How to Play Pokemon Cards Step by Step

First up, you gotta grab a deck of Pokemon cards. Make sure you've got a mix of Pokemon, Energy, and Trainer cards. Start by drawing seven cards. You need at least one Basic Pokemon in those seven to start playin'. If not, reshuffle and draw seven more. Your opponent does the same. Lay down a Basic Pokemon on the field as your Active Pokemon and put up to five more on your Bench. Flip a coin to see who goes first. Then, during your turn, you can do a bunch of stuff - play more Basic Pokemon, evolve your Pokemon, attach an Energy card to one (only one per turn!), use Trainer cards, and of course, battle! To attack, just choose one of your Active Pokemon's attacks and make sure you've got enough Energy attached to pull it off. Then, check the attack’s effects on your opponent's Pokemon. If you knock out an opponent's Pokemon, you get to draw a Prize card. First player to draw all their Prize cards, which are set aside at the beginning of the game, wins! Remember, the goal is to knock out your opponent's Pokemon by using your own Pokemon's attacks, which require Energy cards. Keep an eye on your Pokemon's Health Points (HP) since if they hit zero, that Pokemon gets knocked out. And watch out for special conditions like Asleep, Paralyzed, or Poisoned, as they can alter the course of the game.

Honestly? Just download the online version. It walks you through everything step by step, and it's free. Plus, you don't have to worry about losing cards or finding people IRL to play with.