No Pokémon go through such a drastic change as Wishiwashi. Its Solo Form has the weakest stats of all Pokémon while its Schooling Form is in the same league as some of the toughest Pokémon around. This powerful form is fairly threatening “demon of the sea” that frightens even the mighty Gyarados proving that sometimes there’s strength in numbers. In the hierarchy of fossilized Pokémon, Tyrantrum ruled as king. Its ability Strong Jaw powers up any move that uses the mouth which fits right in with this T-Rex royalty. Tyrantrum might have a pretty great design but unfortunately the role it fills is better met by Garchomp, leaving this dragon to be more of a prince than a king. Bears are basically the coolest actual animal in the world, due to their ferocity and how rooted they are in their sense of family. Ursaring is just a mama bear Pokémon, except they somehow are even more lethal since they can shoot beams at you if you mess with their cubs. So, you know, don’t. A powerful and popular Pokémon card with a game-winning ability Shaymix EX's powerful Set Up ability has made it one of the most popular Pokémon cards of recent years.

Wooloo is effectively the Galar region’s mascot. Hop’s Wooloo (and later Dubwool) are constant opponents players face in Sword and Shield and we see them quite literally all over the place; One of the early gyms has you corralling them. It helps that Wooloo is adorable, something that is not necessarily true of all Pokémon, but is integral to some of the very best of them. Wooloo and their pigtails are absolutely among the upper echelon of ‘em. With all that in mind, here are ten of the best Pokémon cards from throughout the trading card game’s long history and many expansions. They include the powerful and the beautiful, the common and the hard-to-find, the familiar and the more obscure. The one thing they have in common, though, is you’ve gotcha catch ‘em all. Some Pokédex entries are just too creepy to ignore. The mask that this Pokémon holds is the its face from its past life as a human and it retains all the memories from that past life. Sure there are plenty of Pokédex entries that talk about the grotesque but none of them suggest that little Timmy didn’t just go out and catch Grandma’s soul before making it fight a Charmander so Yamask gets the vote on creepy factor alone.The original strongman of the Pokémon world, Machamp is a monster like no other. Sporting four arms and skin that looks like pants, this Pokémon along helped instill the importance of trading in this series. Recently Machamp took on a much more muted role, acting as the HM Strength in Sun/Moon while cradling the player in its giant hands. A colourful outing for one of the greatest Pokémon cards Charizard has been one of the best Pokémon cards since the game first released - its rainbow-coloured variant makes it even more attractive for players.

Each starter from Sun/Moon seemed to get a ton of love whether it was the dapper Rowlet, dorky Popplio, or the adorable Litten. The other two didn’t have nearly as much on the line as the fire cat though, as Trainers were afraid that it would mark the return of the Fire/Fighting type-set that made up the fire starters for 3 generations of Pokémon games. Later it was revealed to have a Dark subtype instead, sporting a championship belt that drew comparisons to the Heel cliche from wrestling shows. The first evolution is the most popular though, complimented by the sheer amount of merchandise released for it.For many Pokémon, the end of the battle is the end of the pain which is what makes Houndoom so scary. Its Pokédex entries state that “if the flames it shoots from its mouth cause a burn, the pain will hurt forever.” This seems strange to point out considering most burns continue to hurt well after they heal, but it’s not a stretch to think that it may be hellfire this Cerberus inspired bone dog is spewing. Pokemon EX Deoxys Gold Star Holo Rayquaza #107 1999 Pokemon Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Holo Chansey #3 One of the two legendaries that emblazoned arguably the best Pokémon titles, Lugia is a remarkably gentle but fearsome Psychic/Flying Legendary Pokémon. While they’re most known for their role in Pokémon The Movie 2000, they’re also the mascot of Pokémon Silver, and capturing them is the ultimate goal of that title, save for defeating the Elite Four. Resembling some kind of aquatic dragon/dinosaur, Lugia hits hard, but is arguably strongest as a tank, with Defense and Special Defense out the wazoo and a full suite of moves that span countless types, including Water, Ice, and even Psychic.

There is certainly no shortage of legendary Pokemon on this list, but Heatran is exceptional for other reasons. This molten menace is one of the only legendaries which can have a gender although it still cannot breed. It is also the only Fire/Steel type ever created, giving it a powerful niche to fill. This Pokemon is allowed in most competitive rulesets due to it’s lower stats and 4x weakness to Ground moves. So while this may not be the most epic legendary, it’s probably one you can get the most use out of. A Pokémon card so powerful it was banned Lysandre’s Trump Card was banned from official tournaments, making it one of the most infamous Pokémon cards out there. Many of the Pokémon on this list have fairly grounded reasons for being here, but this fire snail hinges on the bizarre. Magcargo’s internal temperature is supposed to be almost twice as hot as the sun, so it should burn literally anything that touches it. Flames erupt from any holes in its shell, turning anywhere that Magcargo inhabits into a flash fire zone. This tremendously scary process is just one of the reasons moving to the Pokémon world might not be the best idea. Though they are technically different numbers and thus different Pokémon, I couldn’t bring myself to break these two up, especially since I’ve mostly seen them each as one-half of a duo. They’re like Plusle and Minun, but Legendary. This jet-shaped duo is iconic for their speed and little else, but they were the first Pokémon that tipped off a younger me to how important the stats game really was in this series.

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Ninetales always had this aura about them, as if they were magical. Similar to Umbreon’s mystique, Ninetales resonated with this great spiritual energy that made it equally impressive and somewhat terrifying. Especially early on in Pokémon, Ninetales stood out for being a Fire-type Pokémon that defied expectations, and showed a certain level of mastery over a select bunch of Ghost and Psychic moves that made it a threat to face off against if you couldn’t be prepared. As if they weren’t enough of a problem as is, Alolan Ninetales actually becomes an Ice/Fairy dual-type, and while that first half leaves it susceptible to quite a bit of damage, Fairy-types’ advantages throughout their introduction made it a threat. On a completely different end of the spectrum, the Surfing Pikachu card from the X/Y: Evolutions set became popular not because of its skillset or competitive prowess but because, well, it’s a round Pikachu on a surfboard. Usually tanky Pokémon try to avoid any status ailments they can but Gliscor actually benefits from it. One of its abilities is Poison Heal which allows it to recoup health when other Pokémon would lose it. A 4x weakness to ice moves keeps this from being too overpowered but otherwise this solid tank can stall for as long as it needs to. If you ever played Pokémon X and Y video games on 3DS, you might recognise this familiar and not-so-friendly face. Although it wouldn’t be fair to say Lysandre’s Trump Card is one of the most popular Pokémon cards, it definitely is one of the most well-known - infamous, almost. New to Pokémon cards? Take a look at the beginner-friendly Battle Academy game Masked wrestlers have an air of mystery and bravado that was past down to this Pokémon that may take the flying press a little too literally. The only Fighting/Flying type ever made, Hawlucha could cover a lot of ground if its stats were just a little better. Nevertheless it has become a fan-favorite due to its origins in lucha libre and its bravery even in the face of giants like Machamp or Hariyama.