Basic Pokémon

The short answer

A Basic Pokémon is a Pokémon card that does not evolve from anything. It says BASIC in the top left corner, and you can put it onto your Bench from your hand during your turn, up to five Benched Pokémon at a time. Every evolution line starts with one.

Do not confuse it with Basic Energy. Basic Energy cards are the plain Grass, Fire, Water and other Energy cards that have no limit on copies; a Basic Pokémon follows the normal limit of four copies by name.

Basic, Stage 1 and Stage 2

A Pokémon's stage is printed in the top left. A Stage 1 card is played on top of the Basic Pokémon it names, and a Stage 2 on top of the Stage 1. The card says what it evolves from, in small print beside the stage.

Dreepy

Twilight Masquerade #128

Basic. Played straight from your hand.

Drakloak

Twilight Masquerade #129

Stage 1. Evolves from Dreepy.

Dragapult ex

Twilight Masquerade #130

Stage 2. Evolves from Drakloak.

Neither player can evolve a Pokémon on their own first turn, and you cannot evolve a Pokémon the same turn you played it or already evolved it. The evolved Pokémon keeps the damage counters and Energy that were on the card underneath. Some cards, like Rare Candy, let you skip from a Basic straight to its Stage 2. How a turn works →

Why a deck needs one

The game cannot start without a Basic Pokémon. During setup, each player draws seven cards and puts one Basic Pokémon face down as their Active Pokémon, then up to five more on the Bench. The deck building rules therefore require at least one Basic Pokémon in every 60-card deck.

If your opening seven has no Basic Pokémon, you take a mulligan: reveal your hand, shuffle it back, and draw seven again until you have one. For each extra mulligan you take, your opponent may draw one more card. A mulligan costs you nothing directly, but it hands your opponent cards.

There is a second reason a deck needs more than one. If your Active Pokémon is Knocked Out and you have no Pokémon on your Bench to replace it, you lose the game. A Bench of one or two Basic Pokémon protects against that.

How many Basic Pokémon to play

One is the legal minimum and far too few. The number depends on the deck: one built around Basic attackers can play many, while an evolution deck plays enough Basic Pokémon to start its lines and fills the rest with evolutions and Trainers. The chance of having a Basic in your opening seven rises quickly with each one you add, which is the number worth watching.

The TurnZero HQ deck builder shows that chance for your list in its Opening hand lens, along with the chance of a Supporter and an Energy card, and it flags a deck with no Basic Pokémon at all. Every deck building rule →

Basic Pokémon ex, Mega and fossils

Stage and the ex rule are separate. A Pokémon ex can be a Basic, Stage 1 or Stage 2, and the corner tells you which. The same is true of Mega Evolution Pokémon ex: Mega Kangaskhan ex is a Basic Pokémon that goes straight onto your Bench, even though it gives up 3 Prize cards when Knocked Out. What ex means →

Every Radiant Pokémon and every Prism Star Pokémon is a Basic Pokémon, with its own deck limit on top. The Antique Fossil cards are Items in your deck and hand, and once played they are treated as a 60-HP Basic Colorless Pokémon. They cannot retreat and cannot be affected by Special Conditions, and you can discard one from play at any time during your turn.

Mega Kangaskhan ex

Mega Evolution #104

Mega Evolution. A Basic Mega Evolution Pokémon ex.

Antique Jaw Fossil

Perfect Order #68

Perfect Order. An Item played as a Basic Pokémon.

Frequently Asked Questions