This week, we’re looking at more Supporter Cards, but unlike the “Supporter-Supporter” cards from the previous article, these supporter cards DO have the Trainer super-type.
This article would be quite a bit longer than the last few if we didn’t find some arbitrary way to split it into multiple articles, so cards before Sun & Moon are in this week’s article, and cards from Sun/Moon and Sword/Shield will be the next article (in two weeks). We’ll get to Scarlet & Violet cards once we’ve finished the current series of articles (which we began before Scarlet/Violet was released).
Anyway, here’s this week’s list:
Rocket’s Admin.
Blaine10/10
Extra draw in the early game and disruption in the late game. Almost no downside to playing it. This card never gets cut. This was also released in Celebrations so it is easy to get now!
Jose10/10
Draw 10 early game, disrupt opponent’s late game. An auto-include in every deck.
Tony8/10
Can draw you 10 cards early in the game, and can potentially disrupt your opponent’s hand in the late game.
This card doesn’t get a 9 because it is good in every deck. It only gets a 9 because you have to run it to counter decks that rely on either player having Pokémon in their discard pile.
Jose6/10
Only useful against Gyarados. Can recover some of your own Pokémon but I’d rather use Item cards such as Rescue Stretcher.
Tony7/10
Essential disruption against some decks, and decent recovery in other situations.
Lysandre’s Trump Card
Blaine7/10
This card doesn’t get a 7 because it is good in every deck. It only gets a 7 because you have to run it to counter decks that rely on either player having Pokémon in their discard pile. It also ensures that you shouldn’t lose to mill. The downside to this card instead of Karen is that you shuffle your opponent’s Trainer cards into their deck for them to use again.
Jose6/10
Useful against mill I guess, but I’d usually want to play almost any other Supporter during my turn.
Tony7/10
If you also have VS seeker in your deck, this card can make your deck infinite.
Professor Juniper
Blaine10/10
Every “draw 7” supporter gets played in almost every deck. There is so much discard pile recursion in the format that discarding your hand usually isn’t a problem.
Jose10/10
All the Draw 7 cards are must haves.
Tony9/10
If Professor Oak were a supporter. I’m giving this a 9 because Professor Oak is a 10, and this card is not quite as good.
Non-conditional “gust” effects are mandatory. This is a Supporter, so it is harder to play than Gust of Wind or Pokémon Catcher.
Jose10/10
Gust.
Tony9/10
The original Supporter gust. This only gets a 9 because Catcher and Gust are solid 10s, and this card is strictly worse.
Skyla
Blaine10/10
It only gets you one card, but usually that card is so good that consuming your Supporter is worth it. This card might be a little worse now that Arven exists.
Jose9/10
It feels awkward using your Supporter for the turn to get another Trainer, especially if you grab a Supporter for the next turn, but the flexibility of getting any Trainer is always great to complete a combo or bail you out of a dead hand.
Tony10/10
60-70% of your deck is probably Trainer Cards, most of which are useful in different situations. This lets you get the one you need right now.
Teammates
Blaine10/10
It gets you any 2 cards from your deck! The restriction is having a Pokémon knocked out last turn, which makes it unplayable in some situations (such as being really far ahead).
Jose10/10
Along with Twins, searching for any 2 cards is one of the best effects in the whole game.
Tony10/10
Similar to the older card Twins, but only requires that your opponent knocked out 1 of your Pokémon during their last turn, so this can be used even if you’re ahead on prize count. A strong effect that belongs in every deck.
That’s all for this week. As stated above, the next article will continue this list of Trainer Supporter cards with cards from Sun/Moon and Sword/Shield.
Did we miss a card you think belongs here? Comment below or let us know on any of our social media accounts.
Format Staples - Part 7: Trainer Supporter Cards Cont'd 
Format Staples - Part 5: Supporter Cards - DP & HGSS eras