CGC Trading Cards® is thrilled to announce the expansion of its expert authentication, grading and encapsulation services to include Pokémon poker cards! CGC Trading Cards is set to grade all standard-sized official Pokémon poker cards from 1996 to present.
In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded a small company called Nintendo Koppai, which produced a variety of Japanese playing cards. Their biggest product was Hanafuda, a deck of cards used to play dozens of different games, like Western playing cards. Nintendo’s origins as a playing card manufacturer are still seen today — the company continues to produce Japanese playing cards, with Pokémon poker cards being some of Nintendo’s more recent products in that department.
The first set of Pokémon poker cards was released in 1996. Nintendo released two decks — Red and Green, to coincide with the games — featuring Generation I Pokémon drawn by renowned franchise artist Ken Sugimori. In 1998, Nintendo released the Blue and Yellow decks alongside Pokémon Blue Version and Pokémon Yellow Version.
The 1996 and 1998 Pokémon poker decks were largely successful in the Japanese market. Because of this, Nintendo continued to produce Pokémon poker cards with each release of a new game. Gold and Silver Pokémon poker cards were released in 2000, again featuring designs by Ken Sugimori.
Nintendo continued releasing Pokémon poker cards with each video game release up until Pokémon Sun and Moon. In 2016, the company released the Sun and Moon Pokémon-themed decks, and there have not been any other deck releases since. In addition to decks based on the video games, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have collaborated to release promotional Pokémon poker card decks commemorating major milestones, including a 10th anniversary deck.
Submit your Pokémon poker card collection to CGC Trading Cards today! The CGC Trading Cards experts are looking forward to serving Nintendo fans and collectors with the most reliable certification process in the industry, including assurances that all cards are genuine and not overgraded.
Is it your first time submitting to CGC Trading Cards? It’s easy! Learn how to submit by clicking here.