6 Pokémon TCG Rules New Players Always Get Wrong

Published Sep 24, 2026, 11:21 AM EDT Niall (pronounced Ny-ul) is a UK-based writer who has been writing about Magic: The Gathering throughout his entire career, with everything from new set breakdowns and individual deck guides to offering his opinions on the state of formats and the general direction of the iconic TCG. Niall also has a rich history covering triple-A releases, sports games, and PC hardware. This article was produced in collaboration with our partners Pokémon Organized Play. The Pokémon Trading Card Game is one of the friendliest tabletop games to start playing, thanks to a simple turn structure and a set of rules that haven’t changed much over the years. That being said, there’s still quite a bit of nuance to the game, and if you’re new to the game, there are some key rules and actions you need to be aware of to prevent making mistakes in real game situations. These are mistakes that are easily made if you’re not familiar with the game, and while your opponents will be sure to kindly flag any mistakes, it's best to go into each game with that little bit of awareness to have things go as smoothly as possible. Attacking Ends Your Turn One of the big rules that new players forget is that once combat has taken place, your turn is over. More often than not, you’re going to want to slowly move through your turns to make sure you aren’t making any misplays, but in the heat of battle, it can be tempting to try and jump on an opportunity to knock out one of your opponent's Pokémon and move to combat too quickly. Once you attack with your active Pokémon, you are surrendering the remainder of your turn, and you cannot undertake any additional actions such as attaching an energy or playing an item or Trainer card. An easy way to avoid making this mistake is just to view your attack as the final flourish at the end of your turn. Make sure you’ve filled your bench, played any Items or Trainer cards that you feel are relevant to the situation, attached your Energy, then, when you’re happy that you’ve done everything you need to do, move on and make your attack. Different Pokémon Cards Are Worth Different Prize Card Values When you build your first Pokémon TCG decks, you may only include basic Pokémon and a few regular evolutions, and if so, you may also be unaware that different Pokémon cards are worth more prize cards. Basic Pokémon cards are always worth just one prize card when knocked out, but if you knock out an ex, GX, or V Pokémon, then you can instead claim two prize cards from your opponent. In the event that you knock out a VSTAR, VMAX, or Tag Team GX Knockout card, you can claim three prize cards; that’s half a victory in one fell swoop. If you’re ever unsure, non-basic Pokémon cards will more often than not state how many prize cards you can claim once it is knocked out. There Are Three Ways To Win While the obvious and typical way of winning a game in the Pokémon TCG is to claim all six of your prize cards, there are actually two other ways to win that new players often forget about. The first is to knock out all of your opponent's available Pokémon, leaving them with none to promote from the bench as their active Pokémon. The second is to have your opponent draw through their deck and have no cards left. This is called decking out, and only comes into action during your opponent's next draw step once their deck is gone. This means that your opponent can draw their final card and still make their way through a turn and win, but if they get to their next turn and cannot draw a card, they lose. First-Turn Restrictions If after the pre-game coin flip you end up being the player who is taking the very first turn of the match, you cannot, under any circumstance, attack with your active Pokémon. It’s long been a debate whether or not going first is an advantage or disadvantage within the Pokémon TCG, and it largely revolves around this very action being restricted. You also cannot play Supporter cards in your first turn, another restriction that seems to put the player going first at a major disadvantage. However, going first means you will naturally be able to evolve your Pokémon first, meaning you’ll have access to stronger Pokémon earlier in the game, and this can be a major advantage as you move towards the middle stage of a game. It may take some time to figure out what your preference is, and it’s not entirely unheard of for different decks to perform better when going first or second, with aggressive decks preferring to go second because they get to attack first. Your decision may also depend on the cards in your starting hand. One Supporter Card Per Turn The Pokemon Company Supporter cards in Pokémon TCG are incredibly powerful when used right, and as a result, they are limited to one per turn. This doesn’t mean one Supporter card of any particular name or type; you can only play one per turn. Knowing this, you may want to consider starting with a hand that has a lot of Supporter cards in it, as it will take some time to burn through them all. You’re better off starting in a position with one or two Supporter cards but keeping an eye out for an item card or Pokémon ability that will let you search your deck for additional cards. Use Your Bench To Clear Conditions One big difference between the Pokémon TCG and the video games is that when you retreat a Pokémon that is suffering from a status effect such as Confusion, Poison, or Paralyzed, its status effects are cleared when it returns to the bench. This means your bench is hugely important during a game, as rather than giving up on a Pokémon just because it’s suffering from a status effect, you can pull it from play, either by paying its retreat cost or by using an Item or Supporter card, to reset it. However, any damage the Pokémon has taken remains; retreating a Pokémon will only remove status effects and not damage counters. Take these tips on board, and your entry into the Pokémon TCG will be extremely smooth. Never be afraid to ask questions of your opponents, event organizers, or judges at an event if you’re unsure of something. It’s in everyone’s best interests to help you have the best time while playing. Pokemon Trading Card Game Systems Released April 10, 2000 ESRB e Developer(s) Hudson Soft Publisher(s) Nintendo Multiplayer Local Multiplayer Franchise Pokemon