What kinds of Pokémon Cards are available?

The most publicized company publishing Pokémon cards in the beginning was Wizards, a subsidiary of Hasbro. They were the US publishers of a game based on the cards. This game was referred to as Collectible Card Games (CCG). The Pokémon series had a variety of cards - Legendary Collection, the starting set of 110 different cards, which you got when you bought a combination of theme decks and booster (sets of 11 cards) packs, through the Neo Series (Genesis, Revelation, Destiny), which were the last of the many expansion sets that Wizards published over their years of involement. While one can just collect these, each card has instructions relating to the game one can play. This is what most people think about when writing or talking about Pokémon cards.

Another company in the market is Topps. They currently have seven sets of trading cards, titled "Series 1", "Series 2", "Chrome Series 1", "Series 3", and "Pokémon Johto League Champions" which focus on the television series and "The First Movie" and "Pokémon The Movie 2000", which focus on the movies. Each of the cards has a picture of some sort relating to the Pokémon universe. There's no game relating to these cards - they are just the normal trading cards that have been published for years.

The next company, Artbox Entertainment publishes a different kind of 'trading card'. These are Action Flipz, the 'lenticular' cards. These 40 cards are around 1 inch square (maybe a bit larger). Each card is an image which appears to change as you tilt the card. One for instance might see a Pikachu first, then the Raichu second. Or a Metapod and then a Butterfree - and so forth. There are 4 cards per booster pack in this series. There is no game to play with these cards - they are just for collecting.

A second series of Action Flipz Pokémon cards has been published. I don't have many details - Kraft was distributing some of these as promotional give-aways during 2000.

A fourth set of trading cards was available November 8, 2003 through the Burger King food chain. They had over 150 cards available, each of which appears to require you to purchase one of their food items before getting a single card. There is no game to play with these cards - they are just for collecting. There are 6-8 special 23 caret gold plated cards available for $1.99 and the price of a value meal beginning November 15.

Promo cards for Pokémon toys based cards, published by Hasbro, appeared in Toy Wishes magazine in October, 1999. See this page for an image of them. These cards are different from all of the above - they cannot be used for battling. They consist of photographs of Hasbro toy products.

Finally, Pokémon USA took over distribution of the CCG aspect of cards during 2004 and began a new series, with updated rules and new characters and features.

Note that in Japan, there are other options. Besides the over 600 trading cards related to the Collectible Card game, there are many other types of cards available just for fun. Besides several trading card series, there are phone cards, calendar cards, etc. If you are thinking of buying cards from a new source, and the description doesn't mention specifically what type of cards you are buying, ask!

Special terminology relating to trading cards

Within the Topps trading cards, there are regular and 'foil' cards. The foil cards are 'bonus' cards. There are fewer of them than there are the normal cards. You can tell a foil card because it has a metallic look to it. The image however is identical to the regular card. In the collectors realm, a foil card is 'worth more' (i.e. will cost you more if you tried to buy it - and you should ask for more money or more cards to trade in exchange, in theory).

Within the Action Flipz lenticular card series, there are specials as well - I seem to recall there are several types of specials... metallic looking ones, stickers, and a few other options...

Within the Wizards' collectible card game, the special terms to know are:

Starter deck (or starter set)

A 60 card deck designed to be used to learn the game. The instructions with the deck discuss dividing the deck into 2 30 card decks so that two people can play with a smaller number of cards. In real life, one needs to have 60 cards in their deck. There is a mix of energy cards, Basic stage 1 Pokémon, stage 2 Pokémon, 1 rare Pokémon (Machamp) and trainers in this deck. All starter decks have identical cards in them. There is a cardboard 'coin' (pog looking thing) which one can use for flipping when a Pokémon requires a coin flip to decide what happens next.
The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $9.99 .

Wizards also has created a Starter Gift Box. This includes a Starter set, a playmat, a Jungle theme deck and booster pack. With this combination, there are enough cards for two players to play. MSRP is $24.99. I also believe there either is now, or is soon to be, a deluxe starter gift box. It comes with all the same cards, but also with a CD-ROM explaining how to play the game. A similar gift was the Thunderstorm gift set (see below for details).

