Pokémon TCG: Top 10 Worst Tools (Trainers)!

10 - Single Strike Scroll of the Fanged Dragon (Sword/Shield: Evolving Skies)

This Tool was released alongside Single Strike and Rapid Strike Pokémon, and only worked on Single Strike Pokémon.

In that format, the 5 energy you need to attack with it was a lot, so you'd often need to wait a long time before actually using it. Furthermore, this card was created for Duraludon VMAX CRZ 104 in particular, and thus wasn't very flexible.

Even in Expanded, if you wanted to use this Tool, you'd have to put in a lot of work. More specifically, you'd have to play Magnezone UPR 83 to get four metal energies, and then use Superior Energy Retrieval PLF 103 to get them back.

9 - Energy Link (Diamond/Pearl: Stormfront)

This card, in your turn, lets you move energies from and to your Pokémon in any way you want, as well as how many times as you want. Its description seems excellent by itself, but it has a problem: it is a Tool, so you have to use 4 copies of it. This isn't practical, as it occupies too many slots unnecessarily.

Well, at least in Expanded we have better cards that let us use these effects more efficiently, like Bronzong BST 102 in the Steel archetype, Aromatisse XY 93 in the Fairy archetype, Weavile-GX UNM 132 in the Darkness archetype, and many more.

8 - Sword/Shield Fruits: Sitrus & Lum (Sword/Shield: Base Set)

These cards are "reprints" from the Ruby & Sapphire era (Lum Berry EM 78 from Emerald and Sitrus Berry UF 91 from Unseen Forces). Their effects are quite mediocre and don't work nowadays.

Sitrus Berry only lets you heal one of your Pokémon at the end of your turn, and you also have to discard it afterward. What can we even say about Lum Berry SSH 168? It only lets you remove special conditions from your Pokémon at the end of your turn. Full Heal RCL 159, by itself, already does a better job.

By the way, most Berries released by the Pokémon Company are terrible because you need to discard all of them at the end of your turn, and their effects are quite unsatisfying.

The only viable ones are Fluffy Berry UF 85 and Memory Berry AQ 128.

7 - Healing Scarf (X/Y: Roaring Skies)

This card is quite unnecessary because its effect is quite mediocre: it lets you heal a mere 20 HP if you attach one of the energies from your hand to your Pokémon.

And look, it's not "for each energy you attach, you get to heal 20 HP". No matter how many energies you attach (for instance, if you play Welder UNB 189a to attach two Basic Fire Energy sv3 230), you'll only heal 20 HP.

There are better cards to heal your Pokémon, like Max Potion GRI 128a, Hyper Potion SSH 166, Gold Potion BCR 140, and many more.

6 - Star Piece (e-Cards Series: Skyridge)

This card also disrupts you because its conditions are more bureaucratic than practical.

To use this card's effect, the Pokémon it is attached to needs to be on your bench and have at least 2 damage counters. You can only use its effect, which lets you search for an Evolution card that Pokémon evolves into and put it on your Pokémon to evolve it, after you meet these conditions.

We have better cards if we want to use this effect, like Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178, which performs much better and lets you evolve two Pokémon.

In Expanded, we also have much better items if we want to use this type of effect, like Evolution Incense SSH 163 and Pokémon Communication BLW 99.

5 - Weakness Guard (e-Cards Series: Aquapolis)

This card is an embarrassment. Its effect, which disables a Pokémon's weakness, is incredibly strong, but only lasts "one turn" and you have to discard this card by the end of it. It's a waste of a slot in your deck!

In Expanded, we have Weakness Policy PRC 142 (another Tool), and Weakness Guard Energy UNM 213 (an energy), which last all game long and have similar effects.

4 - Thought Wave Machine -Rocket's Secret Machine- (Wizards of the Coast Era: Neo Destiny)

This card puts you at the mercy of luck because, to use its effect, you need to hit your coin tosses.

The concept is simple: toss several coins until you get tails. For each heads you get, return an energy attached to your opponent's active Pokémon to their hand. However, after you finish tossing coins, your turn is over.

3 - Billowing Smoke (Sword/Shield: Darkness Ablaze)

This card simply ends up favoring your opponent.

Its description states, "from the moment this tool is attached to your Pokémon, and it is knocked out by an enemy attack, instead of drawing one Prize card, they have to discard that card."

Right away, you might think, "oh, they may draw a crucial Prize card and then have to discard it, so it's good". However, once you truly think about it, you'll realize you'll actually be pushing them closer to victory. They won't be able to access that card, but they'll still draw it and thus need to draw less Prize cards afterward to reach the game's main win condition.

So, you're actually indirectly helping your opponent when you use this card.

2 - Victory Piece (Black/White: Plasma Storm)

This ACE SPEC is quite inconsistent.

Its effect states that you'll be able to use any type of energy, as well as how many energies you want, to attack with Victini-EX PLS 18. However, it only works with Victini-EX PLS 18, which doesn't have a lot of HP or great attacks.

1 - Sparkling Crystal (Scarlet/Violet: Stellar Crown)

Sparkling Crystal, which will be released in Scarlet/Violet's eighth base set, will only discount the cost of your Terastal Pokémon by one energy, and is supposed to support Stellar Pokémon*, whose attacks demand many energies:

Furthermore, this Tool, at least in Standard, is easily countered by Jamming Tower TWM 153, which counters all Tools in play, and Lost Vacuum CRZ 135, which sends Tools to the Lost Zone.

Counterattack Claws (Wizards of the Coast Era: Neo Destiny)

Which of these tools is the worst? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below!

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!