User:Maverick Nate/Manual of style/TCG

Legendary Treasures Reshiram Full Art

Bulbapedia's manual of style for the Pokémon Trading Card Game is a detailed guidebook that addresses the currently relevant Best Practices laid out for any and all articles and information overseen by Project TCG. This document assumes a basic working knowledge of both the overall manual of style as well as the TCG and its components. Please read it before you contribute to the project. Note, however, that the Pokémon franchise continues to evolve relentlessly, resulting in the guides frequently falling out of date. It is best to survey prevailing conventions as a supplement to reading these guidelines. If there are any unresolved disputes over what best adheres to the style of Bulbapedia, please contact the editorial board.

Widespread conventions

A key aspect of the TCG Project here at Bulbapedia is that it contains the largest quantity of pages, almost one third, of any other project on the encyclopedia. That being said, consistency is everything. The general look, content, wording, etc. should be as similar as possible to what has come before.

Content is to be created as soon as any information is available on the subject. The {{Project TCG notice}} is to be placed on every TCG article. Incomplete articles are additionally tagged with {{incomplete}} and/or {{stub|TCG}}. Articles that have all available information written about them are not considered incomplete or stubs.

Card pages

Cards are the building blocks for the entire Pokémon Trading Card Game. Cards allow for the existence of decks, expansions, promotional merchandise, among everything else. Below are the conventions to follow when addressing card pages and their content. Relevant links are provided to tutorials for the current templates used on these articles.

Titling card pages on Bulbapedia is based on their name, expansion, and card number: <Name> (<Expansion> <Number>). The expansion name will occasionally be parsed down for ease of searching and organization, and the number will be omitted if non-existent. In the event that two cards from the same expansion will result in the exact same title, the two cards will be arbitrarily given a 1 and 2 distinction for their number. In the event that two cards from different expansions will result in the exact same title, the expansion name for one of the card releases will be modified to accommodate the situation. All other cards in the expansion release must be modified to follow suit. In the case of Unnumbered Promotional cards, a parenthetical description of the promotional release is used in lieu of a proper expansion and card number, i.e. Mewtwo Strikes Back (CoroCoro promo).

Pokémon

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For an example of a basic Pokémon card article, see Nuzleaf (Diamond & Pearl 57).

For an example of an outstanding Pokémon card article, see Charizard (Base Set 4).

For an example of a wholly unique Pokémon card article, see Exeggutor (Tropical Mega Battle Promo).

Pokémon cards make up the largest brick of content on Bulbapedia. There are currently over 12,679 cards depicting Pokémon, thus as stated before, consistency is key. The layout, phrasing, and included content for a new card should be based on the most recent similar card.

Layout

Pokémon cards have four included sections in the following order: Intro, Card text, Release information, Trivia. Only the release information section can be omitted if nothing for the specific card exists.

Intro: The intro section is intended to be as direct and to the point as possible. It only includes the card's infobox and opening line. Directions for using the Infobox are provided here. For the basic information provided in opening line, there is no variation among simple cards. Follow the form provided below. Notes for exceptional cards are provided after, in order of frequency, with a link to an affected card afterward.

'''<cardname>''' (Japanese: '''<Japanese cardname>''' ''<Japanese cardname translation>'') is a {{ct|<type>}} <Stage> Pokémon card. It is part of the {{TCG|<expansion name>}} expansion.

Notes:

• Promotional cards replace the word part with one and omit the word expansion from the final sentence. Lurantis (SM Promo 25)
• Cards with a subsequent release after the initial release replace It is part of with It was first released as part of in the second sentence. Dark Persian (Team Rocket 42)
• Cards in releases that end in the words Expansion, Set, Pack, or Collection omit the final expansion from the second sentence. Munna (McDonald's Collection 7)
• Cards with more than one type replace {{ct|<type>}} with {{2ct|<type1>|<type2>}}. Espeon δ (EX Delta Species 4)
• For exceptions only used significantly few cards, or cards before Generation VI, refer to the Bulbapedia:Manual of Style/TCG/Obsolete Conventions.

Card text: The card text section is the bulk and primary focus of most card articles. The section provides quotes of all included text on the body of the card, including but not limited to Abilities, Attacks, Pokédex entries, card rules, etc. The main exceptions are card stats such as HP and Retreat Cost, which are provided within the card's Infobox in the Intro section. The information included in this section is contained entirely in card templates, of which are listed out below*, with their instructions of use included on their respective talk pages. This section here will detail when to include specific subsections for relevant extraordinary cards.

Template Tutorial Usage {{Cardtext}} Tutorial Every Pokémon card page: Sub-templates used as needed {{Carddex}} Tutorial Every Pokémon card page with Pokédex stats or entries*

Release information: The release information section details how to acquire the card in question. It is omitted if the card is only available in the most basic ways—via booster packs and Theme Decks of a single expansion in all languages. When a card is released by any promotional means or is included in more than one expansion in any language, it must be documented here.

The section's intent is to tell the card's history, allowing for a significant amount of variation in order to tell the card's full story. This history is considered a supplement to the expansion information already included within the intro's infobox, explaining information that is not easily inferred. This is included, but not limited to, events or products where the card was made available, regional distribution, reprints in later expansions, prints released with commemorative stamps, exclusive promotional Holofoil patterns, etc. The rule of thumb here is to include as much information as possible.

Trivia: