How Pokémon Became a Global Phenomenon: Trading Card Game
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VOICE OVER: Ashley Bowman
WRITTEN BY: Jesse Polowin
Over 25 years, Pokémon has turned Pocket Monsters into pop culture giants. Join us for our three-part series as we travel back through the evolution of the franchise. In this episode we look at the trading card game! From its first iteration all the way through to Generation VIII, the TCG has come a long way, and saw a massive resurgence during the pandemic. Around the world, it's sold over 34 billion cards! How's your collection looking? What's your most valuable card? Do you prefer to play or just collect? Tell us in the comments.
In the early days of Pokémon, most fans were first introduced to the franchise in 1998 via the original Red and Blue games for the Game Boy. It goes without saying they were hugely successful, so when the trading card game arrived, it was like being able to hold a piece of the action.
Since you couldn’t go out looking for real live Pokémon, card collecting immediately allowed children to feel like Pokémon trainers themselves, hunting for their favorite pocket monsters in a Booster Pack. In those days, you usually had to choose between the classic Base Set, Jungle or Fossil. These three sets served as a direct companion to the games, and still to this day they are probably the most beloved for that reason. It was the first time we got to lay eyes on the majestic artwork of illustrators like Ken Sugimori and Mitsuhiro Arita.
These packs contained all the 150 lovable and cute monsters we were already used to from the video games and the anime, so it’s only natural that the trading card game blew up immediately. Although the common and uncommon cards had uses in the game itself, a lot of kids were solely after the holographic cards like Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise. So you could imagine how easily trade deals would go awry on the playground.
Whether you played the actual game and went to tournaments or simply collected the cards, being a part of the initial Pokémon TCG craze was strange and exciting. The yellow mouse’s face was everywhere, even on jumbo jets. Topeka, Kansas was renamed “ToPikachu” for a day. Even Christopher Moltisanti of “The Sopranos” wanted a piece of the action. On the other hand, schools started implementing bans, after too many hurt feelings and lopsided trades. When “The First Movie” opened, kids skipped school to watch it in what The New York Times described as a case of “Pokeflu”.
The second generation of cards to arrive were the Neo series in 2000, which introduced Shining Pokémon to the trading card game as well as light and dark variations. While some people hadn’t even finished the first 150, these sets introduced all the pokemon from the Gold and Silver games for the Game Boy Color. In addition to collecting Shinies and second generation starters, you could also hunt down the first holographic Lugia card, which would go on to become extremely valuable.
By 2002, they dabbled with the formula with the e-card series. Cards in these sets, which were Expedition, Aquapolis and Skyridge, had an e-reader strip, which could be entered into the companion attachment for the Game Boy to reveal extra features and games. It wasn’t a huge success, but the cards were nonetheless amazing and featured designs that moved the game’s aesthetic forward. This was also the last collaboration between Pokémon and Wizards of the Coast, the US company that had been supplying the cards in North America since the very beginning.
With the departure of Wizards, The Pokémon Company international took over production of the TCG entirely for the third generation in 2003. These sets, starting with EX Ruby and Sapphire, were the first to feature Pokémon-ex in addition to Prime, Level X and Legend cards.
By this point in time though, interest in Pokémon had slowed down a little. Many of the kids who once sported mushroom cuts and trainers were now becoming edgy teenagers who were too cool to be messing about with pocket monsters. Some picked up a skateboard after “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” made the rounds. Others simply switched over to Digimon or Dragonball-Z. There was no shortage of amazing franchises getting off the ground at this time.
As a result, the mid 2000’s onward was less of a frenzy for Pokémon card collectors. It wasn’t really in the immediate spotlight anymore. Video games consoles were getting a lot better, there were new Harry Potter movies on the horizon, and the generation that welcomed Pikachu and company into their lives in the late 90s was slowly growing out of it.
While there’s plenty of amazing cards to look at and collect from these years (more than we have time to show you in this video), it wasn’t until the Black and White series in the 2010s that Pokémon really shook things up with their products. These games ushered in the legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Zekrom, who were available as full-art cards for the first time. A new tier of rarity, full-art cards extend beyond the normal illustration window and usually have some kind of embossed texture on the card. These products were part of a fresh start that looked to bring in new generations of trainers to the game. To cap off these sixth generation sets, Pokémon released “Evolutions” in 2016, which featured reprints of some of the classic artworks from the original 150 – created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pokemon. While not everyone was a fan, it’s this combination of nostalgia and innovation that made the franchise such a phenomenal success.
If you’re a Pokémon card fan, you probably know where we’re going next.
