So your kid has traded in his toy trains and cars for Pokémon cards but you don?t know what he?s talking about half the time. What is Pokémon" What?s a booster pack" What?s a trainer" And who is this Pikachu fellow he?s always mentioning" Your kid will probably always be one step ahead of you in his Pokémon knowledge, but this guide is a good start.
What is Pokémon"

Pokémon is a Japanese franchise that has been around for more than 20 years. Short for ?pocket monsters,? Pokémon exists as a TV show, a trading card game, video games and toys. The Pokémon themselves are creatures that live in the wild or with their owner (as in your kid), referred to as their trainer. The trainer?s goal is to ?catch them all? and, by all, we mean all 800+ of them. What are you supposed to do with Pokémon cards"
Younger kids (say, JK to grade one) tend to just collect and trade the cards. As they learn to read, they may also want to play the trading card game. The point of collecting the cards is to build a powerful deck of 60 that will help you win battles against other trainers. But your kid might just be interested in collecting the cards he likes best or deems most valuable. Each pack of cards is different, so if your kid doesn?t have any cards (or just a couple), you may want to get him started with a theme deck: a pack of 60 cards that comes in a small cardboard box or metal tin. Theme decks also come with a coin and cardboard markers that can b...