Turn Progression for Your First Pokémon TCG Match: 7-Card Hand, 6 Prize Cards, No Attacks on the First Turn Going First

The most common roadblock for someone buying cards for the first time is figuring out: "I have a deck, but what do I do first?" Based on cross-referencing the "How to Play" guide on Pokémon Korea's official website and the "Asobikata (How to Play)" page on the Japanese official site (pokemon-card.com), here is a summary of the progression for your first match.

Match Preparation: Draw 7 Cards, Place Basic Pokémon, Set 6 Prize Cards

The Korean official guide states that rock-paper-scissors decides who goes first and who goes second. The Japanese official guide says the same. Coins are used when resolving attack effects or Special Conditions. The setup sequence is as follows:

| Step | Action | |---|---| | ① | Decide who goes first and second by rock-paper-scissors | | ② | Shuffle the deck well and place it face down in the Deck area | | ③ | Draw 7 cards from the top of the deck to form your hand | | ④ | Place 1 Basic Pokémon from your hand face down in the Active Spot | | ⑤ | Place any remaining Basic Pokémon face down onto the Bench, up to 5 cards (this is optional) | | ⑥ | Place 6 cards from the top of the deck face down into the Prize card area | | ⑦ | Flip the Pokémon in the Active Spot and Bench face up, and the player going first begins |

If you have no Basic Pokémon in your hand, reveal your hand to your opponent, return all cards to the deck, shuffle, and restart from the step of drawing 7 cards. At this point, the opponent may draw extra cards from their deck up to the number of times you redrew. The Japanese official guide explains that the opponent decides how many cards to draw (from 0 up to the number of redig attempts), and any Basic Pokémon among those extra cards may or may not be played onto the Bench.

What You Can Do on Your Turn

A turn begins by drawing 1 card from your deck. After that, you may perform the following actions in any order you choose.

| Action | Limit | |---|---| | Play Basic Pokémon to the Bench | As long as there is an open space (maximum 5 on the Bench) | | Attach Energy from your hand | 1 card per turn. To either the Active Pokémon or Benched Pokémon | | Evolve | Cannot evolve Pokémon played this turn or Pokémon that already evolved this turn | | Item | Any number of cards | | Supporter | 1 card per turn | | Stadium | 1 card per turn. Cannot play a card with the same name | | Ability | Using an Ability does not end your turn | | Retreat | Once per turn. Discard Energy equal to the Retreat Cost |

Finally, use 1 attack of your Active Pokémon. The required Energy must be attached, and using an attack ends the turn. If you do not attack or cannot attack, notify your opponent by saying "Turn ended" and conclude your turn.

The most frequent mistake made by beginners involves first-turn restrictions. The player going first cannot use attacks or play Supporter cards on their first turn. Neither the first nor second player may evolve Pokémon on their respective first turns. The Japanese guide notes that Abilities can be used even on the first player's first turn.

Five Special Conditions and Three Victory Conditions

At the end of each turn, players perform a "Pokémon Checkup" to check the status of both players' Pokémon. Special Conditions are resolved here. One damage counter equals 10 damage.

| Condition | Effect | Recovery | |---|---|---| | Asleep | Cannot attack or retreat on your turn | Coin flip heads during Pokémon Checkup, retreat to Bench, or evolve | | Burned | 20 damage during Pokémon Checkup, then flip a coin | Coin flip heads, retreat to Bench, or evolve | | Confused | Flip a coin before using an attack; if tails, the attack fails and Pokémon takes 30 damage | Retreat to Bench or evolve (retreating is allowed) | | Paralyzed | Cannot attack or retreat on your next turn | Recovers during Pokémon Checkup after that turn, retreat to Bench, or evolve | | Poisoned | 10 damage during Pokémon Checkup | Retreat to Bench or evolve |

Poisoned and Burned can coexist with other conditions. Asleep, Paralyzed, and Confused do not stack with one another; the newest condition replaces the previous one.

When damage taken equals or exceeds HP, that Pokémon is Knocked Out. The player who scored the Knock Out takes 1 Prize card per Pokémon into their hand. According to the Japanese guide, Knocking Out a Pokémon ex yields 2 Prize cards, and Knocking Out a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex yields 3 Prize cards. A match is decided by one of the following three conditions:

• The player who takes all of their Prize cards first wins.
• A player who has no Pokémon remaining on the field (Active Spot and Bench) loses.
• A player who cannot draw a card from their deck at the start of their turn loses. The Japanese guide explains that a player does not lose at the exact moment their deck reaches 0 cards.

Resources for Beginners of the Korean Edition

On Pokémon Korea's official website "How to Play" page, PDFs of Battle Rules, Floor Rules, and an Advanced Rule Guide are available alongside these basic rules. Situations difficult to adjudicate using only the basic rules can be verified in the Advanced Rule Guide.

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Sources

• 포켓몬코리아 · 포켓몬 카드 게임 놀이방법 (2026-10-29)
• 株式会社ポケモン · ポケモンカードゲーム あそびかた (2026-10-29)
• 株式会社ポケモン · ポケモンカードゲーム 大会ルール (2026-10-29)