Step 1:
Sit down across from your opponent with the battle arena board between you, and place your deck face down on the playing surface near your right hand.

Step 2:
Place six cards face down in two rows of three on your left-hand side without letting anyone (including yourself) see them. These are your Prize cards.

Step 3:
Draw seven cards. These cards are your hand. Don't let anyone see these either.

Step 4:
Make sure you have at least one Basic Pokémon. If you don't have any,show the hand to your opponent, shuffle your hand into your deck and draw seven more. (Your opponent gets to draw two extra cards every time you have to redraw.) Repeat this step until you and your opponent have at least one Basic Pokémon.

Step 5:
Decide which Basic Pokémon will battle first if you're blessed with several, and then position any extra Basic Pokémon face down on your Bench, which should be located right in front of you. You can have up to five Pokémon ready to go into battle if your current champion "faints."

Step 6:
Place your battling Pokémon face down and head-to-head with your opponent's in the center of the arena.

Step 7:
Flip a coin to see who goes first, and then turn over your battling and benched Pokemon.

Step 8:
Understand that the person who goes first can only attach an appropriate Energy card to either the battling Pokémon or a Pokémon on his or her bench.

Step 9:
Follow this action with the second player's turn. The second player can draw a card from the deck first and then attach an Energy card to his or her battling Pokémon, bench a Pokémon, use a Trainer card, and/or Attack (see Tips).

Step 10:
Repeat step 9 until someone wins. There are three ways to win: A. You are the first player to draw all of your prize cards. B. Your opponent loses by running out of all of his or her cards. C. You defeat your opponent's battling Pokémon and your opponent has no other Pokémon left.

Learning, Pokemon, How-To, Games