What is the Pokémon Lost Zone?
The Pokémon Lost Zone is a feature of the Trading Card game that was re-introduced with the release of the Lost Origin expansion in September 2022. It has previously appeared in the Platinum Base, Call of Legends, Lost Thunder and Prism Star expansion sets, and was subsequently released in the Crown Zenith expansion.
See Also: What are Pokémon Lost Zone Cards?
The Lost Zone adds a new dimension to the game acting as a disrupter to normal playing strategies. It is an area that is separate to the regular game play areas. When playing the TCG, cards are regularly transferred to a player’s discard pile but can be returned to the game if required. However, cards that are sent to the Lost Zone cannot be returned, they are permanently removed from the game.
Sending a card to the Lost Zone is not a standard action of the game. Cards can only be sent there by using the moves or abilities of certain Trainer or Lost Zone Cards. Both Pokémon cards and energy cards can be sent to the Lost Zone and the loss of either or both can severely hamper a player’s ability to win the game. For that reason players must be aware of the power and ramifications of these cards when they feature in the current rotation, and build their deck accordingly.
How can the Pokémon Lost Zone be used?
Players can banish the cards of their opponent to the Lost Zone, but they may also wish to place their own cards there since having cards in the Lost Zone enables other cards to use powerful moves. For example:
Giratina VSTAR 131/196 from the Lost Origin expansion set, is a powerful card that can knock out your opponent’s active Pokémon. However, it can only be used if you have 10 cards in your Lost Zone. If this is a card that a player wishes to add to their deck then it may be a good strategy to add a card that enables multiple cards to be sent to the Lost Zone.
Colress’s Experiment 155/196 from the Lost Origin expansion enables a player to send two cards to the Lost Zone in one turn.
Sending one of your opponent’s cards to the Pokémon Lost Zone may be a good strategy since it means that they cannot use that card for the rest of the game. It is particularly ideal if an opponent’s powerful card can be eliminated in this way.
The Lost City card 161/196 requires a card that is knocked out to be placed in the Lost Zone rather than the discard pile.
