The Pokémon Trading Card Game was first introduced to North America in 1999, and in Japan at an earlier date (exact date unknown). It is a collectible card game based off the famous Pokémon video game. At the time, it was published by Wizards of the Coast, the company most famous for Magic: The Gathering.

However, with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy video games, Nintendo took back the card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves. The latest incarnations of the card games is known as Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, the cards of which (for the large part) are compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader.

Video game releases

On December 18, 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color game called Pokémon Trading Card. It was a game based on the original Pokémon games, but with trading cards instead of actual "monsters". This title was released in North America on March 31, 2000 and in Europe on December 8, 2000. It included the cards from the base set as well as its first two expansions, along with cards that are exclusive to the game.

A second Game Boy game, called Pokémon Card GB2, was released in Japan on March 28, 2001. It introduced a trading card parallel to Team Rocket, called Great Team Rocket, and also added cards from the Team Rocket expansion.

Game concepts

The game is centered around the concept of the Pokémon battle, similar to that of the video games. The objective of the game is to knock out six opposing Pokémon. To do this, you are given three types of cards: Pokémon cards, which represent the actual Pokémon; Trainer cards, which allow for immediate-like activity; and Energy cards, which function as the game's "currency unit".

Pokémon cards were the actual Pokémon from the video game. You could have only six Pokémon at a time out, with only one being active and the other five being "benched" Pokémon. If a Pokémon was removed from the bench, you could place another from your hand into play, but only if there was less than five Pokémon on the bench. The rules of the Pokémon TCG can be easily extended as to allow multiple battles such as the two-on-two battling found in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

A simplified type system was used for the trading card game: instead of 17 types of Pokémon, only nine exist (with Darkness and Metal introduced with the Team Rocket and Neo expansions):

• Colorless (Gray) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Normal, Flying, and Dragon types
• Darkness (Black) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Dark type
• Fighting (Brown) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Rock, Ground, or Fighting types
• Fire (Red) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Fire type
• Grass (Green) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Grass, Bug, and Poison types
• Lightning (Yellow) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Electric type
• Metal (Silver) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Steel type
• Psychic (Purple) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Psychic and Ghost types
• Water (Blue) - consisting mainly of Pokémon of Water and Ice types

Many Pokémon have one and only one type (some are now beginning to have two), and unlike its video game counterpart, the type of the Pokémon and not the type of the attack that a Pokémon uses is used to determine weakness and resistance.

Later expansion sets featured Dark Pokémon, Pokémon that were darker than their normal versions. These Pokémon were often used, story-wise, by evil trainers or evil organisations such as Team Rocket. There were also “gym leader” versions of Pokémon that had stronger attacks and higher HP, but also required more energy. Light Pokémon, representing Pokémon that were exceptionally good, as well as Shining Pokémon, which parallels the shiny Pokémon introduced in the Pokémon Gold and Silver video games and often requires energy cards of three different types to be effective. There are also Pokémon EX cards that are more powerful than their normal counterparts, but incur greater consequences should they be knocked out.

Pokémon featured attacks that would reduce the HP of the opposing active Pokémon. These attacks required Energy and they came in the form of Energy cards. The attacks would require certain color energy depending on the type of attack and the Pokémon using it. There were initially seven types of energy cards, including Fighting, Fire, Grass, Lightning, Psychic, Water, and Double Colorless energy.

Trainer cards were support cards that allowed you to do something to enhance the game. Cards like Potion and Super Potion removed damage from your Pokémon to keep it from being knocked out as easily. Others allowed for searching your deck for Pokémon, removing energy from the opposing Pokémon, and reviving Pokémon that has been knocked out. There are many other types of Trainer cards.

Sets

Pokémon trading cards are loosely grouped into sets. Most sets is roughly grouped into the following order, with cards in the same group following alphabetical order:

• Rare holographic (holofoil) cards, Pokémon cards before Trainer and Energy cards
• Pokémon cards, in descending order of rarity
• Trainer cards, in descending order of rarity (subdivisions of Trainer cards, such as Stadium cards not being considered)
• Energy cards, in descending order of rarity.

In general, more evolved Pokémon tended to be rarer than their less evolved counterparts.

Here is a list of all the sets:

The differences in set sizes were usually attributed to the North American version having holographic and non-holographic versions of the same cards, as well as the reinclusion of Energy cards and the inclusion of cards from other sets.

Cards were available either as prebuilt theme decks, the favored method of distribution in Japan, or booster packs, the favored method of distribution in North America.

Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection were both North American re-release expansions, expansions that only included cards that have been previously released in other expansions (or the Base Set). Pokémon *Web is similarly a Japanese re-release expansion.

The Expediation, Aquapolis, Skyridge, and many EX are compatible with the e-Reader.

External links

• Team Compendium is an unofficial body that archives, reconciles, and publicizes rulings for the Trading Card Game dating to its WotC days.

By lw