Theme deck

Currently 24 or more of these 60 card decks so far in the US distribution. These have a mix of energy, stage 1, and stage 2 Pokémon, with some trainer cards and a flipping coin as well. Again, if you buy 2 decks with the same name - you get exactly the same cards. However, each differently named theme deck has some variations in the cards within it. There are however some card overlaps! Don't expect to have all cards from all series after purchasing each of the series' theme decks. The theme decks are:

Brushfire

one of four (now out of print Base set 1) theme decks

Blackout

one of four (now out of print Base set 1) theme decks

Overgrowth

one of four (now out of print Base set 1) theme decks

Zap!

one of four (now out of print Base set 1) theme decks

Power Reserve

one of the two (now out of print Jungle) theme decks

Water Blast

one of the two (now out of print Jungle) theme decks

Bodyguard

one of two Fossil theme decks

Lock Down

one of two Fossil theme decks

Grass Chopper

one of four Base set 2 theme decks

Hot Water

one of four Base set 2 theme decks

Lightning Bug

one of four Base set 2 theme decks

Psych Out

one of four Base set 2 theme decks

Devastation

one of two Team Rocket theme decks

Trouble

one of two Team Rocket theme decks

Brock

one of four Gym Heros theme decks

Erika

one of four Gym Heros theme decks

Lt. Surge

one of four Gym Heros theme decks

Misty

one of four Gym Heros theme decks

Thunderstorm

a special theme deck containing cards from several of the expansion packs

Blaine

one of four Gym Challenge theme decks

Giovanni

one of four Gym Challenge theme decks

Koba

one of four Gym Challenge theme decks

Sabrina

one of four Gym Challenge theme decks

Cold Fusion

one of two Neo Genesis theme decks

Hotfoot

one of two Neo Genesis theme decks

Brain Wave

one of two Neo Discovery theme decks

Wallop

one of two Neo Discovery theme decks

Turmoil

one of two Legendary Collection theme decks

Lava

one of two Legendary Collection theme decks

Echo

one of two Expedition theme decks

Electric Garden

one of two Expedition theme decks

Abyss

one of two of the Aquapolis theme decks

Rock Garden

one of the two Aquapolis theme decks

Ruby

one of the two EX Ruby & Sapphire theme decks

Sapphire

one of the two EX Ruby & Sapphire theme decks

Caravan

one of the two EX Sandstorm theme decks

Oasis

one of the two EX Sandstorm theme decks

WindBlast

one of the two EX Dragon theme decks

FireFang

one of the two EX Dragon theme decks

EX Team Magman

one of the two EX Team Magman vs Team Aqua theme decks

EX Team Aqua

one of the two EX Team Magman vs Team Aqua theme decks

Wish Maker

one of the two EX Hidden Legends theme decks

Forest Guardian

one of the two EX Hidden Legends theme decks

5 are common trainers,
1 is an uncommon energy,
6 are common energy.
One card in the first base set - Machamp - is only available in the starter deck (see above).
During 1999, this set, sometimes known as "Base Set 1" was sold. In 2000, Base Set 1 (as well as the Jungle Expansion set) was retired (no longer printed). A "Base Set 2" was released, containing most (but not all) of the cards from the original sets. This was done, it was said, to make sure that new players have a chance to purchase the cards - however, it also accomplished a second goal - to eliminate some of the less useful cards.

"Jungle"

boosters which are orange and contain 11 of the 64 cards in the first expansion to the Pokémon series.
Of the 64 possible cards,
16 are holofoil Pokémon,
16 are rare Pokémon (just duplicates of the holofoil),
16 are uncommon Pokémon,
31 are common Pokémon, and
1 is a trainer card.

Jungle was distributed during 1999. In 2000, the Jungle Expansion set was retired (no longer printed) and a "Base Set 2" was released, containing most of the cards from Jungle as well as the original Base set.

"Fossil"

boosters which are brown and contain 11 of the 62 cards in this series. Of the 62 possible cards, 15 are holofoils, 15 are rare, 5 are trainer cards, and 27 are common/uncommon cards.

"Base Set 2"

boosters which are blue and contain 11 of the 130 cards in this series. Of the 130 possible cards,
20 are holofoil Pokémon,
12 are rare Pokémon (with no duplication between holofoil and rare),
32 are uncommon Pokémon,
36 are common Pokémon,
8 are rare trainers,
9 are uncommon trainers,
6 are common trainers,
1 is an uncommon energy,
6 are common energy.
In the Base Set 2 starter set is a Base Set 1 Machamp, which is a card not available otherwise in Base Set 2.

