Special Conditions are status effects that stay on an Active Pokemon between turns. During the between-turns step, called Pokemon Checkup, Poisoned and Burned deal damage while Asleep, Paralyzed, and Confused limit attacks and retreat. For collectors who also play, these effects shape practical card choices. A strong attacker matters less if it stays Asleep, and healing or switching cards matter more against Burn and Poison pressure.
Table of Contents
- What do Poisoned and Burned do?
- How do Asleep, Confused, and Paralyzed work?
- In what order do between-turns effects happen?
- How do you clear a Special Condition?
What do Poisoned and Burned do?
Poisoned places one damage counter on the affected Pokemon during Checkup. It remains until the Pokemon evolves, moves to the Bench, or is healed by another effect. Burned hits harder.
It normally places two damage counters during Checkup. The owner then flips a coin, and heads removes the Burned marker. Both conditions stay active through the opponent's turn. They do not stop the Pokemon from attacking, but the repeated damage can knock out low-HP Pokemon quickly.
How do Asleep, Confused, and Paralyzed work?
Asleep and Paralyzed prevent both attacking and retreating. A Sleeping Pokemon flips between turns; heads wakes it up, tails leaves it Asleep. A Paralyzed Pokemon generally recovers after one full turn cycle unless another effect adds Paralysis again. Confused works differently because it mainly matters when attacking.
A Confused Pokemon must flip before it attacks. Heads means the attack works normally, while tails means the attack fails and the Pokemon hurts itself. Self-damage amounts and retreat rules have changed across eras, so check the wording used in your format. Card text always beats memory when the two disagree.
In what order do between-turns effects happen?
Order matters when a Pokemon has more than one effect. Recent rulebooks use Pokemon Checkup and resolve effects in a set sequence.
Resolve one step completely before moving to the next. If a Pokemon is Knocked Out by Poison or Burn damage, stop and handle the Knock Out before later flips.
- Poisoned damage first
- Burned damage and Burn flip
- Asleep flip to wake or stay asleep
- Paralyzed recovery check
- Other Checkup abilities and effects
How do you clear a Special Condition?
Evolving a Pokemon removes its Special Conditions. Moving to the Bench through retreat, switching cards, or forced-switch effects also clears them under standard rules.
Many Trainer, Energy, and Ability effects heal specific conditions. Some remove Poison and Burn, some wake a Sleeping Pokemon, and some cure all Special Conditions at once. A deck with no built-in answer can lose an Active Pokemon without ever making an attack.
- Keep one reliable Bench or switch option in Burn-heavy decks
- Add condition removal when your main attacker has low HP
- Evolve promptly if Poison damage would finish a damaged Basic
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