Guide: Where to begin on your TCG journey: playing & collecting

[Fairy]

Getting Started

Introduction

With the DPPt remakes releasing on the Nintendo Switch soon, the Pokémon TCG is back in the spotlight once again - if it ever left, that is. This beginner's guide will get you started with learning how to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game, from picking up the basic rules of attacking and status effects to getting to grips with how evolutions work.

Whether you've just discovered the Pokémon series for the first time, rediscovered it through the latest video games or Pokémon Go, or have been a fan since Red and Blue (or Green) landed on the original Game Boy, now is the perfect time to take up the almost 30-year-old series' tabletop counterpart and learn how to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Even better, if you already know the basics of how Pokémon battles work, you'll find it very easy to jump into the world of Pokémon cards.

One of the reasons the Pokémon Trading Card Game has remained so popular over its lifespan is thanks to its ability to keep all the familiar aspects of the video games involved, without having to tone it down. Evolutions, shinies, trainers, battles, status ailments: anything you know from Pokémon, be it the animated TV show or the video games, has found a way and place in the trading card game.

-Sarah Jarvis​

Where to Start

Each player has a deck of exactly 60 cards, consisting of Pokémon cards, energy cards, item cards and trainer cards.

Apart from energy cards, you can't have more than four cards in your deck with the same name.

When you're first learning how to play the Pokémon TCG, it might be best to pick up one of the pre-built decks available for the trading card game. Once you know the basics, you can learn how to build a Pokémon TCG deck to include all your favorite Pokémon and customize your play style..

How to Begin

The basic flow of play in the Pokémon TCG is relatively simple to grasp, but it involves a few steps you'll need to learn before your first battle.

How do you start the Pokémon TCG?
At the beginning of a game, players can flip a coin to see who plays first. Then the decks are shuffled, players draw a hand of seven cards and the top six cards are set aside as prize cards; you add one of these to your hand each time one you defeat an opponent's Pokémon, and claim victory if you pick up all six before your rival.

Both players can place one basic Pokémon card facedown as their active Pokémon, plus up to five more basic Pokémon on their bench. If you don't have any basic Pokémon cards in your hand after drawing your initial hand of seven cards, reveal your hand to your opponent and draw seven more hands. You can repeat this as many times as you want until you have at least one basic Pokémon - but your opponent gets to draw one extra card for every time you do.

How to Build a Deck

First, you need to decide whether your deck needs to be able to be taken to a tournament, or if it's something you intend to play casually with your friends. If it's a casual deck, feel free to use cards that you have from any set, but if you are looking to make a tournament deck, check out this thread for a list of tournament-legal cards: https://www.pokecommunity.com/threads/309435.

A good way to begin a deck is to choose a card that will be your main attacker; go through your cards and pick something that seems like it has either a strong attack, good ability, high HP, or all of those if you can. Think about what kind of a strategy you are going to go for; does it deal a lot of damage? Use status conditions? Snipe weaker Pokémon on the bench? Whatever it is, make sure you only include cards that involve the strategy you choose!

What goes in a deck?

There is no set ratio of Pokémon, trainers/supporters/stadium, and energy that you need in your deck. You can have them in any combination as long as they total 60 cards exactly; however there are better combinations than others, and you can only have up to 4 copies of a card in your deck, excluding basic energy. A common mistake is to overload a deck with Pokémon while overlooking those crucial support cards.

An example deck:

So I want to build a deck, and the card I'm interested in is this one:

https://cdn.bulbagarden.net/media/u...ck30.jpg/436px-GyaradosGyaradosHalfDeck30.jpg

I will need some Magikarps and some of these Gyarados. Seeing as it's my main Pokémon, I'm going to have four Magikarp and three Gyarados. I want to max out the basic form because you can't start the game unless you have basic Pokémon in your hand, and this gives me the best odds of getting Magikarp at the start of the game and setting up the Gyarados as quickly as possible. I'll use the Magikarp from Heart Gold Soul Silver because it's in format.

Now I need Pokémon that support Gyarados. It's a water-type, and I happen to know that Feraligatr prime from HGSS has a power that puts energy on water Pokémon quickly, so I'm going to add that. It will be 4 Totodile, 3 Croconaw, and 3 Feraligatr (4-3-3 or 4-2-3 if you have Rare Candy are pretty standard for stage 2 Pokémon). I can also add Pokémon that aren't water type if they have attacks which can use any type of energy (colourless attacks). I'll use Zoroark from Black and White because its attack uses two of any type, and its dark type will add variety to my deck, so I don't just automatically lose to electric decks. 1 Zorua and 1 Zoroark sounds good, which puts me at 19 Pokémon in total.

Trainers/Supporters/Stadiums: arguably the most important part of your deck. I need cards that search for my Pokémon, draw new cards, set up my Pokémon faster, and restore my cards from the discard pile. My Pokémon have a high retreat cost so Switch will help a lot. Here is a fairly standard list of things to add:

3 Pokémon Collector
4 Professor Oak's New Theory
2 Professor Elm's Training Method
1 Cilan
3 Cheren
3 Pokémon Communication
2 Switch
3 Rare Candy
3 Junk Arm
1 Super Rod

25 T/S/S

3 Rescue Energy
4 Double Colourless Energy
9 Water Energy

16 Energy Total

Water energy is obvious, and Double Colorless energy can be used by both Zoroark and Gyarados, basically giving you two energy in one attachment. Rescue energy brings your Pokémon back to your hand after it has been knocked out.