"Team Rocket" (aka TR)

boosters which are black and contain 11 of the 83 cards in this series. Of the 83 possible cards,
1 is an ultra rare holofoil Pokémon,
14 are holofoil Pokémon,
14 are rare Pokémon (duplicating all but one of the holofoil),
17 are uncommon Pokémon,
22 are common Pokémon,
2 are holofoil trainers,
2 are rare trainers (duplicating the holofoil trainers),
5 are uncommon trainers,
2 are common trainers,
1 is a holofoil energy,
1 is a rare energy (duplicating the holofoil energy),
2 are uncommon energy.

"Gym Heroes" (aka GH)

boosters which are brown and green and contain 11 of the 132 cards in this series.
Of the 132 possible cards,
14 are holofoil Pokémon,
5 are holofoil trainers (all but one duplicating rare non-holofoil trainers),
15 are rare Pokémon,
26 are uncommon Pokémon,
36 are common Pokémon,
8 are rare trainers (some duplicating the holofoil trainers),
16 are uncommon trainers,
6 are common trainers,
6 are common energy.

"Gym Challenge" (aka GC)

boosters which are brown and green and contain 11 of the 132 cards in this series.
Of the 132 possible cards,
16 are holofoil Pokémon,
4 are holofoil trainers (duplicated as rare non-holofoil trainers),
10 are rare Pokémon,
29 are uncommon Pokémon,
40 are common Pokémon,
11 are rare trainers (some duplicating the holofoil trainers),
13 are uncommon trainers,
3 are common trainers,
6 are common energy.

Second Generation

"Neo Genesis (aka NG) "

boosters which are Silver or Gold and contain 11 of the 111 cards in this expansion series.
Of these 111 possible cards,
18 are holofoil Pokémon,
1 is rare holofoil energy,
6 are rare Pokémon,
27 are uncommon Pokémon,
30 are common Pokémon,
8 are rare trainers,
8 are uncommon trainers,
5 are common trainers,
2 are rare energy.
6 are common energy.

"Neo Discovery" (aka ND)

boosters which are Blue or Brown and contain 11 of the 75 cards in this expansion series.
Of these 75 possible cards,
17 are holofoil Pokémon,
19 are rare Pokémon (16 of which are similar in picture to the holofoil),
Note that Beedrill and Butterfree are rare only and that Espeon's picture differs from the holofoil picture.) 16 are uncommon Pokémon,
19 are common Pokémon,
3 are uncommon trainers,
1 are common trainers,

"Neo Revelation" (aka NR)

boosters which are blue and contain 11 of the 66 cards in this expansion series.
Of these 66 possible cards,
14 are holofoil Pokémon,
13 are rare Pokémon,
13 are uncommon Pokémon,
19 are common Pokémon,
4 are uncommon trainers,
1 are common trainers,
2 are super secret cards (holofoils)

"Pokémon Southern Island Gift Box" (aka SI)

contains 19 unique cards, plus boosters from the AAA and BBB expansion series.

"Neo Destiny" (aka ND)

boosters which are AAA and contain 11 of the 113 cards in this expansion series.
Of these 113 possible cards,
16 are holofoil Pokémon,
14 are rare Pokémon,
30 are uncommon Pokémon,
31 are common Pokémon,
5 are rare trainers,
7 are uncommon trainers,
2 are common trainers,
8 are Shining holofoil cards

"Legendary Collection" (aka LC)

boosters which are AAA and contain 11 of the 220 cards in this expansion series.
Of these 220 possible cards,
19 are holofoil Pokémon and 19 are reverse holofoil of these Pokémon,
16 are rare Pokémon and 16 are reverse holofoil rare Pokémon,
31 are uncommon Pokémon and 31 are reverse holofoil uncommon Pokémon,
32 are common Pokémon and 32 are reverse holofoil common Pokémon,
3 are rare trainers and 3 are reverse holofoil rare trainers,
3 are uncommon trainers and 3 are reverse holofoil uncommon trainers,
3 are common trainers and 3 are reverse holofoil common trainers,
2 are uncommon energy cards and 2 are reverse holofoil uncommon energy cards

"Expedition"

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of the 165 unique cards available from boosters in this series.
Of these cards,
32 are regular holofoil,
40 are rare,
32 of which are non-holofoil duplicates, with 8 being unique,
38 are uncommon,
49 are common,
plus, there are 159 reverse holofoil duplicates. Within the theme decks, there are also Expedition versions of the 6 standard energies. Within boxes, there is a possibility of one of a series of "Box Topper" promo cards.

