Players must choose a single Pokémon card as the Partner for their deck.
The Type Identity of a Pokémon is its Type plus the Type of any basic energy symbols in the card’s attack costs; Non-Pokémon cards have no Type Identity.
Pokémon in a deck may not have any Types in their Type Identity which are not shared with the deck’s Partner.
A Partner Battle deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including the Partner.
Other than Basic Energy cards, Each card in the deck must differ from each other card in the deck in at least one of the following: Name, Pokémon Type, HP, Retreat Cost, Weakness, Resistance, Ancient Trait, Ability, Pokémon Power, Poké-Power, Poké-Body, or Attack (where attack cost and base attack damage are considered a part of the attack). Some cards may have rules text which overrides this rule.
Rules which prevent you from having cards with different names in the same deck do not apply. (e.g. – You can play Professor Sycamore AND Professor Juniper in the same deck)
Play Rules
Partner Battles are played for 10 Prizes.
Partners begin the game in their owner’s Partner Zone (a special zone created for the Partner Battles format).
Being a Partner is tied directly to the physical card and cannot be copied or overwritten.
Once during your turn, you may put your Partner onto your bench from the Partner Zone (bypassing any pre-evolutions).
Your Partner can’t evolve into or from any other Pokémon nor can it Level Up.
If an effect tries to send your Partner anywhere from play, it is returned to your Partner Zone instead.
Whenever your opponent’s Partner is returned to the Partner Zone from play, you take a prize card.
If one or more of your opponent’s Pokémon is knocked out by damage or an effect from your Partner, you take 1 (additional) prize card.
Errata Rules
Cards are played using the text printed on the English language version of the card (ignoring all issued errata).
