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Pokémon Power (TCG)

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Revision as of 16:30, 11 January 2020 by Daniel Carrero (talk | contribs) (+TCG video games)
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Pokémon Power redirects here. For the mini-magazines featured in Nintendo Power, see Pokémon Power (magazine).
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A Pokémon Power (Japanese: 特殊能力 special ability) is a special Ability held by some Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Typically, Pokémon Powers are additional effects that the card's player can trigger once or multiple times during their turn, before they attack. However, before the Expedition Base Set, some cards, such as Base Set Charizard, had Pokémon Powers that were always active. For example, all Energy cards attached to Charizard provided Fire Energy at all times. The player did not have to announce that they were using the power or do anything to trigger it, as it was always active.

After the release of Expedition, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers (Japanese: ポケパワー Poké-Power) and Poké-Bodies (Japanese: ポケボディー Poké-Body). Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is one that is in effect regardless. The player does not need to announce the use of a Poké-Body, since it is always active. In essence, a Poké-Power's effect is not always active, while a Poké-Body's effect is.

With the release of Black & White, Pokémon Powers were combined into one mechanic once again and renamed Abilities (Japanese: 特性 special characteristic), after the analogous element in the main series games.

With the release of Evolutions, a commemorative expansion created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the TCG, a new card with a Pokémon Power was printed: Imakuni?'s Doduo

List of Pokémon Powers

In the video games

TCG GB powers.png

Trading Card Game series

Main article: Duel (GB)#Pkmn Power

In Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!, there is a "Pkmn Power" option in the main duel screen. Some Pokémon Powers don't require this screen to be used, such as Blastoise's Rain Dance. Some other Pokémon Powers require this screen, such as Alakazam's Damage Swap.


Project TCG logo.png This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Relevant categories

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