Energy card (TCG)
Energy cards (Japanese: エネルギー Energy) are the cards that power a Pokémon's attacks in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Once per turn, a player can attach one Energy card from their hand to one of their Pokémon. Pokémon cannot use an attack without having at least the Energy of the cost of that attack attached to it.
Energy cards provide Energy of a specified Energy type. In order to meet costs of attacks that include specific types, the type of the Energy attached to the Pokémon must match the type of the Energy in the cost. The exception to this is costs of Colorless Energy, which can be met with Energy of any type.
There are multiple effects that can change these parameters.
- Some cards have effects that allow Pokémon to ignore the Energy in the costs of their attacks, or ignore specific Energy types in those costs.
- Cards can allow for attaching Energy from the Discard Pile or deck to Pokémon, or even allow for attaching one or more energy from the hand to a Pokémon. (A card's effect attaching Energy from the hand is separate from the once per turn attachment.)
- Cards can allow for moving Energy already attached to one Pokémon to another Pokémon, or removing that Energy from play fully by sending it to another zone.
- Some effects can change the amount of Energy that a single Energy card provides, or change the type of Energy that an Energy card provides.
There are two different classes of Energy cards: Basic and Special.
Basic Energy cards
Basic Energy cards (Japanese: 基本エネルギー Basic Energy) are the basic form of Energy cards. They provide one unit of Energy of their specific type to the Pokémon they are attached to and grant no other effects. Except for specific Arceus cards with a special ruling released in the Platinum Series, Basic Energy cards are the only cards that players are permitted to have more than four copies of in their decks. These cards do not bear regulation marks and are always permitted for use in official tournaments unless they have nonstandard card backs.
There are 9 Basic Energy cards: Basic Grass Energy, Basic Fire Energy, Basic Water Energy, Basic Lightning Energy, Basic Psychic Energy, Basic Fighting Energy, Basic Darkness Energy, Basic Metal Energy, and Basic Fairy Energy. No Basic Energy card provides only Colorless Energy, because Colorless Energy costs can be paid for by any Energy type. There also are no Basic Energy cards that provide Dragon Energy, because Dragon Energy does not exist within the rules of the game. Instead, the attacks of Dragon-type Pokémon have costs that include a mix of other Energy types.
From the Base Set through EX Power Keepers expansions, the TCG featured six Basic Energy cards, one for each of the original types excluding Colorless: Grass Energy, Fire Energy, Water Energy, Lightning Energy, Psychic Energy, and Fighting Energy. When the Darkness and Metal types were introduced in Neo Genesis to tie in with Generation II video games, the Energy of those types could only be provided by Special Energy cards. Six and a half years afterward, the release of Diamond & Pearl came with new Basic versions of Darkness Energy and Metal Energy. Basic Fairy Energy was added with the Fairy type as a whole in the XY Series following the Fairy-type's debut in the Generation VI video games.
Basic Fairy Energy is no longer included in expansions starting from Sword & Shield following the discontinuation of new Fairy-type Pokémon in the TCG,[1] but it did receive a Sword & Shield Series-style print in promotional releases such as Elite Trainer Boxes. The card became the first and only Basic Energy card to rotate out of the Standard format when all Fairy types rotated in 2021.[2]
The word "Basic" was not capitalized in card effect text until Scarlet & Violet.[3]
Special Energy cards
Special Energy cards (Japanese: 特殊エネルギー) are cards with additional benefits compared to Basic Energy cards. Unlike Basic Energy cards, Special Energy cards have regulation marks, and those with the same name are restricted to four per deck.
Special Energy cards only provide Energy of specific types when attached to a Pokémon. Effects referring to Energy types of Energy cards that are not in play therefore cannot apply to Special Energy. For example, Flaaffy cannot attach Speed 
Energy with its Dynamotor Ability. The original Special Metal and Darkness Energy cards are an exception to this rule. Starting with Scarlet & Violet, these effects specifically refer to Basic Energy.[3] This removes potential confusion and disallows further loopholes for Special Metal and Darkness Energy.
