Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, TCG, toy of the year

Pokémon TCG Battle Academy Wins TOTY Game Of The Year Award

It seems like it truly is Pokémon year. Pokémon cards are more popular than ever, McDonald's is seeing a huge influx of customers getting their Poké-themed Happy Means, and collaborations are coming between the brand and major franchises and stars such as Katy Perry, Post Malone, General Mills, Levy's, the Magic Wand Company, and more. Now, The Pokémon Company International has announced that the Pokémon Trading Card Game Battle Academy, a board game version of the popular card franchise, has received the Game of the Year award at The Toy Association's 2021 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. This ceremony has been referred to as "the Oscars of the toy industry," which makes this an incredible achievement for the Pokémon Company International during a year when interest in the TCG has soared to a historic high.

Barry Sams, vice president of Pokémon Trading Card Game at The Pokémon Company International, said of this win:

"The Pokémon TCG is a cornerstone of the brand, and with Battle Academy, our mission is to give families a fun and accessible way to spend quality time together. We are thrilled that Battle Academy has been recognized for these efforts, and it's rewarding to see so many kids bonding with parents over their love of Pokémon TCG cards."

The TCG also has a major release this week, with Shining Fates set to come out this Friday, February 19th. The set is somewhat of a sequel to Hidden Fates, as it will feature both a regular set and a Shiny Vault subset which will showcase many of the franchise's most popular species in their Shiny forms. While the incredibly popular Hidden Fates focused mostly on species known from the first couple of generations, Shining Fates will shift focus to newer species, featuring Shinies such as Galarian Ponyta, Sobble, and species in their Gigantamax forms in VMAX cards. There will still be some classic Pokémon, including Shiny Ditto, Koffing, and Charizard.

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