There are plenty of good cards both in and out of format right now, so choose the ones that seem to help your strategy. If energy is really important for your deck, get cards that help you search them out and recover them from the discard pile. If your Pokémon is a stage 2, rare candy will get you to the last stage one turn faster by skipping the middle stage. The most important thing is for the cards in your deck to work with one another, so don't throw things in unless they specifically add something to your overall plan. Unnecessary random cards will only get in the way and hurt the consistency of your deck.

Status, Attacking, Evolution

Each player has a deck of exactly 60 cards, consisting of Pokémon cards, energy cards, item cards and trainer cards.

Apart from energy cards, you can't have more than four cards in your deck with the same name. When you're first learning how to play the Pokémon TCG, it might be best to pick up one of the pre-built decks available for the trading card game. Once you know the basics, you can learn how to build a Pokémon TCG deck to include all your favourite Pokémon and customize your play style. The basic flow of play in the Pokémon TCG is relatively simple to grasp, but it involves a few steps you'll need to learn before your first battle.

How do you start the Pokémon TCG?

At the beginning of a game, players can flip a coin to see who plays first. Then the decks are shuffled, players draw a hand of seven cards and the top six cards are set aside as prize cards; you add one of these to your hand each time one you defeat an opponent's Pokémon, and claim victory if you pick up all six before your rival.

Where to Start

How do turns work in the Pokémon TCG?
When each turn begins, the active player draws a card from the top of their deck; if you run out of cards in your deck and can't draw on your next turn, you lose.

During each turn's second phase, you can do any and all of the following:

• Play any number of basic Pokémon from your hand to your bench.
• Attach one (and only one) energy card to a Pokémon from your hand. This can be your active Pokémon or a Pokémon on your bench.
• Evolve a Pokémon by playing a Stage 1 or Stage 2 evolution on top of a basic or Stage 1 Pokémon, respectively. A Pokémon can't evolve the same turn it's played, and can only evolve once per turn. (Unless an item card like Rare Candy specifies otherwise.)
• Play any number of item cards.
• Play any number of trainer cards. (Except supporter and stadium cards, which only let you play one per turn.)
• Retreat your active Pokémon to your bench by paying the retreat cost on its card in energy from your hand. You must then replace it with a Pokémon from your bench.
• Use any number of abilities on Pokémon cards.

How to Begin

A player can have a total of six Pokémon in play at once, although only one - the active Pokémon - can perform attacks during each turn. The rest remain in your bench - a row of cards behind the active Pokémon where you hold five other Pokémon who wait to battle it out against your opponent, a bit like your party in the Pokémon video games. Both active Pokémon and benched Pokémon can be evolved and have energy attached to them. If your active Pokémon is defeated, you must replace it with one from your bench; if you have no Pokémon on the field at all, you lose.

After you've done the above, your active Pokémon can attack the opponent. The Pokémon can perform one attack listed on its card as long as the correct amount and type of energy is attached to the card. (The energy isn't discarded unless specified.)

Damage is assigned to the opponent's active Pokémon as damage counters - once it receives as much damage as it has hit points, it faints. A defeated Pokémon must be replaced with a Pokémon from the bench (if there are no Pokémon to replace it, the player loses), and the player who knocked it out claims a prize card to add to their hand. If they claim their sixth and final prize card, they win.

Once you've attacked and assigned any damage and/or status effects, your turn ends and it's your opponent's go. The game repeats like this until one player wins!

Status, Attacking, Evolution

Each player has a deck of exactly 60 cards, consisting of Pokémon cards, energy cards, item cards and trainer cards.

Apart from energy cards, you can't have more than four cards in your deck with the same name.

When you're first learning how to play the Pokémon TCG, it might be best to pick up one of the pre-built decks available for the trading card game. Once you know the basics, you can learn how to build a Pokémon TCG deck to include all your favorite Pokémon and customize your play style.

The basic flow of play in the Pokémon TCG is relatively simple to grasp, but it involves a few steps you'll need to learn before your first battle.

How do you start the Pokémon TCG?
At the beginning of a game, players can flip a coin to see who plays first. Then the decks are shuffled, players draw a hand of seven cards and the top six cards are set aside as prize cards; you add one of these to your hand each time one you defeat an opponent's Pokémon, and claim victory if you pick up all six before your rival.

Both players can place one basic Pokémon card facedown as their active Pokémon, plus up to five more basic Pokémon on their bench. If you don't have any basic Pokémon cards in your hand after drawing your initial hand of seven cards, reveal your hand to your opponent and draw seven more hands. You can repeat this as many times as you want until you have at least one basic Pokémon - but your opponent gets to draw one extra card for every time you do.

