Alright guys, I know little about Pokemon, but my son is really getting into it and I was planning on getting him some stuff for Christmas.  He has his favorite characters, if I get a tin with that character on it, is he guaranteed to get that guy?  Or are you just buying that certain tin to have the tin with that guy on it?  Thanks in advance.

In trading card tins, the only guarantee is the one card in the window. Some tins might not have a window, long time since I was last into cards. There is a good chance of getting the guy on the outside because those tins have a lot of cards. I am pretty sure there are either probability or charts of what you possibly will receive somewhere online. I used to be into Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh. Now I have a pile of paper with cool pictures. At least I found LEGO to escape.

If your son doesn't have one yet, I highly suggest getting the Elite Trainer Box. Targets up north here carry them for a good price... They have all the parts needed to play the game not just collect the cards.

To go along with that, the small trainer sets and booster packs have given us quite a few good cards. The tins are great because you're guaranteed that specific card, but they've been pretty weak card wise for the price. And you'll quickly run out of room in the tin and patience once they start dumping a hundred cards on the floor to look for that "one" they need!

Does your son have the guidebook? 643 Pokemon and counting makes the guidebook a great parental resource too!

Also, if you want to learn how to play, the Pokemon Trading Card Game

Online has some great tutorials! Those special cards give you codes you can redeem for packs or special cards (the tins are good for this). Just don't tell your son you play without him.

PS Reshiram from Black and White is our favorite!

Thanks for the help.  I'm not sure how much he knows how to play, I think mostly he just likes to collect the cards, but I don't really know.  He watches the show sometimes.  I know he likes the Xerneas deer and I've seen tins of him/her and wanted to make sure that the card of that character was a guarantee since you were spending $15/20 on these things. 

 

They also have the larger boxes that seem to have stuff to play the game, but wasn't sure how much of this stuff was necessary. 

 

Are there better series of cards than others?  There seems to be about a dozen different types of Pokemon out there right now. 

By the way, the prices on the tins have skyrocketed in the past few years, so if given the chance stick to the pre-made decks, blister packs and booster packs. However get the tin if he really wants X character on that tin. Also, get him a pre-made deck so he can play with friends and what not, as there are some cards that are a little rare nowadays (back in my day they had one per every pack!) And those would be the energy cards which allow his Pokemon to attack. As for the series and which are 'better' that's pretty subjective, some have mostly modern Pokemon, some have a mix, and right now with the release of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire they have cards based mostly on those Pokemon which first appeared 11ish years ago. Dang I feel like an old man haha. Plus some of these cards can be really hot when they are still tournament legal, so make sure he doesn't get scammed at school

By the way, the prices on the tins have skyrocketed in the past few years, so if given the chance stick to the pre-made decks, blister packs and booster packs. However get the tin if he really wants X character on that tin. Also, get him a pre-made deck so he can play with friends and what not, as there are some cards that are a little rare nowadays (back in my day they had one per every pack!) And those would be the energy cards which allow his Pokemon to attack. As for the series and which are 'better' that's pretty subjective, some have mostly modern Pokemon, some have a mix, and right now with the release of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire they have cards based mostly on those Pokemon which first appeared 11ish years ago. Dang I feel like an old man haha. Plus some of these cards can be really hot when they are still tournament legal, so make sure he doesn't get scammed at school

Ha, that's all I hear about is "that's a rare card".  He's only 8, so he's not too serious about the game.  I really think he like the characters more than the game itself.  Thanks for the insight.

Is there a definitive guidebook? There seems to be multiple versions or are they just reissues?
My son has started getting into it, so thinking it might be something he gets towards Christmas

Is there a definitive guidebook? There seems to be multiple versions or are they just reissues?

My son has started getting into it, so thinking it might be something he gets towards Christmas

From what I can tell they are reissues as the Pokemon universe has expanded. We have this one and according to my son it has all of them... You don't need it to play (the cards have all the detail you need) but my son loves it.

Ha, that's all I hear about is "that's a rare card". He's only 8, so he's not too serious about the game. I really think he like the characters more than the game itself. Thanks for the insight.

We've had good luck with the booster and blister packs finding the cards my son really wanted. Target had a good sale on the tins so I think we have them all but we really also wanted them for the storage they are!

As for what the above poster said, that's another great thing about the elite trainer box. It comes with a great mix of energy cards and trainer cards which you need 20 each to make a play deck.

PS I asked my son and Xerneas is a she. :)

Oh and the black and white series is our favorite. Reshiram (also a she) is a legendary from this series and seems to be very popular with the kids.

PS I asked my son and Xerneas is a she.

Pokemon can be both he or she. Unless they make new pokemon girl to girl. lol