far as art goes, I’d recommend if you’re going to use Ken Sugimori stock, to at least modify it in some way. The Pokémon looks a bit blurry, too, like it’s been upscaled. Stay away from upscaling art; 99% of the time it’s not worth it, and you can find Ken Sugimori stock art in very high resolution online.

Wording errors:
- “on your Bench” -> “onto your Bench”. [-1 point]
- “If” should not be capitalized. [-1 point]
- “(before your attack)” and “(Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance…)” clauses should be italicized. [-2 points]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Pokémon name (“Victini”) should be bold. [-2 points]
- Attack text, HP numerals, and bottom text are much too small. [-2 points for attack; -1 each for HP and bottom text]

Creativity/Originality: 9/15
(Creative, but dangerous, Ability.)
Wording: 11/15
(See above.)
Fonts and Placement: 4/10
(Several sizing issues.)
Believability/Playability: 3/5
(Ability is very broken.)
Aesthetics: 2/5
(Ken Sugimori stock doesn’t make for an overly appealing image.)
Total: 29/50

braviary-gx-jpg.13114


Oh man. This card. Can’t say I’ve seen anything quite like that before, and it certainly got a chuckle out of me, so well played. You’ve managed to capture a goodly amount of American stereotypes, stuff them into a blender with a couple birds, and somehow get a Pokémon card out of it.

So, setting aside for a moment the amalgamation of references and whatnot that make up this card, it’s hard to justify a 300 HP Stage 1 that can swing for 100 for a DCE and lock your opponent’s attackers. For that reason, I can’t give you much credit for Believability. Fortunately, though, your imagination does seem to be running wild, which is the whole point of the Creativity score. Props for that.

Wording errors:
- Missing the “(before your attack)” clause in the Ability. [-2 points]
- Missing the accented “é” in “Pokémon”. [-1 point]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- You seem to be using the Weakness icons rather than attack icons for the attacks. They’re much too small. [-1 point]

Creativity/Originality: 14/15
(What can I say?)
Wording: 12/15
(A missing clause and é.)
Fonts and Placement: 9/10
(Attack icons.)
Believability/Playability: 0/5
(The day TPCi prints this is the day I eat my hat.)
Aesthetics: 5/5
(You, sir, have earned it.)
Total: 40/50

Scrafty_EX_CAC.png


Yeah, I could see this representing LA. Nice original take on a lesser-thought-of aspect of American culture.

Though, I’m not sure the art is … dynamic enough for an EX. I’ve seen your work on dA; I know you’re capable of dynamic poses and flowing effects. I get what you were going for with the pink graffiti stripe, but I feel like it’s a bit too obtrusive over the blank. Similar graffiti stripes around the edges, the way EXs tend to have CGI effects going around, might be a more aesthetically pleasing way of doing it. (I do like the “P B” and the Team Skull logo in the back though!)

Effect-wise, the card seems just a bit underwhelming. I like Look-Out, but I think it might’ve been going a bit far to have it end your turn. Requiring two Scrafty-EX in play with one of them being your Active would have been fine, I think. That said, it is a nice flavorful effect.

Weakness to [Y] is a bit odd. I know Scrafty isn’t weak to Psychic in any other form of media, and actually resists it in its other cards, but W/R in the TCG tends to be fairly mainstream. It very rarely differs within one type. All [F]-type Pokémon that are Fighting-type in the games are weak to [P], and that’s it. Even Pokémon that normally aren’t weak to it, like Lucario.

Wording errors:
- On-point.

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Attack text could do with a bit of squishing down, with that much text on the card. [-2 points]

Creativity/Originality: 10/15
(Nice choice of Pokémon.)
Wording: 15/15
(Looks good.)
Fonts and Placement: 8/10
(Size of attack text.)
Believability/Playability: 3/5
(A bit underwhelming.)
Aesthetics: 3/5
(Not bad.)
Editing: -2
Total: 37/50

latios_meme_by_ther3dx-db3ccmy.png


I love all the different takes on America we’ve got this month. The Air Force is another cool idea. The art seems to work pretty well, too, even if it’s Mega Latios and not regular Latios. :p

The American flag in the background of the blank seems to have been placed over the text and its transparency modified––it’s a bit blurry and transfers some of that onto the text.

The attacks, particularly the names, are very reminiscent of old promo cards. In any other era, “Red White & Boom” would make a questionable attack name, but for Classic it seems to work (though personally I would’ve included a [C] in the attack cost). However, Red White & Boom is very overpowered for the era, if it’s intended to function as anything other than a promo card. I’d drop it all the way down to 50 and spread for 30 to all Benched.

Last, minor note: Classic-era cards did not include the decimal point (and all subsequent digits) for weight in the ‘dex bar. They just rounded to the nearest whole number.

