Pokemon TCG - Unleashed Rulebook

8/6/2019 Pokemon TCG - Unleashed Rulebook

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RULEBOOK


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This product contains a small plastic coin and cardboard sheet

o counters. Both the coin and counters, when removed romthe cardboard sheet, are potential choke hazards and should

be kept away rom children under the age o 3.

Table of Contents

Whats New in the Pokmon TCG:HSUnleashed Expansion?.......................................................... 2

Game Play Rules ........................................................................................................2Whats the Basic Game? .............................................................................................2What Do You Need to Play? ........................................................................................2How Do You Get Started? ...........................................................................................3

How Do You Start the Game? .....................................................................................5Lets Play! ........................................................................................................ 7

What Can You Do During Your Turn? .................................. ........................................7What Happens Ater Each Players Turn? ................................... ...............................14How Do You Win? .....................................................................................................14How Do Special Conditions Work? .... ........................................ ...............................15Why Are There So Many Dierent Cards? .............. ........................................ ...........17How Do You Make a New Deck? ...............................................................................17

Expert Rules ............................................................................................. 18What Counts as an Attack? ......................................................................................18In What Order Do You Attack? ..................................................................................18

How Do You Figure Out the Damage? ......................................................................19In What Order Do Things Happen Ater Each Players Turn? ......................................20Pokmon That Reer to Themselves .........................................................................20Illegal Evolutions .....................................................................................................20How Do You Retreat Using Double Energy Cards? .................................. ..................20What Happens I a Card Tells You to Draw More Cards than You Have Let? .............21What Happens I Neither Player Gets a Basic Pokmon Card

in His or Her First 7 Cards? .................................................................................21What Happens I Both Players Win at the Same Time? .................... ........................21Whats Sudden Death? .............................................................................................21

Appendix A: Pokmon LEGEND ........................................ 22

Glossary ........................................................................................................ 26Index ................................................................................................................. 29Need Help Playing a Game? ................................................. 30

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Whats New in the PokmonTCG:HSUnleashed Expansion?

Some orces cant be contained, as youll discover in the Pokmon TCG: HSUnleashedexpansion! First, youll nd more Pokmon LEGEND cards, this time with a special twist: eachPokmon LEGEND card in HSUnleashedactually has two powerul Legendary Pokmon onit, working together to create a true orce to be reckoned with! Pokmon LEGEND cards stillspan two separate cards, and you can learn all about these amazing cards in Appendix A.

Then, Pokmon Prime keep the excitement level high in HSUnleashedwith six brand-new cards. These Pokmon specialize in battling, as youll see in their attacks, and be sure tolook or their special art and borders compared to their normal versions.

Game Play Rules

Whats the Basic Game?You and your opponent take the role o competing Pokmon Trainers. Each turn, that playercan boost his or her Pokmons attack power by adding an Energy card to a Pokmon,playing special Trainer cards, and even evolving his or her Pokmon into stronger orms!

Your goal is to Knock Out your opponents Pokmon by attacking with your Pokmon.

What Do You Need to Play?You and your opponent will each need a 60-card deck. You will also need some countersto keep track o damage on the dierent Pokmon in play and a coin or ipping. You mayalso use the playmat included with this product to help learn the game-setup, but its notrequired or play.

PokmonType

Name

AttackDamage

Pokmon cards, Evolution cards, and Energy cards will be on thetablein playater you play them rom your hand. You cankeep using those cards in play turn ater turn. Trainer cards,though, are used once and then put in the discard pile.

RaritySymbol

CollectorCard Number

Attack Cost& Text

EvolutionStage

How Do You Get Started?First, lets learn about the dierent types o cards youll be seeing.

Pokmon cardsThese cards are reerred to as Basic Pokmon or Evolution cards. (I the Pokmon is a Stage1 or Stage 2, its an Evolution card.) Evolution cards work just like Basic Pokmontheyre

just the advanced orm.


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Key to Energy Symbols

Energy cardsEnergy cards give your Pokmon the Energy they need to usetheir attacks. Some attacks require specic kinds o Energyto use, while attacks with the cost o can use any kind oEnergy. Unless a card specically tells you to discard Energy,dont discard any Energy rom your Pokmon!

Trainer cardsTrainer cards are played by doing what they say and thenputting them in your discard pile.

Supporter cardsSupporter cards are similar to Trainer cards, but you can onlyplay one each turn.

Stadium cardsStadium cards represent special battle arenas, staying arounduntil another Stadium card is played.

Energy card

Trainer card

Colorless

Darkness

Metal

Lightning

Psychic

Fighting

Grass

Fire

Water

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How Do You Start the Game?

SHAKE HANDSwith your opponent.

SHUFFLEyour 60-card deck anddraw 7 cards.

CHECK to see i you have anyBasic Pokmon in your hand.

What If You Dont Have a Basic Pokmon Card in Your Hand?

Then show your hand to your opponent, shufe it back into your deck, and draw 7new cards. Your opponent continues his or her set-up and can choose to draw anextra card ater setting aside his or her Prize cards. I you still do not have any BasicPokmon cards in your new hand, you repeat this process, but your opponent candraw an extra card each time! Remember, Fossil Trainer cards in your hand alwayscount as Basic Pokmon cards during this part o the game.

