Status Effects
This is a REALLY long article on
Status Effects, in particular and in
general.
First, I'd like to say that status effects are *good*
I've built
successful decks around various status effects (personal favorites: Poison
&
Confusion) and so have many other people. Status Effecting is not as
common
a theme as Haymaker or Raindance, and very few Status Effect decks are the
same. There is no "Ultimate" status-effecting Pokémon, and
although the
Grass type often have poison attacks, there are Pokémon from almost every
type which do accomplish reasonable status effects.
Status Effect Basics: Status Effects only happen to
Active Pokémon. If
an Active Pokémon with a status effect reaches the bench, either by Retreating
or the use of a Trainer card, that status effect is cleared. If an Active
Pokémon with a status effect is evolved, the status effect is cleared. If
your opponent uses a particular Trainer (such as Full Heal or Devolution Spray
), the status effect is cleared. (There may be Pokémon Powers and/or
attacks
in upcoming expansion sets which also clear status effects, which would be
resoundingly cool, and I hear the Team Rocket expansion has a "full heal
energy" card.)
If possible, try to include a Pokémon in your deck which can
do a decent
status effect, and by that I mean something that will cancel out a Pokémon
power long enough for you to benefit, or prevent the opponent from attacking
so you can power up your "biggies." In order to demonstrate how
each status
effect works, I'll do various examples with Abra, Magmar (fossil),
Tentacruel, and Paras as my helpers, with Aerodactyl and Muk as my Victims.
Neither player has any Trainers in their hands (or in the top few cards of
their deck, I peeked!) My Dratini, OhDrat, is off sulking because she
can't
do a status effect at the moment.
Number One: Paralysis
Paralysis: All paralyzing attacks, to my knowledge, require a coin flip.
This is good, because if a Pokémon's attack had auto-paralysis, it'd be a
"broken card." While paralyzed, a Pokémon cannot retreat or
attack.
Paralysis goes away by itself at the end of the opponent's turn. Paralysis
cancels out most Pokémon powers, as well as the status effects Confusion and
Sleep.
Paralysis Example:
My turn: Abra attacks with Psyshock, paralyzes their
Active Aerodactyl.
Active Aero's Pokémon Power is
Turned Off
Their Turn: Evolves Mysterious Fossil on bench into
Another Aerodactyl.
Active Aero's Pokémon Power is
Turned On.
My turn: Uh... Ouch!
Paralysis Stats:
Good things: They cannot attack or retreat their active
Pokémon.
Bad things: Their active's Pokémon Power is back on
during your next
turn. They sometimes might benefit more from Paralysis than you.
My Opinion: It's a great stall; I've been destroyed by
a Lickitung's
paralysis, but Paralysis is not terribly effective if you want to cancel out
those pesky Pokémon Powers! It keeps low HP Pokémon alive longer than
they
otherwise would be. Ever have an Immortal Abra that just kept paralyzing
the
opponent until you evolved it?
Number Two: Poison
Poison: At the end of each turn, a poisoned Pokémon receives 10 damage
(unless otherwise indicated; like Nidoking's Toxic). Poison attacks can
automatically poison the defending Pokémon, or may require a coin flip.
Does
not cancel out the other three status effects, and usually does not cancel
out Pokémon Powers. Does not go away by itself or with a coin flip.
Poison Example:
My Turn: Magmar attacks Muk, gets Heads, poisons their
Muk. 10 damage.
Muk's Pokémon Power is Still On.
10 damage from Poison
Their Turn: Muk attacks Magmar, gets Heads (dang
Chansey coin). 30
damage.
Magmar receives 10 damage from
poison.
Muk's Pokémon Power is Still On.
10 damage from Poison
My Turn: Uh oh!
Poison Stats:
Good things: 10 damage after every turn is VERY nice.
Doesn't go away
by itself like Paralysis, or with a coin flip like Sleep. Poison also does
not go away if other status effects happen. Ever been confused AND
poisoned
at once?
Bad things: Does not usually turn off Pokémon Powers.
My Opinion: I've got more Poison decks than any other
status effect.
"'Nuff said"
Number Three: Sleep
Sleep: Some sleep attacks require a coin flip for it to happen; most do
not.
While asleep, a Pokémon cannot attack or retreat, much like paralysis.
Sleep does not go away "by itself," but will go away with a favorable
coin
flip. At the end of each turn, the owner of an asleep Pokémon flips a
coin.
If heads, the Pokémon wakes up. Sleep can be removed in the same manner
as
Paralysis; using a Trainer or Evolving. Sleep cancels out/is canceled out by
Paralysis and Confusion.
Sleep Example:
My Turn: Paras uses Spore, Aerodactyl is Asleep.
Opponent flips Heads, Aerodactyl
wakes up. PokePower still in effect.