Some effects Special Energy cards may provide include:
- Multiple units of Energy on one card
- Multiple types of Energy on one card
- Effects that activate when the Energy is attached, similar to Item or Supporter cards
- Passive effects that are active while the Energy is attached, similar to Pokémon Tool cards
Special Energy cards that provide multiple types of Energy provide each of those types simultaneously, allowing them to satisfy multiple conditions at once. For example, an Okidogi with Unit Energy 
and a Basic Fighting Energy attached may use the Good Punch attack for 170 damage, as Unit Energy simultaneously counts as both a Fighting Energy for Good Punch's attack cost and a Darkness Energy to activate the Adrena-Power Ability.
Some Special Energy cards only have their additional effect when attached to a Pokémon that meets certain criteria, such as being a specific type. Some of these Special Energy cards can only be attached to specific Pokémon, and they are immediately discarded if they become attached to a Pokémon that does not meet their criteria.
Only React Energy and Plasma Energy have no additional effect; both cards provide a single Colorless Energy with no other rules text. Instead, these cards trigger the effects of cards that reference them by name, such as Kecleon and Lugia-EX.
Special Energy cards have been printed with a Rule Box as Prism Star cards. In the Scarlet & Violet Series, the first ACE SPEC Special Energy cards were released.
List of Special Energy cards
Trivia
- The designs for the Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Psychic, and Fighting Energy symbols were made by Mitsuhiro Arita.[4]
In other languages
- Energy
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | エネルギー Energy | |
| Chinese | Cantonese | 能量 Nàhngleuhng |
| Mandarin | 能量 Néngliàng | |
| French | Énergie | |
| German | Energie | |
| Indonesian | Energi | |
| Italian | Energia | |
| Korean | 에너지 Energy | |
| Polish | Energia | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Energia | |
| Russian | Энергия Energiya | |
| Spanish | Latin America | Energía |
| Spain | Energía | |
| Thai | พลังงาน Phalangngan เอนเนอร์จี้ Energy | |
- Basic Energy
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 基本エネルギー Kihon Energy | |
| Chinese | Cantonese | 基本能量 Gēibún Nàhngleuhng |
| Mandarin | 基本能量 Jīběn Néngliàng | |
| French | Énergie de base | |
| German | Basis-Energie | |
| Indonesian | Energi Dasar | |
| Italian | Energia base | |
| Korean | 기본 에너지 Gibon Energy | |
| Polish | Podstawowa Energia | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Energia Básica | |
| Russian | Базовая Энергия Bazovaya Energiya | |
| Spanish | Latin America | Energía Básica |
| Spain | Energía Básica | |
| Thai | พลังงานพื้นฐาน Phalangngan Phuenthan | |
- Special Energy
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 特殊エネルギー Tokushu Energy | |
| Chinese | Cantonese | 特殊能量 Dahksyùh Nàhngleuhng |
| Mandarin | 特殊能量 Tèshū Néngliàng | |
| French | Énergie spéciale | |
| German | Spezial-Energie | |
| Indonesian | Energi Spesial | |
| Italian | Energia speciale | |
| Korean | 특수 에너지 Teuksu Energy | |
| Polish | Specjalna Energia | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Energia Especial | |
| Russian | Особая Энергия Osobaya Energiya | |
| Spanish | Latin America | Energía Especial |
| Spain | Energía Especial | |
| Thai | พลังงานพิเศษ Phalangngan Phiset | |
References
- ↑ Changes Coming to the Pokémon TCG with Sword & Shield | Pokémon.com, Jan 9, 2020
- ↑ 2022 Pokémon TCG Championship Series Season Format Rotation | Pokémon.com, Apr 21, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet Revamps Pokémon TCG Card Aesthetic | Pokémon.com, Mar 30, 2023
- ↑ Tweet by @MitsuhiroArita | Dec 2, 2021
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This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |