Pokemon began with the Red and Green versions of the Nintendo GameBoy game in 1997. Soon after, the global phenomenon of Pokemon Cards began. The first ever set of Pokemon cards were released in October of 1996 by the Japanese company, Media Factory. These 102 cards were known as the “Pocket Monsters Card Game.” To this day, some of the most valuable Pokemon cards are the original Japanese cards. When these cards and games became more popular in Japan, they were translated into a Pokemon Pocket Monsters Manga. This caused even more hype which spilled over into the rest of the world.

In 1998, Wizard of the Coast, a Hasbro owned company, was given the rights to sell Pokemon cards in America before Nintendo took over. The American companies notoriously were strict with censoring, taking away Magmar’s gun and images of gambling. Soon after, the original set of cards was released worldwide in different languages and became a hit game. With the release of the Gold and Silver GameBoy games to introduce Generation 2 in 1999, Pokemon picked up even more steam, more cards were released, and the cycle continued. The Japanese cards are so valuable because they provide a reminder of where the game of Pokemon came from.

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