Supporter card

Stadium card


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Players SET ASIDE their own 6 Prize cards.6

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4PUT ONE o your BasicPokmon ace-downin ront o you, as yourActive Pokmon.

PUT up to 5 Basic Pokmon rom your hand to your Bench, ace-down.

All players NOW PLAYwith their Active and BenchedPokmon, ace-up.

ActivePokmon

Lets Play!As you play, you and your opponent take turns. During your opponents turn, you do notdo anything except replace your Active Pokmon i it gets Knocked Out (see below).During your turn, go through the steps below.

What Can You Do During Your Turn?You can do lots o things during your turn! You always draw acard rst, and you always attack last. Here is everything youcan do:

FLIP a coin to see who goes rst.The player who wins the ip goes rst.

Benched

Pokmon

ActivePokmon

BenchedPokmon

1 DRAWa card.2 NOW DO ANYof these in whatever order you want:

PUT Basic Pokmon cards on the Bench (as many as you want).EVOLVE Pokmon (as many as you want).ATTACH 1 Energy card to 1 o your Pokmon (only once per turn).PLAY Trainer cards (as many as you want) and Supporter andStadium cards (only one o each).RETREAT your Active Pokmon (only once per turn).USE Pok-Powers (as many as you want).

3 ATTACK!CHECK to make sure you have enough Energy attached to yourActive Pokmon to attack.CHECK Weakness and Resistance o your opponents Pokmon.PUT damage counters on your opponents Pokmon.CHECK to see i you Knocked Out your opponents Pokmon.TAKE a Prize card (i you Knocked Out your opponents Pokmon).

4 Your turn isOVERnow.


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Unlike most o the other things you can do during your turn, youmay do this only once during your turn. Also, remember that youcan attach an Energy card to a Pokmon on your Bench. Ater all,that is in play, too!

Sorry, you cannot evolve a Pokmon that you just played orevolved on that turn. Also, neither player c an evolve a Pokmonon the rst turn. And nally, yes, you can evolve a Pokmon onyour Benchthat counts as in play!

go away, such as Special Conditions or anythingelse that might be the result o an attack somePokmon made earlier.

ATTACH 1 Energy to 1 of yourPokmon (only once per turn).Take an Energy card rom your hand and place itunder one o your Pokmon in play, either yourActive Pokmon or one o your Benched ones,but NOT both.

PLAY Trainer, Supporter, andStadium cards.On the rst turn o the game, the starting playercannot play any Trainer, Supporter, or Stadiumcards rom his or her hand, including FossilPokmon (such as Claw Fossil, Root Fossil, etc.).

When you play a Trainer card, do what it says,then put it in the discard pile. (Certain typeso Trainer cards, such as Pokmon Tools andTechnical Machines, stay in play, but theyll saythat on the card.) Supporter cards are played likeTrainer cards, except you can only play one eachturn. Stadium cards can only be played once eachturn as well, but they stay in play until anothercard removes them.

Basic Pokmon

on Bench

Magmar Evolves

Active Pokmon

Attach Energy

to Pokmon

Supporter card

1 DRAW a card.You begin your turn by drawing a card. (I yourdeck is empty at the beginning o your turn so youcannot draw a card, the game is over, and youropponent wins.)

2 Now DO ANY of these inwhatever order you want:

PUT Basic Pokmon cards on theBench (as many as you want).Choose a Basic Pokmon card rom your handand put it ace up on your Bench. You can haveno more than 5 Pokmon on your Bench at anytime, so you can put a new Basic Pokmon cardthere only i your Bench has 4 or ewer Pokmonon it. I your Active Pokmon gets Knocked Out(or leaves play or any other reason), you have toreplace it with a Pokmon rom your Bench rightaway (or you lose the game).

EVOLVE Pokmon (as many asyou want).I you have a card in your hand that says Evolvesrom so-and-so and so-and-so is the name oa Pokmon you already have in play, you mayplay that card in your hand on top o Pokmonso-and-so. This is called evolving a Pokmon.

Example: Erin has a card called Magmortar that saysEvolves rom Magmar,and she has a Magmar inplay. She may play the Magmortar card on top o the

Growlithe card, keeping any damage counters.

You may evolve a Basic Pokmon to a Stage 1Pokmon, or a Stage 1 Pokmon to a Stage 2Pokmon. When a Pokmon evolves, it keepsall cards attached to it (Energy cards, Evolutioncards, etc.) and any damage it might alreadyhave, but the old attacks and Pok-Powers andPok-Bodies o the Pokmon it evolved rom goaway. All other things about the Pokmon also


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USE Pok-Powers(as many as you want).Some Pokmon have special Pok-Powersthat they can use when they are in play.(Remember, Benched Pokmon are in play,too, so they can use Pok-Powers, i theyhave any.) Many o these powers can beused beore you attack. Each Pok-Power is

dierent, though, so you should read careullyto see how each power works.