"Aquapolis"

boosters which are .... and contain N of NNN new cards.

"Skyridge"

boosters which are .... and contain N of 182 new cards.

Third Generation

Pokemon-e TCG EX Ruby & Sapphire

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of 109 new cards.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Sandstorm

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of 100 new cards.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Dragon

boosters which are orange and contain 9 of 97 new cards.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua

boosters which are orange and contain 9 of 95 new cards.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Hidden Legends

boosters which are gray and contain 9 of 101 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX FireRed & LeafGreen

boosters which are orange and green and contain 9 of 112 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Team Rocket Returns

boosters which are gray and contain 9 of 109 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Deoxsys

boosters which are green, blue, or purple and contain 9 of 107 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Emerald

boosters which are green and contain 9 of 106 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Unseen Forces

boosters which are purple, blue, orange, or yellow and contain 9 of 115 new cards. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Delta Species

boosters which are black and blue and contain 9 of 113 new cards, Box topper card included in booster boxes. released in November 2005.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Legend Maker

boosters which are silver and contain 9 of 92 new cards, released in February 2006. Box topper card included in booster boxes.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Holon Phantoms

boosters which are brown, red, or green and contain 9 of 110 new cards, released in May 2006. Sealed display boxes contain unique bonus card.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Crystal Guardians

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of NNN new cards, released in August 2006.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Dragon Frontiers

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of 100 new cards, released in November 2006.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Power Keepers

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of 100 new cards, released in February 2007.

Fourth Generation

Pokemon-e TCG EX Diamond & Pearl

boosters which are AAA and contain 9 of NNN new cards, released in May 2007.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Diamond & Pearl Mysterious Treasures

boosters which are Brown and Red and contain 10 of 120 new cards, released in August 2007.

Pokemon-e TCG EX Diamond & Pearl Secret Wonders

boosters which are AAA and contain 10 of 130 new cards, released in November 2007.

Note that in LC, the distribution of cards are different than other series. Wizards has said the idea for the reverse holofoils (one of which appears in nearly every booster) is to make it fun for collectors. Also however, one is more likely to find duplicates of cards within a particular booster, making it easier to use these boosters in specialized dynamic deck creating tournament play.

The intention is that you buy one or more of these, and, following the rules that are included in the decks, play the game against someone else with cards. Since you need 60 cards to play, it is generally a good idea to start out by either buying one of these pre-made decks or to find someone with a lot of cards who will make up a deck for you. Then, you buy boosters and theme decks to add new cards for new combinations. You are allowed to switch cards in your deck between personal games. If you play in a league or tournament, there will likely be restrictions on what cards you can play and when you can change cards, but the special rules for the event will explain all of that.

Basic Pokémon

these are the most common Pokémon cards one encounter. There are two important aspects to any kind of Pokémon card, in relation to the card game play. The first is health (also known as HP). Each card has a certain amount of strength it can use during the course of competition. When that strength is spent, the card is said to faint (in other words, it can no longer be used in play and normally needs to go into the player's discard pile). Each card has one or more offensive and/or defensive abilities. These abilities will most frequently require the user to have one or more energy (often of a certain color or type).

A card can also have something called a Pokémon Power which is a special ability that costs no energy to use.
A basic Pokémon card tends to have less powerful abilities than more advanced Pokémon.
Basic Pokémon have a symbol on the top left hand corner of the card.

Stage 1 Pokémon

these cards are called evolutions of some particular Basic Pokémon card. In the worldview of Pokémon, after a creature has experienced a number of battles, they 'evolve' to a creature with different, stronger, fighting and defensive capabilities.
There are a few specific rules regarding when these cards can be played (can't be played on your first turn, can normally only once per turn). These cards tend to be rarer than the basic cards. The symbol in the top left corner specifies the general card that is required to be in play and on top of which this card is to go. Once played, the original card's attacks are no longer available, and the original card's status is no longer in effect, but the original card's health state remains.

Stage 2 Pokémon

these are even rarer cards. For instance, Charizard is a stage 3 Pokémon, and it is generally considered one of the most rare card in the US base set distribution. However, as far as play goes, the same evolution rules are in effect.

