Stadium card (TCG)

Stadium cards (Japanese: スタジアム Stadium) are one of the four primary subclasses of s in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, alongside s, s, and s. Stadium cards typically represent locations in which the TCG battle takes place. The locations depicted may be derived from the games (examples include or ) or be locations original to the TCG. Stadium cards are color-coded as light green, as shown on the name of the card type and the card's infobox.
Stadium cards were first introduced in the and expansions. Between and , Stadium cards were instead a distinct card type. From onward, Stadium returned to being a subtype of Trainer cards.
Only 1 Stadium card may be in play at any given time, and its effects apply to both players during a game. When a Stadium card is played, it is placed next to the Active Spot and stays in play, unless removed by the play of a new Stadium card or the effect of certain non-Stadium cards. A player may play only 1 Stadium card during their turn, and if a Stadium card is already in play, any Stadium cards with the same name cannot be played.
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==Information==
During their introduction in and , Stadium cards were specifically based on the Gyms presided over by Kanto's Gym Leaders. However, later sets have increased the range of locations Stadium cards feature. Other locations from the core series games, ranging from recurring concepts like Pokémon Centers to specific dungeons like Mt. Coronet and towns like Spikemuth receive dedicated cards. Some Stadium cards even focus on locations original to the Trading Card Game, such as Holon Research Tower, Fighting Stadium, and Giant Hearth.
When a Stadium card is played, the card does not have an immediate effect before being discarded like and s. Instead, a Stadium card stays in play, placed next to the Active Spot of the player. While a Stadium card is in play, the contents of its text box have an effect on the game state. 
Stadiums can have a wide variety of effects:
*Some Stadiums modify the characteristics of in play. For example, Magnetic Storm removes the of all Pokémon in play. In most cases, this kind of effect only modifies the characteristics of Pokémon that meet certain requirements. 
**This can be based on characteristics inherent to the card such as its Stage, , or name. For example, Training Center boosts the of and by 30, while Devoured Field causes and type Pokémon's s to deal 10 more damage to the . Path to the Peak is another good example, as it removes the of any Pokémon with a but leaves Pokémon without a Rule Box unaffected. 
**In other cases, the criteria for which Pokémon are affected by a Stadium can be based on the current state of a Pokémon in play. For example, Lake Acuity reduces the damage taken by Pokémon with or attached by 20 and Blizzard Town prevents Pokémon that have 40 HP or less from attacking.
***These effects can also affect non-Pokémon cards, such as how Lysandre Labs removes the effect of s and Temple of Sinnoh causes all s to only provide Energy and removes their other effects.
*The Stadiums and allow for Pokémon that meet their criteria to use one of the s printed on the Stadium card. 
*Some Stadiums modify the characteristics of s. For example, Wela Volcano Park prevents Pokémon from recovering from Burned even if the for curing Burned during Pokémon Checkup has a heads result, and Slumbering Forest makes it so that two coin flips occur during Pokémon Checkup for Asleep, and either coin returning a tails result prevents the Pokémon from recovering from Asleep.
*Some Stadiums affect properties that players have. For example, Collapsed Stadium reduces the number of a player can have from five to four. In comparison, Sky Field increases the number of allowed Benched Pokémon to eight.
*Some Stadiums modify the effects of certain game actions. For instance, Sea of Nothingness changes how evolution works, as it prevents Pokémon from recovering from s when they evolve or devolve. Skaters' Park changes to return used to pay for the to their owner's hand instead of discarding them. In some cases, this can prevent certain actions from occurring, such as how prevents Pokémon from healing.
*Some Stadiums cause new events to happen. For example, while is in play, either player attaching an Energy from their hand to a Pokémon causes two damage counters to be put on that Pokémon, unless its a Pokémon. is another example, as it adds a new part to Pokémon Checkup where all and receive a damage counter.
*Some Stadiums allow players to take an additional action, akin to activating an or . Examples of this include allowing each player to discard a Basic Energy from their hand to draw a card, allowing each player to heal 30 damage from their -type and -type Pokémon, and giving each player the option to draw cards until they have three cards in their hand. Usually, the action provided has a once per turn restriction, which is true of all of these examples.
Stadium cards have some limitations. Only one Stadium card may be in play at any time, so if either player plays a Stadium card while another Stadium is in play, the Stadium that is currently in play is discarded to make room for the newer Stadium. Some non-Stadium card effects can remove Stadiums from play as well. Each player can only play one Stadium card per turn. Players cannot play a Stadium card that has the same name as the one currently in play, which prevents players from using a Stadium with a once per turn activation twice in the same turn. (There is one caveat to this. Should such a Stadium be removed from play through a means other than playing a Stadium, then a Stadium of that name can be played again. As the second stadium is a different object, its action would not be prevented by having used the action of the first Stadium.) Compendium
Some cards check for the presence of any Stadiums in play, while other cards check for if a Stadium with a specific name or specific phrase in their name is in play. Some cards even check if their owner has a Stadium in play, ignoring the presence of a Stadium played by the opponent.
The Stadium is particularly odd, as it has no effect while it is in play. Rather, its effect is to discard a Stadium card that is played to discard Chaotic Swell, preventing that Stadium from having any effect.
===Prism Star Stadium===
In , Stadium cards were introduced. Only five of these cards were printed. Lost Thunder contains , , and . has the latter two: and . These cards have a shared effect which protects them from the effects of s and s. As such, the only way to remove these Stadium cards from play is through playing a different Stadium card or using the effect of an , , or .
As with Prism Star cards in general, these cards have black borders and various areas of the design have rainbow tinges added to them, such as the art box. The background of the card text area also features the symbol. The artwork for these Prism Star cards always shows the subject with a fire-like glow.
===Stadiums with two effects===
In , the card was printed. It was followed by in and in . These Stadium cards all have two effects, but have unique templating where one effect is written in upside down text. This is because when playing these cards, the direction the card is being played in is specified. Each effect's text will only face one player, and only the effect facing a player is applied to that player and/or their Pokémon. 
Parallel City has two negative effects. The other two cards have two positive effects.
The rule preventing players from playing a Stadium with the same name as the Stadium that is in play still applies to these cards, even if they are in an unfavorable direction.Compendium
These cards have artwork spanning the entire card, with the text for one effect being paired with a section using cool colors and the text for the other effect being paired with a section using warm colors. The art is done such that the upside down portion of the text is accompanied by an upside down portion of artwork.
==List of Stadium cards==
===Japanese cards===
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==References==
Category:Trainer card classifications
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fr:Carte Stade
it:Carta Stadio (GCC)
zh:竞技场卡（TCG）