Status Conditions
Five status conditions can affect Pokemon in the TCG. Understanding how they work — and how they interact — is crucial for competitive play.
Poisoned
Card Indicator
Place a Poison marker on the Pokemon
Effect
Between turns, place 1 damage counter (10 damage) on the Poisoned Pokemon.
How to Cure
Evolving, retreating to the Bench, or using a Trainer card that removes Special Conditions.
Notes
Poison stacks with Burn and can exist alongside Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed. Some attacks cause "badly poisoned" which places more than 1 damage counter.
Burned
Card Indicator
Place a Burn marker on the Pokemon
Effect
Between turns, flip a coin. If tails, place 2 damage counters (20 damage) on the Burned Pokemon. If heads, nothing happens.
How to Cure
Evolving, retreating to the Bench, or using a Trainer card.
Notes
Like Poison, Burn stacks with other conditions. The coin flip gives a 50% chance of avoiding damage each check.
Asleep
Card Indicator
Turn the Pokemon card counterclockwise (sideways)
Effect
The Pokemon cannot attack or retreat. Between turns, flip a coin. If heads, the Pokemon wakes up. If tails, it stays Asleep.
How to Cure
Flipping heads between turns, evolving, moving to Bench via Trainer card, or being affected by a different "replacement" condition.
Notes
Asleep replaces Confused or Paralyzed (and vice versa) — you can only have one of these three at a time. However, the Pokemon can still be Poisoned and/or Burned while Asleep.
Paralyzed
Card Indicator
Turn the Pokemon card clockwise (sideways)
Effect
The Pokemon cannot attack or retreat for the rest of this turn and the opponent's next turn. It wears off at the end of the affected player's next turn.
How to Cure
Automatically cured at the end of the owner's next turn. Also cured by evolving or moving to Bench via Trainer.
Notes
The strongest status condition because it's guaranteed to last a full turn. Unlike Asleep, there's no coin flip to wake up early. Replaces Asleep or Confused.
Confused
Card Indicator
Turn the Pokemon card upside down
Effect
When the Pokemon tries to attack, flip a coin. If tails, the attack fails and the Pokemon places 3 damage counters (30 damage) on itself instead.
How to Cure
Evolving, retreating to Bench, or using a Trainer card. Does not wear off on its own.
Notes
You CAN still attempt to retreat while Confused (unlike Paralyzed/Asleep). If the coin flip is heads, the attack works normally. Replaces Asleep or Paralyzed.
How Status Conditions Interact
The Two Groups
A Pokemon can be both Poisoned AND Burned at the same time. Both trigger damage between turns.
Only ONE of these three can be active at a time. A new one replaces the existing one.
Maximum Conditions at Once
A Pokemon can have at most 3 status conditions simultaneously:
Universal Cures
- Evolving removes ALL status conditions
- Moving to the Bench (retreating or via Trainer card) removes ALL status conditions
- Note: You CAN'T retreat while Asleep or Paralyzed, but Trainer cards like "Switch" bypass retreat