Pokémon Trading Card Game/History

The Pokémon Trading Card Game was originally published in Japan in 1996 by Media Factory. While other Pokémon card series existed in the past, this was the first card game based on the Pokémon series. The first Pokémon TCG sets took inspiration from the then released video games and initially featured illustrations by Ken Sugimori, Mitsuhiro Arita and Keiji Kinebuchi. Soon new expansions began to release with many new artists contributing artwork. Three years later in 1999, Pokémon TCG was introduced in North America by Wizards of the Coast with the Base Set, and worldwide soon after. In 2003, Wizards of the Coast's license was transferred to The Pokémon Company International by Nintendo.

New features constantly appear in the Pokémon TCG. With the release of video games, the Neo Series (the second series of expansions), started bringing several new Pokémon into play. The TCG Metal and TCG Darkness TCG types of Pokémon cards were also introduced, along with TCG Light Pokémon and TCG Dark Pokémon. These were eventually discontinued to prevent confusion with the TCG Darkness (Darkness type), but returned briefly with the release of the TCG Neo Destiny expansion. The e-Card Series used Game Boy Advance add-on e-Reader to display Pokédex data about the Pokémon, play a minigame, play various tunes in a Melody Box, or activate a special attack for that Pokémon. The EX Series was released next (the first series released by The Pokémon Company International instead of Wizards of the Coast), introducing the stronger TCG Pokémon-ex into the game. The Diamond & Pearl Series brought TCG Pokémon LV.X, which were stronger, "Leveled-up" versions of final evolutions. Pokémon LV.X essentially replaced Pokémon-ex and continued until the TCG Platinum: Arceus expansion. The HeartGold & SoulSilver Series featured two more types of card, TCG Pokémon LEGEND, two-part cards with one Pokémon on each card, and TCG Pokémon Prime, Pokémon with powerful and/or tactical attacks. With the release of the TCG Black & White expansion, TCG Poké-Powers (s and s) were combined into one mechanic and renamed. Pokémon-ex returned as TCG Pokémon-EX in the Black & White Series starting with the TCG Next Destinies expansion. The TCG Dragon Pokémon TCG type was introduced in the TCG Dragon Vault expansion of the Black & White Series.  were introduced in the TCG XY expansion and introduce the Mega Evolution mechanic featured in the Pokémon X and Y video games to the TCG. The XY Series also introduced the TCG Fairy TCG type Pokémon. TCG Pokémon-GX was introduced in the Sun & Moon Series.

With the release of the EX Series worldwide, Pokémon TCG started publishing directly under Nintendo via its whole owned subsidiary The Pokémon Company International, instead of Wizards of the Coast. In 2006, The Pokémon Company replaced Media Factory in distributing the cards in Japan starting with the Diamond & Pearl Series.

Two Game Boy Color video games based on the card game were created: was released in 1998 and worldwide in 2000, and its sequel, Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!, was released three years later. Pokémon Card Game: How to Play DS was released in Japan in 2011 and taught players how to play the Pokémon TCG. In 2011, the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online was introduced as a browser-based game but later became a downloadable game for PC, Mac, and iPad. Other media related to Pokémon TCG include several titles, such as the series How I Became a Pokémon Card.