Anatomy of a Trainer card

If Pokémon are the fighters, Trainer cards are everything else — the actions, items, and effects that let you find cards, recover energy, disrupt your opponent, and change the board.

There are five kinds of Trainer cards, and the rules around each are different. Knowing which is which is the difference between an okay turn and a great one.

Supporters — one per turn

Supporters are the powerhouse Trainer cards. They draw cards, shuffle opponents' hands, search your deck, or do something else big.

Rule: you can only play one Supporter per turn. Choose wisely.

Boss's Orders, for example, lets you switch in any of your opponent's Benched Pokémon to the Active Spot. That's a huge swing — pulling out a high-retreat Pokémon your opponent didn't want to expose.

Items — as many as you want

Items are smaller effects, but you can play as many as you have in your hand. They search your deck, discard cards for value, draw, heal — anything.

Ultra Ball lets you discard 2 cards to search your deck for any Pokémon. Playing 3 Ultra Balls in a single turn is totally legal, and sometimes necessary.

Tools — attached to a Pokémon

Tools attach to one of your Pokémon and stay there. Each Pokémon can have one Tool attached at a time. Tools usually boost HP, change damage math, or grant a special effect — and they're discarded if the Pokémon is knocked out.

ACE SPEC — one per deck

ACE SPEC cards are the most powerful Items in the game — and the most restricted. You can only include one ACE SPEC card in your entire deck, full stop.

Hyper Aroma, for example, lets you search your deck for up to 3 Stage 1 Pokémon and put them directly into your hand. That kind of raw power is why the limit exists.

Stadiums — one in play

Stadiums sit between the players and affect both sides. Only one Stadium can be in play at a time — if either player plays a new one, the old one is discarded. This means dropping your Stadium can be a way to kill an opponent's Stadium that's helping them.

How to spot them in a deck list

When you're reading a deck list, the Trainer types are sometimes grouped together. Other times they're split out as "Supporter," "Item," "Tool," and "Stadium" sub-counts. ACE SPEC cards count as Items. Dexter shows the sub-counts on every deck profile, because the balance between them tells you a lot about how a deck wants to play.