What Is the Pokémon TCG (Pokémon Cards)

The Pokémon Trading Card Game was first released in Japan in 1996, the home of Nintendo, which owns the Pokémon franchise. The game quickly became a massive success and spread across the world. Today, Pokémon cards are one of the most popular trading card games globally, with over 9,000 different cards released across more than 80 series.

Every quarter, a new Pokémon card series is released. Recently, we have seen 10 full sets in the Pokémon Sun & Moon era.

Before Sun & Moon, the Pokémon XY series dominated. We will no doubt see new base series in the future — one thing is certain: Pokémon cards are not going away anytime soon.

How Do You Play Pokémon Cards (Pokémon TCG)

Each player builds a deck of 60 Pokémon cards. It is important to balance your Energy cards and evolution lines correctly so your Pokémon can evolve in the right order. You may include a maximum of 4 copies of any card in your deck.

To start the game, players flip a Pokémon coin to decide who goes first. Each player then draws 7 cards. Your opening hand must contain at least one Basic Pokémon — if not, you reveal your hand, shuffle, and draw 7 new cards.

Once you have a Basic Pokémon, you choose one to place as your Active Pokémon, and the rest go on your Bench. Your opponent does the same.

Next, you draw 6 Prize Cards and place them face down. Each time you knock out one of your opponent’s Pokémon, you take one Prize Card. When you take your final Prize Card, you win the game.

During your turn, you may play one Energy card, attack once, play Trainer and Item cards, and evolve your Pokémon. There are more rules, but you will learn them quickly — and you are always welcome to visit one of our Epic Panda stores, where our staff will gladly teach you how to play the Pokémon TCG.

Recommended Pokémon Products for Beginners

If you want to start playing the Pokémon TCG, the fastest way is to buy a Pokémon Theme Deck. Your opponent will also need a deck. After that, it is a good idea to pick up some Pokémon booster packs, which contain random cards you can use to improve your deck. You can also trade Pokémon cards with friends to get the cards you need.

If you mainly collect Pokémon cards, we recommend Pokémon GX Boxes. These guarantee at least one GX card and include several booster packs. Every booster pack contains at least one rare card — and roughly every sixth rare card is replaced with an extra‑rare card, such as a GX, Full Art, or Rainbow Rare.