Pokémon Card 'Choose from Deck' Process... Look at Front Privately, Shuffle Even if Not Found

Sentences like "Search your deck for a ●●, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck," as seen on Level Ball, are example effects listed in item E-18 of the guide. The "Advanced Player Rule Guide ver 1.0" published by Pokémon Korea on the "How to Play" page of its official website details this process across the "H Deck" section and card description sections (C-11, D-05, E-18, E-36). This article summarizes the processing order based solely on that document. Example cards have been taken from the guide.

'Draw' and 'Choose' are Different Actions

The guide distinguishes between these two instructions.

| Card Instruction | Processing Defined by the Guide | |---|---| | 「Draw」 cards from the deck | Draw the specified number of cards from the top of the deck face down | | 「Choose」 cards from the deck | Select the specified number of cards while checking the front of the deck cards. Do not show the front to the opponent while checking | | 「Look at」 cards from the top of the deck | Like Pokégear 3.0, look at the top 7 cards, choose, then return the remaining cards to the deck and shuffle |

The process of looking through the deck is done privately. What is shown to the opponent is the chosen card, only when the description says "reveal it to your opponent." Both Level Ball (Pokémon with 90 HP or less) and Pokégear 3.0 (Supporter) instruct the player to reveal the chosen card and put it into their hand.

Can You Choose Fewer or None at All?

The "H Deck" section of the guide summarizes cases where multiple cards are chosen as follows.

| Situation | Guide Content | |---|---| | Choosing multiple cards like 「up to ▲▲ cards」 | You may choose fewer than the specified number | | Choosing 0 cards | You may choose not to select any cards, in which case the selection action ends | | Instructed to choose 「any card」 | You must choose the specified number of cards |

Regarding the expression "▲▲ of ●●," section D-05 explains it as "arbitrarily choosing within the range from 1 to that number." However, the same section states that if it is known that there are no targets to choose from due to the effect of a Trainer card or Ability, and thus no change in the situation will occur, that Trainer card or Ability cannot be used.

If You Looked at the Deck, Shuffle It

Section E-18 of the guide states, "When you have looked at the contents of the deck through effects such as 'put ●● from your deck into your hand,' you must shuffle the deck even if you did not choose the specified card." This means that even if you did not find the desired card or decided not to choose one, you must shuffle if you looked at the deck.

The method of shuffling is also defined. You must shuffle well so that neither player knows the order of the cards, and you must not look at the front of the cards while shuffling. The old expression "Return ●● to the deck and shuffle" and the sentence "Return ●● to the deck. Then, shuffle your deck" are treated as the same process (E-36).

When the Bench is Full

Effects that choose Basic Pokémon from the deck and put them onto the Bench, such as Squawkabilly's "Call for Family" attack, vary depending on the state of the Bench. According to the guide, if you use such an attack when there are already 5 Pokémon on the Bench, the attack ends without putting any Pokémon out; if it is an effect that brings them from the deck, the attack ends before checking the deck. Trainer cards and Abilities with the same effect cannot be used at all if the Bench has 5 Pokémon.

Documents for Korean Version Players

The Advanced Player Rule Guide can be downloaded as a PDF from the "How to Play" page of the official Pokémon Trading Card Game Korea website. The creation date recorded in the PDF document information is December 22, 2023, and the example cards are from around that time. The guide states that when card descriptions differ from the basic rules, the text on the card takes precedence, and if a card effect has been updated, it should be used with the updated effect.

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Sources

• Pokémon Trading Card Game Official Site · How to Play (Date not specified)
• Pokémon Korea · Advanced Player Rule Guide ver 1.0 (PDF) (2023-12-22, PDF creation date)