This card was released as a promotional card. In Japan, it came with Easily Understand How to Play Pokémon Card, released in October 1996. It was later included with the the November 1996 issue of CoroCoro Comic. The English version of the card was released through the first Pokémon card leagues in July 1999.
A variant with alternate artwork by Ken Sugimori was released in Japan only. This variant was given out in a Toyota auto campaign in January 1997.
Trivia
The version of the card released in English is commonly known as Ivy Pikachu, referring to the background design of the illustration.