Do I have to put Pokemon from my hand to my bench?

[Teeks643]

New to Pokemon...

I like to keep a few spaces open on my bench so that I don't create a log-jam of weak basics if I draw a better one. If I have basic Pokemon in my hand and open spaces on my bench do I have to place them on the bench, or can I keep them in my hand?

Seems to me that it's far more advantageous to keep in hand, both for the reason I mentioned above, but also for flexibility with the cards that say, "If you have 'x' number of Pokemon in your hand"

Thanks for any help!

 

[donavannj]

New to Pokemon...

I like to keep a few spaces open on my bench so that I don't create a log-jam of weak basics if I draw a better one. If I have basic Pokemon in my hand and open spaces on my bench do I have to place them on the bench, or can I keep them in my hand?

Seems to me that it's far more advantageous to keep in hand, both for the reason I mentioned above, but also for flexibility with the cards that say, "If you have 'x' number of Pokemon in your hand"

Thanks for any help!

You do not have to play all Basic Pokemon from your hand onto your bench. You can have your bench as full or as empty as you like, as long as the number of Pokemon on your bench is below the maximum allowed (normally 5, but some cards have effects that shrink the limit below that). It's generally a good idea to try to keep 2 or 3 there (so you don't lose because you ran out of Pokemon), but it's also a very good idea to be selective on which Pokemon you play to your bench.

 

[Teeks643]

You do not have to play all Basic Pokemon from your hand onto your bench. You can have your bench as full or as empty as you like, as long as the number of Pokemon on your bench is below the maximum allowed (normally 5, but some cards have effects that shrink the limit below that). It's generally a good idea to try to keep 2 or 3 there (so you don't lose because you ran out of Pokemon), but it's also a very good idea to be selective on which Pokemon you play to your bench.

Thanks for the reply. So is there any real disadvantage to keeping your Pokemon in your hand instead of your bench? (Besides the rule that Pokemon cannot evolve on their first turn on the bench). The way I see it, with proper planning, the only Pokemon that really need to be on your bench are the ones that you plan to use next, so that you can make sure to put energies on them and evolve them.

 

[donavannj]

Thanks for the reply. So is there any real disadvantage to keeping your Pokemon in your hand instead of your bench? (Besides the rule that Pokemon cannot evolve on their first turn on the bench). The way I see it, with proper planning, the only Pokemon that really need to be on your bench are the ones that you plan to use next, so that you can make sure to put energies on them and evolve them.

It really depends on the type of deck you're running.

 

[Inkblots]

Thanks for the reply. So is there any real disadvantage to keeping your Pokemon in your hand instead of your bench? (Besides the rule that Pokemon cannot evolve on their first turn on the bench). The way I see it, with proper planning, the only Pokemon that really need to be on your bench are the ones that you plan to use next, so that you can make sure to put energies on them and evolve them.

The only real disadvantage is that any pokemon in your hand cannot be evolved or have energy attached to them. So if you plan on using that pokemon at any point in the game - even if it's not your 'next' pokemon - it's generally a good idea to put it on your bench so you have as much time as possible to get it ready. This is particularly true if you're going to need to evolve it a couple times and/or have to put a lot of energy cards on it. I also (depending on the deck, generally only with theme decks which have some useless cards) like to keep a 'sacrifice' pokemon on the bench that basically serves to stall for time if my active pokemon is knocked out or if I'm forced to switch and I don't have any other pokemon ready.

The better you get to know your deck(s), and the more you play, the better you'll get at determining when it's advantageous to play a pokemon to the bench, or keep it in your hand. There are a lot of factors involved, but in general yes, keeping a spot or two on your bench open is a good idea until you know your deck well enough to know which pokemon you want on your bench.