Possibly going to return to the game?

[ggctuk]

I'm getting bored of making Yu-Gi-Oh! decks now and I'd like to move back to Pokemon cards. My problem at the moment is that the last time I even saw one of my own cards was about six years ago, with the Team Rocket set - which is now up in the loft (although probably not for long). My question is, where should I start collecting again?

 

[donavannj]

Well, any set made after Diamond and Pearl is play legal... and you may want to get a starter deck to get reacquainted with the game. Most players speculate that only the Platinum sets and the HeartGold SoulSilver sets will be legal after the August set rotation.

I'd go with the newest set if you want to be playing with them for a couple years.

 

[Rocket_Executive]

^ Agreed. There are only a few cards from diamond & pearl sets that you may find you absolutely need in the future, but it's more economical to get them individually and when you're more familiar with the new rules and sets. Until then, start with a theme deck for practice and collect from the newer sets, Platinum and up. I found the best way to learn was to play other people, and joining a league definitely provided me with the most valuable learning experiences so far.
You may find this useful: https://www.pokemon.com/us/organized-play/tournaments/rules/ it's the official Pokemon rule site, so you can see how the game is now played and which cards are legal.

 

[ggctuk]

I see no mention of the original Team Rocket sets but I suppose that would mean by default they're illegal.