Wording errors:
- Damage counters are put, not placed. [-1 point]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Pokémon Powers used to be aligned with the left edge of the ‘dex bar, not with the attack text. [-2 points]

Creativity/Originality: 9/15
(Nothing overly special, but cool reference to the Air Force.)
Wording: 14/15
(Looks good.)
Fonts and Placement: 8/10
(Size of attack text.)
Believability/Playability: 3/5
(Overpowered.)
Aesthetics: 3/5
(Cool art and good effort on the American flag modification.)
Total: 37/50

vileplume-card-3-png.13170


That’s a really cool bit of history, and with your explanation Vileplume makes a lot of sense for Singapore. You’ve come up with a good flavorful way to check the power of Trainerlock, too. Vileplume isn’t normally associated with the rainbow, but I can imagine Singapore’s scenes of nature must be reason enough for that.

There’s a bit of weird blockiness going on behind the text of the Pokémon Power. Not quite sure what to make of that. Did you try blocking out text that was already there? Clean blanks are relatively easy to find.

You’ve got some creative synergy between the Power and the attack, which I quite like. It adds to the rainbow aspect of the card, and I’d love to see a game using this card with Energy of all types all over the board. I could see some really cool decks springing out of this, had it existed in the Classic era.

Wording errors:
- There’s a precedent for the Pokémon power wording in this era: Check Dark Vileplume. [-3 points]
- Attack should say “Move 2 Energy” or “Attach … from hand”, but not a combination. [-2 points]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- The three Energy symbols of the attack cost should form an equilateral triangle––the third symbol seems a bit too far down. [-1 point]

Creativity/Originality: 11/15
(Cool rainbow gimmick.)
Wording: 10/15
(See above.)
Fonts and Placement: 9/10
(Pretty close.)
Believability/Playability: 5/5
(Yeah, I could see this being printed.)
Aesthetics: 3/5
(Weird blockiness around the Power text.)
Editing: -2
Total: 36/50

ancient_granbull_by_aschefield101-db3lw3g.png


*makes mental note: give asche more free time*

Welcome back, asche! Glad to see ya back (and yer little dog, too). :D

I do like what you’ve done with Ancient cards. It’s a shame they never expanded on them and left it at Mew, but I suppose when you’ve got very finite space for attacks and retreat and the like there’s not much room for creativity. That said, I like how much you made do with what you had––Ancient blanks for such a history-steeped country make good sense.

Wording errors:
- I can’t read Ancient Norse so Imma take your word for the translation. If the attack secretly says something like “Jabber sux lol” I guess the joke’s on me. :p

Fonts and Placement errors:
- I assume the font’s good. Placement looks excellent.

Creativity/Originality: 8/15
(Card details are a bit boring (to be expected for Ancient blanks), but Ancient blanks are a cool choice for the UK.)
Wording: 15/15
(Free pass.)
Fonts and Placement: 10/10
(Here too.)
Believability/Playability: 5/5
(Looks accurate for an Ancient card.)
Aesthetics: 5/5
(#AscheNeedsMoreFreeTime.)
Total: 43/50

bronzongtcg-jpg.13178


Was wondering if anyone was going to do a cracked Bronzong. :p

It’s very unusual to see effects that last beyond your next turn. I understand the flavor behind that for an ancient bell, but it’s both hard to keep track of and potentially game-breaking when the effects stack. In this case, Bronzong has six turns before becoming Confused to fire off as many successive Resonating Sounds. That’ll stack up, at some point, to seven damage counters on your opponent’s Active Pokémon.

Liberty Bell has a similar issue, but I confess I don’t quite understand what your intent is with that Ability. It’s difficult to tell whether it’s passive (permanently effective, until it wears off) or if the player has to activate it.

Wording errors:
- “Put this card onto Bronzor” is an unnecessary clarification for this era. [-1 point]
- Bronzong is 412.3 lbs, not 421.3 lbs. The “Height” and “Weight” in the ‘dex bar should read “HT” and “WT” respectively. [-1 point]
- “(before you attack)” -> “(before your attack)” [-1 point]
- Numerals such as “one” and “two” should be “1” and “2” instead. [2 points]
- “e” -> “é” [-3 points total for 5 errors]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Attack text is much too small and off-centered. [-2 points]
- ‘Dex text is the wrong font. [-2 points]
- All icons are improperly sized––some too big, others too small. Compare to scans of cards. [-3 points]

Creativity/Originality: 10/15
(Creative, if confusing, effects.)
Wording: 7/15
(See above.)
Fonts and Placement: 3/10
(See above.)
Believability/Playability: 1.5/5
(Power issues of attack effects lasting more than one cycle.)
Aesthetics: 3/5
(Blank seems a bit upsized and blurry, but cool drawing for the art.)
Editing: -2
Missing Illus. credit: -2
Total: 20.5/50

PrEtyhh.png


More cool blanks, cool art, cool holosheeting. The card’s cool, sure, but not sure it really brings a lot of novelty. I do like how you applied the holosheet to the art, and indeed that art with the partially-submerged Feraligatr seems almost made for a good holo effect.

