Pokémon Trading Card Game (video game)

Pokémon Trading Card Game
North American box art
Developer(s)	Creatures Inc. Hudson Soft
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, 3DS Virtual Console
Release	Trading Card Game JP: December 18, 1998 NA: April 10, 2000 EU: December 15, 2000 Card GB2 JP: March 28, 2001 3DS Virtual Console EU: July 10, 2014 AU: July 11, 2014 NA: November 13, 2014 JP: December 24, 2014
Genre(s)	Card battle
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Pokémon Trading Card Game, originally released in Japan as Pokémon Card GB (ポケモンカードGB, Pokemon Kādo Jī Bī^?) is a video game adaptation of the original tabletop trading card game of the same name, which in turn was based on the Pokémon role-playing video game series. Developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo, it was initially released in Japan in December 1998, with an English version appearing in North America in April 2000 and in Europe the following December. The title features digital version of cards from the first three sets of the trading card game originally released in English by Wizards of the Coast between 1998 and 1999, as well as exclusive cards not available outside of the game.

A second Game Boy Color game, Pokémon Card GB2: Great Rocket-Dan Sanjō! (ポケモンカードGB2　GR団参上！, Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team Great Rocket!^?), was released in Japan in March 2001. The game was not released in North America nor Europe. An addition to the sequel is the ability to choose the gender of the player character.

Pokémon Trading Card Game is a video game simulation of the original tabletop collectible card game with role-playing elements similar to earlier titles in the Pokémon series. Players control a young boy and must travel around the game world interacting with non-player characters and challenging them to card battles using 60-card decks. During gameplay, the player must defeat eight Club Masters, each with a different deck representing one of the game's elemental card types, allowing them to face four Grand Masters and earn the right to inherit four powerful Legendary Cards. A total of 226 cards exist within the game, which include cards from the first three sets of the real-life game, as well as exclusive cards not available outside of the game. The player is given the opportunity to choose one of three starter decks at the start of their journey, each containing Pokémon cards revolving around the three possible starting creatures from Pokémon Red and Blue. As players defeat opponents, they are rewarded with booster packs containing a random assortment of additional cards they may use in their deck, with up to four separate decks able to be saved at a time.