Pokémon Trading Card Game (video game) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pokémon Trading Card Game
North American box art
Developer(s)	Hudson Soft, Creatures
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Kōji Arai
Producer(s)	Tsunekazu Ishihara Shinichi Nakamoto Takehiro Izushi
Programmer(s)	Masahiro Tobita Satoshi Mikami Masaki Tsumori
Composer(s)	Ichirō Shimakura
Series	Pokémon
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release date(s)	December 18, 1998 AU
Genre(s)	Digital collectible card game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Pokémon Trading Card Game is a fun video game for the Game Boy Color. It's based on the real-life Pokémon card game. In Japan, it's known as Pokémon Card GB.

This game was made by Hudson Soft and Creatures. Nintendo released it in Japan in 1998. Later, it came out in other parts of the world in 2000. The game lets you play with digital versions of cards. These cards come from the first three sets of the actual Pokémon card game. Some special cards in the game can't be found anywhere else! You can also play this game on Nintendo Switch Online starting in 2023.

A second Game Boy Color game, Pokémon Card GB2: Great Rocket-Dan Sanjo!, came out in Japan in 2001. This sequel had a new story. It was never released in North America or Europe. However, some fans have made English versions for others to enjoy.

How to Play: Exploring the Game World

The player uses a Goldeen card against the opponent's Machop card, and is viewing the menu.

Pokémon Trading Card Game is like playing the real card game on your Game Boy. It also has parts that feel like a role-playing game (RPG). This is similar to the main Pokémon RPG games.

You play as a young boy in the game. Your goal is to travel around the game world. You will meet other characters and challenge them to card battles. You use special decks of 60 cards for these battles.

Becoming a Card Master: Defeating Opponents

To win, you must defeat eight "Club Masters." Each Club Master uses a different type of elemental cards. After beating them, you face four "Grand Masters." If you defeat the Grand Masters, you earn powerful "Legendary Cards."

There are 226 different cards in the game. These include cards from the first three sets of the real-life game. There are also special cards only found in the game.

Building Your Deck: Collecting Cards

When you start, you pick one of three starter decks. These decks have Pokémon cards based on the first three Pokémon from Red and Blue games. As you win battles, you get "booster packs." These packs give you new, random cards. You can use these new cards to make your deck stronger. You can save up to four different decks at one time.

Playing with Friends: Multiplayer Fun

You can play with a friend using the Game Boy's infrared port or a Link Cable. This lets you battle each other or trade cards. When you trade cards, you can use a special feature called "Card Pop!" This feature lets you get cards that are hard to find in the main game. But remember, this "Card Pop!" feature doesn't work in the Nintendo 3DS version of the game.

Making the Game: How it Was Developed

Pokémon Trading Card Game was made by two companies: Hudson Soft and Creatures. Creatures helped with the game's ideas and card designs. Tsunekazu Ishihara, who created the real Pokémon card game, was one of the game's producers.

Even though Hudson Soft helped make the game, their name isn't on the game's box or cartridge. But if you watch the ending credits, you'll see them listed as the developer!

Missing Cards and Special Appearances

Most cards from the first three sets of the real card game are in the Game Boy Color version. However, two cards were left out: Electrode and Ditto. It was hard to make their real-life effects work in the video game. But don't worry, the game has special versions of these Pokémon cards that are only in the game.

You might even spot some familiar faces in the game! The Pokémon Company's President, Tsunekazu Ishihara, appears as "Mr. Ishihara." Musician Tomoaki Imakuni also makes a cameo as his stage name, Imakuni?.

Game Release: When it Came Out

The game first came out in Japan on December 18, 1998. It was called Pokémon Card GB there. This was a month before the real card game came out in English.

In September 1999, Nintendo of America said they would release an English version. They first thought about calling it Pokémon Card. The game was planned for winter, but it was moved to April 2000. IGN said this was because Nintendo wanted to focus on Pokémon Stadium for the Nintendo 64.

In February 2000, the game was shown at the Toy Fair in New York City. It was part of Nintendo's "Pokémon 2000" event, along with Pokémon Gold and Silver. If you bought the game, you also got a special Meowth card from Wizards of the Coast.

Re-releases: Playing on New Systems

You can play this game on newer systems too! It was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. It came out in Europe on July 10, 2014, and in Australia on July 11, 2014. North America got it on November 13, 2014, and Japan on December 24, 2014.

Sequel: A New Adventure Awaits

Pokémon Card GB2: Great Rocket-Dan Sanjō! is the sequel to the first Pokémon Trading Card Game. It was released only in Japan on March 28, 2001, for the Game Boy Color. Like the first game, it was made by Hudson Soft and Creatures. But this time, The Pokémon Company published it. This was the first time The Pokémon Company published a Pokémon game!

What's New in the Sequel?

This new game added many cool features. You could choose if your character was a boy or a girl. There was a training mode to help new players learn. A "Deck Diagnosis" feature could tell you how good your deck was. There's also a new group of bad guys called Team Great Rocket.

The sequel includes all the cards from the first game. It also has new cards from the fourth set, Team Rocket. Plus, it has cards that were only available in Japanese vending machines and special packs. This means there are 445 cards in total!

Exploring New Islands and Challenges

Just like in the first game, you travel around and challenge other characters to card battles. All the places from the first game are still there. But there's also a new place called GR Island. This island has its own Battle Masters to challenge. If you defeat 16 Battle Masters across both islands, you can face the final boss, King Biruritchi.

Even though some thought an English version was "likely," this game never came out outside Japan. The Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu gave Pokémon Card GB2 a score of 29 out of 40.

See also

In Spanish: Pokémon Trading Card Game (videojuego) para niños