How to Play thePokémon TCG
Two players each build a 60-card deck, battle Pokémon against one another, and race to take their Prize cards. This page covers what you need for a first game, with official video lessons alongside each topic.
Rules on this page were checked against: Official Pokémon TCG rulebook, Play! Pokémon TCG Tournament Handbook, Pokémon's learn-to-play page.
Start here
Pokémon's own introduction to the game, then the deck rules you need before you build one.
Deck rules
- Deck size
- Exactly 60 cards
- Copies of one card
- Up to 4 with the same name, except Basic Energy
- Basic Pokémon
- At least 1 in your deck
- ACE SPEC cards
- Only 1 in total
- Bench size
- Up to 5 Pokémon
- Prize cards
- 6 per player
For a first deck, the rulebook suggests one or two Energy types, 12 to 15 Energy cards, and around 20 to 25 Trainer cards, with Pokémon making up the rest.
The three card types
Every card in a deck is a Pokémon, a Trainer or an Energy.
Pokémon cards
The Pokémon that battle for you. Each player has one Active Pokémon, and up to 5 more can wait on the Bench.
- Basic — can be played straight from your hand
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 — evolve from the Pokémon named on the card
- ex — more HP and stronger attacks, but your opponent takes 2 Prize cards when one is Knocked Out
- Tera ex — take no attack damage while on the Bench
- Mega Evolution ex — give up 3 Prize cards when Knocked Out
Trainer cards
Items, Supporters, Stadiums and Pokémon Tools. The card's subtype is printed in its upper-left corner, with any special rule at the bottom.
- Item — play as many as you like each turn
- Supporter — only one per turn
- Stadium — stays in play; only one per turn, and only one in play at a time
- Pokémon Tool — attached to a Pokémon, one Tool per Pokémon
Energy cards
Pokémon usually cannot attack without Energy. Each attack lists the Energy it needs, and you attach one Energy card from your hand per turn.
- Match the symbols in an attack's cost; a colourless symbol accepts any type
- Attached under a Pokémon, not played onto the field alone
- Discarded with the Pokémon if it is Knocked Out
- Basic Energy has no copy limit in a deck
Trainer cards in a match
When you play a Trainer card, do what it says and follow the rule printed at the bottom of the card. Most are discarded afterwards. The four subtypes differ in how often you can play them.
Item
Play as many as you like. Do what it says, then discard it.
Supporter
Played like an Item, but only one per turn. The player who goes first cannot play one on their first turn.
Stadium
Stays in play and affects both players. Only one Stadium can be in play: a new one discards the old. You cannot play one with the same name as the Stadium already in play.
Pokémon Tool
Attached to one of your Pokémon. Each Pokémon can have only 1 Tool attached at a time.
Setting up a game
Flip a coin
Shake hands, then flip a coin. The winner decides which player goes first.
Shuffle and draw 7
Each player shuffles their 60-card deck and draws the top 7 cards.
Check for a Basic Pokémon
You need at least one Basic Pokémon in your hand. If you have none, reveal your hand, shuffle it back into your deck and draw 7 again — a mulligan — and repeat until you have one. Each time your opponent takes a mulligan, you may draw an extra card.
Place your Pokémon
Put one Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon, and up to 5 more Basic Pokémon face down on your Bench.
Set 6 Prize cards
Put the top 6 cards of your deck to one side, face down. These are your Prize cards.
Reveal and begin
Both players flip their Active and Benched Pokémon face up, and the game starts.
How a turn works
Every turn has three parts. Attacking always ends your turn, so it is the last thing you do.
Draw a card
Start your turn by drawing a card. If your deck is empty and you cannot draw, you lose.
Take any of these actions, in any order
Put Basic Pokémon onto your Bench (as many as you like). Evolve Pokémon (as many as you like). Attach one Energy card from your hand (once per turn). Play Trainer cards (one Supporter and one Stadium per turn). Retreat your Active Pokémon (once per turn). Use Abilities (as many as you like).
Attack, then your turn ends
Check that your Active Pokémon has the Energy the attack needs, announce it, and resolve it. Once you attack, your turn is over, so finish everything else first.
Rules that catch new players out
- The player who goes first skips the attack step on their first turn.
- The player who goes first cannot play a Supporter card on their first turn.
- Neither player can evolve a Pokémon on that player's first turn.
- A Pokémon cannot evolve on the turn it came into play, and a Pokémon that has just evolved cannot evolve again that turn.
Attacking and Knock Outs
Four things decide most of what a Pokémon card does in play: its attacks, its HP, its Weakness and Resistance, and its Retreat Cost.
Check Energy
The Pokémon needs at least the Energy shown in the attack's cost attached to it.
Apply Weakness and Resistance
Only to the opponent's Active Pokémon, never to Benched ones. Weakness is ×2 on current cards; Resistance reduces damage by the amount printed on the card.