Their Turn: Aerodactyl uses Wing Attack, 30 damage on
Paras
Aero's Pokémon Power is still there
My Turn: Paras uses Spore, Aerodactyl is Asleep
Opponent flips Tails, Aerodactyl is
asleep. PokePower Off.
Their Turn: Aerodactyl is asleep.
Opponent flips Tails, Aerodactyl is
asleep, PokePower Off.
My Turn: Paras can evolve! Woo hoo!
Sleep Stats:
Good things: Asleep Pokémon cannot attack or retreat.
When asleep, most
Pokémon's Poké Powers are turned off.
Bad things: It's very hard to keep a Pokémon asleep.
You flip as often
as you get damage for poison; after every turn. And with Chansey coins,
it's
VERY hard to keep them asleep. My sis has a killer Sleep deck!
My Opinion: Sleep is pretty good, if you have an
"unlucky" coin!
Number Four: Confusion
Confusion: A really annoying status effect. Most Confusion attacks
require
a coin flip. In order for a confused Pokémon to attack, its owner must
pay
the attack's costs, if any, then flip a coin. If tails, the Pokémon deals
20
damage to itself. If heads the attack works like normal. In order
for a
confused Pokémon to retreat, the owner must pay the retreat cost, if any,
then flip a coin. If tails, the Pokémon cannot retreat and the owner
can't
try to retreat that Pokémon again until their next turn. Confusion does
not
go away without a retreat, evolution, or trainer. Confusion cancels out
Sleep and Paralysis.
Confusion Example:
My Turn: Tentacruel uses Supersonic. Confuses Muk.
Muk's Pokémon Power is Off.
Their Turn: Muk attempts to attack, get tails, 20
damage to itself.
Muk's Pokémon Power is Off.
My Turn: I can use my own Pokémon Powers.
Yippee.
Confusion Stats:
Good things: Does not go away without a retreat,
evolve, or Full heal.
Cannot retreat without flipping a coin (and they still discard), cannot
attack without flipping a coin, and if tails, does damage to itself.
Bad things: Weakness/Resistance still applies; if
you're weak to
yourself, it's doubled, if resistant to yourself, it's reduced. If Kadabra
is confused, it does 40 to itself; if Aerodactyl is confused, it does 0 to
itself. This can be good or bad, depending on what you're using.
My Opinion: I like confusion, especially when I'm up
against a psychic
deck! It's the most "reliable" Anti-Pokémon Power status
effect; Paralysis
doesn't last to your own next turn, and Asleep takes two (sometimes three)
coin flips.
My Helpers came from 4 different colors. There are also
decent colorless
status effecters, like the paralyzing-confusing Lickitung, the Sleep-causing
Jigglypuff, and the paralyzing Snorlax. Okay, so maybe there are more
decent
status-effecters than Snorlax! To my knowledge, there are no Colorless
Pokémon who can poison, yet. I hear that the upcoming "Dark or
Mischevious"
(otherwise known as "Evil") Persian will have a poison attack.
I chose Muk and Aerodactyl as my victims, because they are
the ones whose
Pokémon Powers are currently the most annoying!
How to defend yourself from status
effects!
1: Snorlax, a 90 HP lump, cannot be put to sleep, paralyzed, poisoned, or
confused. Well, unless it somehow is already asleep, paralyzed, poisoned
or
confused. As of right now, this cannot happen without a Muk on someone's
bench. Snorlax's disgusting attack and retreat costs make it not terribly
popular (I got rid of mine as quickly as I could). However, one way to
beat
a status effect is to prevent it!
2: Use Switch to protect your Pokémon with special Powers if they get
Gusted
out.
3: Use Gust of Wind to bring out high-retreat Pokémon from the opponent's
bench. This is so they'll have trouble using their status-effect
attacks...
it's not a good idea to gust out another Pokémon that will just poison you
again!
4: Build decks that do NOT depend on Pokémon Powers. It IS
possible!
Pokémon Powers should be the "gravy" on an otherwise good deck.
Although a
Raindance deck where the Raindance part has been confused away doesn't work
so well, if it was built solidly it should be able to survive!
5: Full Heal is not a bad thing. If Status Effect is a common
strategy in
your area, it is definitely a GOOD thing! Try to make room for it!
6: Use a lot of low-retreat Pokémon. Yes, this goes against what I
just
said about Snorlax, but I'm not building your deck, I'm just giving you some
advice for it. Using Low-Retreat Pokémon will help you remove status
effects
more easily. Switch should be reserved for a high-retreat Pokémon with a
status effect, or a "major" player in your deck who was paralyzed.
