OFFICIAL Pokemon TCG… ONLINE!

Written by | February 15, 2011 | 36 comments | 4,091 views | Rating: +15

Ok… get stoked… check this press release just e-mailed to me:

BELLEVUE, WA—February 15, 2011—Are you a Pokémon™ Trading Card Game player?  Perhaps you’re looking to join the fun of the Pokémon TCG for the very first time?  Whether you’re a Pokémon TCG pro or new to trading card game play, get ready for a completely interactive online experience: Pokémon Trainer Challenge, coming from The Pokémon Company International in April!  This all-new online version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (www.pokemontcg.com) will initially feature three preconstructed Pokémon TCG decks for you to choose from in order to battle against fourteen virtual Pokémon TCG players in three Leagues, all of which replicate real-world game play and strategy.

Adding to the fun of Pokémon Trainer Challenge, fans can purchase the brand-new Pokémon TCG: Black & White preconstructed decks on April 6 at major retail stores nationwide and unlock an identical virtual deck to battle with in the online world! After Pokémon Trainer Challenge launches, exciting features and additions will be added in the months to come, including the opportunity to play future preconstructed decks in the online game.

“Pokémon Trainer Challenge provides convenient, on-demand access to exciting TCG game play for all Pokémon TCG fans, whether they’re currently playing, coming back to the action, or just getting introduced to the world of Pokémon TCG for the first time,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Company International.  “Now anyone who wants to play Pokémon TCG can, either live or online.”

In order to play with the new Pokémon TCG: Black & White preconstructed decks in Pokémon Trainer Challenge, players will need to create a free Pokémon Trainer Club account that is easily obtained atwww.pokemon.com/us/account/login.

For Pokémon Trainer Challenge features and updates, please visit www.pokemontcg.com

Finally… an official Pokemon TCG online platform! We’ve been waiting over a decade for it to arrive, but this is definitely EXTREMELY positive news for the game. :)

I think this more than makes up for Call of Legends… what do you guys think?  Stoked or stoked?

:D

And here’s some pictures:

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Image Credits: Pokemon Paradijs, Pokegym, Pokebeach

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  • Anonymous

    I am REALLY looking forward to this. =D

  • Anonymous

    *Drool*
    Hopefully they eventually incorporate being able to build decks yourself instead of just theme decks. Which they probably will.

    • Anonymous

      For a price, I’m sure…..

  • http://twitter.com/ryancmm Ryan March-Moise

    Makes sense, but the decks are preconstructed. There is nothing talking about individual cards or custom decks, Hence why I am not as excited as I want to be :/

  • Anonymous

    Here’s to hoping this mirrors the TCG Video Game where you can custom build. Hope the effects and AI are better though.

  • http://www.adamcap.com/ Adam Capriola

    This is such big news… this can only help to grow the game into the future, which is good for everyone. :)

    It basically tells me they’re serious about the card game (even though the video game will always be in the driver’s seat).

    • Anonymous

      What ever happened to the replacement?

      • Anonymous

        Scrapped do to copyright laws.

      • Anonymous

        seriously? thats crap….

      • James Hall

        Yeah, I had asked a person on PokeGym, who I thought was trustworthy, to take a quick look at it and he reported me to TPCi. Luckily they decided not to ban me from the actual game…

        Thanks for having my back pikkdogs!

      • Anonymous

        oowch man, i never trust poke gymers, 6p is the way to go

      • Anonymous

        That’s kind of pathetic for whoever it was that turned you in, man. If anything, they should have tossed you a job offer to work on this new official project’s team, as you’ve obviously shown your drive and ability.

  • Anonymous

    Agreed – this will attract younger/new/returning players but, for experienced players, the only way to keep interest would be to allow Player Constructed/Modified decks.

    fingers crossed.

  • http://twitter.com/0080900 Chris

    I’ve been waiting for this ever since I got into the Pokemon TCG, which was this December, but I’m already an intermediate player.

    I just hope we’ll be able to play with our custom decks.

  • Anonymous

    This is definitely the way to start. Use the preconstructed decks and get the mechanics down first. Next open it up to live play. During this time get the user feedback before opening it up to constructed/modified. I think this is better than dumping something on us that doesn’t work. This could be really great. Magic did a really good job on the X-box version, so I have high hopes for this.

  • Anonymous

    Yes. i couldnt ever get apprentice set-up. and redshark was dull. finally something good for online TCG. This makes up for call of legends x10. I cant wait till it comes out. though i might be mistaken, you can opnly play witht he structure decks you buy?

