Recently one of my nephews came to me with his small stack of Pokémon cards. All proud with his Evolutions Pikachu. I handed him over my bulk box to pick (some) cards from he liked along with one of my old Ultra Pro binders and a hand full of penny sleeves “for the shiny cards”. He was over the moon. Today, in the family Whatsapp group, my brother reached out to me with a video of one of my other nephews watching Pokemon on Netflix asking if I could be the cool uncle able to teach him how to play. My sister in law is a great board game lover, my brother used to play Magic (and has a nasty Catan tactic) so it’s perfect in line with their “lets play boardgames instead of videogames” mentality of raising their kids.
Now, the question at hand. Buying 60 card starter decks is an expensive feat. Both of my nephews are turning 6 (one next week, the other one in December) and shuffling a stack of 60 cards will be problematic for their small hands.
Are their still English 2-Player/Half Decks out their with modern (XY-era) cards? Or is this half-deck thing completely terminated by TPCI?
Trainer kits are exactly what you’re looking for. The closest alternative, if you’re seeking something within a certain proximity, would be a couple theme decks. That said, you can reconstruct these types of things VERY easily. Lists are available online. If you’re not committed to a self-contained product, you might look at singles stores and different places that would have free shipping over 10 pounds/dollars/euros or something to that effect. You might be able to pick up a more selective variety of cheap trainers, energy, and evolution lines and achieve the same effect without committing to one product that devalues as soon as you open it. I’m not sure what kind of time you’re willing or able to put into it. Just a thought. If you’re strapped for time, chuck a few bucks at a Trainer Kit and call it a day!
. But yeah as others have said, trainer kits are the best introduction to the game.