Winning the TCG

Like many other competitive trading card games, the Pokémon TCG can be won in a variety of ways:

The most common path to victory is to knock out six of your opponent's Pokémon and collect prize cards. Every time you defeat a Pokémon controlled by your rival, you claim one of the six prize cards you set aside at the start of the game and add it to your hand. When you pick up your sixth and final card, you win!
If you defeat an opponent's active Pokémon and they have no available Pokémon on their bench to replace it, you can also claim victory.
If your opponent runs out of cards in their deck, and therefore can't draw a card at the beginning of their turn, you win. This is what's known as 'decking' your opponent.

Status Conditions

How do status conditions work in the Pokémon TCG?
As in the Pokémon video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has a number of special conditions that can be inflicted on Pokémon, giving their opponent an extra advantage in a battle. Multiple special conditions can affect the same Pokémon - in the case of effects indicated by turning the

Asleep
If a Pokémon is asleep, it can't attack or retreat. The card is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to show its status condition. At the end of their turn, the player flips a coin - on a head, the Pokémon wakes up and is no longer asleep.

Paralyzed
When a Pokémon is paralyzed, it can't attack or retreat on the player's next turn. The card is rotated 90 degrees clockwise to show its status condition. At the end of the player's next turn, paralyzed is automatically cured.

Burned
The Pokémon card receives a burned token to show its status condition. A burned Pokémon receives two damage counters (20 HP) at the end of each turn. After suffering this damage, the player flips a coin. On a heads, Burned is cured.

Confused
Pokémon video game players will be oh-so-familiar with the words "It hurt itself in its confusion!" Confusion in the Pokémon TCG works the same - when you attack with a confused Pokémon, flip a coin. On heads, the attack happens as normal. On tails, the attack fails and the Pokémon suffers three damage counters (30 HP). The Pokémon card is rotated 180 degrees (making it upside-down) to show its status condition.

Poisoned
A poisoned Pokémon suffers one damage counter (10 HP) at the end of each turn.

Special conditions can also be cured by evolving a Pokémon or retreating it to the bench, which cures all special conditions. (Remember that asleep and paralyzed Pokémon can't retreat!)

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[Fairy]

Getting Started

Your journey to professional Pokémon card collecting!

Where to Start

Have a target list of what you want to collect. Some people exclusively try to collect rare or special cards while others are looking for certain types of Pokémon or want to catch them all. Being more specific with your list can help narrow down your search among the 700+ Pokémon that currently exist. As you start out, keep in mind that there are different rarities for cards. 'Rarity' is a term used to determine how hard a card is to find and the rarity is marked on the bottom right of the card with a symbol:
Easier to find cards include common (black circle mark), uncommon (black diamond), or rare (black star).
Harder to find cards are either holofoil rare (black star with holographic art), ultra rare (white star), or secret rare (rarity symbol with a serial number).
Some of the most sought-after cards are either full art (cards with only art), EX ('EX' is next to the Pokémon name), or reverse holos (holographic sheen is on everything but the art). These cards are limited edition and can be worth a lot of money in mint condition

Organization

Pick your method of organization. Organization should be based on your own preferences such as whether you want to be able to pull out certain Pokémon types for battles or want to keep them in numerical order so you can know what's missing in the set you're collecting. There are several ways to categorize Pokémon cards including:

• Type (i.e. grass, ground, fighting, water, fire)
• Set (i.e. guardians rising, roaring skies, jungle, ex sandstorm)
• Evolution (basic, stage 1, stage 2, mega, break)
• Pokédex number- each Pokémon is assigned a number in the master list of Pokémon. (Bulbasaur is #001, Emolga is #587 and Oranguru is #765, for example.)
• Rarity.[11] (i.e. common, uncommon, rare)

The most common way to organize is by earliest set, from number 1 to [x], and progressing to later sets in a similar fashion.

Taking Care of your Cards

Invest in supplies to help organize and also protect your card collection. There are several options for storing and preserving your cards. A 3-ring binder can hold sheets of page protectors with special pockets for trading cards. The clear plastic is a great way to display your cards with easy access so you can organize the cards as you collect more. Another option is to buy individual sleeves or toploaders to hold separate cards that can then all be stored in a box or tin. Sleeves help protect from scratches and toploaders are a stiffer plastic sleeve that prevents cards from bending. You can buy binders at office supply stores or online and sheets and sleeves can be found at any hobby store. To cut down on costs, buy in bulk to save money in the long run.

Protect your cards from the elements:

Since the cards are made from paper, they are susceptible to becoming damaged and this will decrease their value. Keep your cards safe from these possible risks so that you don't have to worry about losing parts of your collection. Additionally, store your cards in a cool, dry place such as a closet or plastic bin. Avoid rubber bands for holding cards together since the bands can bend the cards and compromise the card structure.
Wear and tear from handling the cards
Water damage
Smoke damage
Food and drink stains
Sunlight and fading from light exposure​

Double up on protecting your cards. As you continue to collect, you'll start to accumulate some valuable cards, such as holographic or rare cards. Put those cards into a sleeve and then put them in a top loader. A binder is good for easy access to your cards, especially if you use them for battling other collectors, but using both a sleeve and toploader will prevent extra dust, water, and handling from ruining your special cards

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people collect for both the nostalgia, and the financial side of things. Being able to enjoy your cards and sell the odd one to fund future purchases is a great position to be in! So, as a beginner, what are the best Pokemon cards to collect? Well, you can't look further than the O.G. 1999 Base Set. This is the set that people grew up with, and that has the nostalgic association for most generation Y collectors. In fact, any of the following original Wizards of the Coasts sets make a great starting point as they seem to be selling the most at a higher rate.

