Status Effects have always been a feature of the Pokémon games and Pokémon TCG Pocket is no different. Some Pokémon’s attacks can cause these status effects that can severely change the pace of the game. To explain them in a more formal way, status effects are special conditions that can limit a Pokémon’s performance or deal extra damage to them over the course of the game.
There are 5 status effects that feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket and we’ll explain what each of them do, provide some examples of Pokémon that can cause these effects and tell you how to remove these effects!
Poison:
When a Pokémon is afflicted with the Poison effect it will take 10 damage for every turn, including your opponents’ turn! This can be useful for not only dealing a little extra damage each turn but it can also be used for combos with other Pokémon that do more damage when a Pokémon is poisoned! Examples of Pokémon that can afflict this status effect are Weezing (Genetic Apex), Venomoth (Genetic Apex) and Whirlipede (Mythical Island). You can also attach the Poison Barb Tool to your Pokémon to cause poisoning when attacked.
Burn:
When a Pokémon is Burned it will take 20 damage for each turn it has this effect, in a similar way to Poison. However, unlike the Poison effect there’s an immediate way out; at the end of each turn you will flip a coin, and if it turns up Heads Burn will be immediately removed. Pokémon that can cause the Burn effect include Typhlosion (Wisdom Of Sea And Sky), Blacephalon EX (Fantastical Parade) and Talonflame (Secluded Springs).
Paralysis:
When a Pokémon is afflicted with Paralysis that Pokémon will be unable to attack or retreat for that turn. This can obviously cause trouble since that Pokémon won’t be able to defend itself from any attack, especially if it has low health. Luckily Paralysis will automatically be cured after each turn but if a Pokémon that can cause Paralysis remains in the active spot you might be Paralyzed for a while! Pokémon that can cause Paralysis include Toxtricity (Pulsing Aura), Helioptile (Crimson Blaze) and Lanturn EX (Wisdom Of Sea And Sky).
Sleep:
When a Pokémon is Asleep it has the exact same effects as Paralysis where that Pokémon won’t be able to attack or retreat. But it also has the same way to escape this affliction as Burn where you flip a coin and if you get Heads the effect will be removed. Examples of Pokémon that can cause Sleep are Swablu (Mega Rising), Komala (Celestial Guardians) and Hypno (Genetic Apex).
Confusion:
This Status Effect works differently than the other effects listed since it doesn’t affect the Pokémon’s ability to be able to attack or retreat. However, as long as the Pokémon has Confusion on it you will have to flip a coin for every attack that Pokémon does and if it turns up Tails the attack fails. This can be extremely irritating to deal with, especially if you have an attack that can win the game that turn! Pokémon that can cause Confusion are Spiritomb (Shining Revelry), Ralts (Fantastical Parade) and Volbeat (Mega Shine).
So now we know what each Status Effect does and know how irritating they can be if placed on you. You can even have multiple status effects stack on top of each other, such as getting Poisoned and Burned! So how can you counter these effects? Well there are a few options to consider. For Poison, Burn and Confusion you can retreat your Pokémon to the Bench. If retreating isn’t an option you can either Evolve your Pokémon to remove the effect or you can use a Lum Berry Tool to remove all Status Effects on that Pokémon. Finally, you can use the Pokémon Center Lady Supporter card to remove all Status Effects and restore 30 HP. Now that you know the counters to all these effects, make sure you prepare accordingly and watch out for any Pokémon that can cause them!