3 ATTACK!When you attack, you place damage counters on your opponents Active Pokmon(also called the Deending Pokmon). This is the last thing you can do during yourturn. You are only allowed to attack once during your turn (i your Pokmon has 2attacks, it can use only 1 o them each turn). Say the name o the attack you are using,and then ollow the rest o the steps below.

CHECK to make sure you have enough Energy attachedto your Active Pokmon to attack.You can use an attack only i you have at least the required amount o Energy attachedto your Active Pokmon.

RETREAT your Active Pokmon(only once per turn).I your Active Pokmon has lots o damagecounters on it, you might want to retreat it andbring in one o the Pokmon on your Bench toght instead. But on most turns, you probablywill not retreat.

To retreat your Active Pokmon, you must

discard one Energy rom it or each listed orits Retreat Cost. I there are not any or itsRetreat Cost, it retreats or ree. ( You will readmore about costs in the ATTACK! section.) Thenyou can switch it with a Pokmon rom yourBench. Keep damage counters, Evolution cards,and Energy cards (other than the ones you had todiscard) with each Pokmon when they switch.

A Pokmon that is Asleep or Paralyzedcannot retreat.

When your Active Pokmon goes to your Bench(whether it retreated or got there some otherway), some things about it do go awaySpecialConditions (Asleep, Burned, Conused, Paralyzed,and Poisoned) and anything else other thandamage, that might be the result o an attacksome Pokmon made earlier.

I you retreat, you can still attack that turn withthe new Active Pokmon.

Retreat Cost

Pok-Power

Pokmon Power isnt the same as a Pokmons attack, so i you usea Pok-Power or Pok-Body, you can still attack!


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Any kind o Energy , , , , , , , , or can count towardColorless Energy requirements ( ). But or the other eight kinds o Energy, only Energyo the appropriate kind counts toward Energy requirements o that kind. For example, youcan use an attack with next to it only i that Pokmon has at least 3 Energyattached to it, at least 2 o which are Energy.

CHECK Weakness and Resistanceof your opponents Pokmon.Some Pokmon have Weakness or Resistance toPokmon o certain other types. (For example,Tropius has a Weakness to Pokmon.) Look tosee i the Deending Pokmon has Weakness orResistance to the Attacking Pokmons type.I the attack does damage, the DeendingPokmon takes more damage rom a Pokmonit has Weakness to, and it takes less damagerom a Pokmon that it has Resistance to. WhenBenched Pokmon receive damage, do not applyWeakness or Resistance.

PUT damage counters on youropponents Pokmon.When you attack, put a damage counter on youropponents Active Pokmon or each 10 damageyour Pokmons attack does (written to theright o the attack name). I an attack says to do

something else, be sure to do that, too!

CHECK to see if your PokmonKnocked Out your opponentsPokmon.I a Pokmon ever has total damage at leastequal to its Hit Points (or example, 5 or moredamage counters on a Pokmon with 50 HP), it isimmediately Knocked Out.

Vulpix attacks

Tropius!

Vulpix needsto have 1

Energy to usethis attack.

Fireworks does20 damage tothe DefendingPokmon.

Usually the attack does not depend on the order you do thisin, but i it does, then this is how you gure it out! First, payany costs (discarding Energy cards, or example). Second,apply any eects on the Attacking Pokmon. Next, applyWeakness and Resistance or the Deending Pokmon. Finally,apply any other eects on the Deending Pokmon.

You have to have the required amount o Energy attached to aPokmon to use its attack, but you do not have to discard thosecards to attack. The cards stay attached to your Pokmon unless theattack says otherwise!

Vulpixs

attack is calledFireworks.


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TAKE a Prize card (if you Knocked Out youropponents Pokmon).Whenever you Knock Out your opponents Pokmon, your opponent puts his or herPokmon card and all cards attached to it (Evolution cards, Energy cards, and so on) inthe discard pile. You then choose one o your Prizes (you do this even i your opponentKnocked Out his or her own Pokmon, or i it is Knocked Out between turns!) and put itinto your hand. Ater that, your opponent must replace his or her Active Pokmon witha Pokmon rom his or her Bench. (I your opponent cannot do this because his or herBench is empty, you win!) I your Active Pokmon and your opponents Active Pokmonare Knocked Out at the same time, the player whose turn it is replaces his or herPokmon last. The player whose turn it is chooses his or her Prize card last as well.

4 Your turn is OVER now.Sometimes there are things to do ater your turn is over but beore your opponentsturn begins. Ater you do those things, your opponents turn begins.

What Happens After Each Players Turn?Ater each players turn, i either players Active Pokmon is Poisoned, it takes damage; i itsBurned, it might take damage; and i its Asleep or Paralyzed, it might recover. Then the next

players turn begins.

How Do You Win?You win the game i any one or more o these things occur:

You collect all o your Prize cards (collect Prize cards as your opponents Pokmon areKnocked Out).

Knock Out your opponents last Pokmon in play.

Your opponent is out o cards in his or her deck, when he or she goes to draw a card atthe beginning o the turn.