1999 Base Set
1999 Fossil
2000 Base Set 2
2000 Team Rocket
2000 Gym Heroes
2000 Gym Challenge​

Here are a few things I recommend you get:

1. Penny Sleeves
These are soft, plastic sleeves that fit perfectly over your cards. They protect from dust, scratches and edge-wear.

2. Semi Rigid Card Savers
If you plan to submit your cards for grading, you'll need Card Savers. These are semi-rigid plastic covers that protect your cards, but offer enough flexibility to remove the card without damaging it.

Tip – Send your cards to be graded in a penny sleeve AND a card saver.

3. Binders
If you like the idea of collecting sets, binders are a great way to be able to appreciate your cards. They come with cool Pokemon designs on the front, and either 4 or 9 cards per page. I prefer 9 cards per page, it's more visually impressive!

Tip – Continue to use penny sleeves, even in binders, to help protect from edge-wear. Make sure they're not made of PVA plastics as that can damage the cards long-term.

4. Top Loaders
If you don't plan on grading your cards, and want to keep them lose, Top Loaders are the way to go. These are rigid plastic cases that prevent bending. They're also good if you're selling single cards on eBay and want to protect them when shipping.

5. Display Cabinets
Being able to appreciate your collection is often overlooked. We aspire for these wonderful cards, then keep them locked away because they're too valuable! If you can safely display your cards somewhere, I recommend looking for a classy, glassed display case to proudly show them off!

6. Graded Card Stands
Once you've got the display case, you'll then need some special stands to prop up your cards. I think these ones look fantastic!

7. Fireproof Cases
Lastly, you might want to consider a fireproof case or safe for your most valuable acquisitions. And also consider listing them on your home insurance too!

8. Watch our for sun damage!
Leaving your binder out on the counter may look gorgrous with all those holofoils, but be careful. Sun damage can progressively wear the colors out from your cards and do permanant damage.

What Things Do You Need to Start Collecting Pokemon Cards?

Aside from the cards themselves, you'll want to organize and store your Pokemon cards in a manageable way and as a beginner, it may seem a little daunting getting into the world of Pokemon.

Here are my final few tips to get you on your way:

1. Whether this is your first time, or you're returning to the hobby after many years, the key is educating yourself.

This is no longer just a trading card game for school kids. This is a highly valuable collectable, the modern-day equivalent of stamps, coins, and art. You wouldn't go into any other these other fields and drop your hard-earned money in the first five minutes, so don't do it with Pokemon just because you know your Jigglypuff's from your Wigglytuff's.

2. Next up, set a budget. Pokemon can be addictive! Stay within your means.

3. Decide on your collecting goal before investing. With thousands of cards, it can be easy to jump from vintage to modern, and graded to binders.

4.The only reliable place to obtain legit, legal cards is at TPC our your trusted local gaming store. Everywhere else, even major retailers can be very, very dubious.

This is the fast track to building a collection with little meaning to you.

Having done this for years now, the most satisfying approach is sticking to your collecting goal and achieving it, collecting your favorite cards, and having fun!

CSS originally by Absol
Modified by Fairy

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[Fairy]

intro

glossary (a - m)

glossary (n - z)

deck types

sets

formats

glossary of pokémon trading card game terminology

# a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

[a id]intro[/a id]introduction

All Pokécommunity Community Guidelines apply in this forum. You can read them here. In this post is a list of both common and uncommon terminology used in the TCG community, during gameplay, in reference to collecting, and general the Pokémon Trading Card Game vernacular. If you have any words or terms you would like to submit a definition for, please PM Icycatelf or Fairy with the word and its definition. Please note that some of these terms may be region-specific.

This list is constantly being updated and will remain a work in progress.

[a id]a-m[/a id]glossary: a - m

A

> Ability
An Ability is an effect on a Pokémon that is not an attack. Some will be active all of the time, while some you will need to choose to use. Read each Ability to make sure you understand exactly how and when it works.

> ACE SPEC Trainer Card
A powerful Trainer card. You may only have one ACE SPEC Trainer card in your deck.

> Active Pokémon
Your in-play Pokémon that is not on the Bench. Only the Active Pokémon can attack.

>Age Divisions (Play! Pokémon)
The Play! Pokémon program divides players into tournament groups based on the year they were born. These groups are the Junior, Senior, and Masters Divisions. Whenever possible, players are paired with other players in the same age division. Prizes are typically awarded to the best players in each age division.

> Age-Modified Swiss Pairing (Play! Pokémon)
As an adjustment to the Swiss pairing system, players are paired both by record and by age division. Players may be matched with players from other age divisions in certain circumstances. Not to be confused with Age-Separated Swiss Pairing.

> Age-Separated Swiss Pairing (Play! Pokémon)
When there are at least six players in each age division, a tournament is typically split, with players from a single age division competing only against one another. Each division is run as a separate tournament, though the results of all three divisions are reported as a single tournament. Not to be confused with Age-Modified Swiss Pairing.

