First off, I'd like to thank you for joining me. In this blog, I'll go over some basic information on the Pokemon TCG as well as cover the sets involved with the game. Each week, I'll release a new set review as well as information for that set. Some things that will be covered are:
-Set Name
-Number of Cards Per Set
-General Set Information
-Examples of Each Rarity Type of the Set
-Main Artists of the Set
-My Favorite Card of the Set
In today's post, I'll go over the types of Pokemon cards, the rarities that can be obtained and what information you can find on a card.
WHAT IS A POKEMON CARD?
A Pokemon card is a collectible gaming card that many collectors as well as game players love to value. The first Pokemon set was released in Japan on October 20, 1996. This was known as the Pocket Monsters Expansion Pack. Once the craze began in Japan, the game was then picked up by many other countries. America finally saw it's debut on January 9, 1999. The set was named Base Set in English and many other countries. From then on out, over 15 years and 60+ sets later, we still have this great item of value. Of course, the cards these days aren't worth as much as the originals, but with age, they can also become something worth collecting.
TYPES OF POKEMON CARDS
There are three main types of Pokemon Cards. There are:
POKEMON CARDS
TRAINER/SUPPORTER/STADIUM CARDS
ENERGY CARDS
WHAT ARE THE RARITIES YOU CAN GET?
There are numerous kinds of rarities associated with Pokemon cards. Some aren't worth anything and others can be worth thousands of dollars if kept in the right shape. Here are a list of all the rarities from all the sets.
1. COMMON
2. UNCOMMON
3. RARE
4. RARE HOLO
5. REVERSE HOLO
6. ULTRA RARE
7. SECRET RARE
There are plenty other rare types of cards such as Shiny or Gold Star cards but these are the main types.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH CARD IS WHAT RARITY?
All Pokemon cards have a specific symbol in the bottom right hand corner announcing the type of rarity the card has. This excludes Energy cards as they don't have a rarity unless they are a Special Energy card. Take a look at your collection and see what you have based on the following chart!
- This symbol is used on all Common cards. Common cards are the most basic and least valuable of any card. They usually represent Basic Pokemon and some early Trainer cards.
- This symbol is used on all Uncommon cards. Uncommon cards are the second least valuable but are slightly more difficult to obtain in a booster pack than Common cards. These usually represent Stage 1 Pokemon and most Trainers, specifically the newer sets where all Trainer cards are now all Uncommon.
- This symbol is used on all Rare cards. This includes Rare, Rare Holofoils, Ultra Rare, Secret Rare and some Special Energy cards, mainly from older sets. Rares are similar to Rare Holofoils except that they don't have the cool Holofoil around the picture art. Most of these cards represent Stage 2 Pokemon or the final part in a 3-Evolution set. Ultra Rares and Secret Rares also have a star pattern but theirs are slightly different. Instead of being solid black, they are small, holofoil stars. This means the card is above a Rare card rarity.
All the rarities above can also come in a Reverse Holofoil form. A Reverse Holofoil card is where the entire card EXCEPT the artwork is covered in a Holofoil pattern. This excludes most EX sets where the Reverse Holofoil Card actually looks like a Rare Holofoil but with the set name in the corner of the picture to tell the difference.
- This symbol was used to represent Shiny Gold Star cards as well as Legend Cards. Gold Star Pokemon were first released in EX Team Rocket Returns and featured very rare Pokemon who were alternately colored like their Shiny versions within the games. Legend Pokemon were first released in HGSS and featured rare, two-card puzzles that you had to collect to create one bigger card. These were usually associated with Legendary Pokemon such as Lugia, Dialga and Palkia.
- This symbol was used to represent Pokemon Lv. X cards and Pokemon Prime cards. Lv. X cards were first released in Diamond and Pearl and ended with the Arceus expansion. Pokemon Prime cards were first released in the HGSS expansion and ended in the Triumphant expansion. Both of these types of cards were modeled after ex Pokemon. After their short release, Lv. X and Prime Pokemon were reverted back to EX, now in capitals.
- This symbol was used to represent Shiny Pokemon. Shiny Pokemon only had a short reign in the TCG starting in the Neo Revelation expansion and ended in the Neo Destiny expansion, the set released after Revelation. Shiny Pokemon cards are known for the symbol as well as their art. They are Holofoil cards but instead of the art backgrounds being Holo, the actual Pokemon are Holofoil to give off that Shiny look. The Pokemon has a very dark appearance and almost looked colored black. This was changed though when they brought Shiny Pokemon back as Gold Star cards.
- This symbol is used to represent Black Star Promo cards. If you've ever been to a pre-release or bought one of those fancy Collectors Power Tins, then your Rare Holofoil may have this symbol. Promos are usually a re-print of a card from an older set, meaning your Promo Charizard EX was most likely the same card in Flash Fire, just with different art. Some Promos aren't reprints, just Non-Holofoil cards made into Holofoils.
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- If you have these symbols, or generally any small colored Pokemon symbol, then you got them from a Trainer's kit. These kits are just reprints of other sets specifically made for new players of the TCG. This set for example is from the Sylveon / Noivern Trainer Kit. I personally think that these are just for the gimmick of the game and hold no value whatsoever.
WHAT INFORMATION CAN I FIND ON A CARD?
