It takes an entire year from start to finish to publish a new set of the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG). The process, handled by Creatures, Inc., is involved and thorough. It’s all-hands-on-deck, as game data designers, illustrators, play testers, and even marketing personnel strive to create one of the most popular children’s toys in the world.

Creatures, Inc. works to incorporate new game mechanics and popular characters from the TV show to remain consistent with those two core pillars of the Pokemon brand, while also paying acute attention into the strategies of competitive players so that the game remains balanced and fresh. Sometimes, the way competitive players use cards entirely alter how the next expansion set is made.

Left to Right: Inoue-san, Nagashima-san, and Arita-san - Courtesy of The Pokemon Company

IGN paid a visit to the Creatures, Inc. headquarters in Tokyo along with a small group of press and learned how individual cards and expansion sets are made. Here’s the step-by-step process straight from the TCG game director, Atsushi Nagashima; an artist who’s created card illustrations since the very first set, Mitsuhiro Arita; and lead of the Pokemon Card Game Laboratory, Satoru Inoue.

1. Consider New Mechanics Introduced by the Video Games

Pokemon, as a franchise, began with the video games February 1996, with the cards and manga releasing months later. Continuing that trend, the animated series and Pokemon TCG follow the precedents set by the games – generally, at least.

“Near the beginning of what we call ‘series,’ based off the latest video games that came out, we really try to take care to stay true to the video game that we're basing the card series on,” says Nagashima.

For example, in the Black and White games, only Pokemon indigenous to the Unova region were catchable, so in the first Black and White TCG expansion, only Unova Pokemon were included. Opposites was also a primary theme for that game generation, so that expansion featured cards like the full art Reshiram and Zekrom cards to exemplify that motif.

Though those ideas from Black and White weren’t complicated to include, Nagashima said it’s usually difficult to incorporate new game mechanics into the TCG, like Pokemon X and Y’s introduction of Mega Evolution.

Nagashima said if they had implemented Mega Evolution the same way it works in the games, there would be too many steps involved to be able to finally play the card. There just wouldn’t be enough room in a 60 card deck to make it feasible. Instead, they made it so only EX Pokemon evolve into Mega Evolved Pokemon.

EX Pokemon cards feature fully evolved Pokemon that can be played immediately, as if they were a Basic Pokemon card. This way, there are less steps involved with achieving a Mega Evolution.

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“That was actually a kind of blessing in disguise,” Nagashima continued. “The EX Pokemon were already going on for a while and kids knew they were really strong, but to have an even stronger version of that, I think that got a lot of people excited.”

2. Choose Pokemon that are Featured in the Games and Show

Of course, to stay in line with the other two pillars of Pokemon brand, the TCG designers always take into consideration the Pokemon that are popular in the games and TV show.

“For example, the Pokemon that were really featured heavily in that video game, or they had a big role in the story, we'll make sure that they're at the center of whatever that initial set we're making is,” Nagashima said.

In the Pokemon Sun & Moon expansion, the Legendary Pokemon Solgaleo and Lunala that were featured on the games’ boxart were heavily featured on booster pack wrappers and as special cards themselves, alongside the three starters’ final evolutions, Incineroar, Primarina, and Decidueye. To anyone familiar with the game or show, these would be immediately recognizable.

3. Find Pokemon that Fit What’s Needed

“Sometimes we actually start with the game data that we know we need from the environment. We know we need Pokemon with this much HP, with this type and this kind of retreat cost, and then take that as the beginning and find the Pokemon that would maybe fit those attributes,” Nagashima said.

This is primarily done to make sure the set is balanced. You can make a Pokemon fit set stats, but you can’t make stats arbitrarily fit a Pokemon. Wouldn’t it be silly to have a Snorlax with low HP?

4. Choose Pokemon That Aren’t Featured Often

“Another thing we always try to keep in mind with the card game is a lot of Pokemon don't end up getting featured heavily in the video game or animated series, but we think that a lot kids have just completely different favorite Pokemon depending on their experience with it,” Nagashima said. “We feel like the trading card game is the best place to shine the spotlight on different Pokemon that don't get a chance to otherwise.”

