yea the anime came out around the same time as pokemon.
There are always fights about which is the rippoff and stuff like that since they came out so close together. xD always a dispute. (like how .hack and SoA have these disputes now)
Digimon did have a trading card game but it wasn't a smash hit like the pokemon TCG was. But the Video Games and Vpets which started the digimon boom were. The anime is what kept it alive though. Vpets died off sadly (Vpets like digimon -> Gigapet -> Tamagochi)
First anime series: It aired in Japan between March 7, 1999 and March 26, 2000.
ovo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5waeIyqSoOI&t=25s
the first part of my digimon game play ;D