Which company first published the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the United States?

Wizards of the Coast first published the Pokémon Trading Card Game in the United States.

The company, already known for Magic: The Gathering, handled the initial U.S. publication of Pokémon cards. The English Base Set was released on January 9, 1999, after the Japanese card game had debuted in 1996.

Media Factory published the original Japanese cards, while Creatures was involved in developing the trading card game. These different roles can make publisher questions confusing because several companies were associated with the product.

Nintendo later created Pokémon USA, Inc. and eventually transferred English-language publishing rights to The Pokémon Company in 2003. Wizards of the Coast nevertheless published the influential early English sets, including Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, and Team Rocket.