How to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game: a simple, complete guide

Updated October 6, 2026. Sources: The official Pokémon TCG rulebook (Temporal Forces edition, pokemon.com), the Pokémon Card Game Advanced Player's Rulebook (version 3.4, 2025) and the Learn to Play guide on tcg.pokemon.com.

The goal

You win when any of these happens:

1. You take your last Prize card.
2. Your opponent has no Pokémon left in play.
3. Your opponent can't draw a card at the start of their turn because their deck is empty.

Your deck

• Exactly 60 cards.
• Up to 4 cards with the same name. Basic Energy cards are the exception: you can have as many as you like.
• Special Energy follows the 4-copy rule.
• A deck has three kinds of cards: Pokémon, Trainers and Energy.

The play area

• Active Spot: your one Pokémon that attacks and gets attacked.
• Bench: up to 5 more Pokémon waiting.
• Prize cards: 6 face-down cards. You take one (or more) each time you Knock Out a Pokémon.
• Deck and discard pile.

Setting up

1. Flip a coin. The winner decides who goes first.
2. Shuffle your deck and draw 7 cards.
3. Put a Basic Pokémon from your hand face-down in your Active Spot. You may also put up to 5 more Basic Pokémon on your Bench.
4. No Basic Pokémon? That's a mulligan. Show your hand, shuffle it back and draw 7 again. Your opponent may draw 1 extra card for each mulligan you take.
5. Put the top 6 cards of your deck face-down as your Prize cards.
6. Flip your Pokémon face-up and start.

Your turn, step by step

1. Draw 1 card.
2. Do any of these, in any order:
3. Put Basic Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench (as many as you like, up to 5 on the Bench).
4. Evolve your Pokémon by playing the next Stage on top. A Pokémon can't evolve the turn it was put into play, and nobody can evolve on their first turn.
5. Attach 1 Energy card from your hand to one of your Pokémon. Once per turn.
6. Play Item cards (as many as you like).
7. Play 1 Supporter card. Once per turn.
8. Play 1 Stadium card. Once per turn. You can't play a Stadium with the same name as the one in play.
9. Attach Pokémon Tools to your Pokémon.
10. Retreat your Active Pokémon once per turn: discard Energy equal to its Retreat Cost and switch it with a Benched Pokémon.
11. Use Abilities, following what each one says.
12. Attack with your Active Pokémon. This ends your turn.

First turn: the player who goes first can't attack, and can't play a Supporter, on their first turn.

Attacking and damage

1. Check that your Active Pokémon has the Energy the attack needs.
2. Do the attack's damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon.
3. Weakness: if the defender is weak to the attacker's type, apply the Weakness shown (usually ×2).
4. Resistance: if the defender resists the attacker's type, subtract the Resistance shown.
5. Put damage counters on the defender (each counter = 10 damage).

Knock Out: when a Pokémon's damage equals or passes its HP, it's Knocked Out and goes to the discard pile with everything attached. The attacking player takes Prize cards:

The player whose Pokémon was Knocked Out then moves a Benched Pokémon into the Active Spot. If they can't, they lose.

Special Conditions

These only affect the Active Pokémon. Moving it to the Bench (by retreating or switching) or evolving it removes all of them.

• Poisoned: put 1 damage counter on it during each Pokémon Checkup.
• Burned: put 2 damage counters on it during each Pokémon Checkup. Then flip a coin; on heads, it's no longer Burned.
• Asleep: it can't attack or retreat. During each Pokémon Checkup, flip a coin; on heads, it wakes up.
• Paralyzed: it can't attack or retreat. It recovers during the Pokémon Checkup after its owner's next turn.
• Confused: when it tries to attack, flip a coin. On tails, the attack doesn't happen and you put 3 damage counters on your own Pokémon.

Asleep, Confused and Paralyzed replace each other: a Pokémon can only have one of those at a time. Poisoned and Burned can stack with them.

Pokémon Checkup happens between turns. Conditions are checked in this order: Poisoned, Burned, Asleep, Paralyzed. Then any Knock Outs are handled.

Next steps

• Build and check a Standard deck in the Pokémon deck builder. Genny can build one with you and explain how it plays.
• Browse every Pokémon set with its card list and prices.
• See the release calendar for upcoming sets.

This guide simplifies the official rules for new players. When a card's text says something different, the card's text wins.