Pokémon Trading Card Game — BrandWiki

Pokémon Trading Card Game

cardback	Pokemon Trading Card Game cardback.jpg
cardback caption	Pokémon Trading Card Game logo (top) and cardback
designer	Tsunekazu Ishihara Kouichi Ooyama Takumi Akabane
publisher	The Pokémon Company Japan Media Factory (October 1996 – November 2000) United States Wizards of the Coast (December 1998 – July 2003)
date	October 20, 1996
type	Collectible
players	2
ages	6+
num cards	60
playing time	2–120 minutes
random chance	Some (order of cards drawn, dice, coin flip)
skills	Card playing Arithmetic Reading
website	tcg.pokemon.com

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (ポケモンカードゲーム), abbreviated as PTCG or Pokémon TCG, is a tabletop and collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. based on the Pokémon franchise. Originally published in Japan by Media Factory in 1996, publishing worldwide is currently handled by The Pokémon Company. In the United States and also by Gopu, Pokémon TCG publishing was originally licensed to Wizards of the Coast, the producer of Magic: The Gathering. Wizards published eight expansion sets between 1998 and 2003, after which point licensing was transferred to The Pokémon Company.

Players assume the role of Pokémon Trainers engaging in battle, and play with 60-card decks. Standard gameplay cards include Pokémon cards, Energy cards, and Trainer cards. Pokémon are introduced in battle from a "bench" and perform attacks on their opponent to deplete their health points. Attacks are enabled by the attachment of a sufficient number of Energy cards to the active Pokémon. Pokémon may also adjust other gameplay factors and evolve into more powerful stages. Players may use Trainer cards to draw cards into their hand, harm their opponent, or perform other gameplay functions. Card effects often rely on elements of luck, such as dice rolls and coin tosses, to decide an outcome. Gameplay relies on the usage of counters to indicate damage dealt and status effects. It is also classified as a sport.

The Pokémon TCG has been the subject of both officially-sanctioned and informal tournaments.

Gameplay

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a strategy-based card game that is usually played on a designated playmat or digitally on an official game client (usually Pokémon Trading Card Game Live) where two players (assuming the role of Pokémon Trainer) use their Pokémon to battle one another. Pokémon that have sustained enough damage from attacks–that reaches or exceeds its HP–is referred to as being "Knocked Out", granting the opponent a prize card; however, powerful card mechanics like Pokémon-V and Pokémon ex (which have higher HP and are harder to "Knock Out") grant extra prize cards when Knocked Out.

Taking all six prize cards is the most common win condition. Other ways to win are by "Knocking Out" or by removing all opponent's Pokémon in play–the Active and those on the Bench (i.e. the row behind the Active that can house up to five additional Pokémon to support and substitute Active Pokémon if it retreats or is "Knocked Out"), or by Decked Out–if at the opponent's next turn they have no cards left in deck to draw into.[5]

Players begin by having one player select heads or tails, and the other flips a coin; the winner of the coin flip will decide who goes first or second. (Dice may be used in place of coins, with even numbers representing heads and odd numbers representing tails; dice are also primarily used in official tournaments organized by The Pokémon Company). The player going first cannot attack or play a Supporter card (powerful Trainer effects card) on their first turn. Players shuffle their decks and draw seven cards, and then each puts one Basic Pokémon in play as their Active Pokémon. This Pokémon is the one that is actively attacking and receiving damage. If a player does not have any Basic Pokémon, they must call mulligan, shuffle, and then draw another hand until they draw a Basic Pokémon; the opponent may draw one additional card per mulligan. Once both players have at least one Basic Pokémon, they can play up to five more Basic Pokémon onto their Bench, and then take the top six cards of their deck and place them to the side as Prize cards.[6][5]

Play alternates between players who may take several actions during their turn, including playing additional Basic Pokémon, evolving their Pokémon, attaching an Energy card, playing Trainer cards, and using Pokémon abilities and attacks. After Trainer cards are played, cards are discarded by effects from Trainer cards or Abilities, and after Pokémon were "Knocked Out", they are put into the discard pile.[5] A player may also retreat their Active Pokémon, switching the Active Pokémon with one on the Bench by paying the Active Pokémon's retreat cost of a certain number of Energies. At the cost of ending the turn, players may use one of their Active Pokémon's attacks once the prerequisite number and types of Energy attached to that Pokémon is fulfilled. Effects from that attack are then activated and damage may be dealt on the defending Pokémon, which may modify based on the defender Pokémon's type weakness or a resistance policies, and/or by any other effects on the defending Pokémon. Players alternate attacking until a player wins either through one of the above win conditions or by concession.[7][5] Although in rare cases both players may take a Prize card at the same time with a Pokémon like Dusknoir from Shrouderd Fable's ability which can "Knock Out" another Pokémon but it also "Knocks Out" itself, if this happens a new games known as "Sudden Death" starts where both players set up as usual but with one Prize card and the first player to take their Prize card wins the game, but if both players take a Prize card at the same time again, this process is repeated.

