Pokémon TCG Special Conditions Explained: A Beginner Guide

Special Conditions affect only the Active Pokémon. The five conditions are Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed and Poisoned. Keep the relevant marker or card orientation visible so both players can track the effect clearly.

A Pokémon loses all Special Conditions when it moves to the Bench or evolves. This makes switching, retreating and evolving important ways to recover during a game.

Pokémon Checkup happens between turns. Resolve the relevant Special Conditions in this order: Poisoned, Burned, Asleep and Paralyzed.

After these checks and any other between-turn effects are completed, check whether any Pokémon is Knocked Out. Follow the order consistently so damage, recovery and Knock Outs are handled correctly.

Turn an Asleep Pokémon counterclockwise. It cannot attack or retreat while Asleep. During Pokémon Checkup, flip a coin. Heads removes Asleep, while tails leaves the Pokémon Asleep.

For Burned, place a Burn marker on the Pokémon. During Pokémon Checkup, place two damage counters on it, then flip a coin. Heads removes Burned; tails leaves it Burned for the next Checkup.

Turn a Confused Pokémon so its head points towards its owner. Before it attacks, flip a coin. On heads, the attack works normally. On tails, the attack is cancelled and three damage counters are placed on the Confused Pokémon.

Turn a Paralyzed Pokémon clockwise. It cannot attack or retreat. Paralyzed recovers during Pokémon Checkup after its owner's next turn, so it does not require a recovery coin flip.

Place a Poison marker on a Poisoned Pokémon. During each Pokémon Checkup, place one damage counter on it. Poisoned continues until the Pokémon moves to the Bench, evolves or another card effect removes it.

Asleep, Confused and Paralyzed replace one another because each uses a different card orientation. Only the most recent of these three orientation-based conditions remains. Burned and Poisoned use separate markers, so they can remain alongside one of those three conditions.

Moving the affected Pokémon to the Bench removes all Special Conditions. Retreating normally moves the Active Pokémon to the Bench, so it also clears the conditions on that Pokémon.

Evolving the Pokémon removes all Special Conditions as well.

Keep distinct Burn and Poison markers beside the play area, and use card orientation for Asleep, Confused and Paralyzed. A standard damage counter represents 10 damage, so use the required number of counters rather than estimating.

Keep a fair coin or die ready for the coin flips required by Asleep, Burned and Confused. Before each turn, check that markers, counters and card orientation are still visible to both players.