Talk:Super Rod (Neo Genesis 103)

This card is a good example of something that confuses me about Bulbapedia. For a Pokémon card to be considered the same card as an earlier release, it has to have everything that has an effect on gameplay (weakness, retreat cost, attack cost, HP, etc.) be the same, barring some wording updates in effects. But the requirements for Trainer cards to be considered the same card as an earlier release seems to be simply "It has the same name." The effects of this card in particular are so drastically different that the Super Rod Trainer card and the Super Rod Item card should probably be considered two distinct cards that have the same name, the way Pokémon cards are treated. Not sure if there's some reason that they're handled differently, but I just thought I'd bring up the inconsistency. Hyper Turtwig (talk) 17:49, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

That's how it actually works if you play the card game. We reflect how these cards are treated in real life, in real tournaments, and in real situations. Players are allowed to play the Neo Genesis Trainer print of Super Rod in their Modified legal decks in place of the Noble Victories Item card. They are officially treated as the same card with the same text. The old Neo Genesis print does not exist anymore. When playing the old card, players must use a reference card from Noble Victories, and whenever they play a Neo Super Rod, the reference card's effect is used. The way this is determined for Trainer cards is that both prints must have the exact same name in at least one of the languages that the rulings are based on (English or Japanese). For Pokémon cards, they must have the exact same names, exact same stats, and exact same attacks (attack cost, damage, effects, AND attack names: Eevee and Eevee are NOT considered the same because of their attack names differing) and exact same Abilities/Powers/Pokémon Powers/Bodies (Powers, Bodies, and Pokémon Powers are officially considered the same as each other, but Abilities are different.) Pokémon cards and Trainer cards, although both are Pokémon Trading cards, are radically different in their gameplay styles, rulings, and are treated so differently on Bulbapedia because of the fact that they are so radically different. You are essentially saying something comparable to "We do this for the manga chapters, why isn't it happening to the anime episodes?" Trainer cards are just as distinct from Pokémon cards as the anime episode and manga chapter comparison. It is extremely difficult to try and say we should do the exact same thing for both, because it just doesn't work that way. It simply doesn't. ^Maverick_Nate 19:37, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Okay, thanks for the explanation. I wasn't entirely aware of all the specifics involved. Hyper Turtwig (talk) 20:14, 30 May 2013 (UTC)

You have made me start thinking about an important aspect of the TCG: Card Rulings, and how we should be writing information about them. So thank you! Your confusion was not for naught. If you didn't understand what was going on, I'm sure there are others who don't as well. ^Maverick_Nate 01:30, 31 May 2013 (UTC)