In a surprise reveal, Pokémon series has a rich history of video game releases on Nintendo consoles leading back to the franchise's inception, the Pokémon Trading Card Game (or Pokémon TCG) has gotten few official adaptations bringing the game from tabletops to screens.
While it also isn't available for Nintendo Switch, Pokémon TCG Online is the most recent digital game to officially adapt the classic, ever-evolving card game. It was originally released in 2011 as a free browser game, but it later was given its own executable and ported to the same platforms Pokémon Trading Card Game Live is targeting. However, that means the tabletop game hasn't gotten a proper release on a Nintendo console since the Game Boy Color's Pokémon Trading Card Game, and it seems that trend isn't ending with the latest rendition.
A Monday trailer shared on Pokémon TCG, featuring all the same rules and including online player-versus-player matches. According to the official Pokémon TCG site, no concrete release or rollout date has been set, but the game will be "available soon." Players can transfer cards from Sword and Shield and Sun and Moon (Lost Thunder through Cosmic Eclipse) sets and use them in-game at launch, while earlier Sun and Moon and Black and White cards will be transferable but nonplayable until undated post-launch updates enable them.
There's been no confirmation yet if Pokémon Trading Card Game Live will implement crossplay and cross-progression between mobile devices and/or PC, but it may not be a stretch to expect that kind of flexibility from the usually platform-exclusive franchise nowadays. The new Pokémon Unite MOBA will feature crossplay between Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms when it launches on the Apple and Google Play stores, potentially setting a precedent for future free-to-play Pokémon games like Trading Card Game Live.
Notably missing from the Pokémon TCG adaptation's platform lineup is Nintendo Switch, a disappointing but hardly unsurprising omission. While it's not clear why Pokémon Trading Card Game Live would skip Nintendo's premier home console-handheld hybrid despite Pokémon's intrinsic ties to the hardware line, it could still be possible for the card game to finally make its way to Switch if the release is installed by enough players.
Sources: The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel/YouTube, Pokémon TCG
