infobox coming later The Pokémon Trading Card Game (Japanese: ポケモンカードＧＢ Pokémon Card GB) is a video game based on the tabletop card game Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon franchise. It released in December 1998 in Japan before being released in the US 2 years later. It was developed by Nintendo and Hudson Soft. The game follows the player, named Mark by default, on a journey to claim the Legendary Pokémon Cards, which can only be obtained by collecting 8 badges in clubs and defeating the Grand Masters, in a similar way to the Gyms and Elite Four in the Pokémon main series.