Despite outright bans being a relatively rare event for the Pokémon TCG, this infinite damage combo has brought the banhammer hurtling down on one card in particular.
Flapple, originally released in 2020 as part of the Sword & Shield-Rebel Clash set, has been banned from the game's Expanded format in a move effective from August 1. This comes according to a post on the game's Japanese website - a post in English will likely be forthcoming.
Expanded, as you might expect, allows Pokémon TCG deckbuilders to draw from a wider pool of cards than the Standard format (anything after and including the 2011 Black & White series is fair game), though not as many as the anything-goes Unlimited format. This breadth allows for powerful combos, including, in this case, a combo which allowed players to inflict infinite damage on their opponents. This video from PTCG Radio explains the ban in more depth.
The combo in question uses the recently released Vitality Forest card to evolve Grass-type Pokémon on the turn they're put into play. This means that existing combos allowing for high (or infinite) levels of card draw can reliably retrieve and evolve Flapple, should it find its way back into its player's deck.
Flapple's ability, Apple Drop, provides the key piece of the combo. Once per turn, it allows you to place two damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon, at the cost of having to shuffle Flapple back into your deck.
Ordinarily, this would be a serious drawback, as Pokémon can only evolve after the turn they've been played. This means that rebuilding Flapple would take considerable time, even with a powerful card draw combo. However, Vitality Forest circumvents this problem, allowing players to evolve Flapple once again with ease, allowing them to dish out two more damage counters and repeat the cycle.
Ingenious and deadly, this combo was a step too far for the folks at Pokémon TCG. Thanks to their ruling, the Appleocalypse will be over as of August 1.
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