Your first Pokémon trade fair or tournament in Belgium: how to prepare
Heading to your first Pokémon trade fair or tournament? Here is how it works, how to trade fairly and what to bring.
In this article
- Heading to your first Pokémon trade fair or tournament? Here is how it works, how to trade fairly and what to bring.
A Pokémon trade fair or tournament is the best way to meet other collectors and players. Going for the first time? Below you'll find how a trade fair works, how to trade fairly and what you need for your first Pokémon tournament in Belgium.
What is a Pokémon trade fair?
At a trade fair, collectors get together to trade, buy and sell cards. Sometimes it's a small evening at a game store, sometimes a big event with dozens of tables. In Belgium you'll find them in several cities. They are usually announced in Facebook groups or on the organiser's social media.
You don't need a big collection to go. Plenty of visitors just come to look around, or hunt for one card to finish a set. Bring a list of the cards you're looking for and you're less likely to get lost between the tables.
How to trade safely and fairly
Trading is built on trust. These habits keep things smooth:
- Know what your cards are worth. Check what a card roughly sells for beforehand, for example on Cardmarket. Read how in How much is my Pokémon card worth?
- Ask before you pick up a card. Never take a card out of someone's binder or toploader yourself.
- Check a card carefully before trading. Look at the corners, scratches and whether the card is real. In doubt? Read How to spot fake Pokémon cards.
- Take your time. A good trade feels fair to both sides. It's fine to say no.
Protect your cards on the way. Put every trade card in a penny sleeve, a thin plastic sleeve, and your most valuable ones in a toploader too, a rigid plastic holder. The Ultra PRO Toploader Combo contains a storage box, 25 sleeves and 25 toploaders: enough for a stack of trade cards.
Your first Pokémon tournament in Belgium
Official tournaments are part of Play! Pokémon, the tournament programme of The Pokémon Company. The entry point is the League: play sessions at a game store. Next come League Challenges and League Cups, where you earn Championship Points. Find them with the Event Locator on pokemon.com, or ask at a game store near you. You register with the organiser, sometimes for a small entry fee.
What do you need?
- A Pokémon Trainer Club account. You create one for free on pokemon.com.
- A deck of exactly 60 cards. The organiser picks the format, usually Standard. Read the difference in Standard vs Expanded.
- Sleeves. Use the same sleeves with an opaque back for your whole deck, so nobody can recognise a card by its back.
Players are split into three age divisions: Junior, Senior and Masters. So kids don't play against adults.
No deck yet? A ready-to-play deck like the Kangaskhan ex Battle Deck teaches you the rules at a League night. For a League Cup you'll need a stronger deck later: read Building your first Pokémon deck.
What to bring
- Your sleeved deck in a sturdy deck box. The Ultra PRO Vivid Alcove Flip Deck Box holds more than 100 double-sleeved cards, with a side compartment for your dice.
- Spare sleeves, in case one tears. A pack of Koraidon Deck Protector Sleeves holds 65 sleeves: a full deck plus spares.
- Damage counters and a coin to flip.
- Your trade cards in penny sleeves and toploaders.
- Some cash and a drink. A tournament easily takes half a day.
Your first trade fair or tournament doesn't have to go perfectly. Just go, ask questions and learn from the players at the table. Want to bring your cards well protected? Below you'll find the items from this article, shipped from Oudenburg in 1 to 2 business days.
*Header photo: Pokémon TCG play area at Pyrkon 2022, by Klapi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.*