How to play
One Active Pokémon, a Bench of five, and six Prize cards between you and the win.
How it feels
Pokémon is a short race for prizes. You evolve, attach one Energy a turn, and try to knock out whatever sits across from you. It is friendlier than a long constructed night and more structured than a kitchen-table mash — the turn has a checklist, and the prizes are sitting right there.
How you win
Take all your Prize cards, KO every Pokémon your opponent has in play, or they cannot draw at the start of their turn.
What you need
A 60-card deck, damage counters (dice work), a coin or the official app for flips, and room for Active, Bench, and six Prizes. Battle Academy and two theme decks already include everything. Loose boosters do not make a legal first deck.
Shuffle a 60-card deck. Draw seven. Put a Basic Pokémon into the Active Spot. Bench up to five more Basics. Set six Prize cards face-down from the top of the remaining deck. If you cannot put a Basic in Active, mulligan: shuffle, draw seven again; the opponent may draw extra. Coin flip for who goes first — that player usually cannot attack on turn one.
The table
One Pokémon. This is the only one that can attack. If it is KO’d, promote a Benched Pokémon.
Up to five Pokémon waiting. They can use some Abilities. They cannot attack until they become Active.
Hidden. Trainers, Energy, and extra Pokémon wait here. No end-of-turn discard for size.
Six face-down cards from your deck. You take one (sometimes more) when you KO an opposing Pokémon.
Draw from the deck. Used Trainers, discarded Energy, and KO’d Pokémon go to the discard pile. Empty deck at draw = loss.
One Stadium in play for both players. A new Stadium discards the old one.
A turn
01
Always draw one to start your turn. No card, no turn — you lose.
02
Play Basics to the Bench, evolve, attach one Energy, play Trainers, use Abilities, retreat once.
03
Pay the Energy shown on the Active Pokémon’s attack. Damage sits on the Pokémon as counters.
04
When you KO an opposing Pokémon, take one Prize (more for some bigger Pokémon). Then they promote a new Active.
The cards
Basic → Stage 1 → Stage 2, or a rulebox Pokémon (ex, V, VMAX). HP in the corner.
Fuel for attacks. Usually one attachment per turn. Types match the attack cost.
Items are free to spam. One Supporter and one Stadium per turn.
Combat and keywords
Only the Active Pokémon. Discard or attach the Energy the attack asks for, then apply damage and any extra text.
Once per turn, discard Energy equal to the retreat cost and swap Active with a Benched Pokémon. Some cards retreat for free.
A Pokémon power that is not an attack. Read when it is allowed — some are once per turn, some sit there.
Printed on the defending Pokémon. Weakness usually adds damage. Resistance subtracts. Type vs type, not “whatever you feel.”
KO an opposing Pokémon, take the printed number of Prize cards (usually one; more for rulebox Pokémon). You choose which face-down prizes.
Ways to play
Store events, TCG Live ranked, anyone building a “real” list.
60 cards, current regulation marks. Friday Night Pokémon and official events.
Anyone who has never set prizes.
Ready-made decks that teach the turn in order. The right first box.
People who want to practice before a store, or who have no local table.
Free official client with a built-in tutorial and the same Standard rules.
Print finish
Treatments do not change the rules text. They do change the catalog row — tap a finish to shop it, or open the desk note to see why collectors pay extra.
Common / Uncommon
The bulk of a set. Same Pokémon name still shares one character dossier here.
Legal if the card’s regulation mark is legal. Rarity is not a rules type.
Holo
Foil treatment of a playable card. Usually the same game text as the non-holo.
Same card for play. Foil does not change attacks or HP.
ex / Double Rare
A rulebox Pokémon. Worth extra Prize cards when KO’d.
Legal as that printed card. It is not the same card as the non-ex with the same name.
Illustration rare
Full-art chase of an existing card. Collectors hunt these; decks can play the cheap version.
If the game text matches, it is that card. Art is collectible.
Special illustration
The big alt-art. Same card for play, different row in this catalog.
Same card as the regular printing of that name and text. Not a new attack.
Promo
Stamped or stamped-set extras. Check the collector number.
Legal when the card is on the current Standard list. A stamp does not ban it or make it legal.
Watch someone play
Getting started with the Pokémon TCG
The Official Pokémon Channel · 4 min
Keep going
These are publisher pages — not recaps. Use them when the video is not enough.
Go deeper
Same map for every game on TCSell. Open a card type, a way to play, a finish, or a how-it-works note.
Card type
How it works
Way to play
Print finish
The bulk of a set. Same Pokémon name still shares one character dossier here.
Foil treatment of a playable card. Usually the same game text as the non-holo.
A rulebox Pokémon. Worth extra Prize cards when KO’d.
Full-art chase of an existing card. Collectors hunt these; decks can play the cheap version.
The big alt-art. Same card for play, different row in this catalog.
Stamped or stamped-set extras. Check the collector number.
