Pokemon cards are a collectible game that depict creatures from the popular Pokemon video games. They are used to fight against the creatures of your opponent in a battle, and each character card has its own stats, attacks and abilities. A number of different types of Trainer cards also appear in the game, and they can help a player to do lots of helpful things. A few different kinds of Item cards, like Pokemon tools, can be attached to a character card for some special effect. Trainer cards can only be played during a player’s turn, and after they are used they go into the discard pile.
The game has several ways to win, but the most common is to knock out six of your opponent’s Pokemon and claim prize cards. During a player’s turn, they can attack their opponent’s Pokemon with one of their own, and if the attacked Pokemon totals damage that is greater than or equal to its HP, it will be knocked out. The player must then remove the card and its attached cards from the game, and can only use a Pokemon from their bench during that turn again.
Each player’s deck is built with 60 cards, including five of the basic character Pokemon from the same evolution line. They can then add other Pokemon cards from booster packs to their deck. Each card has its name, type, hit points and evolutionary stage printed on it. It also has a Pokedex entry, as well as an Attack and Poke-Power/Poke-Body/Ability that describe its actions. Most attacks require a specific amount and type of energy to perform, and the card is turned upside down after it is used to indicate the energy cost.
A Pokemon card’s status condition (sleepy, exhausted, paralyzed and poisoned) can also impact a player’s turns. A sleepy Pokemon can’t attack or retreat, while a tired Pokemon can only retreat and not attack. A paralyzed Pokemon can’t move on its own, and a poisoned Pokemon will lose HP each turn until it is cured.
Each set of Pokemon cards comes with its own theme and contains a new group of Pokémon. The first was the Red & Blue Series, which followed the original Red and Green video games. The next set was the EX Series, which introduced Pokemon-ex and the stronger Pokemon LV.X, which were stronger “leveled-up” final evolutions. The Diamond & Pearl Series introduced Pokemon LEGEND, two-part cards with one Pokemon on each side, and the HeartGold & SoulSilver Series brought Pokemon Prime, which had very powerful and tactical attacks.
Collectors can find a wide variety of Pokemon cards for sale, and some of the rarest ones are worth quite a lot. For instance, a Crystal Holo card from the 1st Edition Base Set of 2000 has sold for $25,100 at auction, according to PWCC. It is the highest-valued card from that set ever. Other valuable cards include a Gold Foil Rayquaza from the Gold and Silver video games, which was sold at auction for $45,100 in 2021.