I'll start with the most basic card of all - the Energy card. The only real piece of information on these cards is the picture of the energy. On Special Energy cards, they will have a special description stating how that card can be used. Currently, the basic Energy cards out there are:
-Grass
-Fire
-Water
-Lightning
-Fighting
-Psychic
-Dark
-Metal
-Fairy
TRAINERS/SUPPORTERS/STADIUM
These cards all look the same but they all have different uses. Trainer cards are usually items or tools that can be used to help you along in your game. You can generally use as many of these per turn unless the card states otherwise. Supporter cards are usually of people from the Pokemon World that give you even greater help in the game. The only downfall to their good uses are that you can only play one per turn. Stadium cards are much different than the other two types. These cards are in the entire game once you play them unless special cards get rid of them. They are somewhat of a permanent Pokemon Power (I'll explain that in a bit.) Using these can greatly assist you in your game.
POKEMON
Where do I begin? There are many different types of Pokemon as well as stages of Pokemon. Here is an example of a Zoroark card from the XY Base Set.
1. This is where you will generally find the name of the Pokemon. There are also ex, Lv. X, Legend, EX, M Pokemon EX and BREAK variations that can be found within the name.
2. Here is where you will find the HP. HP stands for Hit Points. This is just the same as the games. As your Pokemon takes hits from the opponent, it's HP will gradually deplete. Once the Pokemon hits 0, it faints and you have to move it to the discard pile.
3. This is where you will find the Pokemon type. All Pokemon have one type but there are some cards there that are dual type. The types of Pokemon you can find these days are:
-Grass
-Fire
-Water
-Lightning
-Fighting
-Psychic
-Dark
-Metal
-Fairy
-Dragon
-Colorless
Dragon Pokemon as well as Colorless Pokemon have no basic Energy cards associated with their type. Instead, most Dragon types will require use of other types to power their attacks like Fire or Metal. Colorless Pokemon are able to use any type of Energy to power their attacks. Both these types do have Special Energy Cards like Double Colorless Energy.
4. This is where you will find the Stage of the Pokemon. The stages are Basic, Stage 1, Stage 2, Mega and Break. There will also be a picture of the Pokemon the card evolves from. EX Pokemon are usually all Basic Pokemon even though they can evolve from other Pokemon.
5. This is where you will see the main art for the card. Each card from each set has different art so the collectors have more options to pick from. Reprint cards usually also get new art, but by the same artist to give a new feel to a classic card.
6. This is where you will see all the stats associated with the Pokemon. These stats are based of it's National Pokedex number along with the Dex info from the games.
7. This is where you will find the first attack or Poke-Power / Poke-Body. Some Pokemon only have one attack. Some Pokemon have a Poke-Power / Poke-Body. These are skills that can help you or your Pokemon with your battles.
8. This is where you will find the second attack. Some Pokemon don't have a second attack and all Pokemon with a Poke-Power / Poke-Body will have a second attack.
9. This is where you will find how much each attack will do in damage. Some attacks don't give damage but rather have a special condition. Take this Zoroark for example. It deals damage and has an effect. If I'm using it against a Wailord - EX with 250 HP, then this attack will do 100 damage, leaving Wailord - EX with 150 HP. The downside is if I flip a coin and pull tails, I have to discard two Energy cards on Zoroark, basically rendering Night Claw useless on my next turn.
10. This is where the Weakness, Resistance and Retreat Cost can be found. Not all Pokemon have a weakness. If they do, then opposing Pokemon of that time will deal extra damage. Some can deal +30 damage, some can deal x2 damage, like a Fighting Type against this Zoroark. Not all Pokemon have a Resistance. If they do, then opposing Pokemon of that type will deal nullified or less damage then what they should. So if this Zoroark is battling a Gengar that uses an attack that does 60 damage, it will only do 40 damage due to resistance. The Retreat Cost is a set of Energy cards that you will have to discard in order to pull the Pokemon back to your bench. Not all Pokemon have a Retreat Cost.
11. This is where you can find the description for each Pokemon. Some older sets don't include descriptions but they made a comeback with the Diamond and Pearl Expansion. The descriptions are usually based of Pokedex entries from the main series games.
12. This is where you will find the artist name of the art on the card. There are a vast majority of artists for the TCG. Some of my favorites are Ken Sugimori, Kouki Saitou. Naoma Kimura and Kagemaru Himeno.
13. This is where you will find the set number. All sets have a set number based on how many cards are in the set. Each card will have it's own number to tell you that it belongs to the set. Some cards won't be part of a set, but rather a secret. These are called Secret Rares and almost all the newer sets have them. The easiest way to tell if you have a Secret Rare is if the numerator (card number) is greater than the denominator (set number). For example, XY BREAKpoint has 122 set cards in that expansion. There is one Secret Rare, Gyarados - EX with a set number of 123/122. This means the card is a Secret Rare and was thrown in to be sort of a prize.
14. This is where you will find the Set symbol. All sets ever released will have a Set symbol except for Pokemon Base Set. This set was the first set ever so naturally, it won't have a symbol. The symbol from this Zoroark card is from XY Base Set. If you would like to know what symbol belongs to what set, just look for the link above.
Well, that does it for the basics of the Pokemon TCG. I hope you found this helpful in your new journey and stay tuned for the beginning of my CARD SET INFORMATION series. Thank you, and have a great day!
-Torchic
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