Tutorial (TCGO): Difference between revisions

New players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online are presented with a series of tutorials designed to teach them the basics of game play in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In the Tutorials, players are welcomed to the Game Store by Professor Holly, who then leads the player through two exhibition matches in order to teach them the basic mechanics. After completing these, players are presented with three matches with computer-controlled Trainers from the Trainer Challenge.

When given instructions, bouncing green arrows show players where to click or touch the screen to perform the described action. When no specific instructions are given (usually because the player is expected to repeat an actions already described earlier in the tutorial), clicking on a non-highlighted or game specific portion of the screen will produce a brief description for what you need to do next. Cards to be played are highlighted on a player’s turn.

Players already familiar with the game may choose to ignore the Tutorials.

Current Tutorials

The player uses the Tutorial Mode Deck during all matches. If the player tries to go out of the first tutorials intended way, Professor Holly will say one of the following:

• Holly – "Attack your opponent's Pokémon."
• Holly – "Attack using <attack's name>!"
• Holly – "Let's play <Pokémon's name>."
• Holly – "Let's make a different play."

Tutorial #1

Intro:

• Holly – "Hello! I'm Professor Holly, and I'm going to teach you how to play the Pokémon Trading Card Game!"

Match:

• <Both players draw only one card.>
• Holly – "Let's take a look at a Pokémon card. Right click on Eevee to zoom in. By the way, Zach will be helping us."
• Holly – "As you can see, Eevee is a Basic Pokémon that has 50 HP and two attacks. Click on the playmat to unzoom Eevee."
• Holly – "You start by placing a Basic Pokémon in the active position. Click and drag Eevee to the Active position."
• (Zach) – "This is my favourite game. I hope you have fun!)"
• Holly – "Each player starts their Turn by drawing a card. Click anywhere to continue."
• Holly – "Energy allows Pokémon to attack. You can attach one per turn. Zach will attach a energy to his Rattata. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Holly – "Now it's your turn! You drew a Energy! Let's attach it to Eevee! Drag the Energy onto Eevee."
• Holly – "The player who goes first can't attack, however, you can since you went second! Select Eevee to attack."
• Holly – "To use Smash Kick, Eevee needs one Energy of any type . You played a Enrgy this turn! Attack with Smash Kick!"
• Holly – "Smash Kick did 10 damage! Rattata has 40 HP, so 30 more damage is enough for a Knock Out. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Holly – "Eevee has a stronger attack requires more Energy. Attach another Energy."
• Holly – "Tail Whap costs two Energy of any type. Eevee has two Energy attached, so you can use it now!"
• Holly – "Now it's your turn! You drew a Energy! Let's attach it to Eevee! Drag the Energy onto Eevee."
• <The player uses Eevee's Tail Whap.>
• Holly – "Zach's Rattata is almost Knocked Out! He'll put another Pokémon onto his Bench as a backup. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Holly – "You just drew a Trainer card. Right-click on Potion to take a closer look"
• Holly – "Trainer cards have special effects that can help you out. Click on the playmat to unzoom Potion."
• Holly – "Let's use the Potion to heal Eevee! Drag Potion onto Eevee."
• Holly – "Rattata has 10 HP left! Use Tail Whap to Knock Out Zach's Rattata!"
• Holly – "Wen you Knock Out a Pokémon, you get to take a Prize card! Take all of your Prize cards to win the game! Click anywhere to continue."
• Holly – "Now Zach will pick a Pokémon from his Bench to become his new Active Pokémon. Click anywhere to continue."
• Holly – "Meowth's Fury Swipes attack lets Zack flip three coins. For each heads, the attack does 10 damage! Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Holly – "You drew Pikachu! You should put it onto your Bench just in case Eevee gets Knocked Out."
• Holly – "Attack your opponent's Pokémon."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Holly – "Oh no! Eevee got Knocked Out, and Zach took a Prize Card! Good thing you've got a Pokémon on your Bench! Click anywhere to continue."
• Holly – "One more attack should Knock Out Zach's Meowth, and since he doesn't have any Pokémon on his Bench, you'll win the game!"
• <Attack and win game.>

Tutorial #2

Intro:

• Holly – "Good job! My daugter, Ella, is going to help me teach you some more advanced rules."

