First released in 1996, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has been going strong for twenty-five years. While the game was an instant success at the time of its release, it has once again exploded in popularity with many cards now demanding serious price tags. While the Pokemon TCG was originally published by Wizards of the Coast, the same company that produces Magic: The Gathering, the game has experienced a plethora of fundamental changes since it was first released.
While some of these changes were minor, others fundamentally altered the game as we know it. So today we're going to see the best changes to the Pokemon Trading Card game since its debut all the way back in 1996.
8 EX and GX Cards
One of the most notable card types in the Pokemon TCG, EX and GX cards weren't originally part of the game. While the rules of the Pokemon Trading Card game dictate that evolved Pokemon require their previous evolutionary forms to be in play before they can be used, these potent cards can be played straight away regardless of if that Pokemon is evolved.
These cards tend to have the highest HP and damage output of any cards in the game, but they come with a risk – if they are KO'd, the opponent gains two prize cards instead of one.
7 Experimental Card Designs
In the earliest days of the game, cards tended to come in three forms: Pokemon, Trainer cards, and Energy Cards. However, since the game's debut a wide range of new card types have been added.
The game is constantly changing the status quo, introducing the like of Break Cards, cards that are capable of powering up specific types of Pokemon, and even cards that feature two Pokemon on a single playable card.
6 More Complex Designs
While the cards of the Pokemon Trading Card Game's base set are incredibly iconic, they are among the most simple and straightforward cards in the game's history, with most Pokemon having incredibly linear strategies.
As the TCG has progressed and evolved, cards tend to play with the game's design space significantly more than they did in the past. The attacks and abilities of cards provide a wide range of effects outside of simply dealing damage.
5 Trainer Card Subtypes
One of the most integral types of cards in a player's deck is Trainer cards. While Pokemon are used for battling and Energy cards allow them to use moves, Trainer cards provide nearly every other effect in the game, including drawing more cards and healing Pokemon.
However, while all trainer cards lacked a means if differentiating themselves in the game's base set, trainer cards now have specific subtypes in the form of items, stadiums, Pokemon tools, and Supporters.
4 Secret Rares And Extended-Art Cards
When it comes to modern Pokemon cards, some of the most exciting cards to pull in booster packs are secret rares and cards with extended art. From their unique foiling, power, and sheer rarity, these cards are always exciting pulls.
However, these types of cards weren't added to the game until well into its lifespan, with the first many sets of the game keeping the art relegated within its standard frame. This change has allowed for the introduction of visually engaging cards that can be quite exciting to pull.
3 More Unique Energy Cards
Energy cards are one of the key resources in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, required to use nearly every move in the game's history. However, when the game was first released, it only featured basic energy cards and double colorless energy.
Since then, countless other types of energy have been added to the game, offering minor advantages that can help synergize with specific strategies or supply other helpful effects.
2 New Types
When the Pokemon TCG was first released, it consolidated the types of the original video games into normal, grass, fire, water, lighting, psychic, and fighting types. However, following the release of Gold and Silver, dark and metal types were added to the mix.
Furthermore, Fairy-type Pokemon were added with the release of X and Y, though they were later discontinued. Additionally, Dragon types were also added to the game following its debut, though this type does not have its own designated energy type.
1 Power Creep
One of the most common things to happen to tradings card games with longevity is that as they grow, they experience power creep. This means that over time as the game evolves, the cards become progressively more powerful. The Pokemon TCG has a significant degree of power creep, with many of the most powerful cards in the game's base set being quite weak by today's standards.
Examples include recent cards like Lapras VMAX having over 300 HP and the ability to deal over 100 damage with a single attack, things that were unthought-of at the time of the game's debut. While the concept of power creep generally carries a negative connotation, in the case of Pokemon, it has allowed for significantly more varied and dynamic card design and gameplay.