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The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a trading card game by The Pokémon Company.

With the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy video games and the EX Ruby and Sapphire expansion, Nintendo started publishing the cards itself. A version of the card game is known as Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, most of the cards of which are compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader. However, sets including and after "EX Hidden Legends" do not include the "-e" in the title and do not have codes for the Nintendo e-Reader, no doubt due to its failure on the market, leading to it not being released in the UK.

Game concepts (Original/ Full Deck)[]

Pokemon Charizard Card

A holographic Pokémon Trading Card Game card. (Charizard) shown.

The game is centered on the concept of the Pokémon battle, similar to that of the video games. The objective of the game is to knock out six of the opponent's Pokémon. There are three types of cards: Pokémon cards, Trainer cards, and Energy cards. Later sets mix the card categories in an attempt to create more exciting gameplay, for example, where Pokémon cards can be used as Energy cards.

The different Pokémon characters have different attacks, defensive capabilities and Hit Points (HP). HP is the amount of damage it takes to knock that Pokémon out. Some Pokémon evolve into bigger and stronger Pokémon. Evolved Pokémon generally have more HP and stronger attacks than the lower stages.

Each Pokémon's attacks are listed on the card along with that attack's energy cost (the amount/type of Energy cards required) and base damage it does. Each player in turn can use one of his/her Pokémon's attacks (provided there is enough energy attached to power it) to do damage to the opponent's active Pokémon (generally referred to as the Defending Pokémon).

Pokémon cards are the actual Pokémon from the video game. Each player have up to six Pokémon in play at a time, one active and the rest on the bench.

A simplified type system was used for the trading card game. Instead of 17 types of Pokémon, only 11 exist (with Darkness and Metal introduced with the Neo Genesis expansion, Dragon with Dragons Exalted, and Fairy with XY Base Set.):

TCG type Color Video game type(s)
Colorless Gray/White/Normal Normal, Flying, Dragon (Base Set through Next Destinies)
Darkness Black Dark
Fighting Brown Fighting, Rock, Ground
Fire Red Fire
Grass Green Grass, Bug, Poison (Generation I through III)
Lightning Yellow Electric
Metal Silver Steel
Psychic Purple Psychic, Ghost,Poison (Generation IV on)
Water Blue Water, Ice
Dragon Gold Dragon (Dragons Exalted On)
Fairy Pink Fairy

Most Pokémon have only one type (a few have two). Weakness and resistance are determined by the Pokémon (unlike the video game, where they are determined by the type of the attack used).

Pokémon that are weak to another type take twice the base damage in an attack. For example, most Fire type Pokémon are weak to Water. So, if a Water type Pokémon attacks a Fire type Pokémon with an attack that has a base damage of 20, that attack would do 40 damage to the Fire type Pokémon.

Some Pokémon have a Resistance to a particular type. So if the opponent attacks with an attack that has a base damage of 40, but a Pokémon has a Resistance to the type of Pokémon the opponent is attacking with of -30, the attack will only do 10 damage instead of 40. If the opponent's attack normally does 30 or less, then the attack will do no damage at all

Most Pokémon feature attacks that would reduce the HP of the opposing active Pokémon. These attacks require Energy, which come in the form of Energy cards. Many attacks require a certain type of energy, depending on the type of attack and the Pokémon using it. There are energies for every type other than Colorless and Dragon. Colorless uses any energy and Dragon often use a mix of two different types of energy. There are also special energy, which have extra effects, like Burning Energy being immune to being discarded.

Trainer cards are support cards that allow players to do something to enhance the game. There are four major types of trainer cards. The first type are item cards. They often help do things like find Pokémon or heal. There are also Tool cards, which are like Item cards, but specifically effect the Pokémon the card is attached too. Supporter cards typically have much larger effects then a Tool card (For example, Potion heals 30, but Pokémon Center Lady heals 60 and removes all Special Conditions). As a result, you can only use 1 supporter per turn. The last type is Stadium Cards, which are always in play one played (until another is played).Beginning level players often do not realize the value of Trainer cards, but experienced tournament level players pay particular attention to the Trainer engine in their decks.

They have released many special types of Pokémon. The first were Pokémon ex, which were stronger then the aferage Pokémon of the time, but took Two Prizes. There were also Level. X and BREAK, which evolve from a Pokémon and give them extra attacks, EXes, which are like exes, but even stronger and don't require to be evolved, and GXes, which are like EXes, but have a powerful once-per-game attacks, and are once again required to be evolved up.

