Gym Challenge
Set Details
Get ready for the Gym Challenge™ expansion!
Some Pokémon trainers are more devious than others—and these trickster trainers will meet their match with Pokémon gym leaders Blaine, Sabrina, Koga, and Giovanni! The four mischievous gym leaders have been perfecting their training methods with their favorite Pokémon. So check out their sneaky tricks…and put yourself up to the gym challenge!
The Gym Challenge Pokémon Set roared into the Trading Card Game on October 16, 2000 (English release) as the seventh expansion in the original series, following closely on the heels of Gym Heroes. In Japan, the cards debuted a year earlier on June 25, 1999, under the evocative title Challenge from the Darkness (ジム拡張第2弾 闇からの挑戦), forming the sixth domestic expansion. Drawing once again from Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green, this set spotlights the Kanto Gym Leaders who were still missing from Gym Heroes—namely Sabrina, Koga, Blaine, and Giovanni—and finishes fleshing out their signature line-ups. For English-language fans, Gym Challenge’s 132-card roster cleverly blends cards from Japan’s Challenge from the Darkness and leftover cards from Leaders’ Stadium, offering a definitive “second half” to the Gym arc.
Gameplay-wise, the Gym Challenge Pokémon Set continues the popular Owner’s Pokémon mechanic introduced in Gym Heroes, but dials it up a notch with stronger evolutions like Blaine’s Arcanine and Giovanni’s Machamp. Stadium cards also return, now featuring battlefield shifters such as Rocket’s Hideout and Cinnabar Gym that can swing momentum in a single turn. Combined with more specialized Trainer cards—think Sabrina’s Psychic Control or Giovanni—the expansion rewarded strategic deck-builders who embraced Gym-themed synergy and tactical precision.
A few lesser-known quirks keep the Gym Challenge Pokémon Set firmly on collectors’ radars. Two cards had to be re-illustrated for Western audiences: Koga’s Ninja Trick originally bore a Buddhist manji symbol, and Misty’s Tears depicted a nude Misty—both images were altered before the English printing. Early unlimited runs of Blaine’s Charizard mistakenly printed the first attack’s Fire-energy symbol as Colorless, creating a sought-after error variant that remains highly coveted today. Interestingly, because Gym Challenge shares its English set symbol with Gym Heroes, sealed products were labeled with distinct color bands (orange for Challenge, blue for Heroes) to prevent retail mix-ups—a packaging detail now prized by sealed collectors. Adding to its mystique, the Japanese version even included a secret-level rarity: a shimmering holofoil Giovanni’s Persuasion, making Gym Challenge a set rich in backstory, strategic depth, and collectible treasures that continue to captivate TCG fans.
Gym Challenge Set Cards