Don't use
Switch for a poisoned Scyther! If confused, at least, TRY to retreat
first,
unless it requires an unaffordable discard! A few Dodrio (and of course,
Doduo) can help with that Pokémon Power (retreat aid), but don't depend on
them. Dodrio isn't a "splendid" Pokémon to have around; its
attack is very
delicate... the more damage it does, the closer it is to being KO'd!
7: Get the Chansey Coin, which is said to land on Heads more often than
Tails... and see if you can find the legendary "Anti-Chansey"* coin,
which
does the opposite. Keep both on the playing table and hope that your
opponent uses the "Anti-Chansey" coin more often than the Chansey
coin!
* The legendary "Anti-Chansey" Coin is
something I made up. # 7 is
supposed to be a "late at night, too much soda" sort of joke.
My Favorite Status-Effect Pokémon
These Pokémon
are listed in no particular order. When I say
"family" I mean from that Pokémon DOWN the evolutionary line.
If I said
"Wartortle Family," I'd mean Wartortle and Squirtle, without
Blastoise. Not
all of the Pokémon in the mentioned family will do the status effect
described, but the Pokémon which is mentioned does!
Poison:
The Beedrill Family (Weedle has beaten all sorts of *cough* "Broken"
*cough*
cards!)
The Nidoking Family (Wish they'd come out with a basic which could do Toxic!)
The Arbok Family (Automatic poison! woo hoo!)
The Muk Family (Reasonably solid poison attack, splendid Pokémon power)
The Tentacruel Family (Automatic poison!)
Fossil Magmar (splendid firey duck-like critter!)
The Weepinbell Family (solid 30 damage for 2 Grass, and Poisonpowder for 1
Grass!)
Koffing (automatic status effect; Weezing IMHO isn't as good)
Other Good-to-Okay Ones: Venomoth Family, Ivysaur
Family, Tangela
Paralysis:
Articuno (Works well with Raindance)
The Dewgong Family (Good attacks, and paralyzes if you're lucky!)
Ekans (one of my favorite starters)
Electabuzz (well DUH)
The Golduck Family (More dependable HP than Abra, same attack)
The Gyarados Family (Everyone loves it, and it's pretty cute too!)
Lickitung (Tongue Wrap is similar to Chansey's Scrunch, but does damage)
Pinsir (many call it "almost a scyther" ... but with a status effect!)
Other good-to-okay ones: Slowbro, Magneton (base),
Tangela, Snorlax,
Gastly (fossil)
Sleep:
The Haunter Family (both. I like base Haunter! Base gastly on the
other
hand...)
The Wigglytuff Family (Jiggly and Wiggly both do good sleep attacks)
The Parasect Family (Both members do sleep attacks, or can function
colorlessly)
Other Good ones: Clefairy.
Confusion:
The Alakazam Family (confuse ray isn't high-damage, but has a good status
effect!)
Koffing (automatic status effect!)
The Tentacruel Family (I convinced a friend it works... now he's trying to
buy mine!)
The Nidorina Family (After an ER and SER, Supersonic might save the game!
Lickitung (Slap a DCE down and confuse to increase stalling!)
Lapras (a damaging confuse attack!)
The Gloom Family (The only automatic confusion attack... on both sides.)
Other Good-to-Okay ones: Vulpix, Venomoth, Drowzee
I can't think of anything else to add
about Status Effects, and
OhDrat is giving me that "You're wearing a hole in the keyboard" look.
If
any of you people who reads this big long thing can think of something to
add, find something wrong, or feel the urge to bother a disgruntled, sleep
deprived furry blue dragon, repress your annoying urges and go find something
constructive to do! :)
Seriously though, if you find something blatantly wrong about
the rules
stuff, let me know! It's late and I might have been attacked by a
half-blind
Tentacruel! If you like what you see here, great, I'm happy for you.
Go
build yourself an absolutely poisonous Status Effect deck and destroy your
neighbor's Raindance!
However, if you think my opinions about the controversial
Tentacruel,
Weepinbell, or any other Pokémon family group are "stupid," leave me
alone!
Don't insult my intelligence by claiming that Tentacruel sucks. It has No
retreat cost, and 60 HP (which is GOOD... at least compared to Cloyster!)
Confusion to the enemy!
RainStrom, the Furry Blue Mock Dragon
and OhDrat,
the Bratty Blue Poké-Dragon
RainStr0m@aol.com
(Did you notice the lack of Matrix jokes. It really wasn't that hard. Try
it
sometime)
------------------------------- Disclaimer -----------------------------------
This advice was brought to you by a Furry Blue Mock Dragon
and a LOT of
caffeine. I didn't mention Nintendo up there anywhere, but Pokémon is
"their
property," and didn't endorse this. I wish they did, I could use the
money!
Wizards of the Coast didn't endorse it either. What an unfair world this
is.