Introduction
Hey there, do you like playing children's card games? What about a children's game based on a children's card game? Then you're in luck! The Pokemon TCG is one of the earliest marketing ventures of the series, being released in Japan in 1996, the same year Red and Green came out! While it's approaching 30 billion cards printed, it's a relatively simple game that has you attach energy to Pokemon to attack your opponent so you can claim all your prize cards. So of course some video games were gonna follow this.
The first TCG game released in Dec 1998 in Japan and followed the TCG launch to America coming out shortly after in early 2000, with the TCG launching in 1999 by Wizards of the Coast. The game features the first main set, the Base Set, as well as the first two expansions, Jungle and Fossil, totalling 228 cards in total to collect, battle with and trade with your friends! It follows the TCG incredibly closely, using artwork and data from it, with a couple of changes here and there. It also has a fair few exclusive cards that had some become actual cards later on.
It was a pretty short game, but it had some good stuff, still, it took 3 years after its release in Japan to get a sequel in March 2001. This was never localised, but since it has an English patch, I imagine a lot of you are going to see this game for the first time, more than likely both of them are new to you, which is great! This game, despite the much later release, only included one new expansion, Team Rocket, making it a generation behind, and has you defend the island from Team Great Rocket, the best villain team in the series.
Both of these games are pretty rad sandboxes for you to use various decks and fight some simple AI to get your feet wet so you can properly go out and buy endless booster packs, yes, consume, consumer. They're simple, a little bit easy, but if you love the TCG like me, then it can be great fun to go back to the beginning, before EXs, or Tag Teams, or 300HP or any of that garbage, these are two great games that need to be shown! Don't worry if you've never picked up a Bill card in your life, I'll go over everything you need to know, and more besides, as always. And of course, since these are relatively obscure...
NO SPOILERS AT ALL! If you're familiar with Gen 1 (or even my Yellow LP) then you might see where this game is going, but the second one is truly crazy, so strap in.
Pokemon Trading Card Game (game)
Chapter 1: Welcome to TCG Island
Chapter 2: Big Explosions
Chapter 3: Competitive Splash
Chapter 4: Technikachu
Chapter 5: Mind Over Missing
Chapter 6: To Beat A Master
Side Notes
01: Playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game (From Chapter 1)
Pokemon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR!
Chapter 1: Welcome Back to the Resistance
Chapter 2: Half Liberation
Chapter 3: Few, Frenetic Fights
Chapter 4: An Entire Update About The Game Corner
Chapter 5: War Recovery
Chapter 6: Meet Team Great Rocket
Chapter 7: Electrifying Progress
Chapter 8: You're Hot Then You're Cold
Chapter 9: Fight, Fight, Fight!
Chapter 10: Seizing Strongholds
Chapter 11: Final Filler
Chapter 12: Checkmate
Chapter 13: Ghosts of Card Games Past