Brilliant Stars FAQ
ERRATA:
== SONIC SLIP (Garchomp – SW:Brilliant Stars)
The original intention of this Ability was to provide protection only from the opponent’s attacks, not from your own. The new text will say, “When you play this Pokemon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokemon during your turn, you may prevent all damage from and effects of attacks from your opponent’s Pokemon done to this Pokemon until the end of your opponent’s next turn.” (TPCi Announcements (2022-02-09) [https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/errata-for-garchomp-in-pokemon-tcg-sword-shield-brilliant-stars/])
POKEMON ABILITIES:
== ADDITIONAL ORDER (Alcremie – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I have Alcremie with the “Additional Order” Ability in the Active Spot and then play Cafe Master, does my turn end immediately if I retreat Alcremie?
A. No, your turn does not end because Alcremie was active when you played Cafe Master.
== BOSS POCKETS (Honchkrow V – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Can you attach more than one tool of the same name to Honchkrow V with the “Boss Pockets” Ability? And if so, do the effects of the tools stack?
A. Yes to both questions.
== LIVELY FRUIT (Cherubi – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Does Cherubi’s “Lively Fruit” Ability prevent an attack from moving or placing damage counters?
A. In the steps of resolving an attack, moving or “placing Damage Counters” counts as an Effect of the attack; it is not part of “doing damage”. Therefore, as an Effect it would be prevented by Lively Fruit.
== EMERGENCY SURFACING (Empoleon – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I put Empoleon onto my Bench using its “Emergency Surfacing” Ability, does Torterra’s “Evopress” attack add 50 to its damage for the unevolved Empoleon?
A. Yes, even though Empoleon doesn’t have any lower stages attached to it, it is still considered an Evolution Pokemon.
== FLEET FOOTED (Entei V – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I use Entei V’s “Fleet Footed” Ability and retreat it for another one on my bench, can I use the new Entei V’s “Fleet Footed” Ability too?
A. Yes, you can. Once per turn applies to the Pokemon that uses the Ability.
== SONIC SLIP (Garchomp – SW:Brilliant Stars)
The original intention of this Ability was to provide protection only from the opponent’s attacks, not from your own. The new text will say, “When you play this Pokemon from your hand to evolve 1 of your Pokemon during your turn, you may prevent all damage from and effects of attacks from your opponent’s Pokemon done to this Pokemon until the end of your opponent’s next turn.” (TPCi Announcements (2022-02-09) [https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/errata-for-garchomp-in-pokemontcg-sword-shield-brilliant-stars/])
Q. If I play Garchomp with the “Sonic Slip” Ability to evolve my Active Pokemon and then Garchomp moves to the Bench, does the effect from “Sonic Slip” get removed?
A. No. It is an effect from an Ability, not from an Attack, so moving to the Bench does not remove it.
== SPECIAL TRANSFER (Dusknoir – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Can I use Dusknoir’s “Special Transfer” Ability after I attack but before my turn ends to move Special Energy cards (such as Double Turbo Energy) off of my Active Pokemon?
A. No, once your attack ends, your turn ends.
Q. If I use Dusknoir’s “Special Transfer” Ability to move an Aurora Energy to another Pokemon, do I have to discard a card from my hand per Aurora Energy’s text?
A. Special Transfer is “moving” the Special Energy to another Pokemon, not “attaching” it like you would from your hand. So since the Aurora Energy is already in play you do not have to discard a card from your hand in this situation.
== TRADE (Liepard – SW:Brilliant Stars)
{NOTE: Liepard’s “Trade” Ability uses a different wording than Zoroark-GX’s “Trade”; it’s intentional that they work differently.}
Q. Can I use Liepard’s “Trade” Ability if there are no cards in my deck, just to discard a card?
A. No, you can’t use Trade if there aren’t any cards left in your deck. Discarding a card from your hand is a cost to use the Ability, and drawing cards is the effect.
POKEMON ATTACKS:
== EVOPRESS (Torterra – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I put Empoleon onto my Bench using its “Emergency Surfacing” Ability, does Torterra’s “Evopress” attack add 50 to its damage for the unevolved Empoleon?
A. Yes, even though Empoleon doesn’t have any lower stages attached to it, it is still considered an Evolution Pokemon.
== FAST CHARGE (Raichu V – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Can I use Raichu V’s “Fast Charge” attack during the game other than on my first turn?
