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To fully understand the implications of this crisis, it's essential to delve into the origins of the Pokémon card game. Launched in 1996 in Japan, Pokémon began as video games—"Pocket Monsters Red" and "Pocket Monsters Blue"—that quickly garnered a cult following. The overwhelming success of these games prompted the creators to replicate the concept with a trading card game, drawing inspiration from the popular game Magic: The Gathering.