[Top 10] Pokemon TCG Special Energy Cards

Updated:

09 Aug 2021

Hello all you fans of the Pokemon Trading Card Game and casual readers. Pokemon cards come in many different types with all sorts of unique attacks. However, no matter what these attacks do you can almost definitely be sure that you will need energy cards to use them. There is one type of Basic energy that corresponds with each type of Pokemon. However, there is also a large collection of Special Energy cards. These cards go above and beyond the call of duty by providing additional effects to the Pokemon to which they are attached. But which are the best ones? That’s what we’re here to find out.

Today we’ll be looking at the top 10 Special Energy cards available. We will be taking into account what kind of energy the card provides, how universal and usable the additional effects are, and how usable the energy is. Keep in mind that we will be looking only at Special Energy release prior to August of 2021. With that said, let's get into the list.

10. Rescue Energy

This energy provides one colorless energy.
This is an older energy with a much more niche use. If the Pokemon it is attached to is knocked out, you can put that Pokemon back into your hand. There are other cards that can retrieve Pokemon from your discard pile but using an energy to do it isn’t bad if you have the space.

9. Weakness Guard Energy

This energy provides one colorless energy.
In addition to the provided energy, this card also gets rid of the weakness of the Pokemon it’s attached to. While this is highly situational, many top decks play one or two of these just to avoid getting beaten by an inferior deck with an advantageous weakness.

8. Burning Energy

This energy provides one fire energy and can only be attached to fire Pokemon.
Fire type Pokemon are known for their explosive attacks that burn through energy. And by burn through energy, I mean that they discard energy to attack. However, when this energy is discarded from a fire Pokemon after an attack you may then reattach it from your discard pile to that Pokemon. This essentially nullifies the high cost of fire type attacks.

7. Stone/Strong Energy

Stone energy provides one fighting energy. Strong energyprovides one fighting energy and can only be attached to a fighting Pokemon.
These two energies are very similar and function when attached to fighting type Pokemon. Strong energy makes your attacks do 20 more damage while Stone energy reduces damage done to you by 20. These effects also stack so attaching multiple of theseenergies is encouraged.

6. Horror Energy

This energy provides one psychic energy.
If this card is attached to a psychic Pokemon in the Active Spot, it deals 20 damage back to whoever attacks it. This additional damage may seem small at first, but it works incredibly well with psychic type Pokemon who manipulate damage with their attacks. This effect also stacks with multiple energy.

5. Recycle Energy

This energy provides one colorless energy.
Most of the time, once an energy is in your discard pile, it takes another card to get it out. Not so with this energy. If Recycle energy is discarded from play, it immediately goes back into your hand. This is great for decks that are low on space and don’t need a specific type of energy.

4. Capture Energy

This energy provides one colorless energy.
This energy takes the place of a common item in most decks. When you attach it to a Pokemon, you may search your deck for a Basic Pokemon and play it onto your Bench. Getting Pokemon is almost always good.

3. Double Dragon Energy

Dragon type Pokemon are very powerful. There is usually one main thing that stops them from being played though. They often need multiple different types of energy to attack. Fear not, because Double Dragon Energy is here. As long as it is attached to a Dragon Pokemon, it provides two of any type of energy at one time. It may only be good on Dragon types, but Dragon types are good cards.

2. Aurora/Prism/Rainbow Energy

These cards all provide any type of energy so long as the right conditions are met. To play Aurora energy, you must discard a card from your hand. Prism energy only works on Basic Pokemon. Rainbow energy deals 10 damage to your Pokemon when you attach it. Each of these cards is incredibly good and it’s up to you to determine which cost you’re okay with.

1. Double Colorless Energy

This card has always been part of Pokemon since its release in 1999. It was last printed in 2017 and has always seen play in the META. That’s because it provides two colorless energies at one time. This is useful for almost any deck. In fact, it became so powerful that it hasn’t been rereleased since 2017. It has since been replaced with the less powerful Twin energy, usable only by Pokemon without ruleboxes. Don’t worry though: you can still use it in Expanded.