Trainer

these cards are special action cards that a trainer (the game player) use to try to improve his/her own hand or to inflict damage on his/her opponent's hand. Trainer cards, in most cases, have an effect on the game one time and then are discarded.

Gym

these cards are special trainer-type cards that a game player uses to try to improve (or protect) his/her own hand or to inflict damage on his/her opponent's hand. Gym cards have an effect on both players of the game from the time they are played until another gym card is played or the end of the game.

Tool

these trainer cards are items that can be attached to a Pokémon for use at a future point in time. These are used to recover HP or to clear up status problems.

Energy

these cards fuel the game, since without Energy, the card in play can perform no attack, either offensive or defensive. Energy cards are of two varieties: Basic and Special. There are six Basic Energy cards : Fighting, Fire, Grass, Lightening, Psychic, Water. The special Energy cards are Dark (in Japan, this type was called Evil), Double Colorless (aka DCE), Full Heal, Metal (in Japan, I believe this was called Steel), Potion, Rainbow, Recycle. Attacks can call for one or more energies of a specific type. Most specify a basic Energy.

Common cards

Pokémon and trainer cards which have generally lower capability for play, and which are the cards you are most likely to find in the booster packs.

Uncommon cards

Pokémon and trainer cards which either have more abilities or which are advanced (stage 1 or stage 2) forms of basic Pokémon. These are less frequently seen in boosters and theme decks.

Rare cards

very seldom found in boosters (on average, one per approximately every 32 boosters), but which have more functionality. There are rare Trainer and Energy cards as well as rare Pokémon.

Holofoil, holo, or foil

typically identical in functionality to the rare Pokémon cards, they have a slightly different appearance (a metallic sheen to the backgrounds) and are found even less frequently (about one per every 33 booster) in the booster packs. Occasionally someone mistakenly refers to these cards as "holographs" or "holographic". Don't be surprised when you see there is nothing three dimensional about the cards though.
There are some cards which are only available as foils.

Promo or promotional

cards that are given out at movies, in magazines, at Pokémon Trading Card League events, etc. These are quite rare, and typically have either unusual pictures, or unusual abilities. Some are simply fun cards - one of the Japanese promo cards has as an attack the requirement that your opponent sing a song! Others can be quite useful though.

There are four types of promo cards which have shown up in the US so far.

One type is like the gold bordered Meowth that Wizards and Betty Crocker was giving away last fall, or the special gold stamped Pikachus given away at a variety of shows etc. last summer. These are standard cards, but with a special color or stamp on them. Nothing unique with regards to the playability of the card exists. These cards are primarily of interest to the person interested in collecting cards. Wizards produced several cards with a gold letter on them for special promotions. They have indicated that these will no longer be produced.

The second type is the pre-release promo card. These are cards illustrating an upcoming expansion set. These are regular cards with the word 'Pre-release' stamped on the card. To date, I have heard of at least five of these - a Clefable (Jungle), an Aerodactyl (Fossil), and a Dark Gyarados (Team Rocket), and Misty's Seadra have been distributed in the US, and in Australia there has been reports of a Raichu. Wizards have indicated they will no longer be producing this type of promo card.

The third type of 'promo' cards are just regular cards given out as a part of a promotional. Because there is nothing unique about these cards, they generally are not mentioned in price lists as promos.

The last type of promo is a unique card whose picture and attack are not available elsewhere (in English anyways). These typically have a single number in the lower right hand corner, where one would normally find the sequence number and rarity of the card.

The unique cards issued to date are:

