Lost Zone
TheLost Zone (Japanese:ロストゾーンLost Zone) is azone in thePokémon Trading Card Game, first introduced in thePlatinum expansion. In game, it is considered an out-of-play zone, and thus cards sent to the Lost Zone cannot be moved anywhere else and are rendered unplayable during that game.
Cards to be sent to the Lost Zone through effects of attacks,Abilities,Trainer cards, and so on. Much like thediscard pile, cards in the Lost Zone are considered public knowledge. Although the Lost Zone is considered to be out of play, the number or specific properties of cards in the Lost Zone can still be referenced by certain cards.
Prism Star cards, as per the Prism Starrule, are moved to the Lost Zone if they would be moved to the discard pile.
Location
Different sources of official Pokémon rulings are inconsistent on where to place the Lost Zone. Rulebooks included with each expansion advise that cards in the Lost Zone should be placed face up anywhere outside of the play area;[1] this is also seen on official Japanese TCG videos uploaded to thePokémon Card Channel.[2][3] ThePlay! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook, however, requires that players keep their Lost Zone above theirPrize cards in a neat stack.[4] In tournaments, players often put cards in the Lost Zone either above or beside their Prize cards, sometimes tucked underneath their GX or VSTARmarkers if they carry any.
As the Lost Zone is an out-of-bounds area, it is technically considered a single zone that both players use. However, in practice, players keep their cards in the Lost Zone separate from their opponent's. The Tournament Rules Handbook supports this interpretation, notably using the phrase "A competitor's Lost Zone...".[4]
Digital implementations of the Trading Card Game present the Lost Zone in different ways.Pokémon Trading Card Game Online represented the Lost Zone as a single stack next to the Active Spot, with a line separating either player's cards in the Lost Zone while inspecting this stack.Pokémon Trading Card Game Live represents the Lost Zone as a purple void that cards are sucked into, located to the left of theActive Spots. This void only appears after the first time a card enters the Lost Zone. There is one void for both players, but the contents of the Lost Zone is sorted for each player.
Lore
The Lost Zone is strongly associated withGiratina, referencing itscore series games lore as the master of theDistortion World.
The JapaneseLost Link subset revolves around a floating island rising up from the sea to a vortex seemingly close enough to engulf it, as seen in theLost World artwork. Some of its Pokémon are able to manipulate energy fields similar to the vortex's appearance and, along with theLost Remover, have effects related to the Lost Zone and indicate a link of the vortex with the setting.
In the lore for theLost Origin expansion, it is explained that Giratina tore a hole in the fabric of space that leads to the Lost Zone.[6] The blurb for the Lost Origin expansion mentionsGiratina VSTAR plunging the world into "the abyssal shadow of the Lost Zone". The Lost Zone is described as having "powerful shadows".[5]
TheLost City card also shows a location with prominent connection or depiction of the Lost Zone.
Artwork
Different sets use different motifs in the card artworks to indicate that the card, whether Pokémon orTrainer card, interacts with the Lost Zone.
- HeartGold & SoulSilver Series andCall of Legends: Cards have spheres of purple, crackling energy in the artwork.
- Sun & Moon Series: Some cards continue to use energy spheres, but the color range is extended to include blues and blacks. Other cards instead use any kind of purple or blue energy.Full Art cards andPrism Star cards do not follow this motif.
- Sword & Shield Series: Cards have wisps of purple, pink, and teal gas emanating from the frame of the art.Pokémon V andPokémon VSTAR instead incorporate the gas into the card art. Full Art cards do not follow this motif.
Snorlax from theCall of Legends expansion
Lost Remover from theCall of Legends expansion
Trumbeak from theLost Thunder expansion
Faba from theLost Thunder expansion
Comfey from theLost Origin expansion
Giratina VSTAR from theLost Origin expansion
Colress's Experiment from theLost Origin expansion
Cards
The following is a list of all cards which have an effect that interacts with the Lost Zone.
(This list excludes thePrism Star rule, unless their card texts outside of their Rule Boxes specifically mention the Lost Zone. For those cards, see thePrism Star page.)
Trivia
- InCreating a Strong Stage 2 Pokémon Deck, an episode ofTop Deck Academy, an incorrect answer to a trivia question involved sending a player "to the Lost Zone, ending the game".[7]
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ロストゾーンLost Zone | |
| Chinese | Cantonese | 放逐區Fongjuhk Kēui |
| Mandarin | 放逐區 / 放逐区Fàngzhú Qū | |
| French | Zone Perdue | |
| German | Nirgendwo | |
| Indonesian | Lost Zone | |
| Italian | Zona Perduta Area perduta (Ultra Prism onward) | |
| Korean | 로스트존Lost Zone | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Zona Perdida | |
| Spanish | Zona Perdida | |
| Thai | ลอสต์โซนLost Zone | |
See also
References
- ↑Pokémon Trading Card Game Rules,Sword & Shield—Lost Origin,page 39, "Cards sent to the Lost Zone are no longer playable during that game. Put them face up anywhere out of play."
- ↑(September 5, 2018).【発売前バトル】ロストマーチ VS レックウザGX【超爆インパクト】 —[Official] Pokémon Card Channel (Japanese).YouTube.
- ↑(June 25, 2022).【ポケカ】強制きぜつのVSTARパワー「スターレクイエム」が驚異すぎる！開発者のギラティナVSTARデッキと発売前にバトル！【ロストアビス】 —[Official] Pokémon Card Channel (Japanese).YouTube.
- ↑4.04.1Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook
- ↑5.05.1Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield-Lost Origin | Available Now!
- ↑Lost Origin Expansion Overview. (Archived September 10, 2022).
- ↑Creating a Strong Stage 2 Pokémon Deck ✌️ Top Deck Academy | Pokémon TCG - YouTube
 | This article is part ofProject TCG, aBulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of thePokémon Trading Card Game. |
