25 Fun Facts About Pokemon Cards You Might Not Know

Posted by , Updated on January 12, 2024

Since its release in 1996, Pokemon Trading Cards have become the new baseball card. Millions of kids all over the world trade and play with them. With every new generation picking up the game, it doesn’t look like it’ll slow down either. Releasing tons of new packs and sets of Pokemon cards every year, there’s no shortage of them in the stores. So, what makes Pokemon cards so irresistible to kids? Here are 25 Fun Facts About Pokemon Cards You Might Not Know.

25

Many have said the game is simple and addictive to play.

pokemon trading cardsSource: http://www.wikihow.com

Using three different types of cards, including Pokemon, trainer, and energy cards, two players pit their Pokemon against each other. If they win battles, they can take home prize cards set on the table.

24

Not many kids play the actual game though.

confusedSource: https://hobbylark.com

Even though the game can be fun, a lot of kids just treat them like trading cards only, swapping out cards with each other in hopes of getting a more powerful card to show off to their friends.

23

There's a Pokemon trading card league.

playersSource: https://www.pokemon.com

If you do play the game and have gotten pretty good at it, you can actually join a Pokemon trading card league. Many hobby stores or game sellers have them available to join up and play against others.

22

If you become really, really good, you might get invited to play at the annual Pokemon World Championship.

pokemonSource: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

In 2016, the championship was held in San Francisco.

21

It was first published by the company that made Magic: The Gathering

magicSource: http://cs.mcgill.ca

The first publisher of the game was Wizards of the Coast, the same company that published Magic: The Gathering. They inevitably lost the licensing in 2003.

20

There's a giant Pikachu mosaic card.

pikachuSource: https://www.polygon.com

The makers of Pokemon cards did something special and made the world’s largest Pikachu trading card out of a mosaic of Pokemon trading cards. They say it’s the largest in the world, but there’s no official word from the Guinness Book of World Records.

19

It's 20 years old and still going strong.

pokemon ballSource: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Pokemon Trading Cards recently celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2016 and show little signs of slowing down. Video games aside, the trading cards continue to gain momentum and popularity with kids.

18

In 1998, Nintendo released a video game version.

gameboy pikachuSource: http://cs.mcgill.ca

Everyone knows about the Nintendo Game Boy version of Pokemon, but in 1998, they also released a “Pokemon Trading Card” version of the video game. Instead of monsters, players solely collected digital trading cards.

17

The Pokémon trading card game has shipped tons of cards.

pokemon trading card gamesSource: https://www.polygon.com

If you really want to know how huge Pokemon Trading Cards are, then get a load of this fact: More than 21.5 billion cards have been shipped to 74 countries in 10 languages.

16

There are four ways to win the game.

hand fourSource: http://pokemon.wikia.com

While playing the game versus an opponent, there are four ways to consider defeating them. They are:

  1. If your opponent is required to draw a card from their deck but has no more cards in their deck.
  2. If you win all of your six prize cards.
  3. If you knock out your opponent’s active Pokémon, and your opponent has no bench Pokémon with which to replace it.
  4. Using the  “Lost World” card.
15

Sneasel and Slowking are banned cards.

bannedSource: http://cs.mcgill.ca

When released, Sneasel and Slowking were proving too powerful during gameplay. Players with these cards were winning almost every tournament; their advantages were too great. As such, they decided to ban the cards from play.

14

For the 20th anniversary, the original pack got a re-release.

pokemon card exSource: https://www.polygon.com

Up to this point, the Pokemon Trading Card game has released tons of new and flashy packs for collectors. However, to celebrate the 20th anniversary and go back to their roots, they re-released the original packs.

13

A huge lawsuit ensued over the trading card game.

gavelSource: http://kotaku.com

As we said before, Wizards of the Coast originally held the licensing for the Pokemon Trading Cards. However, in 2003, a huge lawsuit ensued between them and Nintendo over the licensing. The issues never went to court and everything was settled with Nintendo gaining all the rights. While the details were never released, it’s likely Wizards of the Coast was paid out.

12

The weirdest Pokemon card award goes to...

pokemon weirdSource: https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/12ywoy/out_of_all_my_pokemon_cards_this_one_is/

Pokemon cards have all kinds of awesome graphics for each card. However, one Redditor claims he has the weirdest card. We’ll let you decide for yourself.

