Pokemon 101

A Short History

It may seem that Pokemon (short for Pocket Monsters) has always been in our lives, but every story has a beginning.

In October 1996 a Japanese Company Media Factory published the first TCG (Trading Card Came) based off the success and popularity of the Pokemon video games. The card game became popular in Japan, and just 3 short years later they were released in North America by Wizards of the Coast.

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW:

Pokemon is a card game where players use a deck of 60 cards to battle their opponent using Pokemon to attack and take prize cards.

There are 3 ways to win the game:

  1. Take all 6 of your prize cards by knocking out your opponent’s Pokemon
  2. Knock out your opponent’s last Pokemon leaving them with none on the bench to promote
  3. Make your opponent “deck out” which means they start their turn without any cards left in their deck to draw.

Players flip a coin (or in most cases roll a die) to decide who goes first. You then take turns playing cards and attacking until one of the 3 win conditions is met.

During your turn you can do any of the following things:

  1. Place down basic Pokemon on your bench until you have 5 benched Pokemon which is the maximum number allowed under normal circumstances
  2. Play trainer cards – items, tools, supporters (only 1 per turn) and stadiums – more on this later
  3. Evolve any Pokemon that have been in play for at least 1 turn – Stage 1 Pokemon evolve from Basic, Stage 2 from Stage 1. (More on this later)
  4. Retreat your active Pokemon by paying the retreat cost located in the bottom right of the card.
  5. Use any available abilities – these are written below the artwork and above the list of attacks
  6. Attack with your active Pokemon (excluding the first turn of player going first)

Of course there is quite a bit more complexity to the game but this represents the core parts of each player’s turn.

GAME SETUP:

Game Setup Sequence:

  1. Shuffle
  2. Coin Flip
  3. Initial Setup


1. Shuffle:

Each player shuffles their deck until their cards are sufficiently randomized. You will offer your shuffled deck to your opponent and ask them if they would like to cut, tap or shuffle. Your opponent can choose to cut your deck, to shuffle it more, or “tap” which means they will leave the cards untouched. This step is very important as it removes the chance of a player being able to manipulate their deck in any way that could be against the rules.

A) Cut – Take roughly half of the cards on the top of the deck and move them to the bottom

B) Tap – Leave the deck in its current state

C) Shuffle – Randomize the cards by “shuffling” them together

*one thing to remember, if your opponent chooses to cut your deck, you may not shuffle or cut your cards, but if your opponent chooses to shuffle your deck, you may choose to do one more cut of your cards.

2. Coin Flip:

Before anyone draws cards, there must be a coin flip. Most people starting out will just use one of the Pokemon coins provided in the many starter products available. One person flips the coin and the other calls heads or tails.

The winner of the coin flip decides whether they want to go first or second, depending on their strategy and decklist.

  • It is important to note here that the player going first may not play supporter cards or attack on their first turn.

The dice method is what is most commonly used during competitive events. Instead of using a coin, one player will usually roll a 6-sided die and the other will call heads or tails.

Heads – even numbers

Odds – odd numbers

Both of these are completely legal, but the dice method is most common amongst players.

3. Initial Setup:

Each player places their deck to the right hand corner and then draws 7 cards. Each player chooses a basic Pokemon in these 7 cards to place face down in the top middle of the board (see board diagram) as their starter. They may also place any other basic Pokemon on their bench (face down) – up to 5 in total.

*if a player does not have a basic Pokemon in their hand, this is known as a “mulligan”. The player will start the game setup sequence over again by shuffling their cards and offering to their opponent to cut, tap or shuffle and then re-drawing 7 cards. This process will repeat until a basic Pokemon is found, however each mulligan taken allows your opponent to draw 1 extra card before game play starts.

Once both players have a Pokemon in the active spot, each player takes the top 6 cards of their deck and places them face down on the opposite side of the board. These are prize cards, and can be drawn by knocking out the opposing player’s Pokemon.

Any extra cards from mulligans are drawn and then both players flip over their Pokemon to reveal them to their opponent. At this point the set up is complete and the game can begin.

First Turn Going First:

The player going first will draw a card. Each turn has the exact same rules to follow except for the player going first on their first turn. This player cannot play any cards labeled supporter, and cannot use any attacks. You can do any of the following on your first turn going first:

Use any abilities

Play item, stadium and tool cards in your hand

Attach an energy

Retreat your Pokemon

Place down any basic Pokemon to your bench

After you are done with your turn you will announce to your opponent “pass” which signals to the other player that your turn has finished and they are ok to start their turn. They will draw a card to start and then play continues from there.