> Ancient Trait
Ancient Traits are special powers (like Ω Barrier or α Recovery) that appear on certain Pokémon cards, right under the Pokémon's name. They are not attacks or Abilities, so cards that prevent those from being used won't affect Ancient Traits.

> Arena
The location of the Active Pokémon on the field.

> Attach
When you take a card from your hand and put it on one of your Pokémon in play.

> Attack
1) When your Active Pokémon fights your opponent's Pokémon.
2) The text written on each Pokémon card that shows what it does when it attacks (a Pokémon can have several attacks on it).

> Attacking Pokémon
The Active Pokémon, as it performs an attack.

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B

> Baby Pokémon
Up to the Skyridge Expansion, the opponent was also forced to flip a coin when attacking a Baby Pokémon: if tails, the Attack would fail. As of the EX Sandstorm Expansion, Baby Pokémon are officially Basic Pokémon, and instead have a Baby Evolution Poké-POWER to allow them to evolve into their respective evolutions.

> Basic
Short for "Basic Pokémon."

> Baby Killer
An attack or Pokémon that can damage an opponent's benched Pokémon for 30 or more damage.

> Banned Cards
Cards from the Pokémon TCG that are or have been banned from competitive play. Not to be confused with rotated cards.

> Battle Road
A Pokémon TCG tournament.

> Bench
The place for your Pokémon that are in play but are not actively fighting. They come out and fight if the Active Pokémon retreats or is Knocked Out. When Benched Pokémon take damage, do not apply Weakness or Resistance.

> Between-Turns Step
The part of each turn when the game shifts from one player to the other. Check Poisoned, Burned, Asleep, and Paralyzed at this step, and see whether any Pokémon are Knocked Out.

> Booster Pack
Booster packs are currently packs of 10 cards from a given Expansion. Boosters offer the chance to acquire stronger cards to strengthen a Theme Deck, create new decks of cards, or customize old ones. Every booster pack is guaranteed to contain at least one Rare (★) card, with generally three Uncommon (◆) cards and the remainder being Common (●). Since the release of the Legendary Collection set, one reverse Holofoil print of a common, uncommon, or rare card has also been included in every pack.

> Box Topper
A special card included inside sealed booster boxes as an incentive for buying an entire box of booster packs.

> BREAK Evolution
A special kind of Evolution. When a Pokémon evolves into a Pokémon BREAK, it keeps the attacks, Abilities, Weakness, Resistance, and Retreat Cost of its previous Evolution.

> Broken Card
A card that "breaks" the playing environment in a TCG. In theory, any card that exceeds the average power given its circumstances. It's a card that you either play or play against. A great example of a broken card in HGSS-NEX format is Mewtwo EX.

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C

> Catcher/Catchered
Short for the use of a "Pokémon Catcher" card.
Example: "I drew a catcher and decided to catcher out his Mewtwo EX for the revenge KO !"

> Championship Points
Points that are given for placing high in tournaments. Invitations to World Championships are given out based on Championship points.

> Charizard Tax
The universal understanding that all Charizard cards are automatically worth more money simply because they are Charizards.

> Check
A card which makes an opponent unwilling to commit another card to the field.
Example: Landorus EX would make an opponent unwilling to bench Dark Deino.

> Coins
One of two types of randomizers that players can use during a game. Coin flips (Heads or Tails) are an integral part of the game.

> Combo
Combination of 2 or more cards that have good synergy.
Example: Reshiram and Typhlosion Prime form a very simple and efficient combo.

> Constructed Deck
(See: Full Deck) is a 60-card deck built by a player from that player's own Pokémon Trading Card Game collection.

> Counter
A card which can be used to deal with a threat, strategically - i.e for deck building purposes.
Example: In general, Terrakion NVI counters Darkrai EX.

> Crystal Pokémon
Pokémon identified by being Colorless but focus on three particular types of Energy to use in its attacks. All Crystal Pokémon have the Poké-Body Crystal Type.

D

Damage Counter: A damage counter represents 10 damage in Pokémon TCG.
Example: Put 2 damage counters on the defending Pokémon (put 20 damage on the defending Pokémon.)

DCE: This an abbreviation for "Double Colorless Energy".

Deck out: When you or your opponent have no cards left to draw from your deck.
Examples: "I decked out my opponent using Devour with Durrant!"

Defending Pokémon: The opponent's Active Pokémon.

Donk: Your active Pokémon gets a knock out on the first turn on the Defending Pokémon and they have no Pokémon left on the bench. (Getting Donk-ed or Getting a Donk.)

E
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F
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Failed search: When someone plays a search card and does not search anything out. Can be done with or without intention.

Format: A particular set period of time when cards from particular sets are legal for tournament play.

G
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H
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I
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J
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Jank: An opinionated term used to describe card(s) that are considered worthless and not worthy of current tournament play.

K
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KO: Knock Out

L
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M
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Meta or Meta-game: A term used to describe what cards are recently being played in current tournaments.

Mill or Milling: A term which originated from MTG (Magic the Gathering) of sending cards from your opponent's deck or your deck to the graveyard.
Example: "I had 4 Durant in play and used the attack 'Devour' to mill 4 cards from my opponent's deck to the discard pile."

