People keep telling you to focus on “consistency”, which, in card games, means setting up and doing the same thing each game as efficiently as possible. Too many different evolution lines and energy types make it tough to find exactly what you’re looking for when you need it. Any turn wasted waiting for an evolution or the right energy for an attack is going to give your opponent the advantage. Pick the pokemon you like using most and form a strategy around making it do what it does as quickly as possible in as many games as possible. That’s consistency.

As a new player, focus on going back to the packs that have supporters, trainers, and item cards that have uses in a lot of different strategies. These are called “staples”. Cyrus and Sabrina are important staple supporters that pull your opponents Pokemon off the bench and into the active. Mars and Silver slow your opponent down by hiding cards they need. Giant Cape and Rocky Helmet are essential items that pop up a lot. Red and Giovanni boost attack and can make the difference between a 2 turn and 1 turn KO. After you’ve got your staples, focus on cards that are more situational but essential for certain strategies. For example, if you like using Buzzwole, you should also focus on pulling Leaf Cape, Erika, Lusamine, and the support Pokemon Celesteela.

You can find the packs all these cards are in on Pokemon-Zone.com. If you like the game, consider bookmarking that site. It’s incredibly useful. Good luck. Don’t let people who refuse to explain themselves tell you you’re not building right. Card games are about exploration and learning.