All Pokemon TCG Sets In Order

The Pokemon TCG has been enjoying a massive resurgence in recent years. With exciting new mechanics, cards, and new Pokemon added to the game with every new video game’s launch, there are plenty of fun things for collectors and players to enjoy.

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Update on February 8, 2025, by Ryan Hay: There have been a few new additions to the grand total of Pokemon sets since this list was first assembled, so we went ahead and added the multiple Scarlet & Violet sets that were missing, as well as a few promo sets that have come out since 2024. Along the way, we tided up a few parts of the piece, as well as making it a little easier to navigate, since there is a huge amount of sets to sift through.

Every Pokemon TCG Set In Release Order

Original Series

Where everything started — the original few sets of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. In this set, based on the original Pokemon Red & Blue games, these sets feature the original 151 Pokemon as the game worked to establish itself as an independent game. Tons of cards from these sets will fetch a pretty penny, so long as you know what you’re looking for.

Neo Series

The first of a new era in the Pokemon TCG, these sets were based on the Pokemon Gold and Silver games, introducing players to a whole new generation of Pokemon to collect.

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This set is noticeable since it also introduced Darkness and Metal type Pokemon to the game, as well as Baby Pokemon and Pokemon Tools, which would become an essential part of the game moving forward.

The Neo Series also brought with it some changes to the card’s design, making it more legible and easier to distinguish.

Legendary Collection

A rather unique set in the history of the TCG’s releases, Legendary Collection is a stand-alone set, made up of reprints from Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, and Team Rocker expansions.

E-Card Series

Probably the most drastic change to the TCG’s design came with the e-Card series. These three expansions had everything shifted around to make room for two Dot Code strips to use with the Nintendo e-Reader for the Game Boy Advance.

The set also split up Pokemon Power abilities into Poke-Power and Poke-Body, depending on the effect.

EX Series

With the launch of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire came a whole new generation of Pokemon to come to the TCG. As the name implies, this is the first set to introduce Pokemon-ex cards, which gave those cards a huge increase in power.

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With the higher power came a greater risk too, since your opponent gets to take two prize cards instead of just one. This series also saw a few rules updates to help make the game a bit more consistent, further increasing the game’s depth and competitive value.

Diamond & Pearl Series

Diamond & Pearl brought with it plenty of changes to the Pokemon TCG to help spice up your experience. With the success of Pokmeon-ex, Diamond & Pearl series introduced Pokemon LV.X, letting you use any powers or attacks from their previous forms.

This series also make a huge change in how the game treated Darkness and Metal energies, letting you use them as basic Energies and removing the maximum of four restrictions that types for years.

Platinum Series

A continuation of the Diamond & Pearl series, Platinum brought with it only a few changes compared to other series. Pokemon SP is a special new type of Basic Pokemon that had a new border type.

More importantly, the Platinum series established the Lost Zone, a permanent place where Pokemon cards cannot come back from.

HeartGold & SoulSilver Series

Some of the coolest changes to have come from the game came around during the HeartGold & SoulSilver series of the TCG.

We got Pokemon Prime and Pokemon LEGEND cards, the latter of which lets you take two individual cards and combine them into one later one.

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Pokemon LEGEND cards are exclusive to Legendary Pokemon, like Kyogre and Groudon Legend.

Black & White Series

Making waves in the Pokemon TCG, the Black & White series made several changes to the game and the rules surrounding it to help improve everyone’s experience. First up, Poke-Powers and Poke-Bodies were reworked into just Abilities, making it a more unified mechanic.

Perhaps more importantly, Black & White series saw the release of the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online to the world, letting players compete digitally.

XY Series

While XY Series didn’t buck old-held conventions like other series, it did bring with it a powerful new Pokemon type, M Pokemon-EX. This variant on the Pokemon-ex design turned them into Mega Evolved Pokemon, which ended your turn when you evolved a Pokemon to their Mega form.

The other big change that came to the game was the introduction of the Fairy type, though it won’t stick around forever.

Sun & Moon Series

As Pokemon Sun & Moon came to gaming consoles, TCG fans also got a new series based on the games. Generation 7 joined the TCG, and with it came another variation on the Pokemon-ex type, Pokemon-GX.

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These cards featured a special GX attack, of which you could only use one GX attack per game, even if you had multiple Pokemon-GX in your deck.

Sword & Shield Series

With a new game came a new mechanic to the Pokemon TCG, that of Pokemon V and VMAX, as well as TAG TEAM, V-STAR, and V-UNION Pokemon later in the Series.

Sadly, this series also saw the retirement of the Fairy-type as it was determined to not be necessary in the game.

Scarlet & Violet Series

Pokemon types have generally followed the typing found in the games, with some experimentation in older sets of course, but generally, Fire-type Pokemon stayed Fire type. Scarlet & Violet series gave some Pokemon a chance to change that up.

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Drawing inspiration from the video game mechanic of Terastal Pokemon, these special Pokemon ex cards could have unconventional typings.

This series also plays with the past and future mechanics from the games, with cards capable of being either Ancient or Future categories, often times working with other cards of that type.

Promo Series

There are plenty of other cards that don’t fall into the traditional series, with many of them being promo cards you can earn from playing in tournaments or events, from promotional crossovers, or through other means.

Other Series

Rarely, the Pokemon Trading Card Game will release special promotional cards to drum up hype for various promotions. Most of these releases are extremely limited, and were only printed for a short amount of time.

Pokemon TCG

Original Release Date

October 20, 1996

Player Count

2

Age Recommendation

6+

Length per Game

Variable

Franchise Name

Pokemon

Publishing Co

The Pokemon Company

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