Miscut
A card cut off-center (in extreme cases, part of another card may be visible)

Misprint
A card printed with some kind of error, often corrected in later print runs (note that a card with several errors may be a counterfeit instead of a misprint)

Modified Format
When certain sets are restricted from play due to rotation or through an agreement with said players choice.
Examples: "No Base Set cards allowed"
"Black and White on wards format"

Mulligan: When you draw 7 cards and draw no Basic Pokémon in your opening hand.

Mega Evolution Pokémon
A very powerful kind of Pokémon-EX with an additional drawback: when one of your Pokémon becomes a Mega Evolution Pokémon, your turn ends.

[a id]n-z[/a id]glossary: n - z

N
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Net-decking: A term used to describe copying and building a deck exactly card for card from a deck list source, or taking a list found online and running that exact list or a list that is almost similar.

O
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OHKO
One Hit Knock Out
2HKO
3HKO
etc

Opening Hand: The first 7 cards you draw to start the game!

ORICA (Original Card): See "Custom Card."

Out: A card which can be used to deal with a threat, tactically - i.e when you are playing against someone, so dependent on the situation.
Example: Terrakion is an out to Darkrai EX but if Darkrai EX holds Eviolite, then Terrakion EX is no longer an out.

Owner
A Pokémon with a Trainer's name in its title, such as Brock's Sandshrew or Team Rocket's Meowth. Cards with , , , , or do NOT count as "Owner" cards.

P
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POP: Pokémon Organized Play and a specialized series of booster packs.

Pre-release: An event organized by Play! Pokémon which allows you to open booster packs and play a special event which involves using cards from the next set to be released, exclusively held within the 3 weeks leading up to a set's official release.

Proxy: Official or unofficial replica of an official card, printed solely for play-testing.

Pulling: A term used to describe when you open a booster pack.
"I just pulled a Mewtwo EX from a Next Destinies pack!"

Poison Marker
Object put on a Pokémon to remind you it is Poisoned. Remove the marker if the Pokémon is Benched or evolved.

Poké-Body
An effect that is active as soon as that Pokémon is in play and lasts until the Pokémon leaves play.

Poké-Power
A once-per-turn power on Active and Benched Pokémon you must choose to use. Most Poké-Powers are turned off if the Pokémon has a Special Condition.

Pokémon
The colorful characters that fight for you in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. They are represented in the game by Basic Pokémon and Evolution cards.

Pokémon-EX
Pokémon-EX are a stronger form of Pokémon with a special drawback: when your Pokémon-EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes two Prize cards instead of one.

Pokémon-GX
Pokémon-GX are a stronger form of Pokémon with a special drawback: when your Pokémon-GX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes two Prize cards instead of one. Each Pokémon-GX has a powerful GX attack.

Pokémon LEGEND
Special double cards that showcase powerful Legendary Pokémon. Both cards must be played together at the same time.

Pokémon LV.X
Stronger versions of a regular Pokémon, put on top of the regular Pokémon of the same name and adding extra abilities to the original Pokémon.

Pokémon Power
A special ability some Pokémon have. Pokémon Powers are divided into two categories: Poké-Power and Poké-Body. They always include the words "Poké-Power" or "Poké-Body" so you can tell they are not attacks.

Pokémon SP
A special Pokémon trained by a particular Trainer, with a symbol in its name to show its owner. A Zapdos card has a different name from a Zapdos card because Zapdos is a Team Galactic's Pokémon and the is part of the name.

Pokémon Tool
A special kind of Trainer card (an Item) you can attach to your Pokémon to help you. Each Pokémon can have only 1 Pokémon Tool attached at any time.

Prism Star Card
A powerful kind of card with a couple of special rules. cards can be Pokémon, Trainer cards, or Special Energy. You can't have more than one card with the same name in your deck. If a card would go to the discard pile, put it in the Lost Zone instead.

Prize Cards
The 6 cards you put face down while setting up to play. Every time one of your opponent's Pokémon is Knocked Out, you take 1 of your Prize cards and put it into your hand (or 2 Prize cards, for a Pokémon-EX or a Pokémon-GX). When you take your last Prize card, you win!

Q
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R
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Rarity: In the English sets at least, this includes Common (circle), Uncommon (diamond), and Rare (star), Ultra Rare (holographic star and associated with a unique mechanic), and Secret Rare (star, holographic or otherwise, with a card number higher than the base set). In Neo Destiny exclusively, Secret Rares used a triple star symbol. Usually denoted on the bottom of a card.

Revenge: To Knock Out an opponent's Pokémon after you lost a Pokémon to a Knock Out yourself.

Rotation
Happens usually once a year after World Championships. In a rotation, the oldest modified sets are deleted from the current modified format to make the metagame new and fresh every year.

Regulation Mark
A letter symbol found on each card that identifies whether it is legal to use in tournament play. Regulation marks were introduced on cards in the Sword & Shield Series.

Resistance
A Pokémon with Resistance takes less damage when attacked by Pokémon of a certain type. The amount of Resistance is printed next to the type(s) of Resistance a Pokémon has, if any.

Restored Pokémon Card
A card you play with the associated fossil Item card.