1. Level 16 Pikachu - given to Pokemon Trading League members
2. Level 20 Electabuzz - one of 4 cards given out in conjunction with the movie
3. Level 60 MewTwo - one of 4 cards given out in conjunction with the movie
4. Level 13 Pikachu - one of 4 cards given out in conjunction with the movie
5. Level 43 Dragonite - one of 4 cards given out in conjunction with the movie
6. Level 34 Arcanine - given out at the Trading Card League
7. Level 12 Jigglypuff - available as a mail-in reward after buying the Pokémon: The Movie Soundtrack CD, November 1999
8. Level 23 Mew - given out in January, 2000 at the Trading Card League
9. Level 23 Mew Holofoil - prize earned at the Trading Card League, April 2000
10. Level 13 Meowth - promotional insert in the GameBoy Pokémon Trading Card Video Game
11. Level 7 Eevee Holofoil - prize earned at the Trading Card League, July 2000
12. Level 30 MewTwo - promotional insert in Nintendo Power magazine, April 2000
13. Level 64 Venusaur Holofoil - promotional insert in the Nintendo Pokémon Trading Card Game Strategy Guide
14. Level 60 MewTwo - promotional insert in Pokémon: The First Movie video
15. Level 15 Cool Porygon - promotional insert in the Nintendo Pokémon Stadium Bundle
16. TRAINER Computer Error - prize earned at the Trading Card League, April 2000
17. Level 28 Dark Persian - promotional insert in Nintendo Power, August 2000
18. Level 11 Team Rocket's Meowth - prize earned at the Trading Card League, August 2000
19. Level 12 Sabrina's Abra - promotional insert in Nintendo Power Magazine, October, 2000
20. Level 15 Psyduck - prize earned at the Trading Card League, August 2000
21. Level 33 Moltres - one of 3 cards given out at Pokémon the Movie 2000
22. Level 34 Articuno - one of 3 cards given out at Pokémon the Movie 2000
23. Level 30 Zapdos - one of 3 cards given out at Pokémon the Movie 2000
24. Level 17 ______'s (Birthday) Pikachu - given out as a trivia contest prize by Wizards in December 2000, then as a Trading Card League bonus during January, 2001.
25. Level 12 Flying Pikachu - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during August, 2001.
26. Level 9 Snap Pikachu - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during June, 2001.
27. Level 5 Vending Machine Pikachu - provided as an insert in the Poké the Movie video tape release, November, 2000
28. Level 13 Surfing Pikachu - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during July 2001.
29. Level 17 Marril - provided by stores during the initial release of the Neo Genesis series in December 2000, and later provided as a Trading Card League prize during January 2001.
30. Level 8 Togepi - provided as a Trading Card League signup bonus during January 2001.
31. Level 5 Cleffa - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during February 2001.
32. Level 2 Smeargle - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during March 2001.
33. Level 36 Scizor - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during May 2001.
34. Level 37 Entei - provided as a promotional with the Pokémon The Movie 3 during April 2001.
35. Level 4 Pichu - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during April 2001.
36. Level 6 Igglybuff - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during June 2001.
37. Level 29 Hitmontop - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during June, 2001.
38. Level 16 Unown J - provided during STS in June, 2001, an insert during a video tape release promotional later in 2001, and as an insert in Beckett Pokémon Magazine, June, 2002.
39. Level 23 Misdreavus - provided as a Trading Card League bonus during August, 2001.
40. A Trainer card titled Pok\xe9mon Center - provided as a Pok\xe9mon Center, New York City promotional, November, 2001.
41. A Trainer card titled Lucky Stadium - provided as a Pok\xe9mon Center New York City promotional, November, 2001.
42. A Trainer card titled Pok\xe9mon Tower - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, January 2002.
43. Level 54 Machamp - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, February 2002.
44. Level 27 Magmar - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, March 2002.
45. Level 23 Scyther - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, April 2002.
46. Level 22 Electabuzz - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, May 2002.
47. Level 8 Lily Pad Mew - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, June 2002.
48. Level ? Articuno - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, August 2002.
49. Level 35 Snorlax - provided as a Trading Card League bonus, September 2002.

There are also special examples which are not numbered like the rest. Examples include:
Jumbo Pikachu (about 8.5 inches by 11 inches),
Jumbo Trio of Legendary Pokémon Birds,
an unnumbered Ancient Mew which was given out at the Pokémon The Movie 2000 performances,
and a series of holofoil Energy cards given out as Trading Card League bonuses during 2002.

Other types of promo cards have been seen in Japan - cards made for a prize of a tourney, cards uniquely available from vending machines, etc. These have not, to my knowledge, made an appearance in the English card series yet.

Reverse holofoil Promos

These special cards function in the same manner as other cards, but the metallic sheen is applied to the entire card, and not just the background of the image. These appear pretty frequently in Japan, but less frequently here in the United States.

Error cards

Cards which were printed with a mistake of some sort. There have been a variety of cards in this category. Some Pikachus were printed with yellow instead of red cheeks. Some cards had the wrong words printed - like height instead of weight or vice versa. Some had had wrote copyright years and some even have the wrong 'type' printed. These differences usually do not make any difference for the card player. But for the hard core collector, these cards, being rarer, are sometimes considered of more 'worth'. Note however that recently there have been a few cases where an 'error' was made in instructions or in play information - an error which actually impacts play. Wizards has stated that in these cases, they do not plan to correct the error, and that the card must be played as printed.

First edition

special printing of cards, which say "Edition One" right under the picture. On the booster wrapper, on the front bottom corner, it also says "Edition one". There is no different in how the card is played. There are just fewer of these cards printed, and the boosters in fact are likely to cost more. Most collectors of cards consider them of higher 'worth'.

Second edition

other printings of cards don't indicate what edition they are. Note however there are multiple printings, with variations on specific colors and even at times wording changes to fix mistakes, differences in copyright dates, etc.

card condition

generally the condition of a card determines in a large part how much a card collector will pay (or trade) for a card. Most collectors are only interested in 'mint' condition cards. I am uncertain if there are legal definitions for cards. Here is one file describing card condition identification. Here's what my understanding is.

mint

card has had almost no contact with human hands. It was taken right from a theme deck, booster or promotional wrapping and stored in a PVC sleeve and hard case. In the case of promotional cards, if the card is still in it's original wrapping and box/magazine/etc. it is worth even more. Cards should be from non-smoking environments which were handled by clean dry hands in a cautious manner, with no bends, rips, tears, ragged edges, crumples, etc. It has never been played.

good

card has been played or handled, but has no damage to it

poor

card has been damaged in a visible manner.

playmat

a printed guide to the layout of the cards - like a game board. This is not required to play the game, but gives the new player a reminder of how the game is played. It is the equivalent of the game board.

Trading Card League

Wizards of the Coast have begun working with various distributors of their Pokémon CCG products to set up weekly sessions where members of the league can play, trade, and talk cards. As members gain points for participating, promo cards and other rewards are earned.

slips or sleeves

soft plastic (PVC) covers for individual cards, to keep them clean. Tend to make the cards slippery to hold and shuffle. I find these at various dealers from around 69 cents per hundred.

top loaders or hard cases

stiff plastic covers, designed to keep individual cards from being bent. These are more expensive, and come in many forms. Expect to spend around $1.75 per 25. However, these are great for saving the cards. However, these do make it much more difficult to play the game - the cards are larger, harder to shuffle, etc.

albums and pages

3 ring binders and PVC pages with pockets for storing anywhere from 4-18 cards per page. Many collectors use these to be able to see their cards. Card players tend not to use these for cards they are going to play, because of the increased risk of damaging the cards when you pull the cards in and out of the sleeves.

boxes

Wizards now sells card boxes. I've seen a variety of these. The ones with Pokémon on them tend to be around the size of a 3x5 inch recipe box and are made of cardboard. One should be able to buy one of the various sized regular plain white card collector cardboard boxes, then use Pokémon wrapping paper or stickers to decorate it.

spoiler

A list of all the cards in a particular expansion set, with details regarding the attacks, energy requirements, special abilities, etc. See the Wizards complete Card Reference for information relating to their releases of the card game.

(Acknowledgements: some of the above terms were added based on questions by emailers, while some were added based on my experiences with the game, and still others based on questions and comments on various bulletin boards, email lists, etc. The number of people and organizations are too numerous to mention individually.)

If there are other terms which you encounter that are unknown to you, email me and I will find a definition (if possible) and add the term to my list.

As a side note, the Pokémon trading cards are published in quite a number of languages now: Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

What are the rules for the game?

Within the various theme decks available comes a printed brochure detailing a number of simple and advanced rules. These can also be found at the Wizards Pokémon web site pages for learning to play the game. At this web page, you can find links to the rules in various languages, as well as a link to a Flash 4 based tutorial on the game! Wizards has also published a master rulings document unfortunately in Microsoft Word format. This document lists all the official Wizards cards, as well as any special notes about the way that card's attacks or powers interact with other cards and the various rules.

Wizards involvement with the Pokémon Trading Card League ended during the summer of 2003. At that time, Nintendo will be responsible for new expansions of the game. See the Nintedo web site for more details.

During the fall of 2002, Wizards released a series of cards known as E-cards. These cards, released in conjunction with Nintendo, include bar code data printed on the side of the card, allowing interactive enjoyment with a Nintendo bar code reader designed for the GameBoy Advanced.

© Copyright by Larry W. Virden <lvirden@yahoo.com>, 1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006, 2007 http://www.purl.org/net/lvirden/Pokemon/pokemoncards.html