In what month and year was the Pokémon Trading Card Game first released?

The Pokémon Trading Card Game was first released in October 1996.

Media Factory published the original Japanese card game, which was based on the creatures and battle concepts introduced by the Game Boy titles. The first Japanese expansion is commonly known as the Base Set, and its cards included familiar species such as Pikachu, Charizard, and Blastoise.

The card game was designed for two players. Players use Pokémon cards to battle, Energy cards to power attacks, and Trainer cards to create strategic effects. This structure translated the video games’ collecting and battling ideas into a tabletop format.

The English-language version followed in North America in 1999, published by Wizards of the Coast. That timing means the Japanese card game predates the international video-game releases of Pokémon Red and Blue. Collectors sometimes use “Base Set” to mean only the English 1999 set, but the Pokémon TCG itself began in Japan in 1996.