Retreat Cost
When you switch your Active Pokémon with one of your Benched Pokémon. To retreat, you must discard Energy from the retreating Pokémon equal to the Retreat Cost of the Pokémon. This cost appears in the lower right-hand corner of the card. You can only retreat once per turn.

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Scrub: A term which is very general to describe "a bad player" or not making the top cut of a tournament(s). *Moderator note: usually only used by snobby players. Not making Top-Cut does not automatically make you a bad player.

Sneak Peak: Also known as a Pre-release.

Sniping: When a Pokémon's attack deals damage to particular Benched Pokémon.

Symbol Sheet: A collection of icons (Energy, Ability, etc.) to use with a particular set of blanks. Usually a transparent PNG.

Special Conditions
Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed, and Poisoned are called Special Conditions.

Spread
Damaging multiple Pokemon on your opponent's bench

Stadium Card
A type of Trainer card that is similar to an Item card but stays in play after you play it. Only one Stadium card can be in play at a time—if a new one comes into play, discard the old one and end its effects. You can play only one Stadium card each turn.

Stall
Stalling can mean two things. Negative stall is when a player slow-plays deliberately because he/she is in a prize lead and would lose the game if playing with a normal game pace. Stalling can also mean when any Pokémon is stuck as an active Pokémon due an attack. For example, Vanilluxe deck can be considered as stalling because it auto-paralyzes the opponent almost every turn.

Sudden Death
Sometimes both players win at the same time. In this case, you play a short game called "Sudden Death" (use only 1 Prize card each instead of 6).

Supporter Card
A Trainer card similar to an Item card. You can play only one Supporter card each turn.

Swiss: A style of play that Pokemon uses in its tournaments where players with similar records are paired together. For example, a player who won 4 games and lost 4 games, will probably be paired with someone else who won 4 games and lost 4.

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TCG
Abbreviation for "Trading Card Game". - submitted by Renpuu

TCGO
The most popular term used when referring to the official Pokémon Trading Card Game Online client.

Tier
A grouping of decks together. For example, the best decks in the format would be considered "Tier 1." The second best decks would be considered "Tier2" decks etc.

Tech: A single copy of a card which is down to the personal preference of the player.
"I run a tech copy of 'Tool Scrapper' as I can search it out with Skyla if I need it."

Text Fake: Non-graphical custom card using only text

Texture: May refer to (1) the cloudy background of a card, behind the art frame and text or (2) embossing on special cards like full arts.

TO
Tournament Organizer

Top-cut: The final rounds of a tournament, after everyone has played in the round-robin portion of the tournament. It consists of the players with the best records after the round-robin stage, and can contain several different numbers of players depending on the size of the tournament.

Top deck: A term used to describe when a player is drawing the card(s) he needs.
Example:"I only had 1 card in hand and then I top decked the Professor Juniper ! Yes ! A fresh hand of 7 cards!"
"I top decked the Pokemon Catcher to catcher out his damaged EX to take my last 2 prizes for game!"

Tournament Format: The sets which are allowed to be used in tournaments due to rotations.

Type: Displayed in a Pokémon's upper right corner. Includes Grass (G), Fire (R), Water (W), Lightning (L), Fighting (F), Psychic (P), Colorless (C), Darkness (D), Metal (M), Dragon (N), and Fairy (Y).

Technical Machine
A kind of Trainer card (an Item) you can attach to your Pokémon. When attached, your Pokémon can use the Technical Machine attack as its own. Technical Machine cards remain attached unless the card text says otherwise.

Trainer Card
Special cards you play to gain advantages in the game. See Item card, Stadium card, Supporter card.

Trainers' Pokémon
Pokémon with Trainers' names in their titles, like Brock's Sandshrew. You cannot evolve a regular Sandshrew into Brock's Sandslash, and you cannot evolve a Brock's Sandshrew into a regular Sandslash. This is because "Brock's" is part of the name.

Tilt/Tilting
When the match begin to turn heavily to the opponent's favor.

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Unlimited Format: When cards from any and all formats are allowed.

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W
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Wiff/Wiffing: A term used to describe when you play a card and it does not go your way.
Examples: "I got a tails on a crushing hammer and I needed that to by time and prevent my opponent from attacking!"
"I got tails on a Super Scoop up! Now I'm stuck with this Pokémon in my Active position"
"I played a Professor Juniper to draw a fresh hand of 7 cards, but I did not draw the Double Colorless Energy I needed for my Mewtwo EX to attack that turn!"

Weakness
A Pokémon with Weakness takes more damage when attacked by Pokémon of a certain type. The effect of the Weakness is indicated next to the type(s) of Weakness a Pokémon has, if any.

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X-Y-Z: Pokémon line-ups used to describe X Basic, Y Stage 1 and Z Stage 2 within an evolution line.
Example: "I run a 4-2-4 of Charizard. So 4 Charmander, 2 Charmeleon, 4 Charizard"
"I run a 2-2 Blissey line. So 2 Chansey and 2 Blissey"

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Z
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[a id]decks[/a id]types of decks

Archetype deck:

A particular distinctive type of deck. Archetype decks are usually closely related to metagame decks and even though they have the same supporting Pokémon (for example Eelektrik(NVI), they can use different attackers.

