Rulings - Pokémon Rulings Compendium

If Ariados' "Leech Life" attack does 30 damage but the opponent's Active Pokemon has only 10 HP remaining, how many damage counters will be removed from Ariados?: Leech Life does 30 damage, which is not affected by the fact that the KO only required 10 damage. Therefore, Ariados will remove 3 damage counters, or all if there are less than 3.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

Can I use Mantine's "Group Swim" attack to put one half of a Lugia LEGEND card in my hand?: Yes. Either half of the Lugia LEGEND card is still considered "a Water-type Pokemon", so you can search for it with Group Swim.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

When I use Typhlosion's "Flare Destroy" attack, which player chooses the Energy card to discard from the Defending Pokemon?: The player that used the attack gets to choose which Energy cards get discarded from both the Active and Defending Pokemon.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

If the Defending Pokemon doesn't have any Energy cards attached to it, does Typhlosion's "Flare Destroy" attack still require Typhlosion to discard an Energy from itself?: Yes, if the attacking Pokemon has any Energy cards attached, it must discard one of them.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

If my opponent has less than 3 cards in his or her deck, so that I can't reorder the top 3 cards, can I still use Slowking's "Second Sight" Poke-POWER to look at the remaining cards in the deck?: Yes, you look at your opponent's remaining cards, then put them back in the deck in any order.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

Can I use Ninetales' "Roast Reveal" Poke-POWER when I have no cards in my deck?: Yes, you do as much of the power as you are able; discard 1 Fire Energy card from your hand, then the Poke-POWER's effect ends, without drawing any cards.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

Can Typhlosion's "Afterburner" Poke-POWER be used if there is no Energy in the discard pile, just to place a damage counter on one of my Pokemon?: No. Since you can't attach an Energy from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon, you can't use the rest of the power.

Source: HeartGold & SoulSilver FAQ (2010-02-11), PUI Rules Team (2010-02-11)

If I use Pokemon Communication to put a Pokemon into my deck, am I allowed to voluntarily fail and choose to take no Pokemon out of my deck?: The contents of your deck is not public knowledge so the deck search can fail, even if you've just put a Pokemon into the deck.

Source: PUI Rules Team (2010-02-04)

If my opponent uses Pichu's "Playground" attack on the first turn of the game, and I am going second, can I evolve the Pokemon I put onto my Bench with "Playground" since I did not put them in play on my turn?: 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.

Source: PUI Rules Team (2010-02-04)

May I use Ambipom [G]'s "Tail Code" attack if my opponent only has an Active Pokemon and no Benched Pokemon?: Yes you can, although it won't move or discard the energy. There must be a Pokemon on the bench or you can't move the energy off the defending Pokemon.

Source: PUI Rules Team (2010-01-28)