Learn the Basic Game Flow of Pokemon TCG Online

So you've got Pokémon TCG Online and you're looking for a way to get started. You've seen the tutorials, you've looked over our tips and tricks, but you still need a little help getting started when it comes to tackling battles. No problem! We've got you covered. We'll go over the steps for each turn and the flow of battle, so by the time you're ready to take someone on, you'll know just what to do.

The card game is based on the same concept that the battles in the show and anime. Two players take on the role of Pokémon trainers. Using their Pokémon to battle one another, Trainers play Pokémon on the field and take turns attacking, evolving their Pokemon, and using various items to reduce the opponent's HP. When a Pokémon's HP reaches zero, it is "knocked out" and the player who wins that round gets to add a prize card to their hand.

Step One: Each player must have a full, legal deck of 60 cards which consists of no more than four of any type of card. First, each player shuffles their cards and randomly draws seven cards. These seven cards in each player's "hand." Both players must then check their hand to make sure they have at least one basic Pokémon, if not, they have to reshuffle their hand with their deck and draw seven new cards. The downside of this reshuffle is that the opponent gets to draw an additional card. The reshuffling process lasts until both players have at least one basic Pokémon for the battle.

Step Two: When both players have at least one basic Pokemon card in their hands, they deploy one to their playing field, face-down in the active spot. This is their first "active" or battling Pokémon. If the player has more basic Pokémon in their hand, they can place up to five face-down on your "bench." The bench acts as their reserve and stand ready to be sent out if their active Pokemon is defeated.

Step Three: Players then randomly draw six cards from their remaining deck and put them to the side, face-down, as prize cards. These cards are prizes which the players be able to retrieve later on when they knock out their opponent's Pokémon.

Step Four: Flip a coin to see who goes first.

Step Five: The players turn their active basic Pokemon card face up. The person who won the coin toss gets to go first. Players begin each round by taking the top card off their deck and adding it to their hand. Players may take several different actions during their turn, including putting new basic Pokémon on the bench, evolving a Pokémon that was played on a previous turn into a higher level Pokémon, playing trainer cards, using non-attack abilities, retreating their active Pokémon, and may attach one energy card to the Pokemon of their choice. During the first turn, players cannot evolve their Pokemon, since they must wait at least one turn after a card is played to begin evolution.

The attack phase is the last part of the turn, the active player may, if they have the prerequisite energy attached to their active Pokemon, use one attack or special move. The opposing player then calculates the damage and compares it to their active Pokemon's remaining HP. If the damage exceeds the defending Pokémon's HP and leaves it with 0 HP, it is "knocked out", and discarded along with any attached energy. If the opposing player's active Pokémon is knocked out, the player takes a prize card from their pile and ends their turn.

Step Six: The opposing player then takes their turn.

Step Seven: Repeat until someone wins. The game can be won in several ways: if a player collects all of their prize cards , if a player runs out of Pokémon on the field, or if a player has no more cards left to draw from their deck at the beginning of their turn.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game can be intimidating to beginning players, but with a little practice anyone can be a Pokemon Master! Download it here for iPad.