How to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game
Two players battle with decks of 60 cards. Knock out your opponent's Pokémon to take Prize cards. Take all six and you win.
Your deck
A deck is exactly 60 cards. You can have up to 4 copies of any card with the same name, except basic Energy, which has no limit. A deck has three kinds of card:
- Pokémon: Basic Pokémon go straight into play. Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokémon evolve from them.
- Energy: powers your Pokémon's attacks. Each attack shows the Energy it needs.
- Trainers: Items (play as many as you like), Supporters (one per turn) and Stadiums (one per turn, stays in play for both players).
Setting up
- Shuffle and draw 7 cards.
- Put one Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon, and up to five more on your Bench.
- If you have no Basic Pokémon, show your hand, shuffle it back and draw 7 again (a mulligan). Your opponent may draw one extra card for each mulligan you take.
- Put the top 6 cards of your deck aside face down as your Prize cards.
- Flip a coin to see who goes first, then turn your Pokémon face up.
Your turn
- Draw a card.
- Do any of these, in any order:
- Put Basic Pokémon on your Bench (5 at most).
- Evolve Pokémon (not on the turn they came into play, and not on either player's first turn).
- Attach one Energy card from your hand to one of your Pokémon.
- Play Trainer cards: any number of Items, one Supporter and one Stadium.
- Retreat your Active Pokémon once, by discarding Energy equal to its Retreat Cost.
- Use Abilities.
- Attack with your Active Pokémon. Attacking ends your turn. The player going first can't attack, or play a Supporter, on their very first turn.
Damage and knock outs
Damage counters go on the defending Pokémon. When its damage equals or passes its HP, it's Knocked Out and you take a Prize card (two or three for some powerful Pokémon, as printed on the card, such as Pokémon ex). Weakness usually doubles damage; Resistance reduces it. The defending player then chooses a new Active Pokémon from their Bench.
Special Conditions
Attacks can leave a Pokémon Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed or Poisoned. Between turns you check them (Pokémon Checkup). Retreating or evolving cures them.
How to win
- Take all of your Prize cards.
- Knock out your opponent's last Pokémon in play.
- Your opponent has no cards to draw at the start of their turn.
First steps
Start with a ready-made theme deck or a Battle Deck, learn one deck well, then change a few cards at a time. Build it in Vault, check it has 60 cards, and use Test hands to see how often you start with a Basic Pokémon.