>>26603616Pokemon uses a rotation system, like many other card games including Magic. It's been like this since halfway through Gen I.
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Standard_format_%28TCG%29There are different formats other than Standard with different card pools, but a majority of them are by no means supported. If you'd want to use your old cards, you'd have to find someone hosting an Unlimited Format tournament, which literally no one does.
So yes, almost all pre-BW cards are illegal to use for the most part. A few cards got reprinted, like pic related, but that's it.
>How is the card quality now?I'm guessing you mean in terms of competitive viability. The current meta is fairly diverse and the balance isn't bad at all compared to older formats. There's a fairly diverse amount of mechanics in the meta, including discard manipulation, item lock, spread damage and sniping, OHKO turbo, and so on.
If you haven't played since Base Set, the bigger numbers might be scary, but things have just been expanded upon to increase precision. Trainers have actually regressed in power severely since Gen I.
>What's the best way to start now?Download the client. PTCGO is very consumer-friendly and you can get rolling in no time. If you do end up spending money, $20 should get you a Tier 1 deck and more.
>How old are most people in the competitive scene?18-24, like most TCGs. A handful are older.
