A card game that involves collecting and trading Pokemon figurines, Pokemon cards depict creatures that battle for their trainers in a virtual world. They are used to attack and evolve into more powerful Pokemon, gather energy, and play special cards that help their trainers complete the task at hand. Pokemon cards come in four types, including Pokemon that fight for their trainers against other players’ Pokemon, evolution cards that allow them to become more powerful, and trainer cards (item/supporter/stadium) that add extra abilities or power to the Pokemon they are attached to.

When playing, the player draws a hand of seven cards. They then choose one Basic Pokemon card to put in their active spot, and the rest to place on the bench (only a maximum of five Pokemon may be benched at a time). If they do not have a Basic card in their hand, they must take a mulligan by shuffleing their decks and drawing another seven cards.

Each turn, the player can choose to attack his or her opponent’s Pokemon card with a number of energy cards played according to the attack name. Damage is tallied by adding the value of each card to the Pokemon’s HP total, and damage counters remain on the card until it is healed, knocked out or removed from play. Some attacks have special effects that can be played on the card, and these are listed on the card as well.

If a Pokemon has total damage that is greater than its HP, it is knocked out and placed in the discard pile along with its cards and any Evolutions or items attached. The player who has the most Pokemon knocked out wins.

Pokemon can also be put into a special condition that affects its abilities. These are listed on the card as Burned, Poisoned, Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed, and can include a loss of turns, a lack of energy, or a reduction in its attack power. These are dealt with in the same way as damage, and a player can only have one Pokemon with these conditions in play at a time.

The cards are divided into different series based on the generation or region they were first released in, and each series adds new Pokemon and card mechanics to the game. For example, the EX Series added stronger Pokemon-ex, the Diamond & Pearl Series brought in Pokemon LV.X, and the Black & White Series introduced Pokemon Prime, which allowed some Pokémon to gain additional power through evolution. These changes are reflected in the different icons and symbols used to denote type on the cards. For example, the Pikachu card has a lightning bolt symbol in the top corner to denote that it is an electric Pokemon. Similarly, there are icons for fire, water, grass, and other types. For people who are color blind, the icons can be used as a fallback to make the game easier for them to play. Pokemon cards