The Poké-Body and attack are nicely synergistic. With all the methods of free switching that get printed in every set, Retreat Cost does seem to be getting more or less obsolete, so it shows creativity to find another use for that mechanic. I’m a bit concerned about the power level of the attack if it hits for Weakness, though, especially since Typhlosion Prime and later Emboar made [R]-type Bench-sitters somewhat common.

Wording errors:
- Capitalize “Retreat Cost” (2x). [-1 point for the first; -0.5 point for the second]
- “times the number of [C]” should be “for each [C]”. [-2 points]

Fonts and Placement errors:
- Spot-on.

Creativity/Originality: 13/15
(Nice synergy between attack and Poké-Body.)
Wording: 11.5/15
(Couple wording fixes.)
Fonts and Placement: 10/10
(Perfect.)
Believability/Playability: 3.5/5
(Slightly concerning power levels.)
Aesthetics: 4/5
(Good holosheet execution, but nothing overly special.)
Total: 42/50

And the final standings are ...

3rd Place: crystal_pidgeot’s American Braviary-GX, with 40/50 points.
2nd Place: Blui’s Australian Feraligatr, with 42/50 points.
1st Place: aschefield101’s British Granbull, with 43/50 points.

Congrats to the winners! See ya in April!
 
Text-Based Scores

Judge: @Luispipe8

1. @Professor Palutena
Bidoof - 70 HP - Colorless - Basic Pokémon

Ability: Apologies
Once during your turn, you may draw a card. Then, your opponent draws one card.

[C][C] Hat Trick 10x
Flip 3 coins. This attack does 10 damage to the Defending Pokémon for each heads.

[C][C] Caffeine Rush, eh?
Discard [C][C] attached to this Pokémon. At the end of your next turn, your Active Pokémon can attack twice.

Weakness - F
Resistance -
RC - 2
A Canadian Bidoof... what a shocker. xD Let's bite down to it:

Creativity: 15/20
(Apologies is funny, gotta admit, though not extremely groundbreaking. Hat Trick is sorta plain, gotta say. Third attack, though, it's a nice attack version of Omega Barrage, which is rather cool.)
Wording: 10/15
(You forgot the "before your attack" text; and also that "one card" should be written as "1 card" instead. That discard cost for Caffeine Rush, eh? is a bit weirdly, It should just be "Discard 2 Energy" instead. And lastly, in Hat Trick the phrase "to the Defending Pokémon" shouldn't be there. Oh, and that Weakness needs a number, don't you think?)
Believability: 10/15
(The card is quite balanced. Caffeine Rush, eh? would be the most "broken" effect, but given it has a high cost and it can we wiped out by Ranger I can see it being actually more risk that reward. The most logical play I can see is using it with Lurantis-GX to send Energy to the discard pile easier and then use its attack to charge up Pokémon faster but it's still a stretch. What I do see beign an issue is with some Mill decks, so you can lower you opponent's deck faster. Just play 4 Bidoof and let your opponent have a huge hand in order for you to use Hugh. It can get strong with the proper deck. And besides that, you forgot all Dex info/entry, so a couple points for that as well.)

The card was okay, maybe limiting Apologies to "can't use another with the same name yada yada" could have fixed the balance. Keep it up, Prof!

Total: 35/50

2. @rainyman123
Snorlax HP 110 Colorless
Basic Pokémon

/Ability/ - Fatal Fast Food
Once during your turn, you may flip a coin. If heads, until the end of your opponent's next turn, this Pokémon has +70 maximum HP. If tails, put 4 damage counters on this Pokémon.

[C][C] *Rest*
Heal all damage from this Pokémon. Then, flip a coin. If heads, this Pokémon is Knocked Out.

[C][C][C][C] Rage 40+
This attack does 20 more damage for each damage counter on this Pokémon.

Weakness: Fighting x2
Resistance: None
Retreat: 4
Oh my good Lord, I almost died with *Rest*... pun definitely not intended! xD Haha, alright, let's see:

Creativity: 17/20
(Fatal Fast Food and Rest are simply amazing. Incredibly well-thought attacks! If only Rage was different I'd give a higher score, since Rage isn't anything new, but still, it was a really nice job!)
Wording: 12/15
(To begin with, you forgot the "before your attack" text in the Ability; "gets" instead of "has"; and "maximum" shouldn't be there at all (see Fighting Fury Belt). That's all that I see.)
Believability: 13/15
(The card is the master of all gambles! Fatal Fast Food can turn against you if you have enough damage; and rest can literally kill you if you tried to heal! And Rage would be a good Ninja Boy combo a-la Tauros-EX, but having a 4 Energy cost can be detrimental... I mean, you'd need 90 damage to be able to OHKO most of the attackers in the format, so Snorlax would be almost dead by that point. You did, however, missed the Dex stats/data, so there goes a couple of points.)