Sets[]

Wizards of the Coast[]

Original series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Pokémon Trading Card Game Base Set 102 January 9, 1999
2 Jungle (Pokémon TCG) Jungle 64 June 16, 1999
3 Fossil (Pokémon TCG) Fossil 62 October 10, 1999
4 Base Set 2 (Pokémon TCG) Base Set 2 130 February 24, 2000
5 Team Rocket (Pokémon TCG) Team Rocket 82
1 Secret
April 24, 2000
6 Gym Heroes (Pokémon TCG) Gym Heroes 132 August 14, 2000
7 Gym Challenge (Pokémon TCG) Gym Challenge 132 October 16, 2000
Neo series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Neo Genesis (Pokémon TCG) Neo Genesis 111 December 16, 2000
2 Neo Discovery (Pokémon TCG) Neo Discovery 75 June 1, 2001
3 Neo Revelation (Pokémon TCG) Neo Revelation 64
2 Secret
September 21, 2001
4 Neo Destiny (Pokémon TCG) Neo Destiny 105
8 Secret
February 28, 2002
Legendary Collection series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Legendary Collection (Pokémon TCG) Legendary Collection 110 May 24, 2002
e-Card series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Expedition Base Set (Pokémon TCG) Expedition 165 September 15, 2002
2 Aquapolis (Pokémon TCG) Aquapolis 147
32 Holofoil
3 Secret
January 15, 2003
3 Skyridge (Pokémon TCG) Skyridge 144
32 Holofoil
6 Secret
May 12, 2003

Nintendo[]

