On what date did the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s original Japanese set debut?

The Pokémon Trading Card Game’s original Japanese set debuted on October 20, 1996.

The release was called the 1st Starter & Expansion Pack and formed the foundation of the Pokémon card game. It followed the video games’ arrival earlier that year and translated the franchise’s collecting and battling ideas into a physical card format.

The original Japanese set depicted the first generation’s Pokémon and helped establish card collecting as a major part of the brand. Its cards did not use the same English “Base Set” name that international collectors know.

In the United States, the Pokémon TCG officially launched nationwide as Base Set on January 9, 1999. Confusing the Japanese debut with the English release is the main reason both dates appear in anniversary histories.