What are Pokémon Trading Cards?
Last updated
Last updated
Pokémon cards belong to a global franchise that includes video games, TV shows, movies, and more, all focused on the adventures of trainers who capture and battle fictional creatures known as Pokémon. Pokémon cards are the heart of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG). What makes the cards special? Each one features a different Pokémon with its own abilities, strengths, and sometimes weaknesses, just like in the video games and TV show. The idea? To collect your favorites, build a deck, and battle it out with other trainers to see who comes out on top.
While the TCG is all about strategy and skill, Pokémon cards have also become a huge part of pop culture and a prized collectible.
Since its inception, Pokémon has grown into the world’s most valuable media franchise, with a global value surpassing $100 billion. To put that into perspective, it’s larger than Harry Potter, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, and The Lord of the Rings combined.
A major driver of this growth has been the continuous introduction of new Pokémon creatures, which has led to a steady stream of new cards to collect. Currently, there are around 1,025 different Pokémon species and over 34,000 visually distinct English-language Pokémon cards available. This number includes every variation of every card printed in English for the Pokémon TCG.
In total, it's estimated that over 62.6 billion Pokémon cards have been printed. If you stacked all of those cards on top of each other, they'd form a deck over 19,700 miles tall—far higher than the International Space Station (254 miles) and almost a tenth of the way to the Moon (238,900 miles). Even more impressive is that around 45% of those cards were printed in just the last three years, in response to the huge boom in Pokémon TCG collecting.
However, not all of these 34,000 cards are available simultaneously. The Pokémon Company International releases them in distinct "generations," with each generation typically spanning about two years, from the original Kanto starters to the latest from the Scarlet & Viiolet series. Some cards, like rare holographics or special promo cards, are so iconic that they’ve become legendary in their own right (Yes, we're looking at you, 1st Edition Charizard!).
But it’s not just about collecting for value. Pokémon cards are a fun way to engage with the Pokémon world in a hands-on way. Whether you’re building a deck for competitive play or just enjoy showing off your favorite pulls, these cards let you dive deeper into the Pokémon universe.
Collectors focus on accumulating Pokémon TCG cards, often with a specific goal in mind. This might be having a complete set, gathering cards featuring a favorite Pokémon, or simply building a unique personal collection. The driving force for collectors is usually personal taste and the enjoyment of owning and displaying their cards, rather than using them for gameplay.
Competitive players, on the other hand, collect cards primarily for their playability and utility in gameplay. Their goal is to assemble strong decks to compete in the ‘Game’ aspect of the TCG. They often seek out the most powerful and effective cards, which are typically rare and hard to obtain. These cards are highly sought after by both players for their strategic value and collectors for their rarity.
Many enthusiasts enjoy both collecting and competing, leading to a natural overlap between the two approaches. Balancing both interests requires a significant commitment, as it involves not only gathering valuable cards for a collection but also acquiring the right cards for competitive play.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of what Pokémon cards are and how they fit into the larger Pokémon universe, it’s time to take a step back and explore how it all began. From the launch of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the 1990s to its evolution over the decades, the history behind these cards is just as fascinating as the cards themselves.