11

Symbols tell you the rarity of the card.

pokemon card symbolSource: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

If you ever wondered if your card is rare or not, you can look on the card to find out. On the bottom right corner, you should see one of three symbols: Circle (Common), Diamond (Uncommon), and Star (Rare).

10

Pokemon Cards help kids learn 5 important skills.

kids pokemonSource: https://zephyrepic.com

If you teach your kids how to play the actual game, it’s said to help your kids with the five following skills: Literacy, Numeracy, Strategy, Social Skills, and Problem Solving/Critical Thinking.

9

The Pre-release Raichu card is called "The Holy Grail of Pokemon."

raichuSource: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Raichu_(Base_Set_14)

Wizards of the Coast accidentally released 8 “Pre-release Raichu” cards. It’s essentially the same as the original Raichu card except it says “Pre-release” on the picture. Wizards of the Coast denied this card existed for years until an employee leaked an image of the card. Good luck finding it.

8

It encourages kids to learn math.

boy mathSource: https://www.parent.co

If the kids play the game, it’ll encourage them to learn basic subtraction. While fighting, the Pokemon can create health damage against another card, lowering their “HP.” In order to know how low the HP is, they need to do the math.

7

Saudi Arabia banned Pokemon cards.

saudi arabiaSource: https://usatoday30.usatoday.com

Saying they show symbols associated with Israel and are harmful to children, Saudi Arabia banned Pokemon Cards from their country.

6

Schools also banned the game.

schoolSource: http://articles.chicagotribune.com

With kids bringing large sums of money and their Pokemon cards, schools learned many were gambling their cards away rather than just trading them. They also were becoming a distraction for the teachers. So, some schools put a ban on the game.

 

What else have schools banned? Check it out here: 25 Most Ridiculous Things You Won’t Believe Are Banned In Schools.

5

Pokemon Snap cards go for $8,000.

pokemon snapSource: https://gemr.com

To promote the Nintendo 64 video game “Pokemon Snap,” they created Pokemon Snap cards but in low quantities. Due to the rare nature of the cards, they can go for as high as $8,000.

4

Charizard G Lv. X is one powerful card.

charizardSource: http://heavy.com

Everyone loves Charizard. We’ll get more to that later. However, one card that is one of the best in the game and super powerful, is Charizard G Lv. X. It has the Malevolent Fire ability, allowing for an impressive 150 damage.

3

The original Charizard goes for $18,000 on eBay.

charizard originalSource: http://www.ebay.com

Who usually picks Charizard? Turns out, everyone. He’s a lizard. He breathes fire like a dragon. He has wings. What’s not to love? However, if you want the original Charizard trading card, you’ll have to pay a whopping $18,000 on eBay.

2

Shadow Lugia is the one of the best cards.

shadow lugiaSource: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Shadow Lugia is by the far one of the best and most powerful cards in the trading card series. However, it was released as a jumbo card, which means it can’t be played in the game; it’s mostly for collectors and promotion.

1

Pokemon Illustrator is one of the rarest cards around.

illustratorSource: https://gemr.com/

The lucky winners of the illustrator contest got the Pokemon Illustrator card. 39 were originally released, but it’s unknown how many are currently in circulation. It’s incredibly rare and sells from $20,000 to $50,000 at auctions.



Photo: 25. Jarek Tuszyński, Pokemon collection, CC BY-SA 4.0 24. Brian Moore via flickr. CC BY 2.0 23. Wikipedia Commons.com (Public Domain) 22. David, Pokémon World Championships 2014, CC BY 2.0 21. Wikipedia Commons.com (Public Domain) 20. Photo via Twitter (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 19. Scott McLeod via flickr. CC BY 2.0 18. Xabi Vazquez, Game Boy Color Pikachu, CC BY 2.0 17. Kichigai Mentat via flickr. CC BY 2.0 16. Pixabay.com (Public Domain) 15. Pixabay.com (Public Domain) 14. Max Pixel.com (Public Domain) 13. Brian Turner, My Trusty Gavel, CC BY 2.0 12. Photo via IMGUR (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 11. MaxPixel.com (Public Domain) 10. AngryJulieMonday via flickr. CC BY 2.0 9. Bulbapedia (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 8. Pixabay.com (Public Domain) 7. Pixabay.com (Public Domain) 6. Wikipedia Commons.com (Public Domain) 5. Mike Mozart via flickr. CC BY 2.0 4. Bulbapedia (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 3. Bulbapedia (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 2. Photo via Amazon (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only) 1. Bulbapedia (Fair Use: Illustrative Purposes Only)