SV: Journey Together – FAQ

Below are the FAQs for the new set starting Prereleases this weekend. March 15th 2025.
Enjoy!

POKEMON ABILITIES:

== DEFIANT HORN (Hop’s Dubwool – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I use Hop’s Dubwool’s “Defiant Horn” Ability, who chooses which Benched Pokemon is moved up?
A. The person using the Ability get to choose.

== EXPLODING NEEDLES (Maractus – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I attack Maractus that has the “Exploding Needles” Ability with a damaged Lillie’s Comfey’s “Fade Out” attack, would I put 6 damage counters on Lillie’s Comfey and knock it out before it goes to the hand?
A. No, Lillie’s Comfey would go to the hand first and then Exploding Needles would be triggered and find no valid target.

== FAIRY ZONE (Lillie’s Clefairy ex – SV:Journey Together)

Q. Will Lillie’s Clefairy ex’s “Fairy Zone” Ability give a Weakness to {N} type Pokemon that don’t currently have a Weakness?
A. Yes it will!

== FLASHING DRAW (Iono’s Kilowattrel – SV:Journey Together)

Q. Can I use Iono’s Kilowattrel’s “Flashing Draw” Ability if I have no cards in my deck?
A. No.  The effect of Flashing Draw is to draw cards, so if you have no cards in your deck or if you already have 6 or more cards in hand you can’t use it.

== INVITING WINK (Lillie’s Ribombee – SV:Journey Together)

Q. Can you use Lillie’s Ribombee’s “Inviting Wink” Ability if your opponent’s Bench is full?
A. No. It’s public knowledge that you can’t put down any additional Basic Pokemon on your opponent’s Bench, so you cannot use the Ability.

Q. When using Lillie’s Ribombee’s “Inviting Wink” Ability to put Pokemon onto my opponent’s Bench, are they allowed to evolve those Pokemon on their next turn since they just came into play?
A. Yes, as long as it’s not the opponent’s first turn of the game they can evolve those Pokemon if they are able to do so. It is a basic game rule that neither player can normally evolve any Pokemon on their first turn of the game, even if they are going second.

Q. If I use Lillie’s Ribombee’s “Inviting Wink” Ability and my opponent has Basic Pokemon in their hand that I don’t want to put in play, do I have to choose at least one Pokemon?
A. No, you can choose to put zero Pokemon onto the opponent’s Bench.

== MAGMA SURGE (Magmortar – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I have Magmortar with the “Magma Surge” Ability, does it place 3 total damage counters for Burn between turns?
A. No, this is an additive effect, so during Pokemon Checkup each Burned Pokemon takes two damage counters for Burn and three more damage counters for Magmortar’s “Magma Surge”. For example, if there is a second Magmortar, Burn would do 2+3+3 for a total of 8 damage counters.

== SECRET FOREST PATH (Toedscruel – SV:Journey Together)

Q. How is Grimmsnarl’s “Shadowy Knot” attack affected by Toedscruel’s “Secret Forest Path” Ability?
A. Reduce the retreat cost by {C}{C}, then calculate the damage done by Shadowy Knot from the remaining retreat cost, if any.

== TRADE (N’s Zoroark ex – SV:Journey Together)

Q. Can I use N’s Zoroark ex’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:

== DROP SHOT (Bombirdier – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I use Bombirdier’s “Drop Shot” attack and accidentally choose an opponent’s Benched Pokemon that can’t be damaged (a Tera Pokemon, for example) do I still have to discard all Energy since I wouldn’t do any damage?
A. Yes, even if you can’t do any damage, you still discard the Energy.

== FADE OUT (Lillie’s Comfey – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I attack Maractus that has the “Exploding Needles” Ability with a damaged Lillie’s Comfey’s “Fade Out” attack, would I put 6 damage counters on Lillie’s Comfey and knock it out before it goes to the hand?
A. No, Lillie’s Comfey would go to the hand first and then Exploding Needles would be triggered and find no valid target.

== FLAMEBODY CANNON (N’s Darmanitan – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I use N’s Darmanitan “Flamebody Cannon” attack but my opponent has no benched Pokemon, do I still have to discard all energy from N’s Darmanitan?
A. Flamebody Cannon requires you to discard all the Energy even if your opponent has no Benched Pokemon.

== SCORCHING CYCLONE (Volcanion ex – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I use Volcanion ex’s “Scorching Cyclone” attack and I have no Benched Pokemon does an Energy get discarded or not?
A. If you have no benched Pokemon no Energy is moved or discarded. The attack damage still happens.

== SHADOWY KNOT (Grimmsnarl – SV:Journey Together)

Q. How is Grimmsnarl’s “Shadowy Knot” attack affected by Toedscruel’s “Secret Forest Path” Ability?
A. Reduce the retreat cost by {C}{C}, then calculate the damage done by Shadowy Knot from the remaining retreat cost, if any.

== VOLTAIC CHAIN (Iono’s Voltorb – SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I use Iono’s Voltorb’s “Voltaic Chain” attack and one of my Pokemon has a Luminous Energy attached, will it do an extra 20 damage for that?

A. Yes. The attack does not specify that it has to be Basic {L} Energy, so Luminous Energy will count while it is attached to one of Iono’s Pokemon.

TRAINER CARDS:

== RUFFIAN (SV:Journey Together)

Q. If I play the Supporter Ruffian, can I choose a Tool on one Pokemon and a Special Energy from another?
A. No, they have to be from the same Pokemon.

ENERGY CARDS:

== SPIKY ENERGY (SV:Journey Together)

Q. If an Active Pokemon has 2 Spiky Energy attached and an opponent’s attack damages them, does the Attacking Pokemon take 2 damage counters or 4?
A. 4 damage counters would be placed on the attacking Pokemon. The effect of Spiky Energy can stack.