Japanese Pokémon cards were first released on October 20, 1996. The initial release from Pokémon consisted of a starter and expansion pack, as well as a base set. They are often referred to as Pokémon TCG, which stands for ‘Pokémon trading card game.’ Each card has a few unique pieces of information, including its name, artwork, attack/ability descriptions, type and rarity symbol. The cards are meant to not only be used to play games, but also to be collected and traded.

There are a few differences between Japanese Pokémon cards and the English version. For example, the Japanese cards almost always have a silver border, while the English versions usually have scarlet and violet borders. The back of each card also has very different graphics and colours than the English cards, depending on the specific line or collection. Japanese Pokémon cards also purely contain Japanese characters and do not have any English writing on them.

Each line of Japanese Pokémon cards features different Pokémon characters at different phases of their evolution. For instance, the Pokémon TCG Sword & Shield High Class Pack VSTAR Universe Box (Japanese) 2x Lot contains both Stonjourner and Snorlax. It also has a few first partners, including Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble.

Many of the different Japanese Pokémon card lines are also directly related to various video games that the company has released throughout the years. For example, the Pokémon TCG Sword & Shield collection reflects the different Nintendo Switch games that have been previously released.

Sort By: 

Featured

Pokémon TCG Classic Special Set (Japanese)

Lowest Ask

US$239