Special Conditions (TCG)

A Special Condition (Japanese: 特殊状態 Special Condition) is a result that some attacks have in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Specific attacks may cause the Defending Pokémon to be affected by a Special Condition, such as the common Lick attack which has a chance of causing Paralysis. They are the equivalent of the status conditions in the games. There are five Special Conditions currently in the Trading Card Game: Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed and Poisoned. Unlike status conditions in the video games, Special Conditions are not necessarily mutually exclusive due to the Poisoned and Burned Special Conditions being recognized by the placing of a marker (known as status counters) on the afflicted Pokémon. However, between the other three, a Pokémon can only be affected by one at once.

Special Conditions only affect the Active Pokémon in play. Once the Pokémon is retreated to the Bench, any Special Conditions affecting them will be removed. They can also be removed by evolving a Pokémon or using a specific attack or Trainer card (such as ). Special Conditions also stop the majority of Poké-Powers from working, but Poké-Bodies are unaffected by them. 