How you win

There are exactly three ways to win a game of Pokémon TCG. Almost every game ends through the first one, but knowing all three changes how you build decks and play matches.

1. Take all six of your prize cards

This is how 95% of games end. When the game starts, each player sets six cards from their deck face-down off to the side — these are your prize cards.

Every time you knock out one of your opponent's Pokémon, you take a prize card. Take all six and you win.

Some Pokémon give up more than one prize card when knocked out — ex Pokémon give up two, and Mega Pokémon give up three. We'll cover what that means for strategy in the next lesson.

2. Your opponent has no Pokémon in play

If your opponent's Active Pokémon is knocked out and they have nothing on the Bench to promote, the game ends instantly. You win.

This rarely happens in long games, but it's a real winning angle in the early game — especially if your opponent gets stuck with only one Basic Pokémon in play and you knock it out before they can build a Bench.

3. Your opponent can't draw a card

At the start of every turn, you draw a card. If your opponent's deck is empty when their turn starts, they lose immediately.

Most decks have some "deck-out" risk in long games, and a few decks are actively built around running their opponent out of cards. It's a niche strategy but it exists and it works.

What this means for how you play

The most important takeaway: you're racing to 6 prizes, not to "kill all their Pokémon." You don't need to wipe the board. You just need to take six well-chosen knockouts before they take six.

That's why knockout choice — which Pokémon you attack, and which of yours you let get knocked out — is the most important skill in the game. Next lesson.