Match:

• <Player begins a Two Prize card match.>
• (Ella) – "My mom is a good teacher, right?"
• Holly – "Remember, the player who goes first can't attack on their first turn. Make sure to select End Turn when you can't attack."
• <Ella's Turn.>
• <Continuous Tumble seems to be scripted to not knock out the player's Pokémon.>
• <Your turn, then Ella's Turn.>
• Holly – "Make sure you have a Pokémon on your Bench in case your Active Pokémon is Knocked Out!"
• <You use an attack.>
• Holly – "Ella just drew the Stage 1 Stage 1 Evolution for Jigglypuff. Now she can evolve it into Wigglytuff! Click anywhere to continue."
• <Wigglytuff knocks out your active Pokémon.>
• Holly – "You just drew Raichu. Now your Pikachu can evolve, too! Drag Raichu onto Pikachu."
• Holly – "Raichu has enough Energy to attack. Attack with Thunder Shock!"
• <Thunder Shock's coinflip is scripted to always flip tails.>
• Holly – "Ella's Wigglytuff is close to being Knocked Out. She can discard two Energy to retreat her Wigglytuff. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Ella's Turn.>
• Holly – "Watch out! Raichu took more damage from Sandshrew's attack because it's weak to Fighting-type Pokémon! Cick anywhere to continue."
• <Holly says the above message even if Sandshrew fails to deal damage.>
• Holly – "Now that you know how to retreat and evolve your Pokémon, you're ready to play on your own. Let's see if you can win this game!"
• <Eventually Win Match>

It is possible for the player to go out of their way to lose the match. Even if they do so, the game advances to Tutorial #3. After match:

• Holly – "Great job! Let's see how you do against other Trainers. Defeat them to earn a booster pack and a powerful Pokémon-GX*! Good luck!"

Tutorials #3, #4 and #5

Players are then presented with other computer-controlled Trainers from the Trainer Challenge and play against them without assistance.

• Calvin: "My name is Calvin. Looks like we're up next..."
• <A Two Prize card match with only 20 cards starts.>

• Ali: "Hey. I'm Ali. Let's see what you've got!"
• <A Four Prize card match with only 40 cards starts.>

• Otis: "I'm Otis. You've made it to the final match. Good luck!"
• <A regular match starts.>

Revisiting the Tutorials

• Holly – "Welcome back! Your next opponent is ready for you. Hit the Play! Button to start."

If the player had already completed the Tutorials:

• Holly – "Welcome back!"

Finishing the Tutorials

• Holly – "Congratulations! Here's your Pokémon-GX. Let's head over to the Collection to open your booster pack."

Retired Tutorials

XY Era Tutorial

Professor Holly was abscent from these tutorials, with Zach and Ella guiding the player instead. The player uses the Black & White - Basic Blue Theme deck during the first matches.

Tutorial #1

Intro:

• Zach – "I am Zach!"
• Ella – "And I am Ella! We are going to teach you how to play Pokémon!"

Match:

• <Both players draw only one card.>
• Zach – "You start each game with an Active Pokémon. Right-click Oshawott for a closer look."
• Zach – "Oshawott is a Basic Pokémon, which means you can start the game with it. It also has 60 Hit Points and two attacks that do damage!."
• Zach – "You can attach one energy each turn. I’m attaching a Metal Energy to Eevee. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Zach – "Now it’s your turn. Attach a Water Energy to Oshawott."
• Zach – "The first player cannot attack on his or her first turn. But since you didn't go first, you can! Select Oshawott to attack."
• Zach – "To use Rain Splash, Oshawott needs one Water Energy . You attached one of those this turn! Attack with Rain Splash!"
• Zach – "Rain Splash did 10 damage to my Eevee. It has 50 Hit Points, so 40 more damage will Knock Out Eevee. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Zach – "Oshawott has a stronger attack that requires more energy. Attach another Water Energy ."
• Zach – "Seashell Attack requires one Water Energy and an energy of any type <colorless>. Since you have two Water Energy attached, you can use it now!"
• Zach – "My Eevee is almost knocked out. I had better put another Pokémon onto my Bench. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Zach – "You just drew a Trainer card. These are different from Pokémon and Energy. Right-click on the Potion to take a look."
• Zach – "Trainer cards have special effects that can help you out. Play your Potion to heal Oshawott!"
• Zach – "Now use Seashell Attack to Knock Out my Eevee!"
• Zach – "When you Knock Out out my Pokémon, you get to take a Prize card. If you take all 6 Prize cards, you win the game!"
• Zach – "Now I pick a Pokémon from my Bench to be my new Active Pokémon. Click anywhere to continue."
• Zach – "Quick Attack has a special effect. I flip a coin, and if it comes up heads, then I do 10 more damage! Click anywhere to continue."
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Zach – "You should play Buneary onto your Bench in case Oshawott gets Knocked Out."
• <Attach another Energy to Buneary.>
• <Attack with Oshawott.>
• <Zach's Turn.>
• <Attach another Water Energy Water to Buneary.>
• <Attack with Oshawott.>
• <Zach's Turn.>
• Zach – "I Knocked Out Oshawott and took a Prize card. Buneary is your only Bench Pokémon, so it’ll be your new Active Pokémon. Click anywhere to continue."
• Zach – "One more attack will take out my Fletchling. I don’t have any more Pokémon on my Bench, so that’ll win you the game!"
• <Attach another Water Energy to Buneary.>
• <Attack with Buneary.>
• <Win Match>

