Restored Pokémon (TCG)/Original Game Mechanic

Introduced first in the TCG Fossil expansion, there was the TCG Item card TCG Mysterious Fossil which could be put into play as if it were a Basic Pokémon with 10 HP that had no attacks or TCG Pokémon Power, could not Retreat or be affected by TCG Special Conditions, could be discarded at any time during your turn before your attack, and your opponent did not take a Prize when it was Knocked Out. TCG Aerodactyl, TCG Kabuto, and TCG Omanyte cards released during this time until the mechanic was altered were Stage 1 Pokémon which could Evolve from Mysterious Fossil. As Mysterious Fossil did not count as a Pokémon while in your hand, it could not be your opening Pokémon.

Other ways of putting those cards into play were introduced as well in subsequent expansions, and Mysterious Fossil received multiple errata tweaking its effect, including periods where it could optionally count as a Pokémon while in hand (allowing you to open with it) and where it had to be treated as such. One alternative to Mysterious Fossil was not a shortcut (like TCG Fossil Egg but a replacement known as TCG Buried Fossil, which actually was a Basic, Colorless Pokémon and behaved as such, and could Evolve into your choice of the same three Pokémon as Mysterious Fossil.

When the third generation of Pokémon video games were introduced, so were more cards using this original mechanic, except both of these newer Pokémon - TCG Anorith and TCG Lileep - had their own specific Fossil card - TCG Claw Fossil and TCG Root Fossil, respectively. Mysterious Fossil was reissued with updated text alongside these cards, and this trend continued until this mechanic was replaced with the current one that featured Restored Pokémon.