Pokémon card
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Pokémon card is one of the three categories of cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the other two being Trainer cards and Energy cards. Each Pokémon card represents a Pokémon and are placed on the playing field to represent their presence in combat. Each player may have up to six in play at a time, though in a normal match, only one can attack at a time. Pokémon cards are divided by level of evolution.
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[edit] Basic Pokémon
Basic Pokémon are Pokémon that have not evolved. Basic Pokémon can be played directly onto the field. Basic Pokémon may or may not evolve, and accordingly, the Pokémon that will not evolve will have higher HP on average than those who can still evolve. Basic Pokémon are among the most Energy-inefficient of Pokémon cards, since they are so easily playable. However, each deck must have at least one Basic Pokémon to be considered legal. A typical evolving Basic has around 40 HP.
A player can tell if a Pokémon is a Basic Pokémon by looking to the left of the card, just below the illustration. If it says "Basic," then that card is a Basic Pokémon. For older sets, the word "Basic" is written on the upper-right corner of the card.
[edit] Baby Pokémon
A Baby Pokémon is a special kind of Basic Pokémon card, sometimes distinguished by a Poké-Power called "Baby Evolution." Baby Pokémon can be very weak, with low HP but having attacks with strange and sometimes very powerful effects. Baby Pokémon can evolve into another Basic Pokémon (which it can evolve into is specified on the card). When certain Baby Pokémon evolve, all damage done to it is healed. The older Baby Pokémon have a different defense: if a Baby Pokémon is attacked, the attacker must flip a coin; if it lands tails, the attacker's turn ends without an attack.
A common tactic for unlimited play is the use of a trainer card called Focus Band with Baby Pokémon. Focus Band activates when a Pokémon would be knocked out and saves it at the win of a coin flip. With these 2 barriers, Baby Pokémon can wreak havoc using abilities such as drawing a new hand (Cleffa) or damaging Pokémon with Pokémon powers (Pichu).
[edit] Shining Pokémon
When Pokémon Gold and Silver was released, players could find a Gyarados in the Lake of Rage that was red instead of blue. Every Pokémon has an alternate form, with colour differnces making them look quite different. The odds of encountering one are very slim. The Pokémon Trading Card Game made its own equivalent of a Shiny Pokémon called Shining Pokemon. These Pokémon, first introduced in Neo Revelation and appearing in Neo Destiny, were incredibly powerful, but they required many different types of Energy to play, were among the rarest of cards, and had a limit of one of each kind per deck.
A Shiny Pokémon can be told apart by its name: it will read "Shining" before the Pokémon's name.
[edit] Pokémon Star
Pokémon Star have properties are identical to that of Shining Pokémon, except that many attacks only require one type, and the limit was changed to a maximum of one Pokémon Star per deck, regardless of its name. Many Pokémon Stars get stronger when its player is losing. Pokémon Star cards debuted at the EX Team Rocket Returns set.
A Pokémon Star's name will have a picture of a shooting star next to its name.
Although defined the same by the Game Boy adventure, Pokémon Star and Shining Pokémon are considered different in the card game, e.g. it is legal to have a Shining Mewtwo and Mewtwo Star in the same deck.
The current list of Pokémon Star cards in America are Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Latias, Latios, Rayquaza, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Kyogre, Groudon, Metagross, Regirock, Regice, Registeel, Pikachu, Gyarados, Mewtwo, Alakazam, Celebi, Charizard and Mew.
[edit] Evolution card
An evolution card represents a Pokémon that has evolved. Unlike Basic Pokémon, Evolution cannot be placed directly onto the field (unless something happens that allows one to do so); they must be played on the corresponding Basic Pokémon, shown on the left where the word "Basic" would be.
Almost all evolved Pokémon have high HP, the only ones without high HP having defense to minimize damage. Stage 1 Pokémon evolve from Basic Pokémon, and Stage 2 Pokémon evolve from a Stage 1 Pokémon. As a Pokémon evolves, it gains HP and can use Energy more effectively. A typical maximally evolved Stage-1 can range from 70-90 HP and a typical Stage-2 has from 90-120.
Rare Candy evolves Pokémon instantly from Basic to Stage 2, ignoring any other obstacles. This has very powerful effects, and is a must in many modified decks. It has its cons, though; if a weakened Pokémon is retreated, it is vulnerable to being devolved to its low HP form and being knocked out. An easy way to do this is with Ancient Technical Machine: Rock that sends the evolution cards to your opponent's hand. However, in the current format, devolution is somewhat seldom, therefore making Rare Candy extremely popular.
