From Base Set to Worlds: 30 Years of the Pokémon Trading Card Game

Long before Pokémon GO, and long before many of today's players were born, there were cards. The Pokémon Trading Card Game launched in Japan in October 1996, just months after the first Pokémon video games, and it quickly became a playground obsession.

When the English-language Base Set arrived in North America in 1999, the craze went global. Holographic Charizard cards became legends, plenty of schools ended up banning trading at recess, and an entire generation practised arithmetic by counting damage counters.

Part of the game's staying power is its design. A beginner can learn the basics in an afternoon: attach Energy, attack, knock out your opponent's Pokémon and take Prize cards. But building a competitive deck means balancing consistency, speed and answers to whatever everyone else is playing, and that depth has kept players coming back for decades.

New expansions arrive several times a year with new cards and mechanics, which keeps the competitive scene constantly shifting. A deck that dominates one season can be outclassed by the next set, so top players spend months testing and refining their lists.

At the top of that competitive ladder sits the Pokémon World Championships, first held in 2004. Players earn their invitations through a season of local, regional and international events, competing in Junior, Senior and Masters age divisions alongside the video game tournaments.

The event has travelled widely, from London in 2022 to Honolulu in 2024, and it has grown into a full fan festival with exclusive merchandise, side events and live-streamed finals watched by viewers around the world.

Here are the 2025 TCG Masters finals:

Thirty years after the first booster packs hit Japanese shelves, the Pokémon TCG is both a nostalgic collectible and a living competitive game. Some fans hunt for vintage cards, others grind tournaments every weekend, and many simply enjoy opening a pack with friends.

That mix is the game's real secret. Whether you are chasing a championship title or one shiny card for your binder, the Pokémon TCG still has a seat for you at the table.