To Be A Fake Master
Game Text Grammar
Proper game text grammar on a card
can REALLY make a difference when making fakes. The more
realistic the attack or Power sounds, then the more
realistic your ENTIRE card will be.
Here's the list. Text that include
"..." refer to other text that have no real relevance to the
examples.
Attacks:
Stasis ailments
are CAPITALIZED. If an attack puts a
Pokémon to sleep, then the word "Asleep"
will be capitalized in that manner. You do NOT
leave it lowercased like "asleep",
"paralyzed", etc. It should be
"Asleep", and so forth.
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A MULTIPLIER
attack (50x, 20+, 40-) that just does damage is
typed:
"Does XX damage..."
(Example: Kingler's
Flail attack is typed: Flail
Does 10 damage...).
This attack text goes
straight to the damage, so this is what you
type.
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A MULTIPLIER
attack, or an attack that does extra damage
apart from what damage it normally does, that
does damage only after something else happened
is typed:
"This attack does XX
damage..."
(Exmaple: Beedrill's
Twineedle attack is typed:
Twineedle Flip 2 coins.
This attack does...)
This text is different
than the one above because of the extra
whatevers that happen before damage is done.
(The above one goes straight to the
damage)
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Coin flip attacks
are typed:
"Flip a coin. If heads,
....".
There is a period
seperating the "flip a coin" part and the "If
heads" part. After "if heads", there is a
comma.
For attacks that do
MULTIPLE coin flips, replace the "a" with the
number you want (and add an "s" to coin for
proper grammar).
For attacks that do
multiple coin flips based on something else
(like Energy on the Defending Pokémon,
etc), then the "Flip a coin" part will
be:
"Flip a number of coins equal to
[something]. This
attack....".
Then replace
[something] with anything you
want.
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Coin flip attacks
that have both a head and a tails effect are
typed:
"Flip a coin. If heads, ....; if
tails, ..."
The same goes as the
above attack with heads, however AFTER the
"heads" effect goes through, it's followed by a
colon (;) (NOT a period or comma), and
the tails part continues. The "if" in "if tails"
is NOT capitalized.
(Example: Jungle
Flareon's Quick attack.)
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If one of those
attacks does extra damage for a heads, then the
attack should be:
"Flip a coin. If heads, this attack
does XX damage plus YY more damage; if tails,
this attack does XX damage."
(Example: Jungle
Flareon's Quick attack.) Technically you're
repeating yourself, however this is the way
Wizards does it.
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If an attack does
nothing on tails (or heads), then the attack
should be:
"Flip a coin. If tails, this attack
does nothing."
(Example: Fossil
Moltres' Dive Bomb attack.)
That's how it's written
out.
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Stasis ailment
attack are:
"(Flip a coin. If heads,) the
Defending Pokémon is
now..."
The "flip a coin. if
heads" part is optional (in that case,
capitalize the T in "the".
The word "Defending
Pokémon" is capitalized in that manner.
It is NOT supposed to be lower cased.
A "then" may be added in
front of "the Defenidng...", IF and ONLY IF the
attack does not sound correct without a word
"then". (Like if the attack was: During your
opponent's turn, if your opponent attaches an
Energy Card to the Defending Pokémon,
then the Defending Pokémon is now
Paralyzed. Without the "then" part, the attack
would sound awkward.)
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Attacks that
don't do Weakness or Resistance to the
Defending Pokémon are typed:
"Don't apply Weakness and Resistance
for this attack. (Any other effects
that happen after applying Weakness and
Resistance still
happen.)"
(Example: Sabrina's
Drowzee's Mind Shock attack.)
Notice the words
Weakness and Resistance are capitalized in that
manner. Also note that the part in parenthesis
"( )", are in ITALICS.
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Attacks that
don't do Weakness or Resistance to the
BENCHED Pokémon are typed:
"(Don't apply Weakness
and Resistance for Benched
Pokémon.)"
(Example: Fossil
Magneton's Self Destruct attack.)
Notice the words
Weakness and Resistance are capitalized in that
manner. Also note that it's ALL in
ITALICS and in parenthesis.
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If an attack as
an effect AFTER you apply Weakness or
Resistance, it shold be typed:
"(after applying
Weakness and
Resistance)"
(Example: Erika's
Vileplume's Mega Drain attack.)
Notice the words
Weakness and Resistance are capitalized in that
manner. Also note that it's ALL in
ITALICS and in parenthesis, and that this
phrase DOES NOT end with a period.
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Attacks that do
damage or other effects to an unknown
Pokémon are typed:
"Choose X of your opponent's
Pokémon. This attack
does..."
(Example: Dark
Arbok's Stare attack.)
First the attack tells
you to choose X number of Pokémon (in
that EXACT phrase). Then it used the "This
attack does" phrase.
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Attacks that do
damage or other effects to a BENCHED
Pokémon are typed:
"If your opponent has any Benched
Pokémon, choose X of them (or 1 if he or
she only has 1). This attack
does..."
(Example: Erika's
Venusaur's Wide Solarbeam attack.)