Before, we said the Black and White era brought in a new age of collectors and players. Well, the Pokémon boom of 2020 did that tenfold. When the pandemic hit early that year, the world had to adjust to living in isolation. Many took up the collecting hobby during this time, as it was something fun and safe that you could do from the comfort of your home. Popular YouTube channels like Leonhart, Lootbox TV, Unlisted Leaf and more provided an endless supply of incredible videos that showcased the beloved packs from back in the day. Others went hunting in the attic to uncover their childhood collections. Whether it was sports cards you were into or Pokémon, collecting was once again alive and well.
But here’s where things got a little bit insane.
On September 2th 2020, YouTube creator Logan Paul announced he was “investing” in Pokémon Cards, having seen the trend spiking during the pandemic. One of his first purchases was an original sealed 1st edition base set booster box which he bought for a record breaking $200,000. He sold the packs inside (at $11,000 a pop) and opened them on a live stream. Between his Twitch audience, 23 million YouTube subscribers, and 20 million Instagram followers, you can only imagine how many fresh sets of eyes were being exposed to the exciting world of Pokémon, and specifically the TCG – many for the first time.
Before you know it, Logic and Steve Aoki were joining in on the fun, and next thing you knew, everyone and his dog wanted to open Pokémon cards. However, due to the pandemic, supply was shrinking just as demand was spiking. This combination of factors had new collectors competing with scalpers who were leaving the shelves bare. There were even altercations over sealed trading card products. It got so bad that big box retailers like Target announced they were suspending the sale of trading card products. Meanwhile, Pokémon card sales on eBay jumped 500%, and grading services like PSA had to stop accepting submissions due to the influx of new collectors. “Evolutions” saw a huge spike in interest, as it was more affordable than the $500 and up base set packs from the late 90s.
Luckily, the Pokemania has calmed down a little since then, and the prices on high-level cards have come down significantly from the astronomical peaks of 2020. What was clearer than ever during this time, however, was the incomparable level of nostalgia and excitement that Pokémon can conjure up.
For a generation that’s just lived through a pandemic and faces an uncertain future, this hobby brings us back to a basically pre-internet time when life was simpler, when battling and collecting Pokémon was our biggest concern.
Now, a new generation of collectors has been established. What's amazing is that if you happen to still enjoy collecting Pokémon, there’s no shortage of new sets and products to choose from. That lightning-in-a-bottle feeling of pulling your favorite Pokémon is still alive too, as they continue to elevate the artwork and design of the cards. For example, alternate art cards have become a vessel to tell an entire story with one single artwork, namely from new sets like Evolving Skies and Chilling Reign.
It seems as if there’s an endless supply of creative directions they could take with this TCG, and if the last few years are any indication, there’s no shortage of fans in sight.
Make sure to tune in for our next episode of How Pokemon Took Over the World, where we’ll be talking about the anime series!
Since you couldn’t go out looking for real live Pokémon, card collecting immediately allowed children to feel like Pokémon trainers themselves, hunting for their favorite pocket monsters in a Booster Pack. In those days, you usually had to choose between the classic Base Set, Jungle or Fossil. These three sets served as a direct companion to the games, and still to this day they are probably the most beloved for that reason. It was the first time we got to lay eyes on the majestic artwork of illustrators like Ken Sugimori and Mitsuhiro Arita.
These packs contained all the 150 lovable and cute monsters we were already used to from the video games and the anime, so it’s only natural that the trading card game blew up immediately. Although the common and uncommon cards had uses in the game itself, a lot of kids were solely after the holographic cards like Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise. So you could imagine how easily trade deals would go awry on the playground.
Whether you played the actual game and went to tournaments or simply collected the cards, being a part of the initial Pokémon TCG craze was strange and exciting. The yellow mouse’s face was everywhere, even on jumbo jets. Topeka, Kansas was renamed “ToPikachu” for a day. Even Christopher Moltisanti of “The Sopranos” wanted a piece of the action. On the other hand, schools started implementing bans, after too many hurt feelings and lopsided trades. When “The First Movie” opened, kids skipped school to watch it in what The New York Times described as a case of “Pokeflu”.
The second generation of cards to arrive were the Neo series in 2000, which introduced Shining Pokémon to the trading card game as well as light and dark variations. While some people hadn’t even finished the first 150, these sets introduced all the pokemon from the Gold and Silver games for the Game Boy Color. In addition to collecting Shinies and second generation starters, you could also hunt down the first holographic Lugia card, which would go on to become extremely valuable.
By 2002, they dabbled with the formula with the e-card series. Cards in these sets, which were Expedition, Aquapolis and Skyridge, had an e-reader strip, which could be entered into the companion attachment for the Game Boy to reveal extra features and games. It wasn’t a huge success, but the cards were nonetheless amazing and featured designs that moved the game’s aesthetic forward. This was also the last collaboration between Pokémon and Wizards of the Coast, the US company that had been supplying the cards in North America since the very beginning.