I seriously laughed way too much with this card, Rainy, you did a really good job!

Total: 42/50

3. @Lord o da rings
Vanillite HP: 50 - Water
Basic Pokémon

Ability: Add a Scoop
When you attach a basic [W] Energy from your hand to this Pokémon during your turn, you may search your deck for a Vanillish and put it onto this Pokémon to evolve it. Then, shuffle your deck.

[C] Flurry 10
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent's active Pokémon is now Confused.

Weakness: [F]
Resistance: None
Retreat: [C]
So, this Ice Cream round is on Lord? Yeah, free ice cream!

Creativity: 13/20
(Add a Scoop is nice, I actually like it; however the rest is plain and simple, nothing extraordinary.)
Wording: 12/15
(Add a Scoop should read "Whenever" instead of "when"; and in Flurry "Active" goes capitalized. Lastly, you forgot the Weakness factor.)
Believability: 13/15
(The card is perfectly balanced, it's in no way OP; you just forgot the Dex info/data.)

Well, the card was simple enough to make this short enough. Now I'll need another Ice Cream :c But you keep on faking in the meantime!

Total: 38/50

4. @Lunarwork
Lycanroc- HP: 130-Fighting-Basic

Ability: Sand Rush
Flip a coin. If heads, discard up to 3 Energy cards from your opponent's Active Pokémon. If tails, put 3 damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon in any way you like and attach a {F} Energy to this Pokémon. (You can only use this ability once per turn.)

{F} Rock Tomb- 50
Your opponent's Active Pokémon can't be healed or retreat during your opponent's next turn.

{F}{C}{C} Stealth Rock- 140
Discard an Energy attached to your opponent's Active Pokémon.

Weakness: {M}x2
Resistance: None
Retreat: {C}{C}

Its quick movements confuses its enemies. Well equipped with claws and fangs, it also uses the sharp rocks in its mane as weapons.
No. 745-Wolf Pokémon-HT. 2'07" WT. 55.1 LB
Howling to the Canadian moon... interesting. Let's see.

Creativity: 13/20
(Sand Rush, as broken as it is, is somewhat original, as well as Rock Tomd (though I don't remember it being a Heal-blocking attack...), and Stealth Rock is relatively plain.)
Wording: 11/15
(To begin with, Sand Rush doesn't specify where the Energy comes from if you flip tails. Then, you forgot the "Once during your turn (before your attack), you may..." text; and to limit it you should have written "You may not use an Ability with the same name during your turn": Besides, Ability is capitalized. The rest is basically a c/p, so it's good.)
Believability: 0/15
(Please never print something like this... The Ability that you can use ONCE PER TURN is absurdly broken. Rock Tomb is way too powerful for a single Energy, and Stealth Rock is just absurd, way too strong and unnecessarily disruptive. And all in a 1 PRIZE Pokémon. With this your opponent will never attack and will be dead by Turn 4. No, not defeated; of his Pokémon KO'd. Plain dead. Oh, and I just noticed: IT'S A BASIC?!?! Not only was it broken as a Stage 1, but it's a B-A-S-I-C Pokémon?! Of course a deduction would be in place since a Basic Lycanroc isn't anywhere near true, but I can't go into negative numbers, you had a 0 regardless. Overall, NO.)
Edit Penalty: -2pts

I... have no comments. That Lycanroc's OP-ness left me numb. *leaves for 3 weeks before continuing the judging*

Total: 22/50

5. @Jadethepokemontrainer
Garbodor - [P] - HP 110
Stage 1 - evolves from Trubbish

Ability: Outta My Sight
Once during your turn, you may search your deck for up to 3 cards and discard them. Then, shuffle your deck. If you do, discard the top card of your opponents deck.

[P][C] Big Waste 20
Discard the top card of your opponents deck. If that card is a Pokemon EX or a Pokemon GX,
you may search your opponents deck and discard 1 card you find there. Then, shuffle your opponents deck.

