Pokémon Trading Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• The Deck
• Parts of a Pokémon Card
• Setup
• Taking a Turn
  • 1. Draw
  • 2. Main actions (in any order, as many as allowed)
  • 3. Attack
• Knock Outs and Prizes
• Special Conditions
• Winning the Game
• Deckbuilding Notes

Object of the Game

Be the first to achieve any one of these three victory conditions:

• Take all of your Prize cards (by Knocking Out your opponent's Pokémon).
• Knock Out all of your opponent's Pokémon in play.
• Your opponent cannot draw a card at the start of their turn (their deck is empty).

The Deck

A deck is exactly 60 cards, containing three types of cards, with no more than 4 copies of any card sharing the same name (basic Energy cards are exempt — you may include any number):

• Pokémon cards: your fighters. Basic Pokémon can be played straight from your hand; Evolution Pokémon (Stage 1, Stage 2) are played on top of a Pokémon to evolve it.
• Energy cards: attached to Pokémon to power their attacks. Basic Energy provides one unit of a type (Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Psychic, Fighting, Darkness, Metal, Fairy). Special Energy has extra effects.
• Trainer cards: one-time or ongoing effects — Item, Supporter, Stadium, and Tool cards.

Parts of a Pokémon Card

• HP (Hit Points): how much damage it can take before being Knocked Out.
• Type: its Energy type (colored symbol).
• Attacks: each lists an Energy cost (symbols), a name, damage, and any effect.
• Weakness: damage from this type is increased (usually ×2).
• Resistance: damage from this type is reduced (usually −30).
• Retreat Cost: Energy that must be discarded to switch this Pokémon out of the Active spot.

Setup

1. Both players shake hands and flip a coin; the winner decides who goes first.
2. Shuffle your 60-card deck and draw 7 cards.
3. Place one Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon.
4. Place up to 5 more Basic Pokémon face down on your Bench.
5. Mulligan: if you have no Basic Pokémon in your opening hand, reveal your hand, reshuffle, and draw 7 again. Your opponent may draw one extra card for each of your mulligans.
6. Take the top 6 cards of your deck and set them aside face down as your Prize cards.
7. Both players flip their Active and Benched Pokémon face up. The player going first cannot attack or play a Supporter on their very first turn (they also do not take a Prize on turn one, since no attack occurs).

Taking a Turn

Each turn proceeds in this order:

1. Draw

Draw 1 card from the top of your deck. (If you cannot draw because your deck is empty, you lose.)

2. Main actions (in any order, as many as allowed)

You may do the following during your turn:

• Put Basic Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench (up to 5 Benched Pokémon total).
• Evolve your Pokémon by playing a matching Evolution card on top of it. A Pokémon can't evolve the turn it was played or the turn it evolved, and not on the first player's first turn.
• Attach one Energy card from your hand to one of your Pokémon — only once per turn.
• Play Trainer cards: any number of Item cards, but only one Supporter and only one Stadium per turn.
• Use Abilities as their text allows.
• Retreat your Active Pokémon once per turn: discard Energy equal to its Retreat Cost, then swap it with a Benched Pokémon.

3. Attack

Finally, your Active Pokémon may use one attack (if it has enough of the right Energy attached). Choose an attack, check that its Energy cost is met, apply the damage and effects:

• Place damage counters (each = 10 damage) on the Defending Pokémon.
• Apply Weakness (usually double the damage) and Resistance (usually −30) if applicable.
• After you attack, your turn ends (even if the attack does nothing else).

Knock Outs and Prizes

When a Pokémon has damage equal to or greater than its HP, it is Knocked Out: its owner puts it and all cards attached to it into their discard pile.

• Each time you Knock Out an opponent's Pokémon, take 1 Prize card into your hand (some powerful Pokémon, like Pokémon-ex/V, award 2 Prizes when Knocked Out).
• If your Active Pokémon is Knocked Out, you must promote one of your Benched Pokémon to become the new Active Pokémon. If you have no Pokémon left in play, you lose.

Special Conditions

Attacks may inflict Special Conditions on the Defending Pokémon (only the Active Pokémon can be affected; retreating or evolving removes them):

• Asleep: cannot attack or retreat. Flip a coin between turns; heads, it wakes up.
• Confused: to attack, flip a coin; tails, the attack fails and it does 30 damage to itself.
• Paralyzed: cannot attack or retreat; recovers at the end of its owner's next turn.
• Poisoned: place 1 damage counter (10 damage) on it between each turn.
• Burned: place 2 damage counters (20 damage) between turns, then flip a coin — tails, it stays Burned.

Winning the Game

You win immediately when you take your last Prize card, when your opponent has no Pokémon in play after a Knock Out, or when your opponent cannot draw at the start of their turn. If both players would win simultaneously, tournament tiebreak rules apply.

Deckbuilding Notes

A balanced deck usually runs around 12–20 Pokémon, 8–15 Trainer/Supporter/Item cards, and enough Energy (often ~12–15) to reliably power your attacks. Evolution lines should include the Basics they evolve from. Supporters that draw cards and search your deck keep your hand flowing.