Who was the first publisher of the Pokémon TCG in the United States?

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

The company released the English Base Set on January 9, 1999, after the card game had already debuted in Japan in October 1996. Wizards of the Coast was known for publishing Magic: The Gathering, so it had experience producing and distributing collectible card games.

The earliest English Pokémon cards included a 1998 demo pack, which preceded the full Base Set. The Base Set and later expansions helped establish Pokémon cards as a major collectible product in North America.

Nintendo created Pokémon USA in 2001 to recover U.S. licensing rights. In June 2003, publishing rights moved from Wizards of the Coast to The Pokémon Company. This history explains why older English cards are associated with Wizards of the Coast even though modern Pokémon cards are published under The Pokémon Company.