EX series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 EX Ruby & Sapphire (Pokémon TCG) EX Ruby & Sapphire 109 July 18, 2003
2 EX Sandstorm (Pokémon TCG) EX Sandstorm 100 September 18, 2003
3 EX Dragon (Pokémon TCG) EX Dragon 97
3 Secret
November 24, 2003
4 EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua (Pokémon TCG) EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua 95
2 Secret
March 15, 2004
5 EX Hidden Legends (Pokémon TCG) EX Hidden Legends 101
1 Secret
June 14, 2004
6 EX FireRed & LeafGreen (Pokémon TCG) EX FireRed & LeafGreen 112
4 Secret
August 30, 2004
7 EX Team Rocket Returns (Pokémon TCG) EX Team Rocket Returns 109
2 Secret
November 8, 2004
8 EX Deoxys (Pokémon TCG) EX Deoxys 107
1 Secret
February 14, 2005
9 EX Emerald (Pokémon TCG) EX Emerald 106
1 Secret
May 9, 2005
10 EX Unseen Forces (Pokémon TCG) EX Unseen Forces 115
2 Secret
28 Unown
August 22, 2005
11 EX Delta Species (Pokémon TCG) EX Delta Species 113
1 Secret
October 31, 2005
12 EX Legend Maker (Pokémon TCG) EX Legend Maker 92
1 Secret
February 13, 2006
13 EX Holon Phantoms (Pokémon TCG) EX Holon Phantoms 110
1 Secret
May 3, 2006
14 EX Crystal Guardians (Pokémon TCG) EX Crystal Guardians 100 August 30, 2006
15 EX Dragon Frontiers (Pokémon TCG) EX Dragon Frontiers 101 November 8, 2006
16 EX Power Keepers (Pokémon TCG) EX Power Keepers 108 February 14, 2007
Diamond & Pearl series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Diamond & Pearl (Pokémon TCG) Diamond & Pearl 130 May 23, 2007
2 Mysterious Treasures (Pokémon TCG) Mysterious Treasures 123
1 Secret
August 22, 2007
3 Secret Wonders (Pokémon TCG) Secret Wonders 132 November 7, 2007
4 Great Encounters (Pokémon TCG) Great Encounters 106 February 13, 2008
5 Majestic Dawn (Pokémon TCG) Majestic Dawn 100 May 21, 2008
6 Legends Awakened (Pokémon TCG) Legends Awakened 146 August 20, 2008
7 Stormfront (Pokémon TCG) Stormfront 100
3 Secret
3 Shiny Pokémon
November 5, 2008
Platinum series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Platinum (Pokémon TCG) Platinum 127
3 Secret
3 Shiny Pokémon
February 11, 2009
2 Rising Rivals (Pokémon TCG) Rising Rivals 111
3 Secret
6 Rotom
May 16, 2009
3 Supreme Victors (Pokémon TCG) Supreme Victors 147
3 Secret
3 Shiny Pokémon
August 19, 2009
4 Arceus (Pokémon TCG) Arceus 99
9 Arceus
3 Shiny Pokémon
November 4, 2009
HeartGold & SoulSilver series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 HeartGold & SoulSilver (Pokémon TCG) HeartGold & SoulSilver 123
1 Alph Lithograph
February 10, 2010
2 Unleashed (Pokémon TCG) Unleashed 95
1 Alph Lithograph
May 12, 2010
3 Undaunted (Pokémon TCG) Undaunted 90
1 Alph Lithograph
August 18, 2010
4 Triumphant (Pokémon TCG) Triumphant 102
1 Alph Lithograph
November 3, 2010
5 Call of Legends (Pokémon TCG) Call of Legends 95
11 Shiny Legendary
February 9, 2011
Black & White series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Black & White (Pokémon TCG) Black & White 114
1 Secret
April 25, 2011
2 Emerging Powers (Pokémon TCG) Emerging Powers 98 August 31, 2011
3 Noble Victories (Pokémon TCG) Noble Victories 101
1 Secret
November 16, 2011
4 Next Destinies (Pokémon TCG) Next Destinies 99
4 Secret
February 8, 2012
5 Dark Explorers (Pokémon TCG) Dark Explorers 108
3 Secret
May 9, 2012
6 Dragons Exalted (Pokémon TCG) Dragons Exalted 124
4 Secret
August 15, 2012
6.5 Dragon Vault (Pokémon TCG) Dragon Vault 20
1 Secret
October 5, 2012
7 Boundaries Crossed (Pokémon TCG) Boundaries Crossed 149
4 Secret
November 7, 2012
8 Plasma Storm (Pokémon TCG) Plasma Storm 135
3 Secret
February 6, 2013
9 Plasma Freeze (Pokémon TCG) Plasma Freeze 116
6 Secret
May 8, 2013
10 Plasma Blast (Pokémon TCG) Plasma Blast 101
4 Secret
August 14, 2013
11 Legendary Treasures (Pokémon TCG) Legendary Treasures 113
2 Secret
25 Radiant Collection
November 6, 2013
XY series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
0 Kalos Starter Set (Pokémon TCG) Kalos Starter Set 39 November 8, 2013
1 XY (Pokémon TCG) XY 146 February 5, 2014
2 Flashfire (Pokémon TCG) Flashfire 106
3 Secret
May 7, 2014
3 Furious Fists (Pokémon TCG) Furious Fists 111
2 Secret
August 13, 2014
4 Phantom Forces (Pokémon TCG) Phantom Forces 119
3 Secret
November 5, 2014
5 Primal Clash (Pokémon TCG) Primal Clash 160
4 Secret
February 4, 2015
5.5 Double Crisis (Pokémon TCG) Double Crisis 34 March 25, 2015
6 Roaring Skies(Pokémon TCG) Roaring Skies 108
2 Secret
May 6, 2015
7 Ancient Origins (Pokémon TCG) Ancient Origins 98
2 Secret
August 12, 2015
8 BREAKthrough (Pokémon TCG) BREAKthrough 162
2 Secret
November 4, 2015
9 BREAKpoint (Pokémon TCG) BREAKpoint 122
1 Secret
February 3, 2016
9.5 Generations (Pokémon TCG) Generations 83
32 Radiant Collection
February 22, 2016
10 Fates Collide (Pokémon TCG) Fates Collide 124
1 Secret
May 2, 2016
11 Steam Siege (Pokémon TCG) Steam Siege 114
2 Secret
August 3, 2016
12 Evolutions (Pokémon TCG) Evolutions 108
5 Secret
November 2, 2016
Sun & Moon series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Sun & Moon (Pokémon TCG) Sun & Moon 149
14 Secret
February 3, 2017
2 Guardians Rising (Pokémon TCG) Guardians Rising 145
24 Secret
May 5, 2017
3 Burning Shadows (Pokémon TCG) Burning Shadows 147
22 Secret
August 4, 2017
3.5 Shining Legends (Pokémon TCG) Shining Legends 73
5 Secret
October 6, 2017
4 Crimson Invasion (Pokémon TCG) Crimson Invasion 111
13 Secret
November 3, 2017
5 Ultra Prism (Pokémon TCG) Ultra Prism 156
17 Secret
February 2, 2018
6 Forbidden Light (Pokémon TCG) Forbidden Light 131
15 Secret
May 4, 2018
7 Celestial Storm (Pokémon TCG) Celestial Storm 168
15 Secret
August 3, 2018
7.5 Dragon Majesty (Pokémon TCG) Dragon Majesty 70
8 Secret
September 7, 2018
8 Lost Thunder (Pokémon TCG) Lost Thunder 214
22 Secret
November 2, 2018
9 Team Up (Pokémon TCG) Team Up 181
15 Secret
February 1, 2019
9.5 Detective Pikachu movie logo Detective Pikachu 18 March 29, 2019
10 Unbroken Bonds (Pokémon TCG) Unbroken Bonds 214
20 Secret
May 3, 2019
11 Unified Minds (Pokémon TCG) Unified Minds 236
22 Secret
August 2, 2019
11.5 Hidden Fates (Pokémon TCG) Hidden Fates 68
1 Secret
94 Shiny Vault
August 23, 2019
12 Cosmic Eclipse (Pokémon TCG) Cosmic Eclipse 236
35 Secret
November 1, 2019
Sword & Shield series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Sword & Shield (Pokémon TCG) Sword & Shield 202
14 Secret
February 7, 2020
2 Rebel Clash (Pokémon TCG) Rebel Clash 192
17 Secret
May 1, 2020
3 Darkness Ablaze (Pokémon TCG) Darkness Ablaze 189
12 Secret
August 14, 2020
3.5 Champion's Path (Pokémon TCG) Champion's Path 73
7 Secret
September 25, 2020
4 Vivid Voltage (Pokémon TCG) Vivid Voltage 185
18 Secret
November 13, 2020
4.5 Shining Fates (Pokémon TCG) Shining Fates 72
1 Secret
122 Shiny Vault
February 19, 2021
5 Battle Styles (Pokémon TCG) Battle Styles 163
20 Secret
March 19, 2021
6 Chilling Reign (Pokémon TCG) Chilling Reign 198
35 Secret
June 18, 2021
7 Evolving Skies (Pokémon TCG) Evolving Skies 203
34 Secret
August 27, 2021
7.5 Celebrations (Pokémon TCG) Celebrations 25
25 Classic Collection
October 8, 2021
8 Fusion Strike (Pokémon TCG) Fusion Strike 264
20 Secret
November 12, 2021
9 Brilliant Stars(Pokémon TCG) Brilliant Stars 172
14 Secret
30 Trainer Gallery
February 25, 2022
10 Astral Radiance (Pokémon TCG) Astral Radiance 189
27 Secret
30 Trainer Gallery
May 27, 2022
10.5 Pokémon GO Pokémon GO 78
10 Secret
July 1, 2022
11 Lost Origin (Pokémon TCG) Lost Origin 196
21 Secret
30 Trainer Gallery
September 9, 2022
12 Silver Tempest (Pokémon TCG) Silver Tempest 195
20 Secret
30 Trainer Gallery
November 11, 2022
12.5 Crown Zenith (Pokémon TCG) Crown Zenith 159
1 Secret
70 Galarian Gallery
January 20, 2023
Sword & Shield series[]
No. Logo Name Cards Release date
1 Scarlet & Violet (Pokémon TCG) Scarlet & Violet 198
60 Secret
March 31, 2023
2 Paldea Evolved (Pokémon TCG) Paldea Evolved 193
86 Secret
June 9, 2023
3 Obsidian Flames (Pokémon TCG) Obsidian Flames 197
33 Secret
August 11, 2023
3.5 151 (Pokémon TCG) 151 165
42 Secret
September 22, 2023
5 Paradox Rift (Pokémon TCG) Paradox Rift 182
?? Secret
November 3, 2023