How Do Special Conditions Work?Some attacks cause the Deending Pokmon to be Asleep, Burned, Conused, Paralyzed, orPoisoned. These conditions are called Special Conditions. They do not happen to a BenchedPokmon, only to an Active Pokmonin act, i a Pokmon goes to the B ench, SpecialConditions are removed rom it. And evolving a Pokmon also means it is no longer aectedby a Special Condition.

AsleepI a Pokmon is Asleep, it cannot attack or retreat. As soon as a Pokmon is Asleep, turn

it sideways to show that it is Asleep. Ater each players turn, ip a coin. On heads, thePokmon wakes up (turn the card back right-side up), but on tails it is still Asleep, and youhave to wait until ater the next turn to tr y to wake it up again.

BurnedI a Pokmon is Burned, place a Burn marker on it to show that it is Burned. As long as itsBurned, ip a coin ater each players turn. I tails, place 2 damage counters on it, ignoringWeakness and Resistance. I an attack would Burn a Pokmon that is already Burned, it doesnot get doubly Burned; instead, the new Burn condition replaces the old one. Make surewhatever you use or a Burn marker looks dierent rom a damage counter.

Confused

I a Pokmon is Conused, you have to ip a coin whenever you try to attack with thatPokmon. Turn a Conused Pokmon with its head pointed toward you to show that it isConused. A Conused Pokmon can retreat to the Bench normally, where it loses all SpecialConditions. When you attack with a Conused Pokmon, you ip a coin. On heads, the attackworks normally, but on tails your Pokmon receives 3 damage counters and the attackends without eect. (Only apply Weakness and Resistance or actual damage, not damagecounters.) The Active Pokmon receives 3 damage counters even i its attack normally doesnot do damage (like Treeckos Poison Breath attack).

ParalyzedI a Pokmon is Paralyzed, it cannot attack or retreat. Turn the Pokmon sideways to showthat it is Paralyzed. I an Active Pokmon is Paralyzed, it recovers ater its players next turn.

Turn the card right-side up again. What this means is that i your Pokmon gets Paralyzed, itwill be out o action on your next turn, and then it will be okay again.

PoisonedI a Pokmon is Poisoned, put a Poison marker on it to show that it is Poisoned. As longas it is Poisoned, place a damage counter on it ater each players turn, ignoring Weaknessand Resistance. I an attack would Poison a Pokmon that is already Poisoned, it does notget doubly Poisoned; instead, the new Poison condition replaces the old one. Make surewhatever you use or a Poison marker looks dierent rom a damage counter.


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Can Your Pokmon Be Asleep and Confusedat the Same Time?I a Pokmon is Asleep, Conused, or Paralyzed, and a new attack is made against it thatmakes it Asleep, Conused, or Paralyzed, the old condition is erased and only the newone counts. But these three conditions are the only eects that erase each other. So, orexample, a Pokmon can be Conused and Burned at the same time.

Why Are There So Many Different Cards?One o the things that makes the Pokmon game dierent rom other card games is that it isa trading card game. This means that there are lots o dierent cards that you can collect andtrade with your riends. Also, you are not limited to just playing the preconstructed decks youbuyyou can use all o the dierent cards you have to create totally new decks! A lot o theun o a trading card game comes rom making dierent decks that use dierent strategies.

How Do You Make a New Deck?To make a new deck, start by looking at the dierent Energy types on your various Pokmonthat you want to have in your deck. Your deck should probably include one or two Energytypes, and you can choose to add some Colorless ( ) Pokmon i you like. I you justchoose one Energy type, you will always have the right kind o Energy or your Pokmonbut not as much variety. I you have several Energy types, you will have more Pokmon tochoose rom, but you will run the risk o sometimes not drawing the right type o Energy oryour Pokmon. It is a game rule that you must have at least 1 Basic Pokmon in your deck.(A Basic Pokmon is considered a Pokmon with Basic as the Pokmons Evolution Stage.)

Next, add Energy cards that match the Energy types o your Pokmon. When building adeck or the rst time, make sure you put plenty o Energy cards in it (most decks need 20

to 25). I your Pokmon dont have enough Energy, they wont be able to use their mostpowerul attacks!

Finally, add Trainer cards, Supporter cards, and Stadium cards to nish the deck. These cardstypically oer ways to draw more cards, add more punch to your Pokmons attacks, ormaybe just help recover rom your opponents last attack. Rememberyour deck has to beexactly 60 cards, no more, no less.

Ater you make your deck, play it as oten as you can against as many other decks as you can.See what works and what doesnt, and then make changes. Keep playing your deck, discoverwhat you like best about it, and become the best player you know!

OKAY!You have read the game play rules, so now you know enough tohandle almost anything that might come up in the Pokmon TCG.Once you master all o these rules, you can take a look at the Expert

Rules on page 18 to ne-tune your Pokmon knowledge.

Your deck has to have exactly 60 cards, and you cannot have more than4 o any one card other than basic Energy cards or 1 Pokmonhcardin your deck (the basic Energy cards are , , , , ,

, , and ). A card counts as the same as another card i ithas the same nameit does not matter whether the cards havedierent art or come rom dierent sets. So, or example, you couldhave 4 Team Magmas Poochyena and 4 Poochyena in your deck,but you cannot have more than 4 Pokmon named Poochyena totaleven i they were dierent versions o Poochyena.