  • Anonymous

    A few things people should note:
    1) Player vs. Player play isn’t promised yet (only player vs. computer)
    2) no deck construction yet
    3) the project is still in beta, so there’s a chance for things to improve

  • Travis

    And Pokemon said: “Let there be easy online play” and the world rejoiced.

  • Master Entei

    I really, REALLY hope they don’t make us buy the online cards when they open up the whole cardpool. If I’d have to buy those, I’d stick to Redshark, and I’m sure others would too.

    Oh, and TPCi, don’t be stupid and not load in all of the cards, at least for Modified. Playing with Theme Decks isn’t really what this game is about…

  • Jonathan

    I’m not too excited about this honestly. A flash game that lets you play against a computer with one of 3 preconstructed theme decks?

    Given TPCi’s track record with software in general, I’m not convinced they’ll pull this off in any way more than just a disappointment.

    Also, for enabling PvP with modified decks is a _very_ different story, and if that is what they’re planning, if they’ve already started on it, we probably won’t have it for another few years at least.

    Looks to me like a little sweetener to help introduce kids to the game, which is cool.
    This would be awesome if it turned into something more, but I’m not holding my breath.

  • Anonymous

    Its a good start.

    Its not what we want. Online play player vs. player for free with all cards avaliable for use.

    This is a small victory, but a victory none the less. Hopefully soon we can basically have a redshark that lets us use the cards and has rules.

    Its a good sign, but lets not jump up and down just yet.

    • Anonymous

      redshark would be so much better if it would play against you, then you could test with yourself, and like set the settings to extra hard, and play against worlds class players

  • Sam Marshall-Smith

    The website says “Win new cards!” and Adams email says ” will initially feature three preconstructed Pokémon TCG decks” Emphasis on “initially” so I’m hopeful that they will improve it with custom decks.

  • Anonymous

    double post…: /

  • Anonymous

    Seems pretty cool, it’s definitely a step in the right direction… now lets pray they add PvP and not just PvC…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZZ7BNXXSVUHND4J6RSK5TZOXEY Burrows Jacob

    did anyone notice that there were special metal energy in the fire deck, I think this means we will be able to get to edit things eventually, and also the fact that typhlosion prime was there proves my point because it doesnt apear in any theme deck.

    • http://twitter.com/0080900 Chris

      Don’t forget the Potion in the discard pile, it appears to be the older potion from Platinum

      • Anonymous

        Before anyone takes this as confirmation, though, it’s very possible that like the old tcg video game, that the pre-constructed decks contain cards not found in IRL theme decks.

        I could see them doing something like Scizor prime/Typhlosion prime as a deck.

        But yeah, even with that said, there’s a rather large chance this will cover the modified format.

  • Anonymous

    When will the online trading card game be available??
    Its pretty exciting.. I hope we will be able to choose the cards that are in our actual decks to use in an online simulation.

  • Anonymous

    Hm… they’re really pushing theme deck sales aren’t they? First they set the Black White Theme Deck release to three weeks earlier than booster sales, now an online TCG that only uses theme decks? Clearly all a marketing strategy… that being said, I’m probably going to buy theme decks for the first time in ages XD. And we can hope online play evolves into something more.

  • Anonymous

    If there ends up being customization I really hope it’s not like MTG online. -___- Why would I pay $3.00USD for a picture of a pack of cards when I can go to Walmart and pay $3.00USD for a pack of REAL cards. xD (I know they ain’t 3 bucks, but I’m just giving an example).

  • http://twitter.com/peetzaman Austin Mitchell

    I’d be happier if it wasn’t starter decks. Those definitely don’t use “real world strategy.”

  • Anonymous

    The epicest thing of all online Pokemon games… has arrived (about ten years late, but who cares)!

  • Anonymous

    You know, this is great for me. I can keep dorking around with the kids, teaching them the basics, and start practicing all this theory I’ve been reading here … at last. Obviously, we all hope its free, but if its done right, I could see paying a nominal $5/mo for access, or $0.25/play like an old school video game! I doubt it’ll be free if they really work it up. Like another poster said, I sure hope you don’t have to buy virtual merch – that would send me off.

  • Anonymous

    BTW, I like the mat. Where can you get a mat like that?

  • Jonathan

    I think people’s reactions to this are SERIOUSLY overblown. After taking another look at the information itself without looking at all the things being inferred by the surrounding post, I see little suggesting that this is anything more than a flash app that teaches kids how to play the game. They make reference to expanding it in the coming months but specifically mention pre-constructed decks. I don’t see evidence that it is related to an effort to allow people to build decks to play online. It’s completely self-contained. It has no back-end. It has none of the earmarks of something leading up to an online play environment. It does say ‘interactive’, which makes me wonder, but from the looks of it, we won’t be able to interact with other actual people.