In the Pokémon trading card game, one of your goals is to collect each of the cards, similar to your goal of collecting each of the Pokémon in the Game Boy game.
The Energy cards are the most basic and most common kind of cards.
Your Pokémon cards, Evolution cards, and Trainer cards come in four different varieties:
common cards are marked in the bottom right-hand corner with a
Uncommon cards are marked with a
and rare cards are marked with a

In addition, some rare cards are printed using holographic foil. These "holo" cards are the hardest to catch and collect. There is also a limited quantity of each set of Pokémon cards that is printed with the symbol, which shows that those cards are first-edition cards from that set. The same cards may be reprinted in the future but never with the first-edition symbol, ensuring that your first-edition cards will maintain their value!

Here are some Pokémon card pictures that will help you read your card properly.
Just in case you have been wondering what all that stuff on the cards mean.

Basic Pokémon Cards Basic Pokémon are your most important cards. They fight for you against your opponent's Pokémon. Evolution cards are played on top of your Basic Pokémon card. They make Pokémon bigger and more powerful. There are three types of Evolution stages, Basic Pokémon, Stage I, and Stage II. On stage I and II cards, they will say which Pokémon they evolved from. Use 12 to 16 Basic Pokémon cards in your deck because you can put them on your bench right away. Later, those Basic Pokémon can become Stage I and II Pokémon.

Energy Cards Energy cards are attached to your Pokémon to give them the energy they need to attack with. On the Pokémon card the Energy information is on the left side of the card. The middle section gives the name of the attack and any special rules for it. The right section shows how much damage the attack does. You want most of your Pokémon to have an attack that only costs 1 Energy card to use.

Trainer Cards Trainer Cards are one-shot cards that do something once and are then discarded. They heal and help your Pokémon recover. Some Trainers can switch your Pokémon, or let you look through your Pokémon card deck.

Pokémon trainers usually use glass beads
to show how much damage a Pokémon has.
Each bead equals ten points of damage.

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