A. Yes, you can. The text about “if you go first” is in addition to any other turns during the game.
== HURRICANE (Castform – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I use Castform’s “Hurricane” attack and I have no benched Pokemon, do I have to discard an Energy card?
A. No, if you have no Benched Pokemon all Energy remains attached to Castform.
== INFERNO WINGS (Moltres – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Do I apply Weakness for Moltres’ “Inferno Wings” attack if I do the extra 70 damage?
A. Inferno Wings will not apply Weakness, regardless of whether you do the extra 70 damage or not.
== MAGNETIC PULL (Probopass – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Does Probopass’ “Magnetic Pull” attack do 40 damage if the opponent cannot switch their Active Pokemon to the Bench or if the Bench is empty?
A. If you cannot switch the opponent’s Pokemon there is no “new Active Pokemon” to be damaged, so no damage is done.
== MATRON’S ANGER (Wormadam – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I attack with Wormadam’s “Matron’s Anger” and I have 3 parts of a V-Union Pokemon in my discard pile, does that count as three Pokemon for adding to the attack damage?
A. Yes, in this case “Pokemon” in Matron’s Anger’s attack text means “Pokemon Cards”.
== MOONLIT MIRACLE (Clefable – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. For Clefable’s “Moonlit Miracle” attack, if I flip two or more Heads can I search for a Stage 1 card that evolves from one of my Pokemon and then search for the Stage 2 card and evolve it again?
A. No, you must choose your Pokemon first, and then search your deck to evolve those Pokemon.
Q. Can I use Clefable’s “Moonlit Miracle” attack if the only Pokemon I have in play cannot evolve?
A. You can use the attack no matter what, but after flipping coins if you have no Pokemon that can evolve the attack stops there. You wouldn’t get to search your deck since you know there won’t be any effect.
== POWDERY UPPERCUT (Breloom – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If Breloom gets sent to the Bench after using its “Spore Ball” attack, can it still use its “Powdery Uppercut” attack on the next turn?
A. Yes, because it is a game state check and not an attack effect.
== SLOSH ‘N’ CRASH (Dracovish V – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I use Dracovish V’s “Slosh ‘n’ Crash” attack against Honchkrow V with its “Boss Pockets” Ability, do I get to do 120 more damage for each Pokemon Tool attached to Honchkrow V?
A. No, Slosh ‘n’ Crash only does 120 more damage regardless of whether one or more tools are attached.
== TICKING TERROR (Spiritomb – SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If my opponent has no Weakness and I use Spiritomb’s “Ticking Terror” attack, will I do extra damage on my next turn due to Weakness?
A. If a Pokemon has no Weakness printed on the card, Ticking Terror will give that Pokemon a x2 Weakness to Darkness.
Q. If I use Spiritomb’s “Ticking Terror” attack against the Defending Pokemon and their owner moves it to the Bench during their next turn, does its Weakness return to normal?
A. Yes, since it is an attack effect, moving that Pokemon to the Bench removes it.
TRAINER CARDS:
== CAFE MASTER (SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. If I have Alcremie with the “Additional Order” Ability in the Active Spot and then play Cafe Master, does my turn end immediately if I retreat Alcremie?
A. No, your turn does not end because Alcremie was active when you played Cafe Master.
ENERGY CARDS:
== DOUBLE TURBO ENERGY (SW:Brilliant Stars)
Q. Can I use Dusknoir’s “Special Transfer” Ability after I attack but before my turn ends to move Special Energy cards (such as Double Turbo Energy) off of my Active Pokemon?
A. No, once your attack ends, your turn ends.
Q. If I have 2 Double Turbo Energy Cards attached to one of my Pokemon, would its Attack damage be reduced by 20 or 40?
A. It would be reduced by 40 since each card’s reduction would apply.
GENERAL GAMEPLAY:
== POKEMON V
Q. What kinds of Pokemon are considered to be “Pokemon V”?
A. Pokemon V includes Pokemon V, Pokemon VMAX, Pokemon VSTAR, and Pokemon V-UNION.
Q. If I use a VSTAR Ability can I also use a VSTAR Attack in the same game?
A. When you use a VSTAR Ability or Attack you flip over your VSTAR marker. Once that marker is set, you cannot use another VSTAR Attack or Ability during that game.
