A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide to Playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game (2025 Rules)

A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide to Playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game (2025 Rules)

 

Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG)? This guide will walk you through the basics step by step, making it easy to understand and fun to get started. Whether you're a complete beginner or someone looking to refresh your knowledge, this guide is optimized for clarity and SEO-friendly readability.

What You'll Need to Play

Before getting started, ensure you have:

  • A 60-card deck (no more, no less).

  • A playmat (optional but helpful for organizing your cards).

  • Damage counters or dice.

  • A coin for flips.

  • A friend with their own deck to play against.

How to Set Up the Game

  1. Shuffle Your Deck: Both players shuffle their decks thoroughly.

  2. Draw Your Hand: Each player draws seven cards from the top of their deck.

  3. Check for Basic Pokémon: Look at your hand. If you don’t have a Basic Pokémon (identified by the word “Basic” in the top-left corner), reveal your hand, shuffle it back into your deck, and draw seven new cards. This is called a "mulligan." Your opponent may draw an extra card for each mulligan you take.

  4. Place Your Active Pokémon: Choose one Basic Pokémon from your hand and place it face down in the Active Spot.

  5. Set Up Your Bench: You can place up to five additional Basic Pokémon face down on your Bench.

  6. Prize Cards: Take the top six cards from your deck and place them face down as Prize Cards. These are earned when you knock out an opponent’s Pokémon.

  7. Flip a Coin: Decide who goes first by flipping a coin.

                                                                                                                


Parts of a Turn

 Each turn has three main phases:

 1. Draw Phase

At the start of your turn, draw one card from your deck.

2. Action Phase

During this phase, you can:

  • Play Basic Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench.

  • Evolve Pokémon already in play (you cannot evolve a Pokémon on the same turn it was played).

  • Attach one Energy card per turn to one of your Pokémon.

  • Play Trainer cards (Item, Supporter, or Stadium cards).

    • Note: You can play as many Item cards as you want but only one Supporter and one Stadium card per turn.

  • Use Abilities of your Pokémon if applicable.

  • Retreat your Active Pokémon by discarding Energy equal to its Retreat Cost and replacing it with a Benched Pokémon.

3. Attack Phase

If you're ready to attack:

  • Announce which attack you're using and ensure you have enough Energy attached to perform it.

  • Calculate damage and apply any effects of the attack.

  • Place damage counters on the opponent’s Active Pokémon equal to the attack’s damage.

  • If an opponent’s Pokémon is knocked out (damage counters meet or exceed its HP), move it and all attached cards to their discard pile. Take one Prize Card as a reward.

How to Win

You can win in three ways:

  1. Take all six of your Prize Cards by knocking out opponent's Pokémon.

  2. Knock out all of your opponent’s in-play Pokémon so they have none left.

  3. If your opponent runs out of cards in their deck at the start of their turn.

Key Tips for Beginners

  1. Understand Card Types:

    • Pokémon Cards: These include Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 Pokémon.

    • Energy Cards: Provide power for attacks (e.g., Water, Fire).

    • Trainer Cards: Help with strategies (e.g., healing or drawing cards).

  2. Plan Your Strategy:

    • Build a balanced deck with strong attackers, support cards, and enough Energy (typically 12–16 Energy cards).

    • Focus on synergy between your Pokémon’s abilities and attacks.

  3. Practice Makes Perfect:

    • Start with theme decks designed for beginners before building custom decks.

  4. Learn Legal Cards:

    • In 2025 Standard format, only cards with regulation marks “G” or “H” are legal for competitive play12.

Common Beginner Mistakes

  • Forgetting to attach Energy every turn.

  • Not placing enough Basic Pokémon on the Bench early in the game.

  • Overloading decks with too many high-energy-cost Pokémon without proper support.

Final Thoughts

The Pokémon TCG is not just about winning; it’s about having fun and improving with every match! With practice, you'll master strategies and enjoy countless hours battling friends or competing in tournaments.

Now that you know how to play, grab your deck and start exploring this exciting game!

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