What is Pokemon?

Pokemon is a phenomenon out of Japan that began to take the world by storm in the late 90's, and includes products ranging from video games, movies and hit television shows, plush toys, and the incredibly fun Pokemon Trading Card Game.  Examples of Pokemon merchandise available on eBay are shown to the right.  Pokemon or "Pocket Monsters" are creatures that live among humans, and have different natures and abilities that vary based on their natures.

There are over 350 different named Pokemon!  People who own Pokemon are called Trainers, and they travel around catching Pokemon in Pokeballs and training them to use their abilities to fight in competitions.  Pokemon could be Electric Pokemon - like Pikachu - or Water Pokemon - like Squirtle.  In the trading card game, you can identify the nature of a Pokemon by the color of the card (yellow is electric, red is fire, blue is water, etc.).

Pokemon are able to evolve into new, more powerful Pokemon as they train and gain more power.  For example, the basic Pokemon Charmander evolves into Charmeleon, who further evolves into Charizard, one of the most power Pokemon in existance!  Another example is the basic Pokemon Dratini which evolves into Dragonair, which further evolves into Dragonite!  There are also many variants of the same Pokemon that have different levels, attacks and abilities.  Some Pokemon belong to organized groups like Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma.  There are also new kinds of Pokemon called Delta Species with great new powers.

What you need to play:

To play Pokemon TCG, you create a deck of 60 cards that includes Pokemon cards, Energy Cards, Trainer cards, and Tool cards.  Because of the thousands of different cards from all of the different sets available, you can create a wide variety of decks to play with.  Many of them are themed based on the cards chosen.  For example, a Lightning Deck would have all Electric Pokemon like Electabuzz or Jolteon.  There are many websites available to help you construct a deck with a theme, telling you what cards you need to build one, or you can create your own.  There are Pokemon Leagues and tournaments where children and adults can compete against each other.  Leagues often give away things like promotional cards and badges to participants.  You will also need a coin to handle attacks and trainer cards that require a coin flip, and damage counters for keeping track of how many hit points your Pokemon have left.  There are cardboard, plastic, and metal coins produced with Pokemon on them, or you can just use a penny.

Pokemon Cards:

Each Pokemon card has a picture of the Pokemon, and their special abilities and attacks on it.  It will show much much energy you must attach to the Pokemon, and what kind, to use each attack.  At the bottom of the card it will show any resistances or weaknesses the Pokemon has, and its retreat cost.  During the game, you'll have one active Pokemon, and you may need to retreat to the safety of your "bench" - and you may have to spend attached energy cards to do so.  If you have a Resistance to a certain kind of Pokemon, their attacks will do less damage against you.  If you have a Weakness to a certain kind of Pokemon, their attacks will do more damage against you.  The attacks and abilities, and how to use them, are written out in text on each card, as shown above.  Some Pokemon have special abilities beyond an attack that can totally change the outcome of a match!

Energy Cards:

Energy Cards are used to power up your Pokemon's attacks and abilities, and come in the same colors as your Pokemon (red cards are Fire Energy (pictured above), yellow cards are Electric Energy, etc.).  There are also special energy cards like Double Rainbow Energy, and Full Heal Energy, that provide extra benefits as well as provides energy.

Trainer, Tool and Gym Cards:

The final categories of cards are trainers, tools, and gyms - these range from things like Potion (pictured above) or Full Heals, to Gyms that affect how your Pokemon can be hurt, or what cards your opponent is allowed to play.  There are many variations out there.

You'll also need a coin to handle coin flips, and damage counters to keep track of the number of hit points your Pokemon have left.  I've found small glass beads that you can get at craft stores work well, or you can use pennies or something similar.  The advantage of beads is you can easily place them on the card to not obscure the important text information on each card.

Pokemon trading cards are produced in sets and generally are released every two to four months.  They were first produced by Wizards of the Coast, and all of the current cards are produced and distributed by Nintendo of America Inc.  Some tournaments and leagues no longer allow decks to use Wizards of the Coast cards.  You always want to see what new releases have in store - new cards to make your deck more powerful, and cards your opponents can use against you, you need to be able to defend against!

Nintendo Produced Pokemon Sets

The following list shows the series of cards that have been produced by Nintendo, with links to those departments in my eBay Store if I'm carrying them at this time:

Ruby & Sapphire

Sandstorm

Dragon

Team Aqua & Team Magma

Hidden Legends

Fire Red Leaf Green

Team Rocket Returns

Deoxys

Emerald

Unseen Forces

Delta Species

Legend Maker

Holon Phantoms

Crystal Guardians

Dragon Frontier

Power Keepers

Diamond & Pearl

Diamond & Pearl Mysterious Treasures

Diamond & Pearl Secret Wonders

Diamond & Pearl Great Encounters

Diamond & Pearl Majestic Dawn

Diamond & Pearl Legends Awakened

Diamond & Pearl Stormfront

Shopping for Pokemon on eBay

You can purchase Pokemon cards many different ways on eBay.  Sellers may have them available by the box, by the booster pack, by the set, in lots, or by individual card.  The price of a single card varies with its rarity, which is denoted on the lower right hand corner of each card.  Common cards have a black circle, Uncommon cards have a black diamond, and Rare cards have a black star.  The Holofoils and Ultra Rare cards have a special metallic foil effect on them, and are the most valuable cards of all - some going for over $30 a piece!  In the newer sets, there is also a parallel Reverse Foil or Reverse Holo set - duplicates of the Holofoils, Rares, Uncommons, and Commons but with a different kind of metalic foil.

To protect your more valuable cards from damage, you can get trading card supplies such as soft sleeves and top loaders which prevent the card from getting scratched or bent.  Sleeves are almost a must for your deck if you are an active player, and don't want your cards to be damaged during play.

For a new player looking to get started, I'd recommend finding an assorted lot of cards, or sets of cards from current sets.  By getting a mixture of common, uncommon, and rare cards, you'll be able to find combinations of cards that work well together in a deck.  You can research Pokemon decks to see what kinds of cards you'd like to play.

Shipping & Handling is a very important thing to look for when shopping for cards - as well as how the cards are packed for shipment.  Rates can vary a great deal, so be sure to compare S/H rates as well as prices when shopping.  As a seller myself, when shipping my cards out, I put them in soft sleeves and in top loaders, inside of a bubble mailer to give them as much protection as possible during shipment.  I want the mint condition cards I ship out to arrive in my buyer's hands in the same condition!

One Testimonial for my Guide

Thanks to mystiquegiftz for emailing me after reading my Guide about playing Pokemon:

"Hello, I just wanted to drop a line to you about the pokemon guide you wrote. It is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!! My son is so involved in it that I started my own deck, however I have NO idea what I'm doing!! I just collect the cards with the cutest pokeman...(hahaha) But your guide put the explaination in plain english for me to understand!! I printed it out and gave it to my son's grandparents so they now understand too!! Thanks so much!! You helped open a new world for my family!!

Thank you for reading my guide, and I'd like to invite you to visit my store and see all of the great Pokemon cards I have available.  A link to my store is provided in the column to the right.