What are Pokémon Stadium cards
Introduced in the Gym Heroes expansion.- Stadium cards represent various locations where battles take place.
- Only one Stadium card can be in play at a time, affecting both players. It remains in play until another stadium is played or an effect removes it
- Stadium cards can have a wide range of effects, from boosting Pokémon stats to altering gameplay mechanics.
The Stadium cards made their way into the Pokémon Trading Card Game with the Gym Heroes expansion. These cards represent places of various locations in which Pokémon battles occur, such as Gyms, cities, and other major places in the Pokémon world. A Stadium card stays in play when played until another Stadium card is played or an effect removes it.
Only one Stadium card can be in play at any time, but its effects affect both players. This introduces yet another level of strategy into the game.
A list of what Stadium cards can do includes, but is not limited to, raising the stats of a particular type of Pokémon or even just changing the way that the game works.
For example, the card "Brooklet Hill" allows a player to search their deck for a Basic Water or Fighting-type Pokémon and put it onto their Bench.
Another example is "Lysandre Labs," which negates the effects of all Pokémon Tool cards in play.
These effects can really get in the way or change the flow of a match, so the Stadium card is an important strategic decision when choosing.
Location-wise, Gyms and towns form very integral parts of the Pokémon video game storyline, providing a thematic link to the TCG.
Many of these locations also feature in the Pokémon anime, often as important battle settings or places for other major events to take place.
For instance, the series would not be complete without Ash battling Gym Leaders across multiple regions. It does so similarly in significance as this is the case with the locations in the TCG.
