How to Play the Pokémon Card Game and Videogame

Collecting and battling your very own pocket monsters

Co-authored by Madeleine Flamiano

Last Updated: March 16, 2023 References

Card Game

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Video Games

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Q&A

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Tips

Pokémon has been around for over 25 years, and there are tons of different ways you can interact with the Pokéverse! From playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), to downloading apps on your phone, to exploring the dozens of video game versions of the game, there's sure to be a way for you to become a Pokémon master. We'll show you how to dive into both the card game and the video games, so you can start catching them all.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Learning to Play the Pokémon TCG

1
Shuffle your deck and draw 7 cards to start the game. You and your opponent should each have your own deck made up of 60 cards. Don't show anyone your cards after you draw them. Keep them in your hand, and set the rest of the deck facedown in a pile on your righthand side.^{[1]
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- Although you start with 7 cards, there's no limit to how many cards you can keep in your hand at any time. You draw a new card at the beginning of each turn, and there are additional cards in the deck that let you pick more up.
- You can also play Pokémon TCG online for free and import any physical cards you own. All physical cards come with codes that you can input online to play with the cards and learn more about them. Visit http://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/play-online. This is a great way to practice and learn the rules.
- Pokémon TCG is traditionally a two-player game, but you can search online for three-player variations.
2
Choose a basic, active Pokémon to play with. The top lefthand corner of your Pokémon cards will tell you if your card is “basic,” “stage 1,” or “stage 2.” Look through the 7 cards you drew, and place your active Pokémon in the middle of the playing area before doing anything else with the rest of your cards.
- If you don't get a basic Pokémon in your first 7 cards, you have to discard your hand back into your deck, shuffle the cards, and draw 7 new ones. If that happens, your opponent gets to draw 1 new card from their deck and add it to their hand.
- There are also EX and GX cards, which have more powers and special abilities.
- The active Pokémon in the middle of the table is the only one that can attack or be attacked.
- Read your cards thoroughly to understand each Pokémon's ability, hit points (how much it takes to “knock them out”), and any weaknesses or resistances.
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3
Bench up to 5 basic Pokémon by laying them facedown in front of you. Once the game play starts, turn your benched cards so they are face up. As the game continues, you can keep benching basic cards—just remember that if you have more than 5, you'll need to keep the extras in your hand.
- Benched cards are important because you can grow them by giving them energy cards and can swap them out with your main card on any given turn. They also often have useful abilities that can be used from the bench.
4
Set 6 cards off to the side facedown to be your “prize cards.” Both you and your opponent will draw the top 6 cards from your shuffled deck and lay them facedown on your lefthand side. Choose one of these cards every time you knock out a Pokémon.^{[2]
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- You can pick up the prize cards in any order you like.
5
Flip a coin to see who goes first, and draw a card to start your turn. You can choose if heads or tails will go first. After the winner is decided, they will draw a card from the deck. From there, they can lay down basic cards on their bench, evolve Pokémon, play energy cards (only once per turn), trainer cards, use abilities, and remove and replace their active Pokémon (only once per turn). If you go first, you can't attack on your first turn, but your opponent can.
- To evolve: a Pokémon has to be in play for a full turn before you can evolve it to the next level, and each Pokémon can only be evolved once per turn. You can, however, evolve multiple Pokémon in a turn.
- Break cards: give additional abilities or attacking powers while also allowing you to retain other card attributes.
- Energy cards: grass, lightning, darkness, fairy, fire, psychic, metal, dragon, water, fighting, and colorless. Match your energy cards to your Pokémon cards (they'll have the same color and symbol on them).
- Trainer cards: items, supporters, and stadiums. Read the rules at the bottom of each card to see how it works.
- Abilities: listed on each Pokémon card.
6
Attack your opponent's Pokémon at the end of your turn. Check your active Pokémon to see how much energy it costs to attack, and then check your opponent's active Pokémon to see its weakness level. If you have enough power to attack, put a damage counter on the attacked Pokémon. After you attack, your turn is over, and you and your opponent will alternate taking turns until the game is over.^{[3]
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- If you knock out the Pokémon, that card goes into the discard pile and you draw a card from your prize pile.
- If you attack and knock out an EX or GX Pokémon, you receive 2 prize cards instead of 1.
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Care for and revive attacked Pokémon by moving them to the bench. After a Pokémon is attacked, they will either be asleep, burned, confused, paralyzed, or poisoned (unless they were knocked out—in which case that card goes into the discard pile). Move them to the bench to remove those characteristics.
- Each special condition is removed or dealt with in a different way, depending on which kind of Pokémon was damaged, so make sure to read your cards carefully.
8
Win the game by getting all your prize cards. This means you will have attacked and knocked out 6 of your opponent's Pokémon. Also, if you knock out all of your opponent's Pokémon that are on the table at one time (so the active card as well as any benched cards), then you win, even if they had less than 6 laid out.
- Additionally, the first person to run out of cards in their draw pile loses even if there are remaining prize cards— that's the least fun way to win because it ends the game by default!

