You must keep in mind that Pokemon cards were selling in record-breaking quantities as 1999 got underway
For example, if Narod, the Beige Flower and Doran, the Siege Tower ("Each creature assigns combat damage equal to its toughness rather than its power") are both on the battlefield, each time a creature would deal combat damage, that creature's controller chooses whether it assigns combat damage equal to its mana value or its toughness
Incapsula incident ID: 350000780152015064-214642661382820750
Guide Price by Card Ladder $34 Sales History on Fanatics Collect Mar 07, 2026 $29 Jan 09, 2026 $25 Oct 23, 2025 $19 View sales history on Card Ladder
So as far as strategy goes I would suggest using Hitmontop in a fighting deck since it is a basic Pokemon that can do high damage fairly quickly, I would actually prefer to use Triple Kick more often than Close Combat since it requires less energy and there is no backlash with Triple Kick
It is either obviously illegal for tournament play or has been tampered with in ways that destroy its worth almost completely (inked border, random scribblings on the card etc.) A Poor card will likely have bends, folds or creases in or across the card