Nowadays, it's a conscious choice (unless youre an indie game dev on a shoestring budget, in which case you're still in the early 90s)
Impeding an opponent could be key with Empoleon Lv.X, as although its Hydro Pump attack can deal 80 damage to any of an opponents Pokmon, it also prevents Empoleon Lv.X from attacking during the players next turn
I still think firebending is a really weak ability, but if its going to get some use anywhere, making it both feed back into the card its on (by the new spells cast triggering prowess) and scale with each card played beforehand (also because of prowess) is the best possible option
Another card by Yoriuki Ikegami, its fitting for the fully evolved Grass-type starter
I really like most recent sets, Ignacio says, but they all feel like they came and went way too quickly, which in turn means there are a lot of mechanics that we only see in one set, or may take a long time to become viable
The card seems to be doing really well in the post rotation meta, seeing play in a bunch of aggressive decks