Do the Wave (TCG)

Do The Wave
Wigglytuff and PlusPower Types used Major cards Wigglytuff Era 1999-2001

The Do the Wave deck archetype was a strong competitor in the early days of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It was played heavily due to its ability to hit fast and hard on the early game.

Strategy

One of the earliest deck archetypes, Do The Wave took advantage of the many useful Basic Pokémon from Base Set and Jungle to set up and strike hard quickly. Wigglytuff is the main card. For 3 Energy, it does 10 damage plus an additional 10 for each Pokémon on the player’s Bench. With a full Bench, Wigglytuff can deal out 60 damage each turn. Thanks to Double Colorless Energy this can effectively be done by turn 2. PlusPower helps take out the many Basic 70 HP Pokémon from rivals that will also fill our Bench, like Hitmonchan, Scyther and Electabuzz.

Trainer cards are absolutely necessary for a quick set-up of Do The Wave. Using the standard card-drawing Trainers such as Bill, Professor Oak, and Computer Search allowed cards to be drawn and quickly populate the Bench. Gust of Wind can force an opponent to switch potentially dangerous Pokémon, like Chansey while Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal could disrupt the opponent's strategy. Item Finder was also useful in recycling Trainer cards.

Key Cards

• Wigglytuff - Gives the name to the strategy with Do The Wave and it's potential to start hitting with 60 damage very early on the game.
• Hitmonchan - Hitmonchan could use its Jab attack on turn 1 for 20 damage. Its second attack, Special Punch, could deal 40 damage for three Energy. Important for hitting the Weakness of many Colorless and most Lightning Pokémon.
• Electabuzz - Has the ability to Paralyze with Thundershock on turn 1, allowing Electabuzz to set up for Thunderpunch on turn 2, with the possibility of dealing 40 damage.
• Scyther - Primarily valued for its combination of 70 HP with Fighting Resistance and a free Retreat Cost, creating excellent synergy with Wigglytuff. With the addition of Double Colorless Energy, Scyther could deal a consistent 30 damage from turn 2 with its Slash attack.
• PlusPower - Provides an additional 10 damage to a Pokémon's attack. Gust of Wind allowed Wigglytuff to quickly OHKO most Basic Pokémon.
• Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal - Allows the player to discard Energy from opposing Pokémon, limiting most opponent's to low Energy attacks. This was vital to Do The Wave; even though 80 HP was large, multiple Evolved and even a few Basic Pokémon could still OHKO this amount. Between this and Gust of Wind, the chances are low.
• Bill, Computer Search, Item Finder, and Professor Oak - Provides for the deck's draw and search needs, allowing the player to quickly setup. Bill was particularly useful, given the need to feel one's Bench with Basic Pokémon as soon as possible.
• Gust of Wind - Controlling the opponent's Active was mostly used to facilitate key OHKO's that would not only earn a Prize but weaken the opponent's own setup. It also served as an easy way to avoid hits on Wigglytuff.
• Lass - In a deck where any Trainer cards will be used up relatively quickly, Lass can be used to disrupt the opponent's strategy right after Wigglytuff is fully set-up, with little to no impact on the players'.

Typical deck list

The deck list appearing below is not official; it is meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any regional metagame. Being that this is merely an archetype, a player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version.

Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
2×	Wigglytuff
3×	Jigglypuff
2×	Hitmonchan
2×	Electabuzz
3×	Scyther
4×	Professor Oak	T
4×	Bill	T
4×	PlusPower	T
2×	Computer Search	T
3×	Gust of Wind	T
3×	Item Finder	T
4×	Energy Removal	T
2×	Energy Retrieval	T
3×	Super Energy Removal	T
1×	Lass	T
1×	Switch	T
4×	Double Colorless Energy	E
6×	Fighting Energy	E	—
4×	Lightning Energy	E	—
3×	Grass Energy	E	—

Possible tech cards

Kangaskhan

The following cards are often used in Do The Wave in place of certain cards included in the above list.

• Less Trainer Cards - Since the main objective of the early game with Do The Wave is filling up the Bench as fast as possible, some trainers remove a few Trainer Cards like Lass, Item Finder or a few Professor Oak in favor of additional Basic Pokémon and their needed energies.
• Mewtwo - An excellent card that can fends off the Fighting Pokémon that Wigglytuff is weak to and using Energy Absorption it can recycle Energy you may have discarded with Professor Oak, Computer Search, and/or Item Finder.
• Kangaskhan - Kangaskhan can aid in drawing power with Fetch while acting as additional aid for Wigglytuff using Comet Punch.
• Aerodactyl - Replacing Electabuzz, Aerodactly can allow for a more flexible deck that only uses fighting energy, it's Pokémon Power also inhabilitates the Stage 1 and 2 Pokémon that can resist a maxed-out Do The Wave and OHKO Wigglytuff.
• Oddish and Nidoran♀ - Both cards can quickly put Basic Pokémon onto the Bench with a low retreat cost, similar to Aerodactyl, they both can make the deck use only Grass energy.
• Challenge! - This card can be quite useful no matter what your opponent decides to do, either fully powering Wigglytuff with more Basic Pokémon to fill the Bench or acting like a Bill.

Restriction

The Do The Wave deck, being comprised of cards made in the first few sets of the TCG, was one of the first to be essentially banned from play as the cards were taken out of Pokémon Organized Play.

This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.