Monopoly: Pokémon Edition (2024)

	Monopoly: Pokémon Edition; Race to catch the wild Pokémon!
	; USA version; ; Game board
Release date	December 20, 2024 English edition; January 15, 2025 Spanish edition
Publisher(s)	Hasbro; Parker Brothers
Age	8+
Players	2 to 4
External Links	Hasbro's official website; Hasbro Pulse For more information on general gameplay, refer to the original Monopoly on Wikipedia.;
	Hasbro's official website; Hasbro Pulse For more information on general gameplay, refer to the original Monopoly on Wikipedia.;

Monopoly: Pokémon Edition is a special edition of the classic game Monopoly adapted for Pokémon by Hasbro. As opposed to previous Pokémon editions of the game, this one does not focus on a region or video game in particular, but it uses various generic locations instead such as "Forest", "Cave" or "Beach". It does feature, however, the Paldea first partner Pokémon as tokens along with Pikachu. The twist of this edition is that it's focused on catching wild Pokémon, represented in 48 different cardboard chips. The artwork used in this game is taken from the animated series. The English version of the game was released on December 20, 2024.

Blurb

RACE TO CATCH THE WILD POKÉMON!

You're a Pokémon Trainer adventuring through a vast land with your Pokémon partner! Explore vibrant locations, catch different types of wild Pokémon to add to your Pokémon tracker mat, and battle rival Trainers to collect Poké Balls!

If you're the first Trainer to complete your Trainer mat or you're the last Trainer with Poké Balls, you win!

Changes from the original Monopoly

Currency is replaced by Poké Balls
There are only 2 locations per color on the board
Earnings are not increased by owning all locations of the same color
Railroads are replaced by Lapras
Community Chest Cards and Chance Cards are replaced by Challenge Cards and Adventure Cards
Pokémon chips have to be caught in order to win the game
Trainers can battle to take away locations

Pokémon Tokens

Properties

In this game, properties represent different locations based on the Pokémon type that matches its color:

Rock Type		Ice Type
Rocky Path	Cliffside	Snowy Mountain	Glacier
Exploration Cost \| X 1 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 1	Exploration Cost \| X 1 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 1	Exploration Cost \| X 1 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 1	Exploration Cost \| X 1 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 1
Psychic Type		Fighting Type
Cave	Forest	Gym	Stadium
Exploration Cost \| X 2 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 2	Exploration Cost \| X 2 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 2	Exploration Cost \| X 2 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 2	Exploration Cost \| X 2 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 2
Fire Type		Electric Type
Plateau	Desert	Town	City
Exploration Cost \| X 3 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 3	Exploration Cost \| X 3 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 3	Exploration Cost \| X 3 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 3	Exploration Cost \| X 3 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 3
Grass Type		Water Type
Field	Countryside	River	Beach
Exploration Cost \| X 4 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 4	Exploration Cost \| X 4 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 4	Exploration Cost \| X 5 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 5	Exploration Cost \| X 5 Pokémon Type to catch here \| Battle Fee \| X 5

Gameplay

The first time the game is played, the stickers have to be applied to each side of the catching die in any arrangement. The Pokémon chips will be sorted by type and placed next to their matching sections of the board. Each chip has a symbol on the back which represents one of the eight types of wild Pokémon that can be caught.

Poké Balls

Poké Balls replace money. They can be spent to explore locations that the player lands on but does not control. Likewise, they're earned whenever rival Trainers explore locations that the player controls. They can also be earned by winning challenges.

Catching Die

In order to catch a Pokémon, the player needs to explore a location, which might cost Poké Balls. They need to roll an image of a Poké Ball on the catching die to take a wild Pokémon from that location and place it on their tracker mat.

Setting the game up

Someone is chosen as the Banker. The Banker can play too but must keep their Poké Balls separate from the bank. The Banker is in charge of:
- The Bank's Poké Balls
- Location Cards
- Auctions
Each player will act as a Pokémon Trainer. Each trainer takes a Reference Card and 20 Poké Balls. The remaining Poké Balls are placed in a separate pile as the Bank.
The dice are put by the gameboard.
Wild Pokémon chips are separated by type and color then each group is placed next to the board spaces that match that type and color, with the Pokémon type faceup.
Challenge Cards and Adventure Cards are shuffled and placed facedown on their corresponding spot on the gameboard.
Each Trainer chooses a Pokémon partner and places that token on GO.
Each Trainer takes the matching Pokémon Tracker mat and places it in front of themselves.

Pikachu's Tracker mat.
Sprigatito's Tracker mat.
Fuecoco's Tracker mat.
Quaxly's Tracker mat.

How to win

Players have to travel around the board exploring, taking control of locations, catching different types of Pokémon and battling rival Trainers. The player who becomes the first Trainer to complete their tracker mat or the last Trainer with Poké Balls when all other Trainers have lost theirs, becomes the winner.

Who goes first?

Each trainer rolls the numbered die. The highest roller starts, and play moves to the left.

What a player does during a turn

Rolls the numbered die.
Moves their token clockwise that number of spaces.
Depending where they land, carries out the rules of that board space.
Their turn ends. Passes the die to their left.

