Ruling Poliwrath Questions/Gyarados Question

[abaxter94]

According to this text:
Poliwrath LV.46 – Water – HP130
Stage 2 – Evolves from Poliwhirl

[F] Focus Punch: 60 damage. If Poliwrath was damaged by an attack on your opponent's last turn, this attack fails.
[F][C][C] Submission: 90 damage. Poliwrath does 20 damage to itself.

Weakness: Lightning (+30)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2



1. If Poliwhirl is damage by an attack, can Poliwrath use Focus Punch?
2. If Dusknoir attacks Poliwrath (placing damage counters), can Poliwrath use Focus Punch?
3. If Poliwrath is damaged, goes to the bench, and the is made the active pokemon again, can it use Focus Punch?
4. If gyarados has no damage counters on it, yet is confused, can it still used Flail (ie, flip to put damage counters on it).

 

[Lieutenant Houndoom]

Well, considering Pidgeot's Mirror MOve and Bastiodon's Anger Revenge both fail to do their effects if they were evolved that turn, I'd say that Q1 is yes.

I'm going to have to assume that being damaged is to be attacked with an attack with base damage on it.

Question 3 I haven't a clue.

4. I'm assuming it'll just fail if you get heads, but I think you can still use it (to no effect).

 

[Chairman Kaga]

Keep in mind that the Poliwrath answers are not final, since the cards aren't out in English yet.

1. If Poliwhirl is damage by an attack, can Poliwrath use Focus Punch?

Yes. This is the opposite of Bastiodon's Anger Revenge. Once you evolve, the new Pokemon is a new game entity which didn't exist before, so it's not considered to have been damaged last turn.

2. If Dusknoir attacks Poliwrath (placing damage counters), can Poliwrath use Focus Punch?

Yes. Placing damage counters isn't damage, and doesn't satisfy conditions that check for being damaged.

3. If Poliwrath is damaged, goes to the bench, and the is made the active pokemon again, can it use Focus Punch?

No. This isn't an effect placed on Poliwrath that you can clear by benching it. It's a check for a particular game state event, which happens when you actually perform the attack. The damage still happened, no matter what kind of bench shuffling you do.

4. If gyarados has no damage counters on it, yet is confused, can it still used Flail (ie, flip to put damage counters on it).

Yes. You perform the confusion check before applying damage. So if you fail the check, you put 3 counters on Gyarados. If you pass, then Flail succeeds and will do 0 damage.

 

[abaxter94]

I thought that you could not do something if it could not do anything (ie, play Potion when you have no damage on your pokemon).

EDIT:
Say Kaga's answers. Thanks.

I know that the Poli is not definate since we don't have an english copy of the card, but I need something to go by for when I test play at league. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

I thought that you could not do something if it could not do anything (ie, play Potion when you have no damage on your pokemon).

You can't perform a turn action (like playing a card or using a Poke-Power) for no effect.

Attacks aren't included in that. Attacking is its own turn phase and doesn't fall under the purview of that rule.

 

[abaxter94]

Ah, I see. Thanks for clarification.