Why Designers Gave Loudred Its Unique TCG Stats Explained

Loudred (PL3 64) card artwork from Supreme Victors, illustrated by Atsuko Nishida

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

From the bustling roots of the Hoenn region’s evolving family, Loudred stands as a curious blend of punch and puzzle. In the Supreme Victors era of the Pokémon TCG, designers faced a fine line: give a Stage 1 a memorable identity without overshadowing its predecessor, Whismur, or tipping the balance of the format. The result is a Loudred whose stat line and moveset feel deliberate—designed to reward tempo, deck manipulation, and timing as much as raw power. ⚡ This article explores the reasoning behind its unique configuration, and what collectors and players can glean from the design philosophy that shaped Loudred’s place in the card pool.

Balancing act: HP, stage, and the allure of a single-stage evolution

Loudred carries 80 HP, a mark that sits comfortably within the early-to-mid Gen 4 landscape for a Stage 1 Pokémon. It isn’t the bulkiest on the bench, nor the most fragile on the active. That mid-range HP signals a design intent: Loudred should be usable and threatening in the right circumstances, but not so durable that it becomes a default shield against aggression. This aligns with the broader ecosystem in Supreme Victors, where players wished to cultivate build-around cards that felt rewarding to pilot without pushing opponents into unbreakable stalemates. The fact that Loudred evolves from Whismur also matters. The stage-two-to-stage-one dynamic encourages a straightforward offensive plan: evolve promptly, then press the tempo with disruption and steady damage. The designers wanted a story where a quiet, shy Whisperer of the caves could grow into a booming, battlefield-shorting force—without eclipsing the simpler goals of Whismur and Whismur’s nearby evolutionary line. 🔊

Colorless power: flexibility at the cost of rigidity

In this generation, the Colorless type offered a rare kind of flexibility. Loudred’s attacks both cost Colorless energy, which means you can attach energy from almost any source without being tied to a specific type. That flexibility is a design feature that encourages players to explore varied deck-building angles—teching in a mix of Energy, switch tactics, and trainer-based acceleration. The trade-off is that Loudred’s framework isn’t built around a single, flashy energy engine; instead, it rewards smart tempo and thoughtful resource management. For a colorless attacker, the ability to punch above its weight while remaining accessible to mixed decks makes Loudred feel like a bridge between the tiny Whismur and more commanding late-game threats. This choice also mirrors the set’s broader ethos: give players versatile options that scale with anticipation and board state. 🎯

Attacks that tell a story: Smash Kick and Stomp Off

Smash Kick — Cost: Colorless, Colorless. Damage: 30.
Stomp Off — Cost: Colorless, Colorless, Colorless. Damage: 50. Effect: Discard the top card from your opponent's deck.

These two moves embody a careful balance between straightforward offense and strategic disruption. Smash Kick is the reliable, early-game pressure option, letting Loudred chip away at the opponent’s board while you set up a second attacker or apply pressure with Whismur’s evolving timeline. Stomp Off is the real design flourish: a higher-damage swing with a tangible deck-disruption effect. In practice, it rewards players who anticipate their opponent’s draw sequence and can time the knockout of crucial cards, especially in formats where thinning and deck control were viable routes to victory. The three-energy cost for Stomp Off ensures you don’t spam this effect too quickly; instead, you weave it into a plan—peel a top-deck card here, set up the next attack there, and push a win through disciplined tempo. The synergy of two Colorless for the cheaper attack and a three-COLORless finisher encapsulates a core design principle: provide multi-step, tempo-driven play that can swing games when executed with precision. 💥

Rarity, relics, and the collector’s eye

As an Uncommon in the Supreme Victors set, Loudred stands at a sweet spot for collectors: relatively accessible for casual fans, yet with enough rarity to feel special in a binder or display. The set itself boasted a total of 153 cards, with Loudred occupying a distinct slot in the PL3 sub-series; the official card count sits at 147, with a subset of holo and reverse holo variants offering shimmering variations that catch the eye of art lovers and investors alike. For modern collectors evaluating Loudred’s place in a portfolio, the holo variant—and especially versions from notable print runs—can present a meaningful uptick in value. Data from Cardmarket around 2025 shows a modest baseline price for non-holo copies (around €0.18 on average) with holo exemplars trading higher (roughly €2.08 on average). While these figures are just snapshots in a fluctuating market, they illustrate how a card’s rarity, utility, and nostalgia combine to shape its value over time. 🔎

Illustration and lore: Atsuko Nishida’s touch

The artwork on Loudred is credited to Atsuko Nishida, a familiar name to long-time collectors. Nishida’s work on this card conveys Loudred’s signature volume and presence—the way its cheeks puff and its stance mirrors the creature’s bold, bellowing nature. In Supreme Victors, the art complements the card’s role as a mid-range threat: it’s not just about raw numbers, but about embodying the moment when a child’s giggle grows into a roar that can rattle an opponent’s strategy. This is a perfect example of how the art and the mechanics work in harmony to tell a cohesive story—from the hush of Whismur’s cave to the charge of Loudred on the battlefield. 🎨

“Sometimes the most satisfying plays come from timing and pressure, not just raw numbers. Loudred rewards players who listen to the rhythm of the game and push at the right moment.”

Gameplay tips: making the most of Loudred in the right era

Even though this specific Loudred isn’t standard-legal in the modern formats, its design remains instructive for understanding how early-Gen 4 mechanics encouraged tempo and disruption. If you’re exploring a nostalgic build or teaching new players about how to read a card’s value, try these ideas:

Time your Stomp Off to disrupt a key draw or resource line, especially when your opponent is counting on a draw engine to fuel a big play.
Pair Loudred with a Whismur you can reliably evolve by the mid-game to maintain pressure as energy requirements shift from setup to execution.
Utilize the colorless energy footprint to slot Loudred into mixed archetypes that leverage trainer effects or techs that accelerate energy regardless of type.
Leverage its 80 HP and modest attacks to pivot into a defensive posture if you can stall with Bench pressure while you line up a single-burst KO.

For players who love the tactile feel of 2000s strategy, Loudred stands out as a thoughtful puzzle piece—neither overwhelming nor underwhelming, but precisely tuned to reward patient, planned play. The balance of two low-cost and one high-cost attack invites a rhythm: chip, stall, and then land the big hit while applying a small but meaningful interruption to your opponent’s plan. ⚡🔥

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