Lum Berry – Space-Time Smackdown
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Lum Berry (A2 149) is a Trainer card. Specifically, it is a Pokémon Tool. Lum Berry’s effect activates during the end of the turn, if the Pokémon to which it is attached is affected by at least one Special Condition. Lum Berry will then remove any and all Special Conditions on that Pokémon, before discarding itself. Lum Berry is available as a ♦♦ rare.
There are no card effects that apply to all Trainer cards, for good or ill. There are four cards with effects that reference Tools. Pachirisu ex (A2 061, 183, 198) and Skarmory (A2 111; P-A 039) have attacks that do more damage if that respective Pokémon has a Tool attached to it. Rotom (A2 062, 164) has an attack for (C) that hits harder if the opponent’s Active has a Tool attached. Starly (A2 132) has an attack for (C) that discards all Tools attached to the opponent’s Active, then does 20 damage, for (C).
Beyond all that, just remember that, besides the general battle for deck space, all Pokémon in Pocket can only have one Tool equipped at a time. If you’re not making use of something like Pachirisu ex or Skarmory, you may not have that many slots in your deck dedicated to Tools. Which makes the competition for those slots – if they exist – even fiercer.
Lum Berry has a potent but specialized effect. If your opponent is affecting yours with Special Conditions, Lum Berry is essentially a blank Tool. If your opponent is utilizing Special Conditions, we need to consider timing. Lum Berry will remove all Special Conditions before they have a chance to do anything themselves. It will not remove them before some other card effects care. It can also backfire by… working. Let me explain.
The “Venoshock” attack found on several Pokémon1, checks to see if the opponent’s Active Pokémon is Poisoned right before it does damage. Lum Berry doesn’t work until the end of the turn, so Venoshock will enjoy doing extra damage; all the combo misses out on is the 10 damage from Poison that occurs during the Pokémon Checkup. Back to Pachirisu ex and Skarmory, if your hits them with a Special Condition, Lum Berry will remove it and discard themselves… reducing the damage they do with their attacks.
We only have Giant Cape (A2 147) and Rocky Helmet (A2 148) for alternatives, besides not using any Tools at all. Unfortunately for Lum Berry, all three are likely to be better options. Not running any Tools at all means more space for Pokémon, Items, and/or Supporters. It is entirely possible for the Giant Cape and Rocky Helmet to not matter, but many match-ups are won (or lost) by 20 damage. Which is why we see successful decks running Giant Cape, Rocky Helmet, both, or neither… but few if any running Lum Berry.
Rating: 1.5/5
Lum Berry isn’t a bad idea, but in the current metagame, it isn’t as useful as space for other cards, including the other Tools. It’s actually gotten worse since it’s release in Space-Time Smackdown. We now have Pokémon Center Lady (A2b 070, 089). Yes, she’s a Supporter and thus can only be used during your turn, but she also removes all Special Conditions from the Pokémon you select, while also healing 30 damage. Don’t forget that retreating or evolving also removes Special Conditions!
1Muk (A1 175), Paldean Clodsire ex (A2b 048, 085, 093), Sandalit (A1a 015, 071), and Scolipede (A1a 055)
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