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Exploring Pokémon Video Games

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Enjoy getting outdoors by playing Pokémon Go on your phone. Download this game from the app store and use it while you walk around your neighborhood, or explore new areas. As you walk, your phone will alert you to when there is a Pokémon in the area that you can catch through your phone screen. Evolve Pokémon, challenge other players, and collect as many different Pokémon as you can!^{[4]
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- Be careful when playing Pokémon Go and pay attention to your surroundings. It can be distracting, so make sure you're safe while you're walking around.
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Play on a game console if you like traditional video games. Nintendo 64, GameCube, and Wii all offer a myriad of Pokémon games. If you already have one of these consoles, visit your local video game store to find copies of Pokémon games, or search for them online.^{[5]
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- For example, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Pokémon Trozei!, Pokémon Battle Revolution, and Pokémon X and Y are all fun games that you can play.
- Nintendo 3DS is a handheld video game option that also has lots of Pokémon gaming options.
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Download a Pokémon app to play on your phone. Open up your app store and type “Pokémon” into the search bar to find what games are available for your kind of phone. After you've selected and downloaded one, open it up, follow the onscreen instructions, and enjoy your gaming experience!^{[6]
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- Pokédex 3D, Pokémon Bank, Pokémon Duel, and Pokémon Quest are some of more popular apps.
4
Use an emulator to play video games on your computer. An emulator is a type of software that lets your computer screen mimic that of a video game console, like a Nintendo DS. If you use an emulator, you'll most likely have to use a pirated version of the Pokémon game you want to play, so keep that in mind.^{[7]
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- Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Crystal, and Pokémon Soul Silver are some of the more well-known DS games that are still played on a PC via an emulator.
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Play the 3DS Virtual Console if you like handheld video games. Simply buy a Nintendo 3DS, along with the available Pokémon game of your choice. After you load the game, onscreen instructions will pop up to direct you during gameplay. Look online for tips and hints on how to beat difficult levels.^{[8]
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- Pokémon Rumble Blast, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Pokémon X and Y, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon, Pokémon Battle Trozei, and Pokémon Omega Rube and Alpha Sapphire are all fun 3DS games you can play.
6
Get a hold of a Gameboy to play the 1996 original game. Although Nintendo no longer produces new Gameboys, you can still buy used and refurbished ones online from places like Amazon and Ebay. You can also find copies of old games, like the original Pokémon Red, online. Look for these other Pokémon games for Gameboy, too:^{[9]
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- Red, Blue, and Green
- Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition
- Pokémon Gold and Silver
- Pokémon Crystal
- Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Community Q&A

Question

How can I tell if a card is fake?

Community Answer

It depends on the type of card. If the card is a Mega or an EX, the best way to tell is to look at the shine pattern. If it is something that doesn't look like the company would produce, it is most likely not a real card. Some people glue a picture of the card on top of an older card, and it is fairly easy to tell that's fake.
Question

Can I use regular Pokemon for my benched Pokemon? I'm confused.

Community Answer

Any Pokemon can be used as a benched Pokemon, be it an Ex, or a Mega Ex, or just a regular Pokemon.