Card types

Pokémon cards depict one or multiple Pokémon from the Pokémon franchise, one to two elemental types, one or more attacks and/or an Ability, and a certain amount of HP. Basic Pokémon are Pokémon that have not evolved and can be played directly onto the Bench; they have Stage 1, Stage 2, and/or special mechanic evolutions. Each player may have up to six Pokémon in play: one in the Active Spot and five on the Bench.[7]

Most Pokémon have attacks that require a certain amount of Energies to use. Attacks deal damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon and sometimes deal additional damage to their Benched Pokémon; they may have additional effects like drawing cards, inflicting Special Conditions (Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed, or Poisoned) or altering the opponent's deck and/or board state. Abilities, previously called Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies until 2011,[8] are not attacks, but special effects on Pokémon that may be activated once or multiple times during their turn, such as drawing additional cards or switching the opponent's Active Pokémon with one of their Benched Pokémon, or can be passive, i.e. they remain in effect as long as the Pokémon with the Ability remains in play.[5]

The other type of Pokémon cards are Evolution Pokémon.

Card collecting

Collecting and swapping cards outside of gameplay has been a key aspect of the hobby since the initial release of the Pokémon TCG; many collectors have little-to-no interest in using their cards for gameplay, instead focusing on acquiring cards based on rarity/market value, a desire to complete a particular set, or a fondness for a certain Pokémon species or a specific art style.

Pokémon cards are sold at stores in many different formats including individual booster packs, pre-constructed decks, boxed sets including several booster packs and one or more promotional cards, booster bundles of six packs, and booster boxes of 36 packs.[61] Subsequently, cards are also available through e-commerce websites and individual sellers. However, buyers should be cautioned of fake Pokémon cards.[62] Additionally, a resurgence in the TCG's popularity since the early 2020s has led to a rise in scalping of sealed products; many players and collectors have reported difficulties in finding packs and boxes of popular sets at normal retail prices, as scalpers have targeted online product drops with automated bots, while in-person drops of popular items at brick-and-mortar stores have often sold out in minutes.

Many collectors opt to have their cards graded by a professional service, with Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), and Beckett being the most popular among Pokémon TCG enthusiasts. A card with a high grade can be worth significantly more on the open market than its ungraded counterpart, with many collectors using a card's PSA 10 (Gem Mint) value as a benchmark for the maximum potential value of a card; CGC and Beckett "Pristine 10" cards, however, can often sell for even larger amounts.

Pokémon card collectables are valued based on their rarity, though some lower rarity cards can be worth more than higher rarity ones. This depends on the popularity of the card within competitive play, the age of the card, number of cards printed, and various other factors. From the lowest to the highest level, cards rarities are indicated by different shapes on the bottom corner, i.e. Common (circle), Uncommon (diamond), and Rare (star).[63] Japanese-edition cards use letters rather than shapes to denote rarities; i.e. from the lowest to the highest level, C, U, R, RR, SR, and UR.[64] In a single Pokémon TCG booster pack, a collector can pull 10 cards in total, i.e. five Common cards, three Uncommon cards, a reverse holographic card of any rarity, and sometimes a Rare card.[61] Starting with the Scarlet and Violet series however, each pack will contain one holographic card, as well as two reverse holographic cards.[65] Unlike the basic Common and Uncommon, Rare collectables are divided into many different sub-groups, comprising Holo Rare, Reverse Holo, Half Art/Half Body, Full Art/Full Body, Secret Rare, Ultra Rare, Rainbow Rare, Promo, and card mechanics including EX/GX, V/VSTAR/VMAX, and Tag Team.[66] Rarities can be also account for old card collectibles such as "1st-edition Base Set" and "First Generation Sets", and such collectibles are some of the rarest and most expensive Pokémon cards with some valuing at thousands and millions of dollars.