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Expert RulesThis section answers some questions that do not come up very otenbut i they do, youwill be glad to have the answers!

What Counts as an Attack?Anything written on a Basic Pokmon or Evolution card under the picture where attacks areound (except or a Pok-Power or Pok-Body) is considered an attack even i it does not

do anything to your opponents Pokmon. So, or example, Manaphys Deep Sea Swirl andCarnivines Drawup Power attacks would be prevented by an eect like Octillery s Ink Bomb.

In What Order Do You Attack?The exact steps to go through when attacking are listed here. For most attacks, it will notmatter what order you do things in, but i you have to work your way through a reallycomplicated attack, ollow these steps in order and you should be ne.

a) Announce which attack your Active Pokmon is using. Make sure your Pokmon hasenough Energy attached to it to use this attack.

b) I necessary, make any choices the attack requires you to make. (For example,Misdreavuss Sharpshooting reads, Choose 1 o your opponents Pokmon. So, youchoose now.)

c) I necessary, do anything the attack requires you to do in order to use it. (For example,Aipoms Tail Smash reads, Flip a coin. I tails, this attack does nothing.)

d) I necessary, apply any eects that might alter or cancel the attack. (For example,i your Pokmon was attacked last turn by Octillerys Ink Bomb, Ink Bomb puts aneect on that Pokmoni you ip tails or that Pokmon when it attacks, thatattack does nothing.)

e) I your Active Pokmon is Conused, check now to see i the attack ails.

) Do whatever the attack says. Do any damage rst, then do any other eects, and nally,Knock Out any Pokmon that have damage greater than or equal to their Hit Points.

How Do You Figure Out the Damage?Usually the amount o damage an attack does will not depend on the order in which you dothings. But i you have to gure out an attack in which a lot o dierent things might changethe damage, ollow these steps in order (skip any steps that do not apply to that attack).

a) Start with the base damage. This is the number written to the right o the attack, or, ithat number has an x, -, +, or ? next to it, it is the amount o damage the attack tellsyou to do. (I the attack species to put damage counters, these damage counters arenot preventable as damage.)

b) Figure out damage eects on the Attacking Pokmon (or example, Onixs Hardenattack rom the opponents turn). Then, i the base damage is 0 (or i the attackdoes not do any damage at all), just stop guring the damage. You are done now.Otherwise, keep going.

c) Increase the damage by the amount next to the Deending Pokmons Weakness, i ithas Weakness to the Attacking Pokmons type. (I the attack species to put damagecounters, do not apply Weakness to these damage counters.)

d) Reduce the damage by the amount next to the Deending Pokmons Resistance, i ithas Resistance to the Attacking Pokmons type. (I the attack species to put damage

counters, do not apply Resistance to these damage counters.)e) Figure out damage eects o Trainer cards and Energy cards on the Deending

Pokmon (like Metal Energy or Buer Piece).

) Apply any relevant eects on the Deending Pokmon, resulting rom the DeendingPokmons last attack (or example, Steelixs Guard Press) or relevant Pok-Powersand Pok-Bodies.

g) For each 10 damage the attack ends up doing, put 1 damage counter on theDeending Pokmon. (I at this point the damage done turns out to be less than 0,do not do anything.)

h) Now that damage has been done, i the attack does anything other than damage,do all o that.


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In What Order Do Things Happen After EachPlayers Turn?Usually, it does not matter in what order you do things ater each players turn, but i thingsget complicated, ollow these steps in order.

a) Put damage counters on any Poisoned Pokmon.

b) Flip a coin to see i Pokmon with Burn markers get damage counters put on them.

c) Flip a coin to see i Asleep Pokmon recover, and have eligible Paralyzed Pokmon recover.

I a Pokmon has a Pokmon Tool card attached to it and that card does something betweenturns, that card can be used at any time between turns that the person who played thePokmon wants.

I your Pokmon and your opponents Pokmon are Knocked Out at the same time betweenturns or during an attack, the player who is about to take a turn replaces his or her Pokmonrst (and chooses his or her Prize card rst as well).

Pokmon That Refer to ThemselvesSometimes a Pokmon reers to itsel by name. For example, Plusles Thunder Jolt says,Plusle does 10 damage to itsel. Read the name as this Pokmon i the attack somehow

gets used by another Pokmon.

Illegal EvolutionsWhenever you evolve a Pokmon, the Evolution card has to read it Evolves rom the nameo the Pokmon it goes on top o. Certain Pokmon (such as Rockets Meowth) or Pokmon-ex (like Scyther ex) do not evolve into normal versions. A Pokmon card would have tostate Evolves rom Rockets Meowth to allow or that evolution.

How Do You Retreat Using Double Energy Cards?Paying Retreat Costs can get conusing with Double Energy cards. Here is the way it works:Discard Energy cards one at a time until you have paid the Retreat Cost (or maybe more).

Once you have paid the cost, you cannot discard any more cards.