The "if your opponent
...." phrase is added to the attack. If the
attack tells you to specifically choose 2 or
more Pokémon, then the "or 1 if he or
she..." part of the attack is added. (Otherwise
don't add in that part of the attack.)
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Attacks that do
damage or other effects to a BENCHED
Pokémon are typed:
"If your opponent has any Benched
Pokémon, choose X of them (or 1 if he or
she only has 1). This attack
does..."
(Example: Erika's
Venusaur's Wide Solarbeam attack.)
The "if your opponent
...." phrase is added to the attack. If the
attack tells you to specifically choose 2 or
more Pokémon, then the "or 1 if he or
she..." part of the attack is added. (Otherwise
don't add in that part of the attack.)
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Discarding
attacks that tell you to discard something as a
COST to use the attack are
written:
"Discard [something]
attached to [one of your own
Pokémon] in order to use this
attack."
(Example: Any
Flamethrower attack.)
Remember, this form of
discarding is a COST in orde to use the
attack.
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Discarding
attacks that tell you to discard something as an
EFFECT of using the attack are
written:
"Discard [something]
attached to [a
Pokémon]."
(Example: Blaine's
Ninetails attack.)
Remember, this form of
discarding is a EFFECT in orde to use the
attack. You can still use the attack if you
can't discard what's stated.
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Discarding
attacks that tell you to discard something
SPECIFIC in order to alter the final result of
the attack are written:
"You may discard (any number) of
[something] attached to [one of your
Pokémon] when you use this attack. If
you do, ...."
(Example: Fossil
Moltres' Wildfire attack.)
Since this is optional,
the "you may" part has been added. "(Any
Number)" could be 2, "up to 5", all, or anything
else you can think of. Then after the sentence
about discarding, it adds the "if you do" part.
That's so if you did discard, then the effect
happens, and if you did it, no special effect
happens
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Attacks that
allow you to search for something are
written:
"Search your deck for [xxxx]
. Show that card to your opponent, then put it
(into your hand)/(onto your Bench). Shuffle your
deck afterward."
(Example: Misty's
Tentacool (rare) attack.)
If you're searching
for:
a Basic
Pokémon, then the [xxxx] on
the attack will be:
"a Basic Pokémon
card"
an Evolution
Pokémon card, then the [xxxx]
on the attack will be:
"an Evolution card"
a SPECIFIC
Basic Pokémon, then the [xxxx]
on the attack will be:
"a Basic Pokémon named
[something]"
a SPECIFIC
Evolution Pokémon card, then the
[xxxx] on the attack will be:
"an Evolution card named
[something]"
any
Pokémon card, then the [xxxx]
on the attack will be:
"a Basic Pokémon or
Evolution card..."
a Basic Energy
card, then the [xxxx] on the attack
will be:
"a Basic Energy
card"
And so on. If you can
search your deck for ANY card, then you don't
need to add in the "Show that card to your
opponent" part.
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If an attack
CHANGES the base damage of another attack, it is
written:
"During your next turn, [this
Pokémon]'s [attack]'s base
damage is [varies]"
(Example: Fossil
Scyther and Lt. Surge's Rattata's attack of that
type.)
The "varies" part...
well... varies! On card like Scyther, it's
specific, only if the damage done is
specific.
"....Base Damage is 60 instead of
30."
For cards which damage
is UNSPECIFIC, like Lt. Surge's Rattata's Quick
attack, it only says doubled or tripled or
whatever... but only because it's not specific
on what the attack may do.
"....Base Damage is
doubled."
It could do 10 base
damage, or 30 base damage. To avoid confusion
(and extra long game text), it's written as
doubled.
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If an attack
switches your opponent's Pokémon, it is
written:
If your opponent has any Benched
Pokémon, he or she chooses 1 of them and
switches it with his or her Active
Pokémon. (Do the damage
before switching
Pokémon.)
(Example: Jungle
Rhydon's Ram attack.)
Note the "Do the damage
before switching Pokémon." part, and also
note it's in parenthesis "( )", and in
italics.
The same goes with if an
attach has you switch the Pokémon with
one on your bench.... just replace "his or her"
or whatever with "your" and such.
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Remember, never
substitute this list with a REAL card. If you
have any questions on any of this, try to find a
releated Pokémon TCG card and read it off
there.
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COMMON
Attacks:
Some attacks are seen
all the time. This page will list all the
different common attacks and how to write
them.
(NOTE: Replace all
instances of [THIS POKÉMON] with
the name of the Pokémon card you're
making.)
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One Time Use Attacks
(like Hyper Needle and Pot
Smash):
"Flip a coin. If tails, this attack does
nothing. EIther way, you can't use this attack
as long as [THIS POKÉMON] stays
in play (even putting [THIS
POKÉMON] on the Bench won't let you
use it again.)"
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Growth:
"Flip a coin. If heads, you may attach up
to 2 [certain] Energy cards from your
hand to [THIS POKÉMON]."
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Quick
Attack:
"Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does
10 damage plus 20 more damage; if tails, this
attack does 10 damage."
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Flamethrower:
"Discard 1 [FIRE] Energy card
attached to [THIS POKÉMON] in
order to use this attack."
