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ThePokemon TCGhas been enjoying a massive resurgence in recent years. With exciting new mechanics, cards, and new Pokemon added to the game with every new video game’s launch, there are plenty of fun things for collectors and players to enjoy.
If you’ve been digging through older cards trying to find a gem or just want to check out a bit of the history around one of the longest-running trading card games, we have all the different expansions for the Pokemon Trading Card Game together in one place.
Update on June 10, 2025, by Ryan Hay:There have been a few new additions to the grand total of Pokemon sets since this list was first assembled, so we went ahead and added the multiple Scarlet & Violet sets that were missing, as well as a few promo sets that have come out since 2024. Along the way, we tided up a few parts of the piece, as well as making it a little easier to navigate, since there is a huge amount of sets to sift through.
Every Pokemon TCG Set In Release Order
Original Series
Where everything started — the original few sets of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. In this set, based on the original Pokemon Red & Blue games, these sets feature the original 151 Pokemon as the game worked to establish itself as an independent game. Tons of cards from these sets willfetch a pretty penny, so long as you know what you’re looking for.
1999
102
64
62
2000
130
83
132
Neo Series
The first of a new era in the Pokemon TCG, these sets were based on the Pokemon Gold and Silver games, introducingplayers to a whole new generation of Pokemon to collect.
This set is noticeable since it also introduced Darkness and Metal type Pokemon to the game, as well as Baby Pokemon and Pokemon Tools, which would become an essential part of the game moving forward.
The Neo Series also brought with it some changes to the card’s design, making it more legible and easier to distinguish.
111
2001
75
66
2002
113
Legendary Collection
A rather unique set in the history of the TCG’s releases, Legendary Collection is a stand-alone set, made up of reprints from Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, and Team Rocker expansions.
110
E-Card Series
Probably the most drastic change to the TCG’s design came with the e-Card series. These three expansions had everything shifted around to make room for two Dot Code strips to use with the Nintendo e-Reader for the Game Boy Advance.
The set also split up Pokemon Power abilities into Poke-Power and Poke-Body, depending on the effect.
165
2003
181
182
EX Series
With the launch of Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire came a whole new generation of Pokemon to come to the TCG. As the name implies, this is the first set to introduce Pokemon-ex cards, which gave those cards a huge increase in power.
With the higher power came a greater risk too, since your opponent gets to take two prize cards instead of just one. This series also saw a few rules updates to help make the game a bit more consistent, further increasing the game’s depth and competitive value.
109
100
2004
97
116
2005
108
107
145
114
2006
93
101
2007
Diamond & Pearl Series
Diamond & Pearl brought with it plenty of changes to the Pokemon TCG to help spice up your experience. With the success of Pokmeon-ex, Diamond & Pearl series introduced Pokemon LV.X, letting you use any powers or attacks from their previous forms.
This series also make a huge change in how the game treated Darkness and Metal energies, letting you use them as basic Energies and removing the maximum of four restrictions that types for years.
124
2008
106
146
Platinum Series
A continuation of the Diamond & Pearl series, Platinum brought with it only a few changes compared to other series. Pokemon SP is a special new type of Basic Pokemon that had a new border type.
More importantly, the Platinum series established the Lost Zone, a permanent place where Pokemon cards cannot come back from.
2009
133
120
153
HeartGold & SoulSilver Series
Some of the coolest changes to have come from the game came around during the HeartGold & SoulSilver series of the TCG.
We got Pokemon Prime and Pokemon LEGEND cards, the latter of which lets you take two individual cards and combine them into one later one.
Pokemon LEGEND cards are exclusive to Legendary Pokemon, like Kyogre and Groudon Legend.
2010
96
91
103
2011
Black & White Series
Making waves in the Pokemon TCG, the Black & White series made several changes to the game and the rules surrounding it to help improve everyone’s experience. First up, Poke-Powers and Poke-Bodies were reworked into just Abilities, making it a more unified mechanic.
Perhaps more importantly, Black & White series saw the release of the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online to the world, letting players compete digitally.
115
98
2012
128
21
2013
138
122
105
140
XY Series
While XY Series didn’t buck old-held conventions like other series, it did bring with it apowerful new Pokemon type, M Pokemon-EX. This variant on the Pokemon-ex design turned them into Mega Evolved Pokemon, which ended your turn when you evolved a Pokemon to their Mega form.
The other big change that came to the game was the introduction of the Fairy type, though it won’t stick around forever.
39
2014
2015
164
34
2016
123
125
Sun & Moon Series
As Pokemon Sun & Moon came to gaming consoles, TCG fans also got a new series based on the games. Generation 7 joined the TCG, and with it came another variation on the Pokemon-ex type, Pokemon-GX.
These cards featured a special GX attack, of which you could only use one GX attack per game, even if you had multiple Pokemon-GX in your deck.
2017
163
169
78
2018
174
183
236
2019
196
18
234
258
271
Sword & Shield Series
With a new game came a new mechanic to the Pokemon TCG, that of Pokemon V and VMAX, as well as TAG TEAM, V-STAR, and V-UNION Pokemon later in the Series.
Sadly, this series also saw the retirement of the Fairy-type as it was determined to not be necessary in the game.
2020
216
209
201
80
203
195
2021
233
237
50
284
2022
246
88
247
245
2023
230
Scarlet & Violet Series
Pokemon types have generally followed the typing found in the games, with some experimentation in older sets of course, but generally, Fire-type Pokemon stayed Fire type. Scarlet & Violet series gave some Pokemon a chance to change that up.
Drawing inspiration from the video game mechanic of Terastal Pokemon, these special Pokemon ex cards could have unconventional typings.
This series also plays with the past and future mechanics from the games,with cards capable of being either Ancient or Future categories, often times working with other cards of that type.
279
207
266
2024
218
226
99
175
252
180
Promo Series
There are plenty of other cards that don’t fall into the traditional series, with many of them being promo cards you may earn from playing in tournaments or events, from promotional crossovers, or through other means.
1999 - 2003
53
2003 - 2006
40
2007 - 2009
56
2010 - 2011
25
2011 - 2013
2013 - 2017
211
2016 - 2021
248
2019 - 2023
307
2023 - 2025
12
15
Trick or Trade 2022
30
Trick or Trade 2023
Trick or Trade 2024
17
170
154
86
Other Series
Rarely, the Pokemon Trading Card Game will release special promotional cards to drum up hype for various promotions. Most of these releases are extremely limited, and were only printed for a short amount of time.
9
5
16
