Platinum Player's Guide (TCG)

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Platinum Player's Guide
PL guide.png
ISBN: 978-1-60438-085-9
Published: 2009
Publisher: The Pokémon Company International
Author: The Pokémon Company International

The Platinum Player's Guide is a booklet detailing the Platinum and Rising Rivals expansions of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The booklet was written by and published by The Pokémon Company International in 2009. The content features strategy for the new cards introduced within the Platinum and Rising Rivals expansions as well as a complete checklist for the expansions. The guide also comes with a DP Black Star Promo card: Toxicroak G.

Contents

Welcome to the Official Pokémon Trading Card Game Player's Guide for Platinum and Platinum—Rising Rivals!

For over 10 years, millions of cards and thousands of players have made the Pokémon Trading Card game (TCG) one of the most popular games of all time. If you're new to the game, you're about to enter a world where you could rise to become a World Champion by determining the perfect combination of 60 cards in a deck...and then playing them perfectly together. And if you're already a skilled Trainer, you know how vast those combo choices are! For both kinds of players, we at The Pokémon Company International have written this Official Pokémon Trading Card Game Player's Guide to add an extra dimension to the games you'll play with the latest two releases.

Discover Great Pokémon in Platinum

The Platinum expansion is loaded with exciting new features that never appeared in a Pokémon TCG release before. First, the never-before-seen Pokémon Shaymin debuts in two different Formes plus as a powerful LV.X card. Next, the nefarious Team Galactic reappears, and Team Galactic's Pokémon comprise a new Subset, Pokémon SP, that come with their own set of rules for adding to your decks. And finally, certain cards in Platinum include rules for a new area: the Lost Zone, where cards actually leave the game entirely instead of ending up in the discard pile! All of this, along with a half-dozen new Pokémon LV. X, three blast-from-the-past cards, three super-hot SH cards, and two great theme decks (Rebellion, built around Giratina, and Flourish, featuring Shaymin) makes the Pokémon TCG: Platinum expansion a fantastic set to collect, trade, and play!

Card Index

The first section lists all of the Platinum and Rising Rivals cards and their location in the guide, as well as their rarity.

Anatomy of a Pokémon Card

This section uses an Infernape card as an example for the anatomy of the Pokémon cards.

Platinum Cards

This section lists out the 133 cards of the Platinum expansion in numerical order along with a brief description and strategy about the card.

Platinum Theme Decks

This section lists the Flourish and Rebellion theme decks in some detail and shows how to improve it with card substitutions.

The Flourish theme deck is packed with Pokémon that sport aggressive Fire and Grass moves, and will inflict Asleep, Burned, and Poisoned Special Conditions mercilessly. Watch out!

The Rebellion theme deck pairs up Psychic and Fighting Pokémon for a power play that could outmuscle all opposition!

Platinum: Rising Rivals Cards

This section lists out the 120 cards of the Rising Rivals expansion in numerical order along with a brief description and strategy about the card.

Platinum: Rising Rivals Theme Decks

This section lists the Cutting Edge and Drill Point theme decks in some detail and shows how to improve it with card substitutions.

The Cutting Edge theme deck pairs up Psychic and Grass Pokémon to pound the Defending Pokémon with Special Conditions, setting up your opponent's downfall—and your victory!

Hit hard early with the Drill Point theme deck, then switch it up with Vibrava's Energy Typhoon attack to sweep away your opposition.

Pokémon TCG Rules

This section goes into detail about the rules of the game while detailing a step by step walkthrough a match. This section also includes a summary of the new rules introduced in these expansions as well as a glossary.

Complete Pokémon TCG: Platinum & Rising Rivals Card List

This section is a complete checklist of the cards in the two expansion packs along with their rarities.

Toxic SP Theme Deck

That awesome Toxicroak Pokémon G card that came with your Player's Guide is more than just a unique promo card—it's the centerpiece of a great deck that you can build for yourself! Using cards from Platinum and Platinum—Rising Rivals 10-card booster packs, you can build the Toxic SP theme deck and take the deck up against all comers! It's been played against some truly great decks and done admirably, and maybe once you've played it for a while, you'll have your own ideas about how to make it better. Who knows—maybe you can make it so strong that it could go all the way to the Pokémon TCG World Championships!

