What was the Japanese release date of the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Base Set?

The Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Base Set was released in Japan on October 20, 1996.

In Japan, the set was known as the first Starter and Expansion Pack. Media Factory published it, and Creatures Inc. handled its creation. The cards were based on the Pokémon species introduced by the Game Boy games earlier that year.

The set arrived in the United States much later, on January 9, 1999, under the name Base Set. Wizards of the Coast produced the English-language release. This difference in dates is a common source of confusion when discussing the trading card game’s beginning.

The Japanese set depicted the first-generation Pokémon and helped turn the franchise into a physical collecting and playing experience. Its launch in the same year as the original games made 1996 the foundation of both Pokémon’s video-game and card-game histories.