The 'Pokémon Trading Card Game' Video Game And 'Pokémon Stadium 2' Are Available On Nintendo Switch Online

They were released shortly after the Pokémon Presents in which it was announced

Image source: Nintendo

Tuesday’s Pokémon Presents ran for 35 minutes, and while its final segment was very large and dedicated to the mainline games Scarlet and Violet, there were still updates for three upcoming (for the dub) anime, six of the franchise’s ongoing mobile titles and Detective Pikachu Returns. But that wasn’t all: The next titles from the franchise to hit Nintendo Switch Online are the Pokémon Trading Card Game for Game Boy Color and Pokémon Stadium 2, made available shortly after the conclusion of the Presents.

Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Game Boy Color was released in 1998 and has a storyline like the mainline RPG series, but the trading cards are used, directly using the TCG’s cards. As the website describes: “Travel throughout the land, battling opponents, collecting booster packs, and attempting to assemble the ultimate deck in your search for rare and powerful Legendary Pokémon cards.” It’s also acknowledged how much the game has evolved or been complicated since the game’s launch, making the simplicity an allure. Infamously, there is a sequel that was only ever released in Japan.

Pokémon Stadium 2 arrived in the United States for the Nintendo 64 in 2001, which featured the addition of species introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver and uses its Gym Leader and Elite 4 rosters, as well as new minigames. Of course the sequel to the first complete and internationally-released Stadium, which is already available on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, released in April of this year.  As precedent set by that release, this version of Stadium 2 will only have access to the rentals already in the game, unable to connect to any Generation I or II-containing apparatus, whether the Game Paks or the Virtual Console.

Trading Card Game joins a Game Boy Collection that was launched in February with Tetris, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Metroid II: Return of Samus, Wario Land 3, Gargoyle's Quest, Game & Watch Gallery 3, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, and Kirby's Dream Land, while the Stadium games are in the presence of brethren including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Puzzle League and Star Fox 64.

Source: GameInformer, IGN, Pokémon