Regels

Hoe je het Pokémon Trading Card Game speelt — de regels van het huidige Standard-format (Scarlet & Violet-tijdperk), volledig uitgelegd. Twee spelers laten hun Pokémon vechten en pakken een prijskaart voor elke Knock Out — wie als eerste alle zes pakt, wint. Spring hieronder naar een onderwerp.

Goal of the Game

Two players each play a 60-card deck and battle their Pokémon. You win the moment any one of these three things happens.

Charizard ex card — A Pokémon ex is worth 2 Prize cards

Take all your Prize cards: You set 6 Prize cards aside at the start. Each time you Knock Out one of your opponent's Pokémon you take one (or more) of them. Take your last Prize card and you win.
Knock Out every Pokémon in play: If your opponent has no Pokémon left in play after a Knock Out, you win — even if they still have Prize cards left.
Opponent can't draw: If, at the start of their turn, a player must draw a card but their deck is empty, they lose. This is called "decking out".

Voorbeeld

Knock Out a Pokémon ex like Charizard ex and you take 2 Prize cards at once — take your 6th Prize and you win immediately.

Game Zones

Each player's side of the play area is divided into these zones.

Pokémon Park Stadium card — A Stadium occupies the shared zone

Active Spot: The one Pokémon that battles and can attack. You always have exactly one Active Pokémon while you have any in play.
Bench: Up to 5 Pokémon waiting to be brought up. Benched Pokémon can't attack or be attacked directly, but can still take damage from some effects.
Hand: The cards you can play. There is no maximum hand size.
Deck: Your face-down library of 60 cards. You draw from the top.
Discard Pile: A face-up pile for used, discarded and Knocked Out cards.
Prize cards: 6 cards set face down at setup. You take them as you score Knock Outs.
Stadium: A shared zone for the one Stadium card that can be in play at a time. Either player's Stadium occupies it.
Lost Zone: A separate out-of-play area used by some modern cards. Cards sent to the Lost Zone are gone for the rest of the game.

Voorbeeld

A Stadium card like Pokémon Park sits in the shared Stadium zone and affects both players until another Stadium replaces it.

Card Types

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

Double Turbo Energy card — Special Energy

Pokémon

Basic Pokémon: Played straight from your hand onto the Bench or Active Spot. Every deck needs Basics to start.
Stage 1 / Stage 2: Evolutions. You place a Stage 1 on its matching Basic, and a Stage 2 on its matching Stage 1, to make that Pokémon stronger.

Trainer cards

Item: Play as many as you like per turn, then discard.
Supporter: Powerful helpers — only one per turn.
Stadium: Stays in play and affects both players until replaced by another Stadium.
Pokémon Tool: Attached to one of your Pokémon to give it a lasting bonus.
ACE SPEC: Especially strong Trainer cards. You may have only one ACE SPEC card in your whole deck.

Energy

Basic Energy: The fuel for attacks. You may include any number of Basic Energy in a deck.
Special Energy: Provide Energy plus an extra effect. They follow the normal 4-copy deck limit.

Voorbeeld

Charmander is a Basic Pokémon, Charizard a Stage 2; Ultra Ball is an Item and Professor’s Research a Supporter; Fire Energy is Basic Energy while Double Turbo is Special Energy.

Setting Up to Play

1. Shuffle and draw 7: Both players shuffle their 60-card deck and draw a 7-card opening hand.
2. Place your Pokémon: Put one Basic Pokémon face down as your Active Pokémon, and up to 5 more Basics face down on your Bench.
3. Set Prizes: Put the top 6 cards of your deck aside face down as your Prize cards.
Mulligan: No Basic Pokémon in your opening hand? Reveal your hand, shuffle it back, and draw 7 again. Your opponent may draw an extra card for each of your mulligans.
Decide turn order: Flip a coin (or similar). The winner decides who takes the first turn. Then both players flip their Pokémon face up and play begins.

Voorbeeld

Draw 7, set Charmander as your Active Pokémon, put any other Basics on your Bench, then place 6 Prize cards. No Basic in hand? Mulligan and draw again.

Parts of a Turn

On your turn you first draw, then take actions in any order, then optionally attack to end the turn.

1. Draw a card: Start your turn by drawing the top card of your deck.
2. Take actions (any order, any number unless limited): Put Basic Pokémon on your Bench, evolve your Pokémon, attach one Energy, play Trainer cards, retreat your Active Pokémon, and use Abilities.
3. Attack: Choose one attack on your Active Pokémon. Attacking ends your turn.

The player who goes first cannot attack on their very first turn. There is no other "first-turn" restriction in the current rules — the first player may still play Trainers, evolve and attach Energy.

Voorbeeld

Draw, attach a Fire Energy to Charmander, play one Supporter like Professor’s Research to draw more, then attack to end your turn — remember, only one Supporter per turn.

Playing & Evolving Pokémon

Play Basics freely: You may put as many Basic Pokémon from your hand onto your Bench as you like each turn, up to the 5-Bench limit.
Evolve onto the matching Pokémon: Place a Stage 1 or Stage 2 on the Pokémon named on the bottom of the Evolution card. It keeps any damage, Energy and attached cards.
Once per Pokémon per turn: Each Pokémon can evolve only once per turn (Basic → Stage 1, or Stage 1 → Stage 2).
Not the turn it arrives: You can't evolve a Pokémon on the turn you played or evolved it, and nobody can evolve on the first turn of the whole game.

Voorbeeld

Charmander (Basic) evolves into Charmeleon (Stage 1), which evolves into Charizard (Stage 2) — one step per Pokémon per turn, never on the turn it arrived.