For example, suppose your Pokmon has a Retreat Cost o and it has 2 Energycards and a Energy card attached. You can pay the Retreat Cost in several waysby discarding , by discarding 2 , or by discarding rst and then .You cannot discard all 3 cards, though.

What Happens If a Card Tells You to Draw MoreCards than You Have Left?I a card tells you to do something to a certain number o the top cards o your deck, andyou have ewer cards than that let in your deck, do whatever you are supposed to do to thecards that you have let and continue play as normal. For example, i a card tells you to draw7 cards or to look at the top 5 cards o your deck, and you have only 3 cards let in your deck,you draw the top 3 or look at the top 3. Remember, you lose i you cannot draw a card at thebeginning o your turn, not i you cannot draw one because a card told you to.

What Happens If Neither Player Gets a BasicPokmon Card in His or Her First 7 Cards?Sometimes neither you nor your opponent get any Basic Pokmon cards in your rst handso 7 cards. I this happens, both players shufe and draw 7 new cards. In this case, neitherplayer gets to draw an extra card. Repeat this process until at least one o the players hasa Basic Pokmon card in his or her hand o 7 cards. I the other player still does not have aBasic Pokmon card in his or her hand, that player can shufe and draw 7 new cards, butthe player who already has a Basic Pokmon card can draw an extra card as usual. Continuethis process until each player has a Basic Pokmon card in his or her hand o 7 c ards.

What Happens If Both Players Win at theSame Time?You win i you take your last Prize card or i your opponent has no Benched Pokmon toreplace his or her Active Pokmon i it gets Knocked Out or otherwise removed rom play.But it might happen that both players win in one o these ways at the same time. I thishappens, play Sudden Death. However, i you win in both ways and your opponent wins inonly one way, you win!

Whats Sudden Death?I Sudden Death occurs, play a new game, but have each player use only 1 Prize card insteado the usual 6. Except or the number o Prize cards, treat the Sudden Death game like a

whole new game: Set everything up again, including ipping a coin again to see who goesrst. The winner o this game is the overall winner. It may happen that the Sudden Deathgame also ends in Sudden Death; i that happens just keep playing Sudden Death gamesuntil somebody wins.


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Appendix A: Pokmon LEGENDPokmon LEGEND is an exciting new t ype o Pokmon introduced in the Pokmon TCG:HeartGold & SoulSilverexpansion. These cards highlight the amous Legendary Pokmonand are so powerul, they take up two cards!

Special Rules for Pokmon LEGENDsBoth halves o a Pokmon LEGEND have the same name (or example, Ho-OhLEGEND). Thereore, you can only have 4 total cards named Ho-Oh LEGEND in your

deck, not 4 o each hal. Also, Ho-Oh LEGEND is dierent rom Ho-Oh, so you couldhave 4 Ho-Oh LEGENDs and 4 Ho-Oh in your deck.

You must play both halves o a Pokmon LEGEND card onto your Bench at the sametime. You cant play just one hal or two o the same hal.

Pokmon LEGENDs are not Basic Pokmon! Thus, you cannot play them as yourActive or Benched Pokmon during setup. Also, you must still have at least one B asicPokmon in your deck i you otherwise only have Pokmon LEGENDs in your deck.Finally, Pokmon LEGENDs are not Evolution cards.

When a Pokmon LEGEND is in play, the pair o cards is treated as one card. Whenthose cards are anywhere else (in your hand, your deck, your discard pile, or as your

Prize cards), each card is treated as one separate card. For example, i a card tells youto search your discard pile or a Pokmon and put it into your hand and you haveboth halves o Ho-Oh LEGEND in your discard pile, you may only put one o those twohalves into your hand.

Cards or eects that reer to Basic, Stage 1, Stage 2, or Evolution cards dontaect Pokmon LEGENDs. For example, a card that says Search your deck or a BasicPokmon cant nd Ho -Oh LEGEND. However, one that says Search your deck ora Pokmon can nd Ho-Oh LEGEND (but just one hal o it!). Also, cards that aectUnevolved Pokmon willaect Pokmon LEGENDs.

Some Pokmon LEGENDs have a rule that says When this Pokmon has been Knocked

Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards. Keep in mind this does not apply to allPokmon LEGENDsjust the ones with that rule on them.


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Pokmon LEGENDs can be ound in boosters o the HSUnleashedexpansion, addinglegendary power to your game.


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Fossil Trainer cards: These are a special kind o Trainer card, that act like Basic Pokmonwhen put into play. When that kind o Trainer card is in your hand, deck, or discardpile, it is not considered a Basic Pokmon. However, these Trainer cards always countas Basic Pokmon during set-up.

Hit Points (HP): A number every Pokmon has, telling you how much damage it cantake beore it is Knocked Out.

in play: Your cards are in play when they are on the table. Basic Pokmon cards, Evolutioncards, and Energy cards cannot be used unless they are in play. (The cards in your deckand your discard pile, and your Prizes, are not in play, but your Benched Pokmon are.)