Place damage counters
One damage counter for every 10 damage. A Pokémon is Knocked Out when its damage equals or exceeds its HP.
Resolve the Knock Out
The Knocked Out Pokémon and everything attached go to the discard pile, and its owner's opponent takes a Prize card. The owner then chooses a new Active Pokémon from their Bench.
- HP
- Damage a Pokémon can take before it is Knocked Out.
- Weakness
- If the attacker is the listed type, the attack does more damage (×2 on current cards).
- Resistance
- If the attacker is the listed type, the attack does less damage, by the amount printed on the card.
- Retreat Cost
- Discard that much Energy from the Active Pokémon to swap it with a Benched one. Once per turn, and an Asleep or Paralyzed Pokémon cannot retreat. You can still attack after retreating.
Japanese cards show all of this identically — the numbers and symbols do not depend on language. Our guide to Japanese cards covers where each one sits on the card.
Special Conditions
Some attacks leave the Active Pokémon Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed or Poisoned. They apply only to the Active Pokémon, and end when it moves to the Bench or evolves. Checks happen at Pokémon Checkup, between turns, in this order: Poisoned, Burned, Asleep, Paralyzed.
- Poisoned
- Put 1 damage counter on it at each Pokémon Checkup.
- Burned
- Put 2 damage counters on it at each Pokémon Checkup, then flip a coin; on heads it recovers.
- Asleep
- Cannot attack or retreat. Flip a coin at each Checkup; on heads it wakes up.
- Paralyzed
- Cannot attack or retreat. It recovers at the Checkup after its owner's next turn.
- Confused
- Flip a coin before attacking. On tails the attack does not happen and it puts 3 damage counters on itself.
How to win
There are three ways to win a game.
Take all of your Prize cards
You take one Prize card each time you Knock Out an opponent's Pokémon — 2 for a Pokémon ex, 3 for a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex.
Knock Out all their Pokémon in play
If your opponent has no Pokémon left in play — including when they cannot replace a Knocked Out Active Pokémon — you win.
Their deck runs out
If your opponent has no cards in their deck at the beginning of their turn, you win.
More lessons
The rest of Pokémon's official “Learn to Play” series, one topic per video.
Common questions
How many cards do you need to play Pokémon TCG?
A deck must be exactly 60 cards — not 59, not 61. Apart from Basic Energy, you can have only 4 cards with the same name, and the deck must contain at least one Basic Pokémon. You also need something to track damage, such as damage counters, and a coin for effects that call for a flip.
Can you play the Pokémon TCG with Japanese cards?
For games with friends, yes — the game itself is identical. Official Play! Pokémon rules limit which card languages are legal at Championship Series events by region, with English always permitted at the major championships. For other tournaments and League sessions, the organiser decides, and mixed-language decks are allowed as long as the card backs are consistent. Check with the organiser before an event.
What happens if a tournament game runs out of time?
In Play! Pokémon tournaments, when the round timer reaches zero, players get 15 more minutes to complete three additional turns. After that, the game is resolved under the tournament rules, which can include a tiebreaker game when one side must win.
What is the difference between an ex Pokémon and a regular one?
A Pokémon ex has more HP and stronger attacks than a regular Pokémon, but your opponent takes 2 Prize cards instead of 1 when it is Knocked Out. Tera Pokémon ex also take no attack damage while on the Bench. Mega Evolution Pokémon ex give up 3 Prize cards when Knocked Out.
How big should my first deck be, and what should it contain?
Exactly 60 cards. As a starting point, the official rulebook suggests one or two Energy types, 12 to 15 Energy cards, and around 20 to 25 Trainer cards, with Pokémon making up the rest — at least one of them a Basic Pokémon. A ready-made ex Battle Deck is the rulebook's recommended way to start.
What does the retreat cost on a card mean?
To retreat, you discard 1 Energy from your Active Pokémon for each symbol in its Retreat Cost, then swap it with a Benched Pokémon. If no symbols are listed, it retreats for free. You can retreat once per turn, a Pokémon that is Asleep or Paralyzed cannot retreat, and you can still attack with your new Active Pokémon that turn.
Who goes first, and what can they not do?
Both players flip a coin and the winner decides who goes first. On their first turn, the player who goes first cannot attack and cannot play a Supporter card. Neither player can evolve a Pokémon on that player's first turn.
This covers enough to play a game. For edge cases and tournament rulings, the official rulebook is the authority.
More guides
Buying Pokémon Cards in India
Where to buy, packs vs boxes vs singles, what things cost in our catalogue, how to spot fakes, rarities, and how delivery and returns work.
Read the guide →Japanese Pokémon Cards in India
How Japanese cards differ from English ones, how to read one, what set codes like SV2a mean, and what Master Ball cards are.
Read the guide →Ready to start collecting?
Authentic Japanese packs, sealed boxes and single cards, shipped across India.