Education // Collector guides

Guides

Short, practical guides that explain how to read cards, rarity, numbers, and sets.

How to read a Pokémon card

Every part of a Pokémon card, top to bottom, with what each part means for play.

What the circle, diamond and star mean, and the modern labels from Double Rare to Hyper Rare.

How to read 199/165, why a number can exceed the total, and the special codes.

What a set and a series are, the kinds of special sets and the printing marks.

What you are trying to do, the three ways to win, and how a game is set up, step by step.

Draw, act, attack: what you can do on a turn, and the limits that trip up new players.

How an attack works, how Weakness changes damage, what a Knock Out gives you and what each Special Condition does.

The deck-building rules and the official starter guidelines for Pokémon, Energy and Trainer counts.

Every part of a Pokémon, Trainer and Energy card, numbered on a real card.