Throughout the years, we have gotten the question, “what is the best Pokémon trading card game product for teaching my kids how to play the game?”, time and time again.

The answer to this question has always been to pick up one of the many theme decks that are on the market at the time.

However, these decks are not specifically geared towards newer, young players, even if they are on the lower end of the power curve.

As the years have progressed, this has become even less so, as the complexity and strength of theme decks seem to only increase with each new set release.

Fortunately, the creators of the Pokémon trading card game have come up with a solution for parents who are looking to introduce their kids, the “Let’s Play, Pikachu & Evee” theme decks.

The Ideal Starter Theme Decks

The Pokémon franchise is over 23 years old and is showing no signs of slowing down in popularity. In fact, it is now the top grossing franchise of ALL time, beating even Mario and Star Wars!

When purchasing these theme decks, we strongly suggest that you buy both the “Let’s Play, Pikachu and the Let’s Play Evee” theme decks, as they are meant to be matched up against each other and are on comparable power levels.

These decks are ideal teaching tools for a parent who is looking to teach their children about the game, whether it be because you would like to share you passion with your children, or because they are expressing interest in the game and would like you to help them learn.

They are specifically designed to be a launching pad for new, young players that are looking to get into the game.

What makes these decks so much easier to learn and understand is the fact that they are void of complicated gameplay mechanics and have a reduced amount of trainer cards, the latter of which typically require a copious amount of shuffling.

In the place of the typical large amount of trainer cards included in theme decks, the “Let’s Play” theme decks include an increased amount of easy to play, fair Pokémon, that make for an enjoyable gameplay experience for new players.

This eases new players into the world of the Pokémon TCG and is much more fun, as young players have been proven to enjoy playing Pokémon cards, over trainer cards.

The Let’s Play Pikachu & Evee Theme Decklists

Both the Pikachu and Evee “Let’s Play” theme decks contain 60 cards, but of course differ in their contents.

The Pikachu theme deck focuses on electric type Pokémon including Pikachu, Alolan Raichu, Raikou, Electrode and Electivire, while the Evee theme deck prefers to focus on heavy hitting fire Pokémon such as Charizard, Moltres, Flareon and Simisear.

Zebstrika allows for the Pikachu theme deck to restock their hand each turn by first discarding their hand and then drawing an additional four cards, while the Evee theme decks Simisear lets you charge up your benched Pokémon via “Flare Recharge”.

Both decks contain a number of trainer cards that let you draw cards and restock your deck, such as Cynthia, Hau and Professor Kukui.

Exclusive Collectibles Included

Now, if you are simply a collector and are asking yourself what do these decks offer for me? Then you are in luck, as they contain exclusive versions of some of the most highly sought after Pokémon in the franchise.

This is also great for introducing new players to the game, as it serves as a way of adding some nice cards to their new collection.

Unbeknownst to many, the Pikachu theme deck includes a “cracked ice” holo version of both Pikachu and Raikou, which cannot be found anywhere else!

(Images via Pokébeach)

Not to be outdone, the Eevee theme deck also features two exclusive “cracked ice” holo promos as well, with one being Eevee and the other Moltres. 

Plus in addition to these two cards, there is a Black Star Promo card that can ONLY be found in this theme deck, Flareon SM186.

(Images via Pokébeach)

To a hardcore set collector that needs to have each and every variant, or to specific Pokémon collectors of any of the exclusively contained Pokémon shown above, these hits easily justify the purchase of these theme decks alone, as nominally the singles are collectively valued above and beyond the initial cost of the theme decks.

In Conclusion

Whether you are a parent looking to teach their kids how to play the game, or a friend looking to introduce another friend to the high paced action of the Pokémon trading card game, then the “Let’s Play Pikachu, Let’s Play Eevee” theme decks are the solution you have been looking for.

These amazing theme decks also offer some surprise exclusive promo for collectors as a nice added bonus.

Their low power, high Pokémon count make them a great entry point and thus a go to recommended product for introducing new players to the world of the Pokémon TCG.

We’d love to hear your Pokémon teaching stories! Let us know in the comments below and as always, thanks for reading!