Playing the Pokémon TCG

How to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game: the basic rules made simple

Updated on 15/10/2026

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) looks complicated until you play your first game: then it becomes second nature. This guide covers everything you need to get started, with photos of our own cards so you know where to look.

How to read a card

The parts of a Japanese Pokémon card, numbered — One of our cards, Bulbasaur AR from Mega Brave: 1) name and Stage, 2) HP and type, 3) attack, 4) Weakness, Resistance and Retreat Cost, 5) illustrator, 6) regulation mark, set, number and rarity.

Close-up of an attack: Energy cost, name, damage and effect — The attack: Energy cost on the left, name in the middle, damage on the right; the effect underneath.

The play area

The play area: one Active Pokémon that fights, up to 5 on the Bench, 6 face-down Prize cards, the deck and the discard pile. A Stadium card in the middle is shared by both players.

Each player has one Active Pokémon, the only one that attacks and gets attacked, and up to 5 Pokémon on the Bench, ready to take over. Next to them sit the deck, the discard pile and the 6 Prize cards, face down.

How to win

You win the game when one of these three things happens:

you take all 6 of your Prize cards: you take one each time you Knock Out an opposing Pokémon, two or more if it's a Pokémon ex, V or Mega;
your opponent has no Pokémon left in play;
at the start of their turn your opponent has to draw but their deck is empty.

Setup

Shuffle your deck and draw 7 cards.
If you don't have a single Basic Pokémon in hand, reveal it, shuffle and draw again: that's a mulligan. For each of your mulligans your opponent may draw one extra card.
Place a Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon and up to 5 Basic Pokémon on your Bench.
Set aside the top 6 cards of your deck, face down: those are your Prizes.
Flip your Pokémon face up and start.

A turn, step by step

Phase	What you do
1. Draw	Draw a card from your deck.
2. Actions	In any order: put Basic Pokémon on your Bench, evolve, attach ONE Energy card, play Items (as many as you like), ONE Supporter and ONE Stadium, use Abilities, retreat your Active Pokémon (once per turn).
3. Attack	Your Active Pokémon attacks. After the attack your turn ends.

Evolution

A Basic Pokémon evolves when you put its Stage 1 on top of it, and a Stage 1 with its Stage 2. You can't evolve a Pokémon on the turn you put it into play. Some of our cards tell an evolution as a story across several cards:

Energy, Weakness and Retreat

To attack, the Active Pokémon needs the Energy shown in the attack cost (the Colorless symbol can be paid with any Energy). If the attacker is the type shown as the defender's Weakness, damage is doubled; if it's the type of its Resistance, 30 damage is subtracted. To retreat your Active Pokémon to the Bench you discard as many Energy as its Retreat Cost.

Weakness, Resistance and Retreat Cost on a card — At the bottom of every Pokémon: Weakness (here Fire ×2), Resistance (none) and Retreat Cost (two Energy).

What next?

Play a few games, then move on to the guide on how to build a deck and the one on types and Weakness.

Frequently asked questions

How many cards do you need to play?+

A deck of exactly 60 cards each. A ready-made deck is perfect for learning.

Can you play with Japanese cards?+

Yes, the rules are identical: only the language of the text changes. Official tournaments outside Japan, however, only allow the languages permitted by the international rules.

Who goes first?+

It's decided at random (usually with a coin flip). The player who goes first can't attack or play Supporter cards on their first turn.

How many Energy cards can I attach per turn?+

Only one Energy card from your hand per turn, unless another card says otherwise.