[P][P][C][C] Take out the Trash
If you have the same number of benched Pokemon as your opponent, draw 1 prize card. This Pokemon can't use Take out the Trash on your next turn.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)
Resistance: Fighting (-20)
Retreat: [C][C]
For a time, their numbers increased explosively in Alola.
Since the arrival of Grimer, their population has decreased dramatically.
I feel like I've seen way too many trash Pokémon in this last 2 months...IDK. xD

Creativity: 20/20
(Those effects are actually really clever! Outta my sight is cool, Big Waste is something I haven't seen as far as I know, and Take out the Trash is also very good! All 3 effects are quite original, kudos on the score here!)
Wording: 9/15
(It appears everyone forgot the "before your attack" text in Abilities... :p Then, Pokémon-EX and Pokémon-GX both go with a hyphen, and you typo'd "oppponent's" (forgot the apostrophe). Then, in Take out the Trash, Benched is captalized and should read "during" instead of "on". And last but not least, you forgot the accented "é"s on "Pokémon".)
Believability: 7/15
(Big Waste isn't that big of an issue. Take out the Trash can be troublesome since it can have a broken combo with Zoroark, Parallel City and Wishiwashi; and Outta My Sight can be abused to discard a Fossil with Prehistoric Call every time and keep on discarding cards from your opponent's deck. Just a Quad Garbodor with Bunnelby or Houndoom-EX can be a gigantic pain in the butt. And lastly, you forgot the Dex stats.)

Edit Penalty:-2pts

Well, the card wasn't that bad at first sight, just a little bit too much broken. :p Work it better for next time.

Total: 34/50

6. @garchompcrescent
Keldeo GX - Fighting - 180 HP

Basic Pokémon

Ability: Resolute
This Pokémon's attacks do 10 more damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon for each of your Benched Pokémon with damage counters on them

[F][F] Sacred Sword - 90
This attack's damage isn't affected by Resistance or any other effects on your Opponent's Active Pokémon

[F][F] Secret Sword GX - 120
This attack does 90 damage to one of your Opponent's Benched Pokémon (You can only use one GX attack in a game)

Weakness: [P] - Resistance: None - Retreat: [C]
bla bla

Creativity: 14/20
(Resolute is interesting, in some way; and Secret Sword is different by dealing that damage to 2 different Pokémon in that way, but that's about it.)
Wording: 12/15
("Opponent's goes in lowercase, and the GX attack clause should read "You can't use more than 1 GX attack in a game". Also, you forgot the Weakness multiplier.)
Believability: 10/15
(This Pokémon's damage is WAY too high. Let's take into consideration Tauros-GX, that has still a 2 Energy cost for both of his attacks (the colorless factor is not THAT influential). It deals 60 more damage while also ignoring any other effect; and Secret Sword is a very powerful attack for just two Energy. And also you can up those amounts with you Benched Pokémon easily with Team Magma's Secret Base and boom, you're dealing 140 for 2 Energy on T2 and WITHOUT considering any of your other Pokémon is a Regirock-EX, you have a Strong Energy or Choice Band/FFB... No, it's way too strong.)

The card wasn't really that bad, maybe think your effects a bit better for next time.

Total: 36/50

7. @thegrovylekid
Avalugg HP: 100 [W]
Stage 1: Evolves from Bergmite

NO. 713 Iceberg Pokémon HT: 6'07" WT: 113.3 lbs.

Poké-BODY: Glacial Flow
If your opponent's Active Pokémon retreats, you may switch your Active Pokémon with 1 of your Benched Pokémon. When your Active Pokémon retreats, your opponent may switch his or her Active Pokémon with 1 of his or her Benched Pokémon.

[W][W][C] Ice Age 40
Discard 2 [W] Energy attached to Avalugg.

Its ice-covered body is as hard as steel. Its cumbersome frame crushes anything that stands in its way.

Weakness: [M] +20
Resistance:
Retreat: [C] [C] [C] [C]
An Avalugg in DPPt... ok, where did you hide the Delorean?

Creativity: 16/20
(Glacial Flow it's really really cool! I like it a lot. Ice Age is sorta plain, but Glacial Flow sorta makes up for it. Good job!)
Wording: 15/15
(Nothing to see here.)
Believability: 14/15
(I'm 99,9999% sure you'll hate me for this, but... where's Avalugg's level, TGK? :p)

This card was great, TGK, nicely done!

Total: 45/50

8. @Celever
Castform HP 110 Colourless
Basic Pokémon

Ability: Climate Change
If this Pokémon has more [W] Energy attached to it than basic [R] Energy, this Pokémon has a weakness to [G]x2 and this Pokémon has a resistance to [W]+20. If this Pokémon has more [R] Energy attached to it than [W] Energy, this Pokémon has a weakness to [W]x2 and this Pokémon has a resistance to [G]+20. If this Pokémon has the same amount of [W] Energy and basic [R] Energy, this ability does nothing.

[C] Weather Forecast
Discard an Energy card from your hand. Then, search your deck for an Energy card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Shuffle your deck afterward.

[C][C][C] Meteorology Ball 40+
This attack's type is the same as every type of Energy card attached to Castform. This attack does 20 more damage for each different type of Energy card attached to this Pokémon.

Weakness: None
Resistance: None
Retreat: 1

It changes its form depending on the weather. Changes in the temperature or humidity appear to affect its cellular structure.
NO. 351 Weather Pokémon HT: 1'00" WT: 1.8 lbs
bla bla

Creativity: 18/20
(Climate Change, as "messed up" as it might seem, is actually quite nice and easy enough to understand. The other attacks are cool as well, though not as bright as the Ability. It's a really good score regardless!)
Wording: 12/15
(To begin with, Weakness and Resistance always go capitalized. Then, the reiteration of "this Pokémon" is unnecesary, just "a Weakness to X and a Resistance to Y" would have sufficed. About your "standard W/R it's fine, since Water has been weak to Grass, Electric and Metal (Because of Ice) and a Resistance to Grass by Fire isn't unheard of. I don't think Resistance should ADD damage, though. :p)
Believability: 12/15
(Everything is good in terms of balance, it's just that there's a loophole with your Wording with the weird usage of the word "basic". Let's say you have 2 W Energy, 2 F Energy AND a Blend Energy (GFPD). You'd have more TOTAL F Energy than W, so the second clause would trigger. However, the amount of W energy and BASIC F Energy is also the same, so the third clause would activate as well. Since I first read it I thought "well, this can have some odd interactions", and turns out I was right.)

I bet you didn't see that score on your forecast ;o ok, I should stop with the bad jokes xD Nice job, Cel, keep it up for next time!

Total: 42/50

9. @double o squirtle
Abomasnow HP: 120 [G] Stage 1 (Evolves from Snover)

Ability: Brave The Cold
Once during your turn, if this Pokemon is Paralyzed you may heal 30 damage from it.

[W][C] Frost Coating 30
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Paralyzed. If tails, this Pokemon is now Paralyzed.

[W][W] Nature's Balance
Put up to 11 damage counters on this Pokemon. Put the same amount of damage counters on your opponent's Active Pokemon.

Weakness: [R] x2 / Resistance: [W] -20 / Retreat: [C][C]

They appear when the snow flowers bloom. When the petals fall, they retreat to places unknown again.
It's cruel how everyone is talking about cold places and here in Costa Rica we're burning hotter than liquid salt... U.U

Creativity: 19/20
(The effects are quite clever. Brave The Cold is a sort of worse Poison Heal, which is really nice; thenFrost Coating it cool, being able to Paralyze you as well. And Nature's Balance is very interesting as wel in contrast to the "put damage counters until Pokémon is a tickle from being KO'd" effects. I like it a lot!)
Wording: 12/15
(Ok, as everyone: "BEFORE YOUR ATTACK" in the Ability text... jeez xD That apart, you forgot the accented "é" on Pokémon. You also forgot a comma after "Paralyzed" in the Ability. Minor stuff, really, keep an eye on those.)
Believability: 14/15
(This card is pretty well balanced, nothing is that abusable, the only thing thta could have done it was to add the damage counters to any of your opponent's Pokémon, but that's not the case. You did, however, missed the Dex HT/WT/No°.)

This card was really good, dos, good job!

Total: 45/50

10. @TheSceptileMaster
Victini [R] HP 80
Basic

Ability: Forever Fight

Whenever this Pokemon affected by the effects of attacks, including damage, check the top card of your opponent's deck. If the card is a Trainer card, you may place 1 damage on you opponent's Active Pokemon. If the card is an Energy card, you may attach a basic Energy card from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon in play. If the card is a Pokemon card, you may remove 1 damage counter from this Pokemon.

[R] [C] Red and White Fire 60

If the Defending Pokemon is a [W] type, you may switch that Pokemon with one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon or you may place 1 damage counter on each of your opponent's Benched Pokemon.

Weakness: [W] (x2)
Resistance: (-20)
Retreat: [C]
Victini's heart has a center made a special type of white fire, giving it a special power to bestow victory and luck upon those who earn its respect.
Huh, let's see if the Victory Pokémon does as promised:

Creativity: 15/20
(Forever Fight is quite interesting, it has a nice effect overall. And Red and White Flare looks nice, I haven't seen a decision between effects so different in a while. Nice.)
Wording: 8/15
(First of all, you forgot the accented "é" in Pokémon. Then, in the attack, it should say "If the Defending Pokémon is a W Pokémon" (read Bisharp PLF). Then, the Ability should read "Whenever this Pokémon IS afffected by [no "the"] effects of attacks, LOOK AT THE top card of your opponent's deck. If THAT card is (...)"; and the "In play" is unnecessary. Finally, I think you forgot the Resistance...)
Believability: 11/15
(The card isn't really that broken; I mean, sure, it'll make you think more than once if you want to attack it, but things like Pidgeot-EX, Tauros-GX, Puykumuku and Turtonator-GX already do that. The thing is that it's like a whole lot to have in a card, too many effects for a single Ability. And the attack is cool, I don't think it's impossible to see something like that. However, yuo forgot the dex HT/WT/N°.)

