The cartoon accompanied by a collectible card game that became a huge hit in Japan in 1998 is Pokémon. Pokémon, short for "Pocket Monsters," originated as a video game series developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. The Pokémon franchise expanded into various forms of media, including an animated television series, trading card game, movies, and merchandise. The popularity of the Pokémon franchise skyrocketed in Japan and eventually spread globally, becoming a cultural phenomenon that has endured to this day.