Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a tabletop and collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. and based on the Pokémon media franchise. It was originally published in Japan by Media Factory beginning on October 20, 1996, and has since grown into one of the best selling trading card games in the world. Two players each build a deck of sixty cards drawn from Pokémon cards, Energy cards and Trainer cards, then take turns playing Pokémon onto their side of the table, attaching Energy to power attacks, and using Trainer cards for tactical effects, with the goal of knocking out the opponent's Pokémon to collect prize cards or otherwise winning by attrition. The game launched alongside the original Pokémon video games and quickly became a global cultural phenomenon, spawning organized competitive play, regular expansion sets tied to the ongoing video game and anime franchise, and a large secondary market for rare and collectible cards. Its structure of type match ups, energy costs and evolving Pokémon lines gives it a distinct strategic identity separate from other collectible card games of the same era.