Holo Rare are Rare cards that have a holographic illustration, whereas Reverse Holo are any-rarity cards that have holographic textures elsewhere on the surface except for the main illustration. Half Art and Full Art are Half Body and Full Body artworks covering the entire/half the card surface, respectively. In comparison, Secret Rares can be Full Art or Half Arts but with additional artwork schemes such as alternative holofoil scheme, shiny scheme, or a gold trim; they are characterized by a set number past the actual printed size of the set (ex. 242/220). Secret Rares also comprise the subset Rainbow Rare, which features similar materials but in rainbow-color foil schemes.[66][63] In response to these collectible's considerable rarities, card collectors use card sleeves to protect them from wear and tear.[69][70]

There are various TikTok accounts dedicated to opening Pokémon card packs (also known as "ripping" packs) people buy live on stream for viewers.[71] Some streamers even run "pulls", where certain cards or number values are associated with rare, high value cards that are included if they happen to be pulled during pack openings. While there are genuine accounts associated with this trend, there are also scammers intentionally selling resealed packs with valuable cards already taken out, sending counterfeit cards or not sending anything at all.[71] Pack rips are also streamed for other popular card games such as Magic: the Gathering and One Piece. Additionally, several YouTubers that focus on opening packs have accumulated millions of subscribers.

Some particularly well-known cards have been given fan-made names as well, such as "Moonbreon," the alternate art Umbreon VMAX from Sword and Shield: Evolving Skies.

Rarest Cards

From least to most, the top 15 rarest and most expensive Pokémon cards are:

The "Pikachu Illustrator" is the rarest and most expensive Pokémon card ever sold in history, and it was acquired by the celebrity and collector Logan Paul for $5,275,000 in July 2021. In February 2026, it was sold for $16.5 million.[73]

This card was created as a prize for the 1997-1998 Pokémon design contests organized by the Japanese manga-magazine CoroCoro Comic and with only 41 copies printed, it is the only Pokémon card to say "Illustrator" instead of "Trainer" like other Trainer cards. The card was illustrated by Atsuko Nishida, the original designer of the Pokémon species including Pikachu. The Japanese imprint reads: "We certify that your illustration is an excellent entry in the Pokémon Card Game Illust Contest. Therefore, we state that you are an Officially Authorized Pokémon Card Illustrator and admire your skill."[68][74] While the Pikachu Illustrator Card purchased by Logan Paul has the record for the most expensive Pokémon Card ever sold, other lower grade versions of the card have been sold for high prices elsewhere. Shopping platform ZenPlus, a subsidiary of shopping service ZenMarket (now part of ZenGroup), sold two of the cards in 2020, for the Japanese Yen equivalent of US$233,000 and US$208,496 respectively.[75][76] A third card was sold on the platform in 2022 for US$772,000.[77]

"20th Anniversary 24-karat real-gold Pikachu"
"Prerelease Raichu"
"Master's Key"
"Espeon and Umbreon Gold Star POP Series 5"
"2002 Pokémon World Championships No. 1 Trainer"
"1996 Pokémon Japanese Base Set No Rarity Symbol Holo Venusaur"
"1999 Pokémon Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind"
"1999 Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer, "2006 Pokémon World Championships Promo No. 2 Trainer"
"2000 Pokémon Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9"
"Kangaskhan-Holo #115 Family Event Trophy Card"
"Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card"
"Pokémon Blastoise #009/165R Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram"
"1999 First Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4"
PSA-graded 10 "Pikachu Illustrator".[72][68]

Competitive play

In addition to the collectible aspect of the card game, The Pokémon Company International (formerly known as Pokémon USA) has also organized Play! Pokémon, a program run by Pokémon Organized Play (POP),[78] players can compete against others in tournaments and earn player points, two-card booster packets for promotional sets, badges, stickers and other prizes. POP are governed by League Leaders and League Owners. Play! Pokémon also features a professor program, where individuals aged 18 or over may be nominated as a "professor", who can help sanction the tournament.

League Leaders assist in organizing the league, while League Owners are the main organizer of the event. The latter report directly to the Organized Play program every seven weeks. A league cycle is usually divided into eight seasons, each of which lasts about five weeks and is typically represented by themes found in Pokémon (e.g. gym badges, starter Pokémon). Play! Pokémon supports both standard and expanded card format, however in its competitive tournaments only standard format (i.e. card rotation format that discontinues older Pokémon cards to foster new strategies and a healthy competitive environment) are permitted. In contrast to the former, expanded card format permits inclusion of any Pokémon cards, regardless if they are older cards.[79]

The first Pokémon TCG tournament began on June 14–15, 1997, at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall. As the tournament had no real skill-based qualifiers, participants were admitted through preregistration and through an extensive lottery system process if too many people applied. Many deck lists including the winning deck lists used in the tournament are poorly built because of the lack of skill sets in the admittance process, with many players running incomplete evolution lines and excessive Trainer cards. The tournament was divided into four sessions with three solely restricted to elementary school players and one allowing players up to junior high. The top three player of the tournament were awarded the No.1, 2, and 3 trainer trophy cards; this practice continue through subsequent Pokémon TCG tournaments and organized plays.[80]

Players in a tournament are split into three age categories: Junior (11 years old and younger), Senior (12 to 15 years old), and Master (16 years old and older).[81] Notable references include Austin Brewen who won the first junior tournament, Brenden Zhang who won the first Senior Tournament, and Arturo Heras who won the first Master Tournament. These tournaments play several rounds, where players will play a standard game against each other and wins and losses will be recorded. In most tournaments, there are some Swiss-style rounds where players are paired up against others of similar win/loss ratios,[82] usually from their age group (this does not always occur in smaller events, though). Afterward, there will be a cut off the top record-holders (approximately the top 1/8 of participants) where players will play best two out of three matches and the loser gets eliminated (standard tournament bracket style), with an eventual winner.[83]

POP runs a season for these tournaments, which allows players to earn larger prizes and play in a more competitive environment in comparison to League. These range from City and Regional Championships, all the way up to the Pokémon World Championships, the single invite-only event of the year. Players can earn invites to the World Championships by winning or ranking high at International Championships, doing well at tournaments to get Championship Points, or by qualifying in the Last Chance Qualifier.[84] Some of these methods are only used in the United States, as PUI and POP are based in the United States, but they are represented by local distributors who provide the Organized Play program to their own country.[85]

Although The Pokémon Company International tries to keep Organized Play as uniform as possible globally, there are some notable differences in how POP is run outside of the United States. The Pokémon Card Laboratory (PCL), located in Japan, is the designer of new cards and the ultimate authority on any matter relating to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It can declare rulings on any in-game circumstance, issue errata, change card text after publishing, and change the basic game rules, although the latter three rarely occur. PCL runs Organized Play in Japan. The Pokémon Trading Card Game in most European countries is currently handled by The Pokémon Company International. Certain countries have no direct official presence; in these regions, distributors of the game run tournaments. European countries can qualify for positions at the Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championships each year, through National Championships and European Rankings.

Pokémon TCG World Championships

The first Pokémon TCG World Championships was held in 2004 at Orlando, Florida, U.S. The venue was organized by Wizards of Coasts, with more than 100 invited contestants from various countries.[86][87] To qualify for the championships, players are required to collect Championship Points across regionals and other official tournaments, which can vary based on each championship and different regions.[88][89]

Pokémon types

Pokémon Types are elemental attributes, determining the strengths and weaknesses for each Pokémon and its attacks. Pokémon take double damage from attacks of types they are weak to and less damage from attacks they resist.[36] These type matchups offset one another in rock–paper–scissors-style relationships.[37] Pokémon Types in the TCG include Fire, Fighting, Dragon, Lightning, Grass, Water, Fairy, Psychic, Darkness, Metal, and Colorless.[35] Other Pokémon types such as Ice and Ground types from the franchise, however, do not have their own types in the TCG and instead are categorized/incorporated inside other types; for example, Ice type[38] and Ground type[39] are categorized under Water type and Fighting type, respectively.[40]

Starting with Dragons Exalted, Dragon type Pokémon are now listed as Dragon-type, and they were previously categorized under the Colorless type.[41] Similarly, starting with Sword & Shield, Poison type Pokémon are categorized under Darkness-type; Poison-type were previously Psychic type,[42] and before that they were categorized under Grass type.[43]

A simplified type system was adopted from the video games for use in the trading card game. Darkness and Metal types was introduced alongside the corresponding Pokémon Gold and Silver video game, the Dragon-type was introduced in the Japanese Dragon Selection set; and Fairy type was introduced in the XY set to correspond to its introduction in the franchise, but they were later categorized under Psychic type starting with Sword and Pokémon Shield.[42][44] While most Pokémon have only one type, three exceptions are EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua which introduced dual-type Pokémon that have two different types, as well as XY and HeartGold and SoulSilver series sets.[25] Dual types were also utilized in Pokémon-Legend cards from HeartGold and SoulSilver.[45] In August 2016, XY Steam Siege reintroduced the dual-type mechanic, but this time on regular Pokémon and Pokémon-EX.[46]