Tutorial #2

Intro:

• Zach – "That was a great game!"
• Ella – "Now that you know the basics, I’m going to teach you some advanced rules."

Match:

• <Player begins a Two Prize card match.>
• <Select {TCG ID|Boundaries Crossed|Buneary|116}} to be your Active Pokémon.>
• <Attach a Energy to Buneary.>
• Ella – "Remember that the first player can’t attack on the first turn. Make sure to select End Turn when you can’t attack."
• <Ella's Turn>
• <Attach another Energy to Buneary.>
• <Attack with Buneary.>
• <Ella's Turn.>
• Ella – "Make sure you have a Pokémon on your Bench in case your Active Pokémon is Knocked Out!"
• <Play Oshawott from your Hand.>
• <Attach a Water Energy to Oshawott.>
• <Attack with Buneary.>
• Ella – "I drew a Stage 1 Evolution for Lillipup. Now I can evolve it into Herdier to make it stronger! Click anywhere to continue."
• <Ella's Turn. Knocks Out the player's Buneary.>
• Ella – "You just drew Dewott. Now your Oshawott can evolve too!"
• <Select Dewott from your Hand.>
• <Attach a Energy to Dewott.>
• <Attack with Dewott.>
• Ella – "My Herdier is close to being Knocked Out. I had better retreat. As long as I have a Bench Pokémon, I can do that by discarding one energy from Herdier. Click anywhere to continue."
• <Ella's Turn.>
• Ella – "Now that you know how retreating and evolutions work, you’re ready to play on your own. Let’s see if you can win this game!"
• <The cards the player receive are scripted to assist the player and to encourage them to take certain actions at certain times.>
• <There are only Energy cards in the player's Prize cards.>
• <Eventually Win Match>

It is possible for the player to go out of their way to lose the match. Even if they do so, the game advances to Tutorial #3.

Tutorial #3

Players were then presented with the Trainer Challenge and were guided through the first few matches before the full game was unlocked.

Trainer Challenge

• Zach – "This is the Trainer Challenge. Here you can play the first league in the Pokémon TCG Online: the Gold League!"
• Ella – "If you create a Pokémon Trainer Club account, you will be able to collect cards, build decks, an compete against other Trainers."
• <Players choose from "No Thanks", "Register Now!", and "Login Screen".>
• <Players choose from one of three available decks, each representing one of three starter Pokémon types — Fire , Grass , and Water .>

If revisiting this section:

• Ella – "Welcome back! Ready for another game?"

Random Trainer match

Players were presented with five full against computer-controlled Trainers from the Trainer Challenge's Gold League, playing against them with the X & Y - Basic Yellow Theme deck.

Match versus Zach

After the random Trainer Match and if players created a Pokémon Trainer Club account, they would be guided through the first few matches in the Trainer Challenge's "Gold League" starting with Zach.

• Ella – "With that win, you’ve unlocked a card for you deck! Win 7 games with a basic deck to unlock all of the cards and earn it for your collection!"
• Zach – "Trainers have been excited to play you!"

Ending the game:

• Ella – "Thanks for playing with us today!"

If the player still had no account:

• Zach – "If you make an account you’ll be able to collect cards and build your own decks!"

HGSS Era Tutorial

Professor Holly's tutorials in the browser-based version of the game were divided into three broad categories: Basic Skills, Intermediate Skills, and Advanced Skills.

• Topics covered under Basic Skills included: Energy, Pokémon Evolutions, Trainer Cards Save the Day, and Battle!.
• Topics covered under Intermediate Skills included: Weakness & Resistance, Retreating Your Pokémon, Prize Cards & Winning the Game, and You're on the Hot Seat.
• Topics covered under Advanced Skills included: Pokémon Abilities, Intro to Special Conditions, Special Conditions in Action, and Setup & First Turn.

These tutorials were still available as a stand-alone version on Pokémon.com up to March 2016.

This article is part of both Project Sidegames and Project TCG, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames and TCG, respectively.