Getting your questions ready
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50 free Pokemon Cards trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game launched in Japan in October 1996, crossed to the United States through Wizards of the Coast in 1999, and has since printed more than 85 billion cards. It is both a competitive game with a World Championships and a collecting hobby where a single Pikachu Illustrator can sell for eight figures. These 50 questions cover the whole hobby: 60-card decks, six prize cards, Supporter limits and Special Conditions; the Wizards era from Base Set to Skyridge and Hasbro's $325 million buyout; rarity symbols, booster boxes, PSA grading and "Moonbreon"; the Pikachu Illustrator, Logan Paul and the $336,000 Charizard; Uri Geller's lawsuit over Kadabra; the Game Boy Color adaptation; and the mobile era of TCG Online, TCG Live and TCG Pocket. Easy questions stick to deck basics and famous cards; the hard tier asks about set symbols, dual types and the first tournament at Makuhari Messe. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation that adds one more fact. Play it solo or print it for a pack-opening night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which company developed the card game itself?
Creatures Inc.
Creatures founder Tsunekazu Ishihara designed the card game and later became president of The Pokémon Company.
Q 02In what year was the TCG first published in Japan?
1996
It arrived in October 1996, the same year as the original Red and Green Game Boy games.
Q 03Which Japanese company first published the card game in 1996?
Media Factory
Worldwide publishing is now handled by The Pokémon Company.
Q 04Which US company originally held the license to publish the game in English?
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards was already the producer of Magic: The Gathering when it picked up Pokémon in 1998.
Q 05How many cards are in a standard Pokémon TCG deck?
60
Players draw seven cards to start and set six aside as prizes before play begins.
Q 06How many prize cards does each player set aside at the start of a game?
Six
Taking all of them is the most common way to win.
Q 07What is the maximum number of Pokémon a player can have on the Bench?
Five
With one Active Pokémon, that makes six in play at most.
Q 08How many cards does each player draw for their opening hand?
Seven
A hand with no Basic Pokémon forces a mulligan, and the opponent may draw an extra card.
Q 09Which of these is one of the five Special Conditions in the TCG?
Burned
The full list is Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed and Poisoned.
Q 10Before 2011, what were Pokémon Abilities called?
Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies
Poké-Powers were typically activated once per turn, while Poké-Bodies were passive.
Q 11From which series were Trainer cards split into Item, Stadium and Supporter?
Diamond & Pearl
Scarlet & Violet later split Pokémon Tools out of Items as their own category.
Q 12How many Supporter cards may a player use in a single turn?
One
Supporters carry the strongest Trainer effects, which is why they are rationed.
Q 13How many different Basic Energy types exist in the TCG?
Nine
They are Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Psychic, Fighting, Darkness, Metal and Fairy.
Q 14Which TCG type has no Basic Energy card of its own?
Q 21Hasbro paid roughly how much for the TCG's original US publisher in 1999?
$325 million
The purchase was made largely on the strength of the Pokémon license.
Q 22Who illustrated the Pikachu Illustrator card?
Atsuko Nishida
Nishida is also the original designer of Pikachu itself.
Q 23How many copies of the Pikachu Illustrator card were printed?
41
They were prizes in 1997-1998 design contests, which is why so few exist.
Q 24Which celebrity bought a Pikachu Illustrator for $5,275,000 in July 2021?
Dragon
Dragon attacks are powered by combinations of other Energy types instead.
Q 15Since Sword & Shield, Poison-type Pokémon are classed under which TCG type?
Darkness
Poison types were previously Psychic, and before that Grass.
Q 16Which expansion first gave Dragonite and its kin their own type listing?
Dragons Exalted
Before that, Dragon Pokémon were treated as Colorless.
Q 17The Fairy type was introduced to the card game in which set?
XY
Fairy Pokémon were later folded into Psychic starting with Sword & Shield.
Q 18In what year did the first English expansion launch in the United States?
1999
It was released on January 9, 1999, a little over two years after Japan.
Q 19Which was the only expansion released without a set logo or symbol?
Base Set
The only other symbol-less cards are the error "no-symbol" Jungle prints.
Q 20Which was the final English set published before the 2003 license transfer?
Skyridge
Skyridge closed out the e-Card era in 2003, and its holos remain among the priciest modern-era chase cards.
Logan Paul
He later wore a Charizard card around his neck for his fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Q 25The Pikachu Illustrator was a prize in contests organized by which Japanese magazine?
CoroCoro Comic
Its Japanese text certifies the winner as an officially authorized card illustrator.
Q 26For how much did a Pikachu Illustrator sell in February 2026?
$16.5 million
A PSA 9 copy sold at Heritage Auctions a month later for about $1.4 million.
Q 27Which shape marks a Rare card in the bottom corner?
Star
Commons use a circle and Uncommons a diamond.
Q 28How many cards does a standard booster pack contain?
10
A typical pull is five Commons, three Uncommons, a reverse holo and sometimes a Rare.
Q 29How many booster packs are in a booster box?
36
Booster bundles, by contrast, hold six packs.
Q 30What does PSA stand for in card grading?
Professional Sports Authenticator
A PSA 10 (Gem Mint) value is the usual benchmark for a card's maximum worth.