The Board Spaces

Locations

Uncontrolled Locations

When a player lands on an uncontrolled location, they must take control of it. To do so, they pay the amount on the board space, and take the Location Card from the Bank. Then they may try to catch a wild Pokémon by exploring that location. If the Trainer can't afford the location, the Banker has to auction it. Any Trainer can bid. The Banker starts the bidding at 1 Poké Ball, and anyone can increase the bid by as little as 1 Poké Ball. The turn order doesn't need to be followed, and the Banker ends the auction when no Trainer is willing to increase the bid. The highest bidder pays the Bank and takes the Location Card, but they may not immediately explore the location. If no one wants to bid on the location, no one pays anything and the Location card stays with the Bank.

When a player has taken control of both locations in a color set, it means that those locations cannot be taken from them by a rival Trainer if they are ever defeated in battle. In this game, players do not earn more with color sets.

Controlled Locations

When a player lands on a location that they control, they may explore that location for free. When they land on a location that a rival Trainer controls, the player must pay them to explore that Location or battle them, i.e. if they choose to explore, they can't battle afterward and vice versa.

Action Spaces

GO

When a player passes or lands on the GO space, they collect 2 Poké Balls from the Bank.

Adventure and Challenge

The player takes the top card from the matching deck and does what it says. Some cards can be kept until they are ready to use them, while other cards must be used immediately. After use, they have to be returned to the bottom of the appropriate deck.

Lapras

When a player lands on a Lapras space, they may move to any space between that Lapras space and the next one. They follow the rules of the space where they land and end their turn. If the player doesn't want to move at all, they can stand there and do nothing. If GO is passed, they collect 2 Poké Balls from the Bank.

Free Parking

The player does nothing on this space.

Just Visiting

The player does nothing on this space.

Go to Jail

The player moves their token to the In Jail space immediately. Poké Balls are not collected for passing the GO space. The turn is over. The player in jail can still collect exploration costs, battle rival Trainers and collect battle fees, bid during auctions and trade. In order to get out of jail, the player has 3 options:

Pay 1 Poké Ball at the start of their next turn, then roll and move as normal.
Use a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card at the start of their next turn if they have one (or buy one from another Trainer). The card is then put at the bottom of the Adventure deck, then the player rolls and moves.
Roll a 6 on their next turn. If they do, they're free. The roll is used to move. The rules of the space where they land are not followed. They can use up to 3 turns to try for a 6. If they don't roll a 6 by their third turn in Jail, they pay 1 Poké Ball and use their last roll to move.

Exploring

A player pays nothing to explore a location that they control. If they want to explore a location that a rival Trainer controls, they must pay them the exploration cost shown on the Location Card.

Then they have to roll the catching die:

If the player rolls a Poké Ball, it means they caught a wild Pokémon. They have to collect one Pokémon that matches the Location's type from next to the board and add it to their Pokémon tracker mat.
If the player rolls an X, it means they caught nothing. They may end their turn or pay 1 Poké Ball to the Bank and re-roll. They may keep paying to re-roll until they catch a wild Pokémon, but if they run out of Poké Balls they're out of the game.

If a player lands on a location where they've previously caught a wild Pokémon, they can explore that location again to catch more of the same Pokémon type. If they've already filled a space on their tracker mat with a certain Pokémon type and they catch another Pokémon of that same type, they place it next to their mat, as they can be added to their die roll when battling.

Battling

If the player lands on a location that a rival Trainer controls and they don't want to explore, they may battle that Trainer instead. Battling means they might avoid having to pay the Trainer for landing on a location they control, and they might also be able to take that location from them.

To battle, the player and the rival Trainer each roll the numbered die. They may each add 1 to their roll for each Pokémon on their Pokémon tracker mat, including the Pokémon partner in the total. They may also each use any Challenge cards they have to improve their total. The higher total wins.

If the player that landed on the location wins, they don't have to pay the rival Trainer anything and they take the Location card from them, unless that Trainer has a complete set. If they did take the card, then they now control that location.
If the owner of the location wins, the player that landed on that space must pay them the battle fee shown on the Location card.
If there's a tie, the owner of the location wins and the other player must pay them the battle fee.

After the battle is over, the turn ends and the player may not explore.

Deals and trades

Players can buy or trade locations and wild Pokémon with their rival Trainers at any time. Locations and wild Pokémon can be traded for Poké Balls, other locations, other wild Pokémon and/or Get Out of Jail Free cards. The amount is decided by the Trainer making the deal.

If a player can't pay

Try to earn Poké Balls: If a player owes Poké Balls and can't pay, they have to try to earn Poké Balls by selling locations back to the Bank for the amount on their board spaces or to rival Trainers for an agreed-upon price. They may also try to sell wild Pokémon to rival Trainers for an agreed-upon price.
If they're still in debt, they are bankrupt and out of the game:
- Do they owe a rival Trainer? They have to give them all their wild Pokémon and any Get Out of Jail Free cards.
- Do they owe the Bank? They return all their wild Pokémon to their matching sections next to the board. They've released them back into the wild! The player returns any Get Out of Jail Free cards to the bottom of the Adventure deck.

The remaining players keep playing until one Trainer is the first to collect at least one of each type of wild Pokémon to complete their Pokémon tracker mat or there is only one Trainer left in the game. That Trainer is the winner.