Rogue deck:

A deck that not only isn't an archetype, but is also doing something in a new – unexpected way. For example MagneRock in the season 2010-2011.

Stall deck:

Uses high HP Pokémon like Chansey(BS) and Lickitung(BS) to stall while maxing out on (Super) Energy Removal, Scoop Up and Pokémon Center. The goal of this kind of deck is to deck the opponent. Newer versions of this deck pop out all the time. Good examples are decks like: Dark Steelix, Steelix Prime, Ross.dec and Wailord.dec. The newer versions of these decks can win on prizes as well as decking out.

Trap Deck:

Meant to leave your opponent with little or no options on their first few turn by using The Rocket's Trap, Imposter Oaks Revenge, and Rocket's Sneak Attack. Newer version have used Absol(SW), Team Galactic's Mars, Team Galactic's Wager, N, Rocket's Admin and Cyrus' Initiative to achieve the same goal. Sablelock that won the U.S. Nationals in 2010 was a trap deck.

Haymaker deck:

Deck that focuses on big basic Pokémon with quick, energy-efficient attacks and relatively high HP. It was named after Hitmonchan, the original basis of the deck, "Haymaker" is Hitmonchans first attack when translated from Japanese. (A haymaker is a general term for a Knockout punch in boxing.) Main Pokemon: Hitmonchan, Scyther, Electabuzz etc. Newer versions of Haymaker decks arise in every format and one good example of a new Haymaker deck is 6 Corners.

[a id]sets[/a id]existing sets & promos

first generation

Base Set
Jungle
Fossil
Team Rocket
Gym Heroes
Gym Challenge
Neo Genesis
Neo Discovery
Neo Revelation
Neo Destiny
Legendary Collection
Expedition
Aquapolis
Skyridge
EX Ruby&Sapphire
EX Sandstorm
EX Dragon
EX Team Magma & Team Aqua
EX Hidden Legends
EX FireRed & LeafGreen
EX Team Rocket Returns
DX - EX Deoxys
EX Emerald
EX Unseen Forces
EX Delta Species
EX Legend Maker EX Holon Phantoms
EX Crystal Guardians
EX Dragon Frontiers
EX Power Keepers
Diamond & Pearl
Mysterious Treasures
Secret Wonders
Great Encounters
Majestic Dawn
Legends Awakened
Stormfront
Platinum
Rising Rivals
Supreme Victors
Arceus
HeartGold&SoulSilver
HS - Unleashed
HS - Undaunted
HS - Triumphant
Call Of Legends
Black & White
Emerging Powers
Noble Victories
Next Destinies
Dark Explorers
Dragons Exalted
Boundaries Crossed
Plasma Storm
Plasma Freeze
Plasma Blast
Legendary Treasure

[a id]formats[/a id]modified formats

BS-on –Base Set on
Rocket-on – Team Rocket on
Neo-on – Neo Genesis on
E-on – Expedition-on (2003-2004)
RS-on/ EX-on – Ruby&Sapphire on (2004-2005)
HL-on – EX Hidden Legends on (2005-2006)
DX-on –EX Deoxys on (2006-2007)
HP-on - EX Holon Phantoms on(2007-2008)
DP-on - Diamond & Pearl on(2008-2010)
MD-on - Majestic Dawn on(2010-2011)
GS-on – HeartGold&SoulSilver on(2011-2012)

Modified – The current format of every season. For example, at the moment the current modified comprehends sets from HGSS to Next Destinies.

Unlimited – A format, where every card excluding ______'s Pikachu and Ancient Mew are allowed to be used.

Limited - A format for playing the game that restricts the sets that are playable. For example, a pre-release is a limited format.

Draft - A form of play where each player has several packs. For each pack, the player opens it and picks one card and then passes it to the right. The next player then picks a card and then passes it to the right. This is continued until each pack is opened. Decks are built by the cards you pull from the boosters + Basic energy cards. Draft is usually played with 40-card decks and with 4-prize games.

Mutant Draft - A draft where evolution lines can be made by type. For example, you can evolve a basic Fire Basic Pokémon like Growlithe into a Stage 1 Fire Pokémon like Magmortar and that into a Stage 2 Fire Pokemon like Blaziken.

Pre-Release - A form of tournament play. A tournament helf before the release of a set. Players can join the event for $20-30. They are given 6-8 boosters in the beginning of the tournament and each person makes a deck of 40 cards from those boosters + Basic energy cards.

 

[MisspokeBear96]

This was so helpful thank you😁

 

[#Roy#]

Excellent read, Now I want to play the card game with our grandson.

 

[boyblunder]

what a cool thread omg

i used to play a lot and i've been thinking of getting back into it

 

[Aurelsecs]

this is very helpful, thank you

Are there any other resources people recommend for trading cards?

 

[icycatelf]

this is very helpful, thank you

Are there any other resources people recommend for trading cards?

It's against PokéCommunity policy to trade/sell, but you can check Facebook groups, YouTube, etc. for potential trade partners if you don't have anyone to trade with in-person. There are more risks when trading online, however (cards getting lost or damaged in the mail, the other person not holding up their end of the deal, etc.).