5. Playtest, a Lot

Before the unreleased cards even have official art, play-testers are using them in a dedicated room, called the “Pokemon Card Game Laboratory” or, simply, the play testing room in the Creatures, Inc. office. This long, rectangular room outfitted with large glass walls is lined with filing cabinets filled to the brim with almost every Pokemon card in existence. The centerpiece are a few rectangular tables with enough seats for 20 players, and are just wide enough to perfectly accommodate a round of Pokemon cards. Nineteen people work at Creatures, Inc. as full time testers.

“Generally, they’re playing seven hours a day, five days a week. That does include time spent building new decks, and things like that,” Inoue explained.

Despite the staggering amount of time these testers play, Inoue said he usually doesn’t see anyone taking notes. Rather, they simply remember the points they have and record them later.

Inside one of the Pokemon Card Laboratory cabinets - Courtesy of The Pokemon Company

“In general, everyone individually will submit play reports based on data and their opinions, but we also have regular meetings between them… and the game data designers where they will discuss what their impressions are,” Inoue said.

The Pokemon card testers aren’t blindly playing, discovering broken cards by happenstance with no instructions. The design team will provide data, so the testers at least know what they should expect from each card in a set.

“Typically... the game logic design team will have a power level for each of the cards in mind when they’re creating them, and they’ll obviously provide that information to the team, and they’ll play different matches and kind of rank the card, if it’s appropriate, if it’s meeting the expected power level or not,” Inoue said. “And if it’s not, they’ll make slight changes to the numbers, like reduce the hit points by 10, or reduce the damage by 10 for example. But then there’s other situations where the logic itself is a problem. It’s kind of really destroying the game balance, like the game’s over in the first turn type of thing. Kind of really harming the playability of the game. In those situations, if the tester discovers a deck that really exploits that, they’ll bring the deck straight over to the game design team and then have them decide whether they’re going to change the logic, get rid of it, or you know, decide what to do with it.”

Inoue said small revisions, like increasing or decreasing hit points or damage slightly, happen extremely often. Radical changes generally are only taken on for special Pokemon in a set, like Pokemon GX, or the Pokemon featured on packaging. Sometime these cards go through two, or even three major revisions before they’re finalized.

These revisions, big and small, often happen before cards have completed art. To playtest new cards, stickers with the new card data are printed out and stuck onto old cards no longer in common rotation. These stickers feature plain blue backgrounds with generic Pokemon art, usually the official Ken Sugimori illustrations. Having some art included is just as important as having the correct attacks, damage, and HP on a card being tested.

“It’s not just testing the attacks, the moves, in isolation of what the Pokemon is. We always try to look at it as a set,” Inoue elaborated. “Like, would it make sense for this Pokemon to use this kind of attack, or is it behaving like you would expect this Pokemon to. So, being able to know which Pokemon the attack is for is really important.”

“ Being able to know which Pokemon the attack is for is really important,

The game testers aren’t all pros, either, as Creatures, Inc. appreciates the input from players both experienced and inexperienced to see if their cards are acting the way they should in the hands of anyone. But, they do usually come with a love for Pokemon.

“We always try to focus on having kind of a variety of testers if we can. At Pokemon we do focus on making it accessible for younger kids as well, so having a wide range of skill levels is important. It’s not that if someone is more senior or more experienced that we think they’re more influential,” Inoue said. “One thing I can say that’s consistent across the board is that we always place importance on whether or not the person likes Pokemon, or has interest in Pokemon, and other than that it’s just their personality.”

That way, every player will be able to recognize if a Pokemon has been paired with an attack, HP, or even retreat cost that doesn’t necessarily match its nature.

Continue to the next page to read about how illustrations are designed from the man who illustrated the original holographic Charizard card, how theme decks are made, and why cards are banned and balanced once a set is released.