[edit] Dark Pokémon
Dark Pokémon have shown up primarily in expansion sets featuring Team Rocket. Stage 1 Dark Pokémon evolve from regular Basic Pokémon, and Stage 2 Dark Pokémon evolve from Stage 1 Dark Pokémon. Initially, in Team Rocket and in Neo Destiny they were characterized by having low HP but high damage. In EX Team Rocket Returns, this disadvantage was removed, and instead, Dark Pokémon were combined with the Darkness type. Instead, their weakness is that some Pokémon Tool cards cannot be attached to Dark Pokémon.
They can take strong boosts from the Rocket gyms, and from Darkness Energy (which increases all their attacks by 10 for each Darkness Energy attached).
Illustrations for Dark Pokémon have either solid-black shading or high contrast shading.
[edit] Light Pokémon
Light Pokémon were the short-lived complement to Dark Pokémon, used in only one set, Neo: Destiny. Light Pokémon had high HP, and its attacks tended to help the opponent as much as it helped the player, though a few Light Pokémon were especially powerful when attacking a Dark Pokémon. Like Dark Pokémon, a Stage 1 Light Pokémon would evolve from a regular Basic Pokémon, and a Stage 2 Light Pokémon would evolve from a Stage 1 Light Pokémon.
Illustrations for Light Pokémon were often characterized by pastel colors, shining sunlight, gradual shading, or solid colors.
[edit] Cards that can be either Basic or Evolved
Some types of Pokémon cards can be found as either Basic Pokémon or Evolution cards.
[edit] Owner's Pokémon
Sometimes, the Pokémon featured on the card will belong to someone or something. In this case, Evolution cards with an owner's name must evolve from a Pokémon that also has that owner's name. For example, "Holon's Electrode" must evolve from "Holon's Voltorb." Usually, there's nothing special about the content of the card, though it might be slightly more powerful than a normal Pokémon card. Like Dark Pokémon, Owner's Pokémon are restricted from certain Pokémon Tools.
[edit] Pokémon-ex
Pokémon-ex are extremely powerful Pokémon that usually represent the last stage of evolution. They have very high HP and very strong attacks, with good use of Energy cards, but the reward is doubled if a player can take one down. The rest of the card game is very stacked against Pokémon-ex as well: Some Pokémon do more damage to Pokémon-ex, some can prevent damage from Pokémon-ex, most Pokémon Tools do not work on Pokémon-ex, and some Trainer cards put Pokémon-ex at a disadvantage. Desert ruins is a popular trainer card that damages Pokémon-ex each turn.
Pokémon-ex have reflective holofoil around the edges of the cards and on the illustration's background.
[edit] Evolution from Babies
When a Baby Pokémon evolves into what would normally be a Basic Pokémon, the Basic Pokémon counts as being an evolved Pokémon, and other cards that affect Basic Pokémon and Evolution cards differently are treated like so. For example, Strength Charm can only be attached to an Evolved Pokémon, and this would include Basic Pokémon evolved from Baby Pokémon.
Some normally Basic Pokémon receive benefits if they're evolved. Hitmonchan from EX Unseen Forces, for instance, gets a boost of HP if it was evolved from Tyrogue. Special energies that only benefit evolved Pokémon can now be attached to them. This is a useful way to exploit them with cards such as Dual ball that lets you search for basic Pokémon then treat them as evolved Pokémon and reap the benefits.
[edit] Delta Pokémon
The most recent type of Pokémon card are the Delta Pokémon, indicated by a lower-case delta and the text "Delta Species," both located between the Pokémon's name and its HP. They are normally associated with the Metal type, and most require the rare Metal Energy to bring it to its full potential. Pokémon normally of the Dragon type and Legendary Pokémon in the video games will carry alternate types. In EX Holon Phantoms and EX Crystal Guardians, this rule extends to all Pokémon, resulting in curiosities such as a Psychic-type Omanyte or a Fighting-type Sharpedo. Both Delta and non-Delta Pokémon can evolve from either Delta or non-Delta Pokémon. "Delta" is not considered part of a Pokémon's name, e.g. a deck may contain only 4 Eevees, regardless of how many are Delta. This is why trainer cards say "Delta on its card", not "Delta in its name".
[edit] Trainer card Pokémon
Some trainer cards are played as Pokémon which do not have attacks, e.g. the Fossils, Clefairy Doll, Lt. Surge's Secret Plan, and an Imakuni promo. They only count as Basic Pokémon once they are in the field, so if drawn in your starting hand they can be played as Pokémon, but if it is the only "Basic Pokémon" in your hand you can Mulligan. In your deck, they are treated as trainers, so you cannot have them as your only Basic Pokémon.
Such trainers do not give prizes when knocked out. They can evolve, have low HP, and some have special effects.
[edit] See also
- Pokémon Trading Card Game
- List of Pokémon Trading Card Illustrators
