How to Play the Pokémon TCG

The goal of the Pokémon TCG

You win by taking all six of your Prize cards. Each time you Knock Out one of your opponent's Pokémon, you take one or more of them, and the first player to take their last one wins. There are two other ways to win, covered below, but most games end on Prize cards.

Each player brings a deck of 60 cards. A deck can hold up to four cards with the same name, except basic Energy cards, which you can run in any number, and it needs at least one Basic Pokémon. The rules come from the current rulebook published by The Pokémon Company International. This page summarizes it. At a tournament, or whenever a detail matters, the rulebook and the text on the card decide.

The three card types

Every card in a Pokémon deck is a Pokémon, a Trainer or an Energy card.

Each attack lists an Energy cost in the symbols printed on the card, and you can use it only when the attacking Pokémon has enough matching Energy attached. Colorless symbols in a cost can be paid with any type. Where each part sits on a card →

Setting up a game

1. Flip a coin. The winner decides who goes first.
2. Shuffle your deck, and draw seven cards.
3. You need a Basic Pokémon in your hand. If you have none, reveal your hand, shuffle it back and draw seven again. This is called a mulligan. For each extra mulligan you take, your opponent may draw one more card.
4. Put one Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon. You may put up to five more Basic Pokémon face down on your Bench.
5. Set the top six cards of your deck aside, face down, as your Prize cards.
6. Both players turn their Pokémon face up, and the game begins.

The Active Pokémon is the one in front, which attacks and takes attacks. Benched Pokémon wait behind it, and one of them steps up when the Active Pokémon retreats or is Knocked Out.

What happens on a turn

A turn has three parts, in this order: draw a card, take any of the actions below in any order, then attack, which ends your turn. The player going first still draws, but cannot attack on their first turn.

Evolving means placing a Stage 1 card on the matching Basic Pokémon, or a Stage 2 card on the matching Stage 1. Neither player can evolve a Pokémon on their own first turn, and you cannot evolve a Pokémon the same turn you played it. The evolved card keeps the damage and Energy already on the Pokémon underneath.

The first-turn limits exist because going first is an advantage. The player going first gets a head start on attaching Energy and filling the Bench, and pays for it by not attacking or playing a Supporter. The player going second can do both on their first turn, so the choice after the coin flip depends on what your deck needs to do early.

Attacking and Knock Outs

To attack, choose an attack your Active Pokémon has the Energy to pay for, and say its name. Damage is dealt to the opponent's Active Pokémon, and two things printed at the bottom left of that Pokémon's card can change the number. If it has Weakness to the attacker's type, apply the amount shown. On current cards that is ×2, which doubles the damage. If it has Resistance to that type, the damage goes down by the amount shown. Weakness and Resistance don't apply to Benched Pokémon. Damage is marked with counters, and each counter stands for 10 damage.

When the damage on a Pokémon equals or exceeds its HP, it is Knocked Out. It goes to the discard pile with everything attached to it, and the player who Knocked it Out takes Prize cards. Most Pokémon give up one, most Pokémon ex and Pokémon V give up two, and Pokémon VMAX give up three. The rule box on the card says how many. The Knocked Out player then promotes a Benched Pokémon to Active. How Prize card counting works →

Some attacks also cause a Special Condition: Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed or Poisoned. These sit on the Active Pokémon and are checked between turns, in a step called the Pokémon Checkup. A Pokémon recovers from all of them when it moves to the Bench or evolves.

How you win

There are three ways to win, and a player can also concede.

Both players can win at the same moment, for example when a Knock Out takes your last Prize card and also leaves your opponent with no Pokémon. If each player wins one way, you play Sudden Death: a new game with one Prize card each. If you win two ways and your opponent wins only one, you win.

The Prize cards sit on the table, so you don't need anything to keep score. TurnZero HQ has a Prize card tracker for when you want the result saved. Pokémon Prize Card Tracker →

Formats

A format decides which cards you can put in a deck. Standard goes by the regulation mark, a letter printed at the bottom left of newer cards. Since the April 2026 rotation, cards marked H, I and J are legal, and most organized play uses Standard. Expanded allows cards from the Black & White series onward and has its own banned card list. Both use the 60-card deck and four-copy rule above.

Standard rotates once a year, so check the current list before you build around a specific card. TurnZero HQ checks a Pokémon deck against Standard or Expanded when you build it.

What to do next

Play a few games with a ready-made deck before you build one. You learn the turn faster when every card is already chosen for you, and changing one card at a time afterward shows you what each card does for the deck. When you are ready to build your own, the deck guide covers the construction rules and how to check a list in TurnZero HQ.

How to Build a Pokémon Deck → Pokémon TCG on TurnZero HQ → How Much Are My Pokémon Cards Worth? →

Frequently Asked Questions