Video game releases[]

On December 18, 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color game called Pokémon Trading Card Game. It was a game based on the original Pokémon games, but with trading cards instead of actual "monsters". This title was released in North America on March 31, 2000 and in Europe on December 8, 2000. It included the cards from the base set as well as its first two expansions, along with cards that are exclusive to the game.

A second Game Boy game, called Pokémon Card GB2: Team Great Rocket is Here!, was released in Japan on March 28, 2001. It introduced a trading card parallel to Team Rocket, called Great Team Rocket, and also added cards from the Team Rocket expansion.

In 2010, an online version of the game was released for Windows and Mac, called the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online was released.

External links[]

  • Pokémon Organized Play Website is the official US source of the Pokémon Organized Play program, where one can acquire information on local leagues and tournaments and find local distributors.
  • Pokémon TCG Website is the official website for the Pokémon TCG.

Unofficial/Fan Pokémon TCG sites[]

  • Hong Kong Pokémon Alliance. A Cantonese Pokémon site. Regular tournaments, regular researches, regular investigations and tuitions to all sorts of Pokémon Card players, including beginners.
  • PokéBeach is a useful resource for anyone involved with the Pokémon TCG. Includes scans from the most recent sets and the latest news on the Pokémon TCG, as well as many other resources. Very nice website.
  • PokéGym is a massive and extremely popular forum owned by Team Compendium for discussion of the Pokémon TCG featuring over 6,370 members. It includes featured articles on topics relating to the game as well as in-depth analysis of the game's most popular decks.
  • Pojo.com was founded in December 1998, and updated daily since. Comprehensive Pokémon resource for the Trading Card Game and Video Games. Message Board has over 40,000 members. Also home of the popular Card of the Day.
  • Pokepedia. Comprehensive, searchable Pokémon TCG database. Has a decklist builder, trader base, event mapper, and more.
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