Credits

The Pokémon Company International

  • General Manager
  • Project Manager
  • Project Coordination
  • Managing Editor
  • Copyeditor
  • Writing & Editing
  • Art Direction
  • Graphic Design
  • Kenji Okubo
  • Tony Davis
  • Yasuhiro Usui
  • Lawrence Neves
  • Kristina Naudus
  • Michael G. Ryan, Kellyn Ballard, and Blaise Shelby
  • Chris Brixey
  • Ray Yuen

Original Japanese TCG

  • Producer
  • Director
  • Original Game Design
  • Game Development
  • Art Direction
  • Typesetting and Layout
  • Rulebook Writing & Editing
  • Project Coordination
  • Special Thanks To

English-Language TCG

The Pokémon Company International

  • General Manager
  • Director of Production
  • Project Coordination
  • Production Coordination
  • Translation
  • Game Development
  • Editing
  • Art Direction
  • Graphic Design
  • Card Typesetting
  • Packaging Illustration
  • Platinum Logo
  • Rising Rivals Logo
  • Kenji Okubo
  • Richard Simpson
  • Yasuhiro Usui
  • Russ Foster, Traci Ofstad and Rachel Pollack
  • Rutsuko Noda
  • Mike Fitzgerald and Yasuhiro Usui
  • Michael G. Ryan, Kellyn Ballard, and Blaise Shelby
  • Eric Medalle
  • Yumi Okada, Eric Medalle, Kevin Lalli, Erica Wong & Heather Luke
  • Roy Kauffman and Bridget O'Neill
  • Mitsuhiro Arita
  • Eric Medalle
  • Kevin Lalli and Eric Medalle


Publications relating to the Pokémon Trading Card Game
Strategy guides: Pokémon Trading Card Game Strategy GuideThe Official Pokémon Trading Card Game Guide
Pokémon Trading Card Game Player's GuidePokémon Trading Card Game Fossil Expansion Player's Guide
Pokémon Trading Card Game Volume 3: Team RocketPokémon Made Simple!Let's Play Pokémon
Team Rocket Strategy GuideGym Heroes Strategy GuideGym Challenge Strategy Guide
Platinum Player's GuidePlasma Storm Player's GuidePlasma Blast Player's GuideXY Player's Guide
Quick Guide to Fire-Type PokémonFurious Fists Player's GuidePhantom Forces Player's GuidePrimal Clash Player's Guide
Roaring Skies Player's GuideAncient Origins Player's GuideBREAKthrough Player's GuideBREAKpoint Player's Guide
Fates Collide Player's GuideGenerations Player's GuideSteam Siege Player's GuideEvolutions Player's Guide
Sun & Moon Player's GuideGuardians Rising Player's GuideBurning Shadows Player's GuideThe Making of Shining Legends
Crimson Invasion Player's GuideUltra Prism Player's GuideForbidden Light Player's GuideCelestial Storm Player's Guide
Dragon Majesty Player's GuideDragon Majesty: Dragons Then and NowLost Thunder Player's GuideTeam Up Player's Guide
Unbroken Bonds Player's GuideUnified Minds Player's GuideHidden Fates Player's GuideCosmic Eclipse Player's Guide
Sword & Shield Player's GuideRebel Clash Player's GuideDarkness Ablaze Player's GuideVivid Voltage Player's Guide
Shining Fates Player's GuideBattle Styles Player's GuideChilling Reign Player's GuideEvolving Skies Player's Guide
Celebrations Player's Guide
Collectors' guides: Beckett Unofficial Guide to Pokémon: 2008 Price GuideBeckett Unofficial Guide To Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
Collecting Pokémon: An Unauthorized Handbook and Price GuidePokémon Collector's Value Guide
Pokémon Unofficial Card Collector's GuideUnofficial Beckett Pokémon Collector Price Guide
Magazines: Beckett Pokémon Unofficial CollectorMonthly Coin Toss: Pokémon Card MagazinePokémon Official Magazine
PoJo's Unofficial Pokémon News & Price Guide MonthlyPokémon Card Fan Club
Manga: Pokémon Card GB The ComixHow I Became a Pokémon CardHimemaru: Pokémon Card ExplorerAim to Be a Card Master!!
Pokémon Card Game Battle ComicExciting Victory! Pokémon Card Game!!Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game XY!
Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Sun & Moon ArcLet's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Sword & Shield Arc
Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Scarlet & Violet Arc
Video game guides: Official Pokémon TCG Perfect GuidePokémon Card GB Final Tactical BookPokémon Card GB Official Guidebook
Pokémon Card GB2 Official GuidebookPokémon TCG: Official Nintendo Player's Guide
Pokémon TCG: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
Other: Pokémon Card Official Book 2000Pokémon Card Game BW National Illustrated Encyclopedia
Pokémon Card Game BW WorkbookIllust Story


Project TCG logo.png This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Merchandise, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise. Project Merchandise logo.png