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The highly anticipated Prismatic Evolutions has been out for a couple of days now!
Titled “Terastal Festival ex“ here in Japan, the set features super popular cards like the Eeveelutions SARs, Master Ball Holos, brand new supporter SARs, as well as exciting reprinted cards, the set has been absolutely flying off of shelves.
Among all of the new cards included is the seemingly harmless baby Pokemon,《Budew》.
Over the years, many Pokémon with Item-locking effects have been introduced into the game. However, I never expected to see a Pokémon with such a versatile Item-lock attack appear in the modern meta.
In this article, aimed at beginner players, I’ll explain how to use 《Budew》effectively and how to counter it when it’s used against you, all while taking a look back on the history of Item-lock cards in the Pokemon TCG!
Let’s Take a Closer Look at Budew
《Budew》is a Basic Pokémon with a couple of standout features: it doesn’t require any Energy to use its attack “Itchy Pollen”, which deals 10 damage while applying an Item lock, and it also has a retreat cost of zero.
It’s extremely strong, right? Even for players new to the Pokémon TCG, the effectiveness of this card is very easy to understand.
To put it simply, during the game, commonly played cards like these will become unusable if you are under the effect of “Itchy Pollen”.
Just with that, can you imagine how disruptive Item lock is? If you’re hit with “Itchy Pollen” on your opponent’s first turn going second, you’ll be unable to play any cards that let you fill your Bench or search for Pokémon needed to evolve on your next turn.
Of course, Items aren’t limited to just these cards I've mentioned above.
Ultra critical cards like《Rare Candy》which evolves Pokémon directly from Basic to Stage 2,《Night Stretcher》which retrieves Pokémon or Energy from the discard pile, or the ACE SPEC《Prime Catcher》, just to name another few, will all be unusable.
As a result, after being hit by Itchy Pollen, your next turn will have to rely on Pokémon attacks, Abilities, Supporters, Stadium cards, or Pokémon Tools to progress your stretegy.
You might think, “There’s still more I can do outside of Items!”. However, since modern decks are often composed of around 50% Item cards, depending on your hand, you might end up having to pass your turn with little to no options.
That said, the player using Budew also has to plan carefully. While Item lock is really powerful, it’s not a strategy that guarantees an auto win. The key for the player applying the Item lock is figuring out how to capitalize on the disruption and secure a win after locking your opponent’s Items.
With that in mind, let’s explore how to effectively use《Budew》by learning from past decks that relied on similar Item lock strategies!
Learning from Seismitoad EX
《Seismitoad EX》, introduced in the Pokémon TCG XY expansion "Rising Fist", is another Pokémon that applies an Item lock through its attack, similar to《Budew》.
Using some large Japanese tournaments as an example,《Seismitoad EX》was featured in the deck lists of top finishers at the Champions League 2017 Okayama event. Notably, three of these decks combined《Seismitoad EX》with《Decidueye GX》
Like《Budew》,《Seismitoad EX’s》attack (thankfully) had a relatively low damage output, so players needed to include another source of damage to compensate. In this case,《Decidueye GX》filled that gap very nicely, supplementing the damage with its Ability to ping the opponent’s Pokémon.
Comparing it to cards in the current meta, examples like《Meowscarada ex》or Pokémon with the Cursed Blast Ability, such as《Dusclops》《Dusknoir》, would serve a similar purpose.
As you might already know,《Dusclops》and《Dusknoir》are very versatile Pokémon that see use in a majority of decks these days.
A clear and effective strategy would involve using Item lock to disrupt the opponent while taking down their Pokémon with Cursed Blast, then cleaning things up with an attacker like《Bloodmoon Ursaluna》
Learning from Trevenant, an Ability-Based Item Locker
Let’s take a look at《Trevenant》, introduced in the Pokémon TCG XY expansion "Collection X". Unlike other Pokémon that use attacks to lock Items, Trevenant applied an Item lock through its Ability.
《Trevenant》garnered a little attention upon release but wasn’t widely used initially because it was a stage 1 Pokemon, and then needed three Energy to use its attack.
However, over time, it gained support through subsequent expansions. Key cards like《Dimension Valley》which reduced the Energy cost of Psychic Pokémon’s attacks by one Colorless Energy,《Phantump》with the “Ascension” attack for immediate evolution, and also《Wally》, a Supporter card that allowed instant evolution, gradually made《Trevenant》more viable.
The real breakthrough for the card came with the release of《Trevenant BREAK》in the XY BREAK expansion "Rage of the Broken Sky".
BREAK Evolution Pokémon carried a special rule that allowed them to inherit the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of their pre-evolved forms. So《Trevenant BREAK》was able to retain the Forest’s Curse Ability, enabling it to Item lock while attacking.
The primary strategy for《Trevenant BREAK》decks was straightforward yet effective: disrupt the opponent while maintaining control. This included using cards like《Crushing Hammer》and《Team Flare Grunt》to remove Energy from the opponent’s Pokémon, and《Head Ringer》to increase the Energy cost of their attacks. By combining these effects, players aimed to render their opponent unable to attack or use any Item cards, and therefore secure victory.
The concept of pairing Item lock with additional disruption effects provides a clear and reliable game plan.
Even in the current meta,《Crushing Hammer》remains playable, and strategies like denying Energy with《Giovanni’s Charisma》can still be somewhat effective in disrupting your opponents gameplan.
How to Maximize the Potential of Budew
We’ve looked at two approaches for utilizing《Budew》but since its a Baby Pokemon, compared to previous Pokémon with similar abilities, its low HP and damage output make it challenging to rely on Item lock as a strategy to carry you through an entire game.
This raises an important question: Why are you applying an Item lock? Simply locking Items with《Budew》doesn't directly lead to victory, right?
So, what’s the best way to approach this then?
The key is understanding that Item lock is primarily a tool to slow down your opponent’s tempo. In this context, “tempo” refers to your opponent’s ability to develop their board and prepare for attacks.
By locking Items, your opponent loses access to crucial cards like Ball Items as I mentioned earlier, leaving their board state underdeveloped. During this time, if you can strengthen your own board, you can gain an advantage similar to going first and setting up your Pokémon proactively—even if you’re playing second.
In essence, you’re “reversing” the roles of going first and second.
Therefore, the optimal use of Item lock with《Budew》is to disrupt your opponent early, then transition to stronger Pokémon for attacking once your board is ready.
Another important point to remember is that you don’t have to start the game with an Item lock just because《Budew》is in your deck.
As mentioned earlier, slowing down your opponent’s tempo can still be valuable later in the game. Even in the mid-to-late game, an Item lock can create windows for you or your opponent to turn the tide and make a comeback.
For instance, if your opponent pulls ahead in Prize cards and you’ve lost your Basic Pokémon that are able to evolve, you can use《Boss’s Orders》or《Counter Catcher》to bring out an opponent’s Pokémon with a high retreat cost, then use《Budew’s》Itchy Pollen to Item lock them. This could potentially give you a turn where your Pokémon are safe from being knocked out.
When using《Budew》, focus on slowing down your opponent’s tempo and creating openings to strengthen your board state. Give it a try in your upcoming matches!
What to Do When You’re Hit with Item Lock?
If you find yourself going first and facing an Item lock, you’ll need to focus on strengthening your board without relying on Items.
For example, if your opponent’s Active Pokémon is《Budew》, you should aim to use as many of your Item cards as possible during your first turn. It might be wise to use your Ball Items like Ultra Ball or Nest Ball to search for Pokémon in preparation for the turn when the Item lock takes effect.
While there’s a risk that cards like《Iono》could shuffle your hand back into the deck, sometimes it’s unavoidable, and hey, if your hand size is small, forcing your opponent to play《Iono》could even be a benefit to you by increasing your hand size!.
It’s also a good idea to make some adaptions to your deck building with Item lock strategies in mind.
Currently, many decks rely heavily on Items, but adding Supporter cards that replicate similar effects can provide alternative chances to get the upper hand.
To search for Evolution Pokémon, you could use《Jacq》or in the case of Dragapult decks,《Lance》as substitutes for《Ultra Ball》.
Decks that rely on《Energy Switch》, like Regidrago VSTAR, could replace it with《Poppy》, which has a relatively similar effect.
For getting Basic Pokemon out on your bench, consider《Artazon》rather than having to rely on《Nest Ball》or《Buddy-Buddy Poffin》.
Additionally, increasing the number of《Lumineon V》in your deck, which lets you search for Supporter cards when played from your hand can help maintain consistency even when you're hit with Item lock.
By considering these adjustments during deckbuilding, you can prevent one-sided matches caused by Itchy Pollen.
There are many ways to counter Item lock, so take some time to review card lists and brainstorm strategies! If you come up with any good ideas, feel free to share them with me in the comments!
In Closing
We’ve covered the Item lock of《Budew》, a card likely to have a significant impact on the current meta for the next couple of years.
We’ll plan to create easy-to-understand guides for beginners, so we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments about what you liked—or didn’t like—about this article.
See you next time!
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