Knocked Out: A Pokmon is Knocked Out i it has damage greater than or equal to itsHit Points. That Pokmon goes to the discard pile, along with any cards attached to it.When one o your opponents Pokmon is Knocked Out, you take one o your Prizes.

Lost Zone: A card sent to the Lost Zone is no longer playable during that match, and isplaced ace up anywhere out o play.

Owner: Reers to a Pokmon with a Trainers name in its title, such as Brocks Sandshrewor Team Rockets Meowth. Note that cards with , , , , or do NOT count asOwnercards.

Poison marker: What you place on a Pokmon to remind you that it is Poisoned. A markergoes away i the Pokmon is Benched or Evolved. See counter, damage counter.

Pok-Body: A Pok-Body is an eect on a Pokmon that is always active, as soon as thatPokmon is in play. The eect o that Pok-Body lasts until the Pokmon leaves play.

Pok-Power: Pok-Powers are usually once-per-turn powers on Active and BenchedPokmon, that you must choose to use. Most Pok-Powers are turned o i thePokmon becomes aected by a Special Condition.

Pokmon:The colorul characters that ght or you in the Pokmon Trading Card Game.They are represented in the game by Basic Pokmon and Evolution cards.

Pokmon-ex: Pokmon-ex are a stronger orm o Pokmon, with a special drawback:when your opponent deeats your Pokmon-ex, he or she gets to draw two Prizecards, instead o one.

Pokmon LEGEND: Pokmon LEGENDs are special cards that showcase powerul

Legendary Pokmon. These Pokmon take up two cards, and both cards must beplayed together at the same time.

Pokmon LV.X: Pokmon LV.Xare stronger versions o a regular Pokmon, put on top o theregular Pokmon o the same name, adding extra abilities to the original Pokmon.

Pokmon Power: A special ability some Pokmon have. Pokmon Powers are dividedinto two categories: Pok-Power and Pok-Body. These are written in the same placeattacks are, but they always have the words Pok-Power or Pok-Body in ront othem so that you can tell they are not attacks.

PokmonSP: A special Pokmon trained by a par ticular Trainer, each PokmonSPhas

GlossaryActive Pokmon:Your Pokmon that is in ront o all o your other Pokmon. Only the

Active Pokmon can attack.

attach: When you take a card rom your hand and put it on one o your Pokmon in play.

attack: 1) When your Active Pokmon ghts your opponents Pokmon. 2) The textwritten on each Pokmon card that shows what it does when it attacks (a Pokmoncan have several attacks on it).

Attacking Pokmon: Your Active Pokmon, as it ghts your opponents Pokmon.basic Energy card: A Grass , Fire , Water , Lightning , Psychic ,

Fighting , Darkness , or Metal Energy card.

Basic Pokmon card: A card that you can play directly rom your hand on your turn toput a Pokmon into play. See Evolution card.

Bench: Where your Pokmon go that are in play but are not actively ghting. They areready to come out and ght i the Active Pokmon retreats or is Knocked Out. WhenBenched Pokmon receive damage, do not apply Weakness or Resistance.

Burn marker: What you place on a Pokmon to remind you that it is B urned. A markergoes away i the Pokmon is Benched or Evolved. See counter, damage counter.

counter: Something some cards tell you to place on a Pokmon as a reminder (or

example, a Char counter). A counter does not go away when you Bench the Pokmon,but it does go away i the Pokmon evolves (damage counters are a special exceptionto this rule). See damage counter, Poison marker, Burn marker.

damage: What usually happens when one Pokmon attacks another. I a Pokmon hastotal damage greater than or equal to its Hit Points, it is Knocked Out.

damage counter: A counter placed on your Pokmon to show it has taken damage.It stays on your Pokmon even i the Pokmon is Benched or Evolved. Each damagecounter counts as 10 damage. See counter, Poison marker.

Defending Pokmon: Your opponents Active Pokmon during your attack.

devolve: Certain cards can devolve an Evolved Pokmon, which is the opposite oevolving your Pokmon, typically either going rom a Stage 2 evolution to a Stage 1

evolution or a Stage 1 evolution into a B asic Pokmon. When a Pokmon is devolved,it also loses Special Conditions and any other eects.

discard pile: The pile o cards you have discarded. These cards are always ace up.Anyone can look at these cards at any time.

Energy card: The type o card that powers your Pokmon and makes them able toattack. See basic Energy card.

Evolution card: A card you can play on top o a Basic Pokmon card (or sometimes ontop o another Evolution card) to make it stronger.


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a symbol in its name to show its owner. Note that a Zapdos card is dierent rom aZapdos card because Zapdos is a Team Galactics Pokmon.

Pokmon Tool: These are a special kind o Trainer card that you can attach to yourPokmon to help you. Each Pokmon can have only 1 Pokmon Tool attached to it atany time.

Prize cards: The 6 cards you put ace down at the start o the game. Every time one oyour opponents Pokmon is Knocked Out, you take 1 o your Prizes into your hand(or 2 Prizes, i it was a Pokmon-ex). When you take your last Prize card, you win!

