In the United States and also by Gopu , Pokémon TCG publishing was originally licensed to Wizards of the Coast, the producer of Magic: The Gathering.

Card effects often rely on elements of luck, such as dice rolls and coin tosses, to decide an outcome.

[5] Wizards sued Nintendo on October 1, 2003, and accused the company of poaching employees and violating its patent; the lawsuit was settled out of court.

Attacks deal damage to the opponent's Active Pokémon and sometimes deal additional damage to their Benched Pokémon; they may have additional effects like drawing cards, inflicting Special Conditions (Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed, or Poisoned) or altering the opponent's deck and/or board state.

[8] Over the years many different variations to the standard mechanics have been added, the most prominent of which are the signature feature of their respective expansion series.

[37] Pokémon Types in the TCG include Fire, Fighting, Dragon, Lightning, Grass, Water, Fairy, Psychic, Darkness, Metal, and Colorless.

[60] Since July 2003, The Pokémon Company has published eight additional "Generation" sets, which has gradually transitioned the TCG to more modern gameplay and mechanics.

[64] From the lowest to the highest level, cards rarities are indicated by different shapes on the bottom corner, i.e. Common (circle), Uncommon (diamond), and Rare (star).

[64] Japanese-edition cards use letters rather than shapes to denote rarities; i.e. from the lowest to the highest level, C, U, R, RR, SR, and UR.

2 Trainer", "2000 Pokémon Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia #9", "Kangaskhan-Holo #115 Family Event Trophy Card", "Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card", "Pokémon Blastoise #009/165R Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram", "1999 First Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4", and a PSA-graded 10 "Pikachu Illustrator".

[72][69] The "Pikachu Illustrator" is the rarest and most expensive Pokémon card ever sold in history, and it was acquired by the celebrity and collector Logan Paul for $5,275,000 in July 2021.

The Japanese imprint reads: "We certify that your illustration is an excellent entry in the Pokémon Card Game Illust Contest.

As the tournament had no real skill-based qualifiers, participants were admitted through preregistration and through an extensive lottery system process if too many people applied.

In most tournaments, there are some Swiss-style rounds where players are paired up against others of similar win/loss ratios,[82] usually from their age group (this does not always occur in smaller events, though).

[83] POP runs a season for these tournaments, which allows players to earn larger prizes and play in a more competitive environment in comparison to League.

[85] Although The Pokémon Company International tries to keep Organized Play as uniform as possible globally, there are some notable differences in how POP is run outside of the United States.

[88][89] In November 2000, Israeli magician Uri Geller alleged that Kadabra's spoon bending and Japanese name, Yungera, were unauthorized appropriations of his identity, leading him to sue Nintendo.

[115] In November 2020, Geller told TheGamer that he received emails from Pokémon fans which convinced him to drop the case and allow Nintendo to bring back Kadabra.

[116] In March 2023, a player was disqualified from a regional tournament for allegedly laughing when they were asked by a game official for their pronouns.

[117][118] The reviewer from the online second volume of Pyramid in 1999 stated that "Pokémon is the second most popular CCG in Japan (behind Magic: The Gathering), and it's no fluke.

The game plays like a kinder, gentler version of Magic, with easier rules and graphics geared to the younger crowd.

"[119] In the United States, Wizards of the Coast reported in early 1999 that it had sold 400,000 packs of Pokémon trading cards in less than six weeks of its release.

[128] The adaptation are similar in gameplay and rules, featuring 226 cards from the TCG with infrared linking for multiplayer and trading.

[129][130] The video game was accompanied by Pokémon Card GB2: Great Rocket-Dan Sanjō!, a Japan-exclusive sequel released in March 2001.

[131] In addition to the Pokémon Trading Card Game video game, Wizards has developed another digitized adaptation, Pokémon Play It!, which consisted of two versions that offer players a beginner's introduction to the different gameplay aspects of TCG as they slowly transitioned into "Advanced Challenges" in the 2nd version.

It was released on March 24, 2011, as Pokémon Trainer Challenge for Microsoft Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, and iPadOS.

[133] The game initially offered three starting decks but significantly expanded its card collection shortly after release.

A closed beta of Pokémon Trading Card Game Live was released for Canadian players on February 22, 2022.

[137] Later, a global beta of Pokémon Trading Card Game Live was released on November 15, 2022 on Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows.

[143] Players are given two booster packs to open every day at no charge,[144] but also have the option to pay for in app purchases, including a paid premium membership.