Turn Structure and Once-per-Turn Rules

Most rules mistakes at casual tables are about what you can do once per turn and what the first player is not allowed to do. This guide covers both.

Setting up the game

1. Shake hands, then flip a coin. The winner of the flip chooses who goes first.
2. Each player shuffles their 60-card deck and draws 7 cards.
3. Each player puts one Basic Pokémon face down as their Active Pokémon and up to 5 more Basic Pokémon face down on their Bench.
4. If a player has no Basic Pokémon, they reveal their hand, shuffle it back and draw 7 again (a mulligan). For each extra mulligan, the opponent may draw one more card.
5. Each player sets aside the top 6 cards of their deck face down as Prize cards.
6. Both players flip their Pokémon face up and the first turn begins.

The three parts of a turn

1. Draw a card

Every turn starts by drawing one card. If you cannot draw because your deck is empty, you lose the game.

2. Take actions

You may do any of the following, in any order:

• Put Basic Pokémon onto your Bench (any number, up to 5 Benched Pokémon).
• Evolve your Pokémon (any number), but not a Pokémon that came into play this turn.
• Attach one Energy card from your hand to one of your Pokémon. This is limited to once per turn.
• Play Item cards (any number).
• Play one Supporter card. This is limited to once per turn.
• Play one Stadium card if there is not already one with the same name in play. Limited to once per turn.
• Retreat your Active Pokémon once per turn by discarding Energy equal to its Retreat Cost.
• Use Abilities, following the text on each card. Many say “once during your turn”.

3. Attack

Attacking ends your turn. Check that your Active Pokémon has the Energy the attack needs, apply damage (see How Damage Is Calculated), and check for Knock Outs. Then Pokémon Checkup happens before the next player’s turn.

First-turn rules

• The player who goes first cannot attack on their first turn.
• The player who goes first cannot play a Supporter card on their first turn.
• Neither player can evolve on their own first turn.

Once-per-game effects

• VSTAR Power: each player can use only one VSTAR Power per game, no matter how many Pokémon VSTAR they have.
• GX attacks: in formats where they are legal, each player can use only one GX attack per game.
• ACE SPEC cards: a deck can contain only one ACE SPEC card in total.

Using PTCG Companion for these rules

The Energy, Supporter, Retreat Used and Ability toggles on each side are reminders for the once-per-turn actions above. Tap Turn ➔ at the end of a turn and they all reset. Tap P1 First or P2 First at the start so both players remember who has the first-turn restrictions. The VSTAR, GX and ACE SPEC buttons dim once used and stay that way until you start a new match.