Which game first formed the basis of the Pokémon World Championships?

The Pokémon Trading Card Game first formed the basis of the Pokémon World Championships.

The championships began with the Pokémon Trading Card Game in 2004. Players competed in organized tournaments before the season culminated in a world-level event, establishing the competitive structure that later expanded across the Pokémon brand.

Video game competitions were added alongside the card-game championships in 2008. These events became known as the Video Game Championships, or VGC, and used the current main-series Pokémon game for each competitive season.

The event is now divided into age divisions, including Junior, Senior, and Masters categories. Although many fans associate the championships primarily with video-game battles, the Trading Card Game came first in the tournament's history.