Neo Genesis
Set Details
The Neo world order is here.
Here come over 60 all-new Pokémon from the Pokémon Gold™ and Pokémon Silver™ Game Boy® games! See if you can master two new Energy types and the Pokémon that go with ’em—Darkness Energy for extra power and Metal Energy for extra protection. Also, meet the Baby Pokémon! They evolve into Basic Pokémon and cause plenty of trouble.
The Pokémon®: Neo Genesis™ set introduces all-new Pokémon trading card game rules, so check out the website, , to find out the latest! Or look for all-new Neo Genesis preconstructed theme decks with updated rules, coming out soon!
The Neo Genesis Pokémon Set launched a brand-new era for the Trading Card Game when it hit Japanese shelves on February 4, 2000, and followed in English on December 16, 2000. As the inaugural expansion of the Neo Series, it drew directly from Pokémon Gold & Silver and became the first set to spotlight Generation II Pokémon—think Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, and the majestic Lugia. Collectors immediately noticed a fresh 111-card checklist (plus secret rares), a sleeker circular Evolution box, and HP values printed in bold black rather than the classic red, signaling a clear stylistic leap from the original series.
Gameplay innovation sits at the heart of the Neo Genesis Pokémon Set. This expansion introduced the Darkness and Metal Energy types, forever reshaping deck-building strategy with new resistances and attack costs. It also brought in adorable—but surprisingly powerful—Baby Pokémon, whose “Baby Rule” could nullify incoming attacks and tilt matches in unpredictable ways. Another first: the debut of Pokémon Tool cards, inspired by held items in the Game Boy titles, which stay attached to Pokémon and grant ongoing benefits like Focus Band’s life-saving coin flip.
A few nuggets of lore keep the Neo Genesis Pokémon Set high on every collector’s radar. Early U.S. prints of Lugia #9/111 and Typhlosion #17/111 suffered notable print-run holo defects and low population counts, making high-grade versions some of the most valuable “modern-vintage” cards on the market. The set’s Moo-Moo Milk artwork was redrawn for English release—replacing a Sentret nursing on Miltank with a pile of milk cans and a cheerful Cleffa to better suit Western sensibilities. A notorious typo on some 1st Edition Metal Energy cards lists the illustrator as “Milky Isobe” instead of Mitsuhiro Arita, adding a quirky chase variant. And because Neo Genesis packs were among the first to use tamper-evident plastic wrap, sealed booster boxes became a reliability benchmark for later Wizards of the Coast products. Whether you’re after competitive staples like Cleffa #20/111 for its game-breaking “Eeeeeeek” draw attack or you’re hunting pristine holofoils for investment, the Neo Genesis Pokémon Set remains a cornerstone release—bridging the nostalgia of Kanto with the excitement of stepping into Johto’s brave new world.
Neo Genesis Set Cards
