Pokémon LV.X (TCG)
Pokémon LV.X are a group of Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. They first appeared in the Diamond & Pearl expansion and made their final in-set appearance in the Arceus expansion. They represent Pokémon that have been well trained, making them stronger.[1] Pokémon LV.X are more powerful than regular Pokémon, much in the same way Pokémon-ex are. Unlike Pokémon-ex, when a Pokémon LV.X is Knocked Out the opponent does not take any additional Prize cards.
The LV.X portion next to the card's name is treated the same as normal levels are in the TCG, in that the name of the card for the purposes of deck construction is not changed by it. However, one can call a Pokémon LV.X with LV.X as a suffix, as seen in supplementary game material like the rulebook. So a Pokémon LV.X depicting Hippowdon can be called Hippowdon LV.X.
Pokémon LV.X are Pokémon Level-Up cards, a distinct group from Basic Pokémon or Evolution cards. They are played on top of an Active Pokémon with a matching name to Level-Up, an action distinct from evolution. For example, Magmortar LV.X can be played on top of a Magmortar and Floatzel 
LV.X can be played on top of Floatzel . Most of rules around evolution apply to playing a Pokémon LV.X card: a Pokémon cannot be Leveled-Up in the same turn as it is played or evolved, a Pokémon that is Leveled-Up recovers from all Special Conditions, all other effects are removed, and damage counters stay on the Pokémon. The HP, Energy type, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat cost of the older card are all overriden by the new card. (To reiterate, only the Active Pokémon, not the player's Benched Pokémon, can be Leveled-Up). Pokémon LV.X cannot be played on other Pokémon LV.X.[2] Effects that Level Up Pokémon, such as that of Level Max, are able to ignore the restriction to the Active Pokémon that applies to playing a Pokémon LV.X from one's hand.[3]
A segment reading "Level Up" and "put onto [Name of card without LV.X]" is printed in the upper right corner, below the card's name, in place of the "evolves from" field on Evolution cards. It has a gold background. While "Level-Up" appears to be an Evolution Stage, it isn't. Pokémon Level-Up cards do not have a stage, and while in play inherit the Evolution Stage from the card they were put on top of.[4] If Lucario LV.X Levels Up from a normal Stage 1 Lucario, it will be a Stage 1 Pokémon. Similarly, if Dialga LV.X Levels Up from a Basic Dialga, it will be a Basic Pokémon.
All Pokémon LV.X have a gold section on the bottom of the card. This section explains that a Pokémon LV.X has all of the Pokémon Powers and attacks that its previous level has.[5] This actively contradicts the templating of the cards which says "can use" when that has a different meaning in the game. The phrase "previous level" means "the Basic Pokémon or highest Stage Evolution card under the LV.X card, and can be referenced by other effects of the card. Two cards that use this functionality are Raichu LV.X and Arceus LV.X.
Since Pokémon LV.X are Pokémon Level-Up cards, effects that search for or otherwise affect "Basic Pokémon" or "Evolution cards" (such as Great Ball and Professor Elm's Training Method respectively) do not work on Pokémon LV.X. However, cards from the EX Series that say "Basic Pokémon or Evolution card" do work, as those cards were intended to affect all Pokémon and continue to work as intended.[6]
Because Pokémon LV.X cards share the same name as the Pokémon they Level-Up from, the rule that only four cards of the same name in a normal 60-card deck applies to the combination of Pokémon LV.X cards and normal cards. For instance, a player would be allowed to have two Honchkrow LV.42 and two Honchkrow LV.X in the same deck, but only four Honchkrow would be allowed in total. As well as that, because of the fact that these two cards share the same name, an effect which would remove the highest Stage Evolution card from a Pokémon would, in this example, force the removal of both Honchkrow cards, leaving only Murkrow.[citation needed] Pokémon LV.X are only Evolved Pokémon if they Level Up from an Evolved Pokémon, and only those Pokémon can be devolved. If a Pokémon LV.X is put on top of an unevolved Pokémon, then it stays unevolved and therefore cannot devolve.
Pokémon LV.X can have the Pokémon Level-Up card removed from them, in a separate but largely similar process to devolution. The one effect that does so is the fittingly named Level Down Poké-Power on Gengar LV.X.
Pokémon LV.X use 3D renders of Pokémon, with the Pokémon appearing to "burst" out of the art section of the card. Some parts of their body wind up overlapping other portions of the card, though this never covers up the rules text. Like Pokémon-ex, Pokémon LV.X have holofoil borders.
Pokémon that have appeared as Pokémon LV.X
See also
References
- ↑ Platinum: Rising Rivals Rulebook, via Judge Ball
- ↑ Compendium ruling, Compendium LvX, Team Compendium, PUI Rules Team, Feb 12, 2009
- ↑ Compendium ruling, Compendium LvX, Team Compendium, PUI Rules Team, Feb 12, 2009
- ↑ Platinum: Rising Rivals Rulebook, via Judge Ball
- ↑ Compendium ruling, Compendium LvX, Team Compendium, PUI Rules Team, Sep 4, 2008
- ↑ Compendium ruling, Compendium LvX, Team Compendium, PUI Rules Team, May 10, 2007
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This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |