Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (Japanese: ポケモンカードゲーム, Pokémon Card Game), often abbreviated as Pokémon TCG or just PTCG (Japanese: ポケカ Pokéca), is a tabletop game developed by Creatures, Inc. that involves collecting, trading and playing with Pokémon-themed playing cards. It has its own set of rules but uses many motifs and ideas derived from the video games. There are s for every species of Pokémon, as well as s featuring characters, items and other themes of the franchise (each with a different use) and s to power attacks. The artwork for the cards is often created specifically for the TCG by numerous artists, though occasionally pre-existing art made for the core series is used.
The Pokémon TCG is a popular and steady aspect of the Pokémon franchise and is played and enjoyed by many fans. As of March 31, 2024, over 64.8 billion Pokémon Trading Card Game cards have been produced worldwide in 15 languages and sold in 93 countries and regions.Pokémon in Figures｜The Pokémon Company The game is part of the Play! Pokémon organized play along with the video game series and is also used in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Live.
==History==
The Pokémon Trading Card Game was originally published in Japan in October 1996 by Media Factory. While other series of collectible Pokémon cards existed in the past (such as the Pocket Monsters Carddass Trading Cards released in September 1996), this was the first card game based on the Pokémon series. The first Pokémon TCG sets took inspiration from the then released video games and initially featured illustrations by Ken Sugimori, Mitsuhiro Arita and Keiji Kinebuchi. Soon new expansions began to release with many new artists contributing artwork. Three years later in 1999, Pokémon TCG was introduced in North America by Wizards of the Coast with the , and worldwide soon after. In 2003, Wizards of the Coast's license was transferred to The Pokémon Company International.
With the release of video games, the Neo Series, the second series of expansions, brought several new Pokémon into play. The and s of Pokémon cards were also introduced, along with and . These were eventually discontinued to prevent confusion with the , but returned briefly with the release of the expansion. The e-Card Series used Game Boy Advance add-on e-Reader to display Pokédex data about the Pokémon, play a minigame, play various tunes in a Melody Box, or activate a special attack for that Pokémon. The EX Series was released next, the first series produced by The Pokémon Company International instead of Wizards of the Coast, which introduced the stronger into the game. The Diamond & Pearl Series brought , which were stronger, "Leveled-up" versions of final evolutions. Pokémon LV.X essentially replaced Pokémon-ex and continued until the expansion. The HeartGold & SoulSilver Series featured two more types of card, , two-part cards with one Pokémon on each card, and , Pokémon with powerful and/or tactical attacks. With the release of the expansion, s (s and s) were combined into one mechanic and renamed . Pokémon-ex returned as in the Black & White Series starting with the expansion. The Pokémon was introduced in the expansion of the Black & White Series. were introduced in the expansion and introduce the Mega Evolution mechanic featured in the Pokémon X and Y video games to the TCG. The XY Series also introduced the Pokémon. was introduced in the Sun & Moon Series.
With the release of the EX Series worldwide, Pokémon TCG was published by Pokémon USA and distributed by Nintendo of America, instead of Wizards of the Coast.It's Wizards vs. Pokemon as ex-partners square off | Seattle Post-Intelligencer, archived October 17th, 2013 In 2006, Nintendo of America transferred distribution responsibilities to Pokémon USA.Pokemon USA In Charge | ICv2 In 2000, The Pokémon Company replaced Media Factory in publishing the cards in Japan starting with the Awakening Legends expansion. Media Factory continued to distribute the cards until the DP era.
Two Game Boy Color video games based on the card game were created: was released in 1998 and worldwide in 2000, and its sequel, Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!, was released three years later. Pokémon Card Game: How to Play DS was released in Japan in 2011 and taught players how to play the Pokémon TCG. In 2011, the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online was introduced as a browser-based game but later became a downloadable game for PC, Mac, and iPad. Other media related to Pokémon TCG include several titles, such as the series How I Became a Pokémon Card.
==How to play==
:See the for a definition of most the Pokémon Trading Card Game terms.
:Also see the FAQ Video Series on Pokémon.com for a visual introduction to the card game.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a two player game for all ages. Each player builds a Deck of sixty (60) cards using a combination of various "s" (the main type of cards used to battle), "s" (cards with special effects), and "s" (cards that are required to perform most "s"). New cards and decks are constantly being released, and players may purchase "s" to integrate these cards into their own decks or purchase pre-made "s" or "s" that already have all the cards needed to play. The Pokémon Trading Card Game officially requires a deck of 60 cards for or play, though shorter es can be held with "s" consisting of 30 cards instead. During a 60 card match, only four of any one card, excluding cards, are allowed in each deck. This is further limited to two of any one card in a Half Deck match. Many fans have also created their own game rules and playing methods and have websites devoted to providing alternative playing methods. These rules and methods are not allowed in Play! Pokémon competitions.
===Setting Up to Play===
To begin a match, players need a or a six-sided die (where the even-numbered sides represent "heads" and the odd-numbered sides represent "tails"). One player calls heads or tails, while the other player flips the coin or rolls the die. If the player calling the coin flip gets their choice (heads or tails), that player gets to choose which player goes first. If the player calling the coin flip does not get their choice, the player flipping the coin gets to choose which player goes first. The player who goes first is not allowed to or play any on that player's first turn. In best-of-three match play, after a game has been completed, the loser of that game decides who goes first in the next game instead of determining it by a coin flip. This decision is made at the same point during setup that the coin flip would take place.
After determining which player goes first, both players must their own decks and allow their opponent to make a deck cut; alternatively, the opponent may choose to shuffle the other player's deck and allow the deck owner to make a deck cut. Each player then places their deck faces-down in the play area or "" in a north/south orientation, with the short sides of cards facing each player, and any card sleeve openings facing the opponent. The players then each take seven cards from the top of their respective decks. These cards go into their . Players then place at least one from their hand face down into play: one to the and up to five onto the . Next, each player sets aside six cards from the top of their deck face down as . Finally, each player flips over their Active and Benched Pokémon and the game starts.
====Mulligan====
If a player does not have any Basic Pokémon in their hand while setting up to play, after their opponent sets aside the Prize cards, they must take a mulligan. For each mulligan a player takes, that player’s opponent may draw a card.
If both players had to take mulligans, the player that took fewer mulligans may draw a number of cards up to the difference in the numbers of mulligans. This means if the player took 1 mulligan and the opponent took 3, the player may draw up to 2 cards.
===Turns===
At the start of each player's turn, they must draw a card. Then, they may take any of the following actions in any order they like.
* Attach up to one from their hand to one of their Pokémon 
* Play as many from their hand onto their Bench as they like
* as many of their Pokémon as they like
* Retreat their Active Pokémon up to one time
* Play as many in their as they like (but only one Supporter card and one Stadium card)
* Use any or 
 will end a player's turn regardless of how many other actions they have taken, but a player may choose to end their turn without attacking.
===Finishing a match===
To finish a match, players must take their six Prize cards by their opponent's Pokémon by using s to reduce the opponent's HP to zero. The player that does so wins the game.
One player may also run out of Pokémon in play, i.e. they have no Active Pokémon or Benched Pokémon. The player that runs out of Pokémon in play loses the game.
At the beginning of a turn, if a player must draw a card from an empty deck, that player loses the game. Winning or losing can also be achieved directly with the effect of .
==Card types==
==International sets==
==Japanese sets==
==Logo==
File:Pokémon TCG Indonesia logo.png|TCG logo in n
File:Pokémon TCG Indonesia logo 2023.png|TCG logo used in n TCG products since October 27, 2023
File:Pokémon TCG Greater China logo.png|TCG logo in 
File:Pokémon TCG South Korea logo.png|TCG logo in 
File:Pokémon TCG Thailand logo.png|TCG logo in 
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
*Play! Pokémon Pokémon Organized Play
*
*:Category:Pokémon Trading Card Game for a categorized list of all articles related to the TCG
*Pokémon Trading Card Game Online
*Pokémon Trading Card Game Live
*Pokémon Card Channel
*Pokémon Card Game Rule Song
*Pokémon Card Game Rule Song – Sword & Shield Ver
*Pokémon Card Game Rule Song – Scarlet & Violet Ver
==References==
==External links==
*Pokémon.com The official United States Pokémon TCG website
*Step-by-step Web Browser TCG Tutorials (on official website)
*forums.pokemontcg.com Official English TCG Forums
*Pokémon-Card.com Official Japanese TCG Website (Japanese)
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de:Sammelkartenspiel
es:Juego de Cartas Coleccionables Pokémon
fr:Jeu de Cartes à Collectionner Pokémon
it:Gioco di Carte Collezionabili Pokémon
ja:ポケモンカードゲーム
zh:宝可梦集换式卡牌游戏