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Water
Gun/Hydropump:
"Does XX damage plus 10 more damage for
each [WATER] Energy attached to
[THIS POKÉMON] but not used to
pay for thgis attack's ENergy costs. You can't
add more than 20 damage in this way."
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Thunderbolt:
"Discard all Energy cards attached to
[THIS POKÉMON] in order to use
this attack."
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Damage Prevention
(like Growl and Pounce):
"If the Defending Pokémon attacks
[THIS POKÉMON] during your
opponent's next turn, and damage done by the
attack is reduced by 10 (after
applying Weakness and Resistance).
(Benching either Pokémon ends
this effect.)"
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Selfdestruct:
"Does XX damage to each Pokémon on
each player's Bench. (Don't apply
Weakness or Resistance for Benched
Pokémon.) [THIS
POKÉMON] does YY damage to
itself."
(Note: YY is generally the
Pokémon's actual HP plus 20. So if the
Pokémon's HP was 60, then YY would
probably be 80... so 80 damage would be done to
itself.)
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Agility:
"Flip a coin. If heads, during your
opponent's next turn, prevent all effects of
attracks, including damage, done to [THIS
POKÉMON]."
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Flail:
"Does XX damage times the number of
damage counters on [THIS
POKÉMON]."
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Prophecy:
"Look at up to 3 cards from the top of
Either player's deck and rearrange them as you
like."
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Double-edge:
"[THIS POKÉMON] does XX
damage to itself."
(Note: XX is ALWAYS the same number as
how much damage it does. If the attack does 40
damage, then XX is 40 also.)
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Energy Removal
(like Hyper Beam):
"If the Defending Pokémon has any
Energy cards attached to it, choose 1 of them
and discard it."
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Other common attacks
(like Metronome) are coming soon. ... Also
remember the game text for attacks are always
changing every so often, so check on the latest
example for some of these attacks for a final
say so.
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Pokémon
Powers:
Unless the
Pokémon Power can ONLY be used on the
Bench (or for some other reason), Pokémon
Powers always have the standard text. If the
Pokémon Power is CONTINUOUS
(meaning that it's "always on"), then the
standard text is:
"This power stops working if
[this Pokémon] is Asleep,
Confused, or Paralyzed."
If the Pokémon
Power is ACTIVATED (meaning that you have
to use it for the effect to work), then the
standard text is:
"This power can't be used if
[this Pokémon] is Asleep,
Confused, or Paralyzed."
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If the
Pokémon Power is activated by an
attack that does damage, then the BEGINNING part
of the Pokémon Power is typed:
"If an opponent's attack does damage
to [this Pokémon] (even if
[this Pokémon] is Knocked Out),
...."
(Example: Koga's
Muk's Energy Drain Power).
The "even if this
Pokémon" is added as a ruling, just so
that the power still will work if it's knocked
out.
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If the Power
ONLY works while the Pokémon is
somewhere, then the BEGINNING part of the Power
is typed:
"As long as [this
Pokémon] is (your Active
Pokémon)/(Benched)..."
(Example: Brock's
Rhydon's Bench Guard power)
If it's either the
Active Pokémon OR Benched,
it'll work, but not otherwise.
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If the Power can
only be used ONCE a turn, then the
BEGINNING part of the Power is typed:
"Once during your turn
(before you attack),
..."
(Example: Fossil
Dragonite's Step In power)
Note the "before you
attack" part is in ITALICS and in
parenthesis "( )", and there is NO comma or
anything seperating the two parts of the
phrase.
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Remember, never
substitute this list with a REAL card. If you
have any questions on any of this, try to find a
releated Pokémon TCG card and read it off
there.
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Other:
Key words that can NOT
be lowercased are:
- Bench*
- Knock
Out*
- Evolve*
- Basic
- Pokémon
- Trainer
- Pokémon
Power
- The Name of a
Pokémon/Attack/Power/etc...
- Weakness
- Resistance
- Asleep
- Confused
- Poisoned
- Paralyzed
- Energy
- Prize
- "Defending
Pokémon"
- "Active
Pokémon"
- Stadium
(* This also includes
other words which are basically the same... like
Bench, Benched, Benching, etc.)
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Key words that can NOT
be uppercased are:
- damage*
- counter
- cost
- pay
- attack*
- draw
- deck
- discard
pile
- card
- attach*
- in play
- opponent*
- shuffle
- coin
- player*
- itself
- nothing
(* This also includes
other words which are basically the same... like
attach, attaching, attached, etc.)
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The text on the
TOP of an Evolved Pokémon is this:
Stage 1
Pokémon:
"Evolves from
[Pokémon] Put
[this Pokémon] on the Basic
Pokémon"
Stage 2 Pokémon:
"Evolves from
[Pokémon] Put
[this Pokémon] on the Stage 1
card"
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Pokémon
Tool game text is written:
Attach [XXXXX] to 1 of
your Pokémon that doesn't have a
Pokémon Tool attached to it.
[XXXXX] is
replaced with the card's title.
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Remember, never
substitute this list with a REAL card. If you
have any questions on any of this, try to find a
releated Pokémon TCG card and read it off
there.
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to "To Be A Fake Master"
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