The rule is that you can't play a trainer card if The Game knows it will have no effect. That rule doesn't care if you know, or your opponent knows, or if you both know, it only cares if The Game knows. And what we just learned is that The Game doesn't know what's in your hand (unless there's nothing there) - this wasn't an exception made for PUS or even for attacks in general, this was a change in a fundamental game mechanic. If you still can't "fail a hand search", then there's a rather large unexplained contradiction here.
EDIT: Shino, you're half right - you could play the cards for no effects the way they alone are written. But there really is an actual game rule that says you can't play a Trainer card for no known effect, not counting the card's cost or the discarding of the card itself. Max Potion does not involve any unknown factors, so you can tell immediately whether playing it will have no effect. The rule does cover any choices you make - any choice you make for your card that leads to no effect is not a legal choice, which means you can't choose Carnivine for Rare Candy. What just became questionable is whether you can play Rare Candy without an applicable Stage 2 pokemon, as it would be in your hand and The Game no longer knows your hand.
EDIT: Shino, you're half right - you could play the cards for no effects the way they alone are written. But there really is an actual game rule that says you can't play a Trainer card for no known effect, not counting the card's cost or the discarding of the card itself. Max Potion does not involve any unknown factors, so you can tell immediately whether playing it will have no effect. The rule does cover any choices you make - any choice you make for your card that leads to no effect is not a legal choice, which means you can't choose Carnivine for Rare Candy. What just became questionable is whether you can play Rare Candy without an applicable Stage 2 pokemon, as it would be in your hand and The Game no longer knows your hand.
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