There are many prominent franchises in gaming history that have had many different beginnings. Pokemon, for example, started out as Pokemon Red and Blue for international audiences, soon receiving its own anime adaptation and card game. Now, a new Pokemon show is coming soon that serves as a brand-new adaption of a significant part of the series as Pokemon: Path to the Peak aims to adapt the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

The fact that the Pokemon Trading Card Game is getting its own show is rather interesting, and it's certainly surprising to many Pokemon fans, but technically the niche of a card game adaptation had already been filled. Yu-Gi-Oh! may have started off as a completely different manga at first, but the anime fans have known and loved for the last 25 years is directly adapted from Duel Monsters, the basis for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, and is one of Pokemon's rivals.

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The Famous Rivalry Between Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!

While it's died down a fair bit in recent years, back in the '90s when these two franchises first began, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! were the talk of the town, and constantly compared to one another. While one was video game-based and the other was founded in an anime made to sell cards, the two had many similarities with their themes of friendships, bonds, and collecting and battling powerful monsters.

On top of that, both shows were aired on the same network in many English-speaking countries, probably adding to the debate on which was better. However, in the end, only one trading card game was well-known for being banned at schools back then due to distracting younger students. That claim to fame goes to the Pokemon Trading Card Game, and this time of the TCG's history may be what Pokemon: Path to the Peak aims to emulate at the very start of its story with its afterschool Pokemon Fan Club.

How Pokemon: Path to the Peak is Cleverly Timed With Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Shift

Due to the history Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon share together, it would be understandable as to why beyond the physical, real-life trading card game that Pokemon would let YGO exist in its own space. After all, when gamers think "Pokemon," they think of catching monsters with Poke Balls and not playing cards. However, in recent years, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has made headlines due to scalping and rare card prices reaching an all-time high.

As the Pokemon TCG seems to be almost suffering from its success, Yu-Gi-Oh! has undergone a shift that may have split its fan base numbers considerably. With the introduction of the new Rush Duel card game alongside the classic YGOTCG, the anime has changed to focus on the newer, more kid-friendly game rather than the classic cards Yu-Gi-Oh! has been known for, almost freeing up the beloved area the original anime had.

Because of these recent shake-ups regarding Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, now is the perfect time for Pokemon to try and take what used to be Yu-Gi-Oh!'s dominated niche, which is likely why Pokemon: Path to the Peak is coming out now rather than at any other point in the series' 27 years of history. Not only is there a stronger potential market for a Pokemon Trading Card Game anime than there ever was back when the Pokemon TCG Game Boy game was released, but the time to strike is perfect as Path to the Peak could likely pick up a few lingering Yu-Gi-Oh! fans who have felt alienated by the new anime, Rush Duels, and other changes to the classic game over the quarter-century that it's been around.

Pokemon: Path to the Peak is releasing on YouTube on August 11, 2023.

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