Resistance: I a Pokmon has Resistance, it takes less damage when attacked byPokmon o a certain type. The amount o Resistance is indicated next to the type(s)o Resistance a Pokmon has, i any.

retreat:When you take your Active Pokmon and switch it with one o your BenchedPokmon. To retreat, you must discard Energy rom the retreating Pokmon equal tothe Retreat Cost o the Pokmon. This cost appears in the lower right-hand corner othe card. You can only retreat once per turn.

Special Conditions: Asleep, Burned, Conused, Paralyzed, and Poisoned are calledSpecial Conditions.

Stadium card: A card similar to a Trainer card, but stays in play ater you play it.It aects the game as long as it stays in play. Only one Stadium card can be in playat a timei a new one comes into play, discard the old one. You can only play one

Stadium card each turn.Sudden Death: Sometimes both players win at the same time. In this case, you play a

shorter version o the Pokmon TCG called Sudden Death (using only 1 Prize Cardeach instead o 6).

Supporter card: A card similar to a Trainer card, except it stays in play next to your ActivePokmon, until it is discarded at the end o your turn. You can play only one Supportercard each turn.

Technical Machine: A kind o Trainer card that you attach to your Pokmon. EachTechnical Machine card has an attack on them that, when attached to your Pokmon,your Pokmon can use as i it were its own. Technical Machine cards remain attachedunless the card text says otherwise.

Trainer card: A card that you play during your turn by ollowing the instructions on thecard and then discarding it.

Trainers Pokmon: Pokmon that have Trainers names in their titles, like BrocksSandshrew. You cannot evolve a regular Sandshrew into Brocks Sandslash, and youcannot evolve a Brocks Sandshrew into a regular Sandslash. Treat Sandshrew andBrocks Sandshrew like two completely dierent Pokmon.

Weakness: I a Pokmon has Weakness, it takes more damage when attacked byPokmon o a certain type. The eect o the Weakness is indicated next to the type(s)o Weakness a Pokmon has, i any.

Index

Asleep .................................. ........................................ ....................................... 15-16, 20

Attack, order o .................................. ....................................... .......................... 11, 18-19

Basic Pokmon ....................................................................................................... 3, 5, 21

Burned ........................................ ....................................... ................................. 15-16, 20

Cards, dierent kinds ....................................................................................................3-4

drawing ..................................................................................................................5, 8, 21

Conused ..................................... ....................................... ................................. 15-16, 18

Damage counters ............................................................................................................13

Damage, iguring ............................................................................................................19

Deckbuilding ...................................................................................................................17

Deending Pokmon .................................................................................................11, 13

Energy cards ..................................................................................................................4, 9

Evolving, Evolution cards............................................................................................ 8, 20

Hit Points ........................................................................................................................13

In play .............................................................................................................................. 3

Knocked Out ....................................................................................................................13Paralyzed .................................... ....................................... ................................. 15-16, 20

Poisoned ..................................... ....................................... ................................. 15-16, 20

Pokmon LEGEND......................................................................................................22-25

Pok-Powers ...................................................................................................................11

Prize cards .................................................................................................................. 6, 14

Resistance .................................................................................................................13, 19

Retreating .................................................................................................................10, 20

Special Conditions ................................... ........................................ .................... 15-16, 20

Stadium Cards .............................................................................................................. 4, 9

Sudden Death ................................................................................................................ 21

Supporter Cards ........................................................................................................... 4, 9

Trainer cards ................................................................................................................. 4, 9

Turn, order o ..............................................................................................................7-14

ater each players ........................................ ....................................... ................ 14, 20-21

Weakness ..................................................................................................................13, 19

Winning ....................................................................................................................14, 21


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Need Help Playing a Game?For game play help, strategies, rulings, or tournament inormation,visit our website at:

www.pokemon.com

For other general customer service issues:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-425-274-4855

2010 Pokmon.

19952010 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

TM, , and character names are trademarks o Nintendo.

For sale outside o Japan.

CreditsOriginal Japanese Game

Producer:Tsunekaz Ishihara

Original Game Design: Tsunekaz Ishihara, Kouichi Ooyama, and Takumi Akabane

Game Development: Creatures, Inc.

Art Direction: Milky Isobe

Special Thanks To: Satoshi Tajiri, Ken Sugimori, GAME FREAK inc.

English-Language Version

The Pokmon Company International

General Manager: Kenji Okubo

Director of Production: Richard Simpson

Project Coordination: Yasuhiro Usui

Production Coordination: Russ Foster and Traci Thomson

Translation: Rutsuko Noda and Tim Hove

Game Development: Mike Fitzgerald and Yasuhiro Usui

Rulebook Writing: TPCi Editing Sta and Dylan ExoByte MayoEditing: Michael G. Ryan

Art Direction: Eric Medalle

Graphic Design: Kevin Lalli, Kumi Okada, and Chris Franc

Card Typesetting: Roy Kauman

Packaging Illustrations: kawayoo

HSUnleashedLogo: Eric Medalle

Special Thanks To: Creatures, Inc., The Pokmon Company,The Pokmon Company International, and Nintendo o America Inc.

Documents

Pokemon TCG - Unleashed Rulebook