The card concept was cool, Sceptile, just take a better look at wording next time.

Total: 34/50

11. @Little Cherrim
Sawsbuck – [G] – HP 120
Stage 1 – Evolves from Deerling



[Ability: Quarter Down]

When this Pokemon is damaged by an opponent’s attack, flip two coins. If both of them are heads, prevent that attack’s damage an attach a [G] energy card from your hand to one of your Pokemon.

[G][G] Call of the Wild
Search your deck for a Stadium card with the word “Forest” in it’s name and put it into play. (Discard any existing stadium card in play) If you played a stadium card in this way, you may search your deck for up to 3 basic [G] Pokemon and put them on your bench. (Shuffle your deck afterwards.


Weakness: Fire (x2)
Resistance: Water (-30)
Retreat: [C]
Oh, poor Sawsbuck, a long-forgotten Pokémon... let's hope it can have some glory:

Creativity: 20/20
(I actually like this card. Quarter Down is like a both better and worse Focus Band, which is a cool effect. And Call of the Wild pairs perfectly with FoGP in a really unique way. And intentional or not, that -30 Resistance is interesting. Definitely worthy of a 20!)
Wording: 6/15
(In the Ability, it should be "If" instead of "when". Then a typo, "an attach". Energy and Stadium go capitalized, and Pokémon has an accented "é". Also it should be "its" instead of "it's" and the "in" is unnecessary. Then, you forgot the closing parenthesis and it should read "afterward" instead.)
Believability: 12/15
(The card is definitely balanced. I mean, we already have several Pokémon that can prevent damage one way or another, and even though, it's only a 25% chance you'll avoid the damage. Call of the Wild isn't abusable since you end the turn and only searches for Basics, and that attack on a Stage 1 is definitely questionable how used it'll be. What you did overlook, though, was that -30 resistance, that even though is original, it's not likely; and the Dex Info/data.)

The card was excelent, Cherrim, REALLY nice job, just take a better look at wording and little details and I'm sure you'll excel next month!

Total: 38/50

12. @mirdo
Staraptor GX – Normal – HP 230
Stage 2– Evolves from Staravia

[C] Percise Engineering
Staraptor GX attacks do twice as much damage during your next turn. If you have an [M] Energy attached to this Pokèmon they do 2.5 times as much damage instead. (after applying Weakness and Resistance) (If the damage does not end on a 0, Round it off)

[C][C]Unity 10+
This damage does 10 Damage plus 10 for each of your benched Starly, 20 for each of your benched Staravia and 50 for each of your benched Staraptor or Staraptor GX.

[C][C] Justice and Freedom GX 180
Take this card and everything attached to it back into your hand

Weakness: Lightning (x2)
Resistance:Fighting (-20)
Retreat: [C] [C] [C]
The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokémon.
[/QUOTE]
THANK GOODNESS YOU WROTE THIS IN ENGLISH!! T.T I was almost crying when I saw it in German.

Creativity: 18/20
(This card is quite original. I just loved Precise Engineering, it's an amazing effect. Unity is really cool as well! The GX attack is not something extraordinary, but the rest counters that around. Nice!)
Wording: 2/15
(Okay, I think that, in translation, you ran into a couple typos. "Percise" "an [M]" "è". Then, the Ability should read "During your next turn, this Pokémon's attacks' base damage is double the original (before applying Weakness and Resistance). If this Pokémon has a [M] Energy attached to it, this Pokémon's attacks' base damage is 2.5 times the original instead (before applying Weakness and Resistance) (if the damage does not end in 0, round it up/down). Then, Unity should be "This attack does 10 more damage (...), 20 more damage for each (...) and 50 more damage for (...) Staraptor-GX". And the GX attack should be "Return this Pokémon and all cards attached to itto your hand.". Oh, and you also forgot both the GX Rule and the GX attack clause...)
Believability: 13/15
(Perfect balance; Precise Enginieering can't be really overused and can be counteres easily, Unity doesn't really do that much damage, and the GX attack isn't that strong, it actually falls short of KO'ing a lot.The points, however, one point is for adding a Dex Entry in a GX card, which shouldn't be there, and the other because such an odd multiplier would be really weird to implement to the game with the damage calculations. I mean, there's a reason Resistance is -20 and not 1/2... :p )

This card was really nice! Too bad about the wording, though. Maybe start with English and translate to German afterwards next time?

