Hi there,
Firstly just like to apologise for being lazy and not searching the forums for answers to my questions. Problem is I have a handful of them and I dont think Id find the exact answer I am after regarding some of them. So hopefully I dont offend anybody in the process. I am a beginner at playing PTCG and there are a few things that are not very clear for me.
So here I go...
Hello!
Others have answered, but I'm going to answer again
just because I'm an annoying know-it-all to affirm or clarify previous responses. I'm also going to add
this link to the Play! Pokémon Rules & Resources page. That is part of the
official Pokémon website, and you can download a copy of the rulebook (to get started) and then check out some more advanced documents... which might sound stuffy, but you'll find some cool, underused formats there like 30-Card and Team Battle.
Get the fundamentals down
first, of course!
1. Regarding switching pokemon out, if I choose a trainer card or attack that says the opponent is to switch their active pokemon, is the opponent able to bring that pokemon back to active on their next turn? It seems a little pointless using switch if thats the case other than the retreat cost of their active pokemon.
Controlling your opponent's Active can be used to
- Set up a "better" Knock Out (easier, faster, or taking out something more important)
- Get around certain effects (going to the Bench resets most attack-based effects, and some Abilities only work while Active)
- Stall (by bringing up something hard to retreat and unable to attack well, if at all)
Some effects allow you to dictate what your opponent promotes from the Bench, some effects allow your opponent to choose. The former is better, but the latter can still prove useful if your opponent doesn't have anything they want in the Active position more than their current Active Pokémon. The
source of the effect also matters, and in some cases, the timing of the effect. Why?
A player, on his or her turn, may retreat his or her Active Pokémon once during the turn by paying the Retreat Cost. A player can also change his or her Active Pokémon through card effects, such as by playing a
Switch, which does
not count as retreating. Attacks that
only change out your opponent's Active, especially if your opponent is allowed to pick which Benched Pokémon is promoted, are
very weak. They can still be useful, but under specific circumstances like triggering or canceling out certain effects, or forcing your opponent to use up a resource he or she needed for other purposes.
Mostly, cards that change out the opponent's Active are useful because they have a low cost, an additional effect, and/or take place
before an attack does damage.
2. Can you put energy on a Stage 1 pokemon even though that pokemon has not evolved yet?
I want to make sure you understand the fundamentals of Stages and Evolving in Pokémon. Everything I am about to say has exceptions, but you need to learn these first before the exceptions make any sense.
I will only cover the main three Stages of Evolutions; there are other, but like with the exceptions, you should learn the fundamentals first.
- Under normal circumstances, neither player may Evolve any Pokémon on his or her first turn.
- Basic Pokémon are the ones that don't usually Evolve from another Pokémon. You may play these from your hand to your Bench, so long as there is an open Bench space. You also need at least one of these in your deck in order for it to be legal. That is because, during setup, you need at least one Pokémon to function as your opening Active, and you cannot do that with Evolutions. This Stage is why I keep saying "...learn the fundamentals..." instead of "...learn the basics...". An example of a Basic Pokémon is Charmander.
- Stage 1 Pokémon Evolve from Basic Pokémon. To put them into play, the Basic Pokémon from which they Evolve needs to not only be in play but have been in play since before the turn began. You then Evolve that Basic into the Stage 1, by placing the Stage 1 card on top of the Basic. Damage counters and any cards that were attached to the Basic transfer to the Stage 1, but Special Conditions and most other effects go away. You lose access to anything that was printed on the Basic Pokémon's card, like Abilities or attacks. An example of a Stage 1 Pokémon is Charmeleon.
- Stage 2 Pokémon Evolve from Stage 1 Pokémon. Otherwise, the rules for Evolving into them are the same as for Evolving a Basic into a Stage 1. An example of a Stage 2 Pokémon is Charizard.
You
cannot attach Energy to a Pokémon that is not in play. If you cannot put your Stage 1 (or 2) Pokémon into play but wish to power it up, get its lower Stage(s) into play and attach Energy to them instead. Then, when you Evolve those into their higher Stage(s), they will already have some Energy attached. This actually ties into your first question; most Basics you can Evolve have low HP, so forcing them into the Active position often allows a player to take an easy OHKO
and makes it harder for the other player to get his or her Evolutions to the field.
3. Can you use an ability from a Stage 1 pokemon even though that pokemon has not evolved yet?
If a Stage 1 has already Evolved into a Stage 2, the Ability (like the attacks) of the Stage 1 are no longer available... so you usually can
only use Abilities on a Pokémon that has yet to Evolve.
However, if by this you meant a Stage 1 that has not yet been put into play,
most of the time you cannot use said Ability. The exceptions will be very
clear that you make use of the Ability in hand; if the card doesn't specify, it means the Pokémon has to already be in play.
4. Can I have 5 pokemon on my bench plus my active pokemon? If I want to retreat can I move a benched pokemon to my hand to make room for my retreating pokemon?
The default is that a player has one Active Pokémon and up to more five Pokémon on his or her Bench. As far as the game is concerned, you
always have an Active Pokémon; anything that forces you to change your Active Pokémon is considered to happen instantaneously. When your Active Pokémon is sent to your Bench, something else is automatically forced to the Active position. When you either choose to retreat or an effect swaps your Active Pokémon for one from your Bench, select the new Pokémon and move it to the Active position while moving the former Active to the Bench. If you are having difficulties moving the cards at the same time, just make sure you don't get confused while you move them one at a time.
You can
never discard a Pokémon from in play or return one from in play to your hand
unless a card effect or game mechanic says to do so. There are cards that can do one or the other, as well as a few that can shuffle a Pokémon (sometimes all cards attached to it as well) to its owner's deck. This is why you need to be careful about what you Bench; you
can run out of room! I don't think any game mechanics - by which I mean things that are part of the rules but not usually printed as part of the card effect - force you to return a Pokémon from the field to your hand,
but anytime a Pokémon is KO'd, it and any cards attached to it are discarded. You may also have to discard Pokémon from your Bench if another card effect
reduces your Bench-size, and you now have more Pokémon in play than you are allowed. There aren't a lot of cards that do this, but it is often a
potent effect as most decks make use of their full Bench space, or at least close to it.
5. If my attack says put some damage counters on my opponents benched pokemon, does that include pokemon on my opponents bench that havent evolved yet?
See my earlier comments about the rules for Evolving. If it is on your opponent's Bench, whether it is a Basic, a Stage 1, a Stage 2, or some of those more obscure Stages of Evolution I didn't explain, it would be a legal target to receive the damage counters. Even if you intend to Evolve in next turn. If you mean a Pokémon you have in your hand, one that you intend to use to Evolve one of your other Pokémon the next turn, the card in hand is safe. Your opponent shouldn't even know the Pokémon is there, unless he or she used a card effect to see your hand, or if you used a card effect that forced you to reveal that Pokémon.
6. Can you use the same attack in a row over and over again?
You may attack once during your turn, which then ends your turn, though there are a few very, very obscure exceptions. Unless an attack has an effect on it such as "This Pokémon cannot attack during your next turn." or "You may not use this attack during your next turn." then
yes, you may use an attack again on the next turn.
I definitely encourage you to read the rules. If you have enough cards, build two decks and play yourself to try and learn, or better still, play a friend or try the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. The PTCGO even has a guest mode if you don't want to sign up for an account and play it "for real". The PTCGO is free-to-play, though some regions (not the USA) have in game purchases. You also can get booster packs in the PTCGO by redeeming codes that come in Pokémon products (like booster packs).