With the departure of Wizards, The Pokémon Company international took over production of the TCG entirely for the third generation in 2003. These sets, starting with EX Ruby and Sapphire, were the first to feature Pokémon-ex in addition to Prime, Level X and Legend cards.
By this point in time though, interest in Pokémon had slowed down a little. Many of the kids who once sported mushroom cuts and trainers were now becoming edgy teenagers who were too cool to be messing about with pocket monsters. Some picked up a skateboard after “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” made the rounds. Others simply switched over to Digimon or Dragonball-Z. There was no shortage of amazing franchises getting off the ground at this time.
As a result, the mid 2000’s onward was less of a frenzy for Pokémon card collectors. It wasn’t really in the immediate spotlight anymore. Video games consoles were getting a lot better, there were new Harry Potter movies on the horizon, and the generation that welcomed Pikachu and company into their lives in the late 90s was slowly growing out of it.
While there’s plenty of amazing cards to look at and collect from these years (more than we have time to show you in this video), it wasn’t until the Black and White series in the 2010s that Pokémon really shook things up with their products. These games ushered in the legendary Pokémon Reshiram and Zekrom, who were available as full-art cards for the first time. A new tier of rarity, full-art cards extend beyond the normal illustration window and usually have some kind of embossed texture on the card. These products were part of a fresh start that looked to bring in new generations of trainers to the game. To cap off these sixth generation sets, Pokémon released “Evolutions” in 2016, which featured reprints of some of the classic artworks from the original 150 – created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pokemon. While not everyone was a fan, it’s this combination of nostalgia and innovation that made the franchise such a phenomenal success.
If you’re a Pokémon card fan, you probably know where we’re going next.
Before, we said the Black and White era brought in a new age of collectors and players. Well, the Pokémon boom of 2020 did that tenfold. When the pandemic hit early that year, the world had to adjust to living in isolation. Many took up the collecting hobby during this time, as it was something fun and safe that you could do from the comfort of your home. Popular YouTube channels like Leonhart, Lootbox TV, Unlisted Leaf and more provided an endless supply of incredible videos that showcased the beloved packs from back in the day. Others went hunting in the attic to uncover their childhood collections. Whether it was sports cards you were into or Pokémon, collecting was once again alive and well.
But here’s where things got a little bit insane.
On September 2th 2020, YouTube creator Logan Paul announced he was “investing” in Pokémon Cards, having seen the trend spiking during the pandemic. One of his first purchases was an original sealed 1st edition base set booster box which he bought for a record breaking $200,000. He sold the packs inside (at $11,000 a pop) and opened them on a live stream. Between his Twitch audience, 23 million YouTube subscribers, and 20 million Instagram followers, you can only imagine how many fresh sets of eyes were being exposed to the exciting world of Pokémon, and specifically the TCG – many for the first time.
Before you know it, Logic and Steve Aoki were joining in on the fun, and next thing you knew, everyone and his dog wanted to open Pokémon cards. However, due to the pandemic, supply was shrinking just as demand was spiking. This combination of factors had new collectors competing with scalpers who were leaving the shelves bare. There were even altercations over sealed trading card products. It got so bad that big box retailers like Target announced they were suspending the sale of trading card products. Meanwhile, Pokémon card sales on eBay jumped 500%, and grading services like PSA had to stop accepting submissions due to the influx of new collectors. “Evolutions” saw a huge spike in interest, as it was more affordable than the $500 and up base set packs from the late 90s.
Luckily, the Pokemania has calmed down a little since then, and the prices on high-level cards have come down significantly from the astronomical peaks of 2020. What was clearer than ever during this time, however, was the incomparable level of nostalgia and excitement that Pokémon can conjure up.
For a generation that’s just lived through a pandemic and faces an uncertain future, this hobby brings us back to a basically pre-internet time when life was simpler, when battling and collecting Pokémon was our biggest concern.
Now, a new generation of collectors has been established. What's amazing is that if you happen to still enjoy collecting Pokémon, there’s no shortage of new sets and products to choose from. That lightning-in-a-bottle feeling of pulling your favorite Pokémon is still alive too, as they continue to elevate the artwork and design of the cards. For example, alternate art cards have become a vessel to tell an entire story with one single artwork, namely from new sets like Evolving Skies and Chilling Reign.
It seems as if there’s an endless supply of creative directions they could take with this TCG, and if the last few years are any indication, there’s no shortage of fans in sight.
Make sure to tune in for our next episode of How Pokemon Took Over the World, where we’ll be talking about the anime series!