Total: 33/50

13. @Scorched Feathers
Swanna – HP100 – Water Type
Stage 1 Pokémon - Evolves from Ducklett

NO. 581 White Bird Pokémon HT: 4'03" WT: 53.4 Ibs.

[Ability] Gorgeous Feather
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may reveal an Energy card from your hand. If you do, draw a card and heal 10 damage from all of your [W] Pokémon.

[W] Raindrop Dance 10+
This attack does 10 more damage for each [W] Energy attached to your Pokémon.

[W][C][C] Hurricane Peck 60
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent returns one of their Benched Pokémon to their hand.

Weakness – Lightning (x2)
Resistance – Fighting (-20)
Retreat Cost – 1
It administers sharp, powerful pecks with its bill. It whips its long neck to deliver forceful repeated strikes.
Isn't it ironic that you're Scorched Feathers, but your feathers can't be scorched...? :U

Creativity: 16/20
(Gorgeous Feather is actually nice, it's an interesting effect, and Hurricane Peck is interesting enough since we haven't had an effect like that in a while. Raindrop Dance is really plain and overused, though.)
Wording: 15/15
(AT LAST! SOMEONE USED THE ABILITY TEXT PROPERLY!! 655/15 PTS! What? I can't do that? Well, I needed to say it, at least. xD As usual, you did your homework perfectly. Nice job!)
Believability: 15/15
(Really really good in terms of balance, Gourgeous Feather would need an absurd amount of setup and resources to be half abusable, Raindrop Dance can't hit as powerful as Darkrai does, and Hurricane Peck can actually be of use if your opponent has a Shaymin, Hoopa or Tapu Lele so they can re-use it or simply remove it from play altogether. Perfect!)

To be quite honest, I'm rarely dissapointed by your job, my young apprentice. Really nice job this month!

Total: 46/50

14. @NinjaPenguin
Basic Cobalion HP 110 Metal


NO. 638 Iron Will Pokémon HT: 6'11" WT: 551.2 lbs.

Ability: Sacrifice for Freedom
Once during your turn (before your attack), if this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon and Keldeo, Terrakion, and Virizion are on your Bench, you may Knock Out this Pokémon. Turn 3 of your face-down Prize cards face up. (Those Prize cards remain face up for the rest of the game.) If any of them of are Pokémon, take that Prize card.

[M][M][C] American Dream
Flip 2 coins. If both of them are heads, put your opponent's Active Pokémon onto your Bench. (Any attached cards, damage counters, turns in play, and any other effects remain on that Pokémon.)

Weakness: [R] x2 Resistance: [P] -20
Retreat Cost: [C][C][C]
Cobalion is a defender for all Pokémon. When a human hurts a Pokémon, it will personally punish them.
May justice prevail as I judge this card? There's only one way to find out...

Creativity: 20/20
(The effects are really nice, to be honest. Sacrifice for Freedom is just a brilliant Ability; and American Dream is basically Change of Heart applied to Pokémon, I love it! Definitely worth of a 20pt score.)
Wording: 15/15
(Wording is tidy clean, kudos!)
Believability: 13/15
(Ok, I want to point out something really clearly. The card is NOT broken. Sacrifice for Freedom requires a lot of setup, a huge drawback AND it'd need you to run a lot of Pokémon for that strategy to have A CHANCE to pay out, since it can still fail. And not to mention that a deck consisting of the 4 Swords of Justice in their corresponding types (considering this is Metal, of course) wouldn't be a good idea to build given the 4 different Energy types. And then American Dream being limited to the Active can give you a chance, as the opponent, to prep by promoting something useless like a Shaymin or something not that relevant; and STILL there's only a 25% chance the attack won't do a thing, and with a 110HP Pokémon with 3 Energy it'd be a HUGE risk, relatively high reward play. The points I'm taking out is because a mechanic like that is something I find really difficult to be implemented. Not impossible, of course, since we experienced a tidbit of that with Flare Tools, but a whole Pokémon and all it has; then the discard/hand mess... It'd need 2 card's lenght to be explained. :p But Balance wise, it's, on my sight, perfect.)

Wow, for all fairness the card would deserve the perfect score if it wasn't that Pokémon hasn't experienced a mechanic like that. But despite that, it's high enough to crown you as the Winner. Congratulations, Ninja!!

Total: 48/50

So the final placings are...

3rd Place: A Canadian tie between thegrovylekid’s frosty Avalugg and double o squirtle’s snowy Abomasnow, both with 45/50 points.
2nd Place: Scorched Feathers' British and Scorchproof Swanna, with 46/50 points.
1st Place: NinjaPenguin’s American Justice Cobalion, with 48/50 points.

This month several of you REALLY excelled in Creativity, I was really amused by a lot of entries, congrats! But sadly Wording is a recurring issue. Keep practicing and try to get that wording on point! See you in April!
 
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