Attaching Energy

Once per turn you may attach one Energy card from your hand to any one of your Pokémon — Active or Benched. Energy powers attacks and pays Retreat Cost. Some cards let you attach extra Energy, but the base rule is one per turn.

Voorbeeld

Attach one Fire Energy to Charmander this turn; you cannot attach a second Energy unless a card specifically lets you.

Attacking

To use an attack, your Active Pokémon must have at least the Energy shown in the attack's cost.

Energy cost: The symbols left of the attack name show the Energy required. A colourless symbol can be paid with any Energy type.
Damage: The number right of the attack name is the damage placed on the Defending Pokémon. Many attacks also have extra text effects.
Weakness (×2): If the Defending Pokémon is Weak to the attacker's type, double the attack's damage.
Resistance (−30): If the Defending Pokémon Resists the attacker's type, reduce the damage (usually by 30).

Voorbeeld

Charizard is Weak to Water (×2), so a Water Pokémon whose attack does 60 damage deals 120 to it instead.

Abilities

Abilities are powers printed on a Pokémon that are not attacks. Unless the Ability says otherwise, you may use it any time during your turn without ending it, and using an Ability does not stop you from also attacking. Each Ability's text says exactly when and how often it can be used.

Voorbeeld

Charizard ex has the Ability “Infernal Reign” — you may use it on the turn it evolves without ending your turn, then still attack.

Retreating

Once per turn you may retreat your Active Pokémon to switch it with one of your Benched Pokémon. To retreat, discard Energy attached to the Active Pokémon equal to its Retreat Cost (the colourless symbols at the bottom of the card). A Pokémon with no Retreat Cost retreats for free. A Pokémon that is Asleep or Paralyzed cannot retreat.

Voorbeeld

Charizard has a Retreat Cost of 3, so you discard 3 Energy attached to it to switch in a Benched Pokémon — once per turn, and not while Asleep or Paralyzed.

Knock Outs & Prize Cards

When a Pokémon has damage equal to or greater than its HP, it is Knocked Out: it and everything attached to it go to the discard pile. The player who Knocked it Out then takes a Prize card. After a Knock Out, if the Active Spot is empty, that player chooses a Benched Pokémon to become their new Active Pokémon.

Most Pokémon are worth 1 Prize card. Rule Box Pokémon are worth more — see below.

Voorbeeld

Knock Out a regular Pokémon and take 1 Prize; Knock Out Charizard ex and take 2 Prizes at once.

Special Conditions

Special Conditions affect only the Active Pokémon. They are removed if that Pokémon retreats, evolves, or goes to the Bench.

Koffing card — Some attacks inflict a Special Condition like Poisoned

Asleep: The Pokémon can't attack or retreat. Flip a coin between turns (at Pokémon Checkup); on heads it wakes up.
Burned: Put 2 damage counters on it at every Pokémon Checkup, then flip a coin — on heads the Burn is removed.
Confused: When it tries to attack, flip a coin. On tails the attack fails and it puts 3 damage counters on itself.
Paralyzed: The Pokémon can't attack or retreat. It recovers at the end of your next turn.
Poisoned: Put 1 damage counter on it at every Pokémon Checkup. Poison stays until the Pokémon is cured.

Pokémon Checkup

Between every turn there is a "Pokémon Checkup" step where Poison and Burn deal their damage and Asleep/Burn coin flips are made for both players' Active Pokémon.

Voorbeeld

Koffing’s attack “Smog” can make the Defending Pokémon Poisoned — it then takes 1 damage counter at every Pokémon Checkup until it is cured or leaves the Active Spot.

Rule Box Pokémon

Some Pokémon have a "rule box" — a line of text describing a special rule. They are stronger, but they give your opponent extra Prize cards when Knocked Out.

Charizard VSTAR card — Legacy VSTAR — 2 Prizes

Radiant Greninja card — Radiant — 1 Prize, one per deck

Pokémon ex: The current Scarlet & Violet rule-box Pokémon. When a Pokémon ex is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
V, VMAX, VSTAR, GX, EX (legacy): Older rule-box Pokémon you may still own. V, VSTAR, GX and EX give 2 Prizes; VMAX and TAG TEAM GX give 3.
Radiant Pokémon: Shiny rule-box Basics — you may have only one Radiant Pokémon in your deck. Worth 1 Prize.

Always read a Pokémon's rule box: it tells you how many Prize cards it gives up and any deck-building limits.

Voorbeeld

Charizard ex gives up 2 Prizes; the legacy Charizard VSTAR also gives 2; Radiant Greninja gives only 1, but you may run just one Radiant Pokémon in the whole deck.

Deck Building

Exactly 60 cards: A Standard deck contains exactly 60 cards — no more, no less.
Four-copy limit: You may include at most 4 cards with the same name (counting Pokémon, Trainers and Special Energy).
Unlimited Basic Energy: The 4-copy limit does not apply to Basic Energy — include as many as your deck needs.
One ACE SPEC: Your deck may contain a single ACE SPEC card in total.
Legal cards only: Standard decks may only use cards from the currently legal expansions. Check the official rotation for which sets are legal.

Voorbeeld

In your 60 cards you can run up to 4 Rare Candy, but as many Fire Energy as you like — and only a single ACE SPEC.

Samengevat uit de officiële regels van het Pokémon Trading Card Game. Ze beschrijven het huidige Standard-format (Scarlet & Violet-tijdperk); oudere formats en de door fans gemaakte Gym Leader Challenge hebben hun eigen regels. Raadpleeg voor toernooispel altijd het nieuwste officiële regelboek en de actuele rotatie.