Japans release was IRC September of 1998 and the U.S.release was either March or April of 1999 because of episode 38 Electric Soldier Porygon. That was why we were delayed. Also not to mention Pokemon was nearly cancelled during that time.
The Japanese TCG started in October 1996 while Base Set was first released in January 1999 in the States. Electric Soldier Porygon -- which aired at the end of 1997 -- really had little to do with the delay, as the Vending Series 1 set was released in March 1998 before the anime had returned from hiatus, and even the games, much less the TCG, didn't come out in English until six months later. And there was never any danger of the show, much less the franchise, getting cancelled; they went on hiatus to examine why the seizures happened and a voice actress gave an interview shortly after the seizures, before the show had come back from hiatus, that they wanted to air the Jynx episode at some point.