Last updated · prices collected
Gym Challenge set overview
Gym Challenge is the seventh main English expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the second of the two Gym sets. Wizards of the Coast released it on 16 October 2000, two months after Gym Heroes, and it was the last main English expansion before Neo Genesis in December 2000. Like the sets before it, it features only Generation I Pokémon. It has 132 cards, printed in 1st Edition and Unlimited.
Gym Heroes introduced Owner's Pokémon, cards that carry a Trainer's name and a small portrait of that Trainer. Gym Challenge turns the spotlight from Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge and Erika to the other four Kanto Gym Leaders: Sabrina, Koga, Blaine and Giovanni, who appear on the four booster wrappers and give their names to the four theme decks. Team Rocket and the first four leaders still have cards here, among them Misty's Gyarados (013/132), Rocket's Mewtwo (014/132) and Rocket's Zapdos (015/132).
Blaine's Arcanine (001/132) has a Firestorm attack that does 120 damage, and Rocket's Mewtwo has three attacks: Juxtapose, Hypnoblast and Psyburn. The Gym Leaders themselves appear as Trainer cards, each in a holo version and a non-holo version with the same text.
- 132Cards
- 95Pokémon
- 31Trainers
- 6Energy
- 6Illustrators
Set facts
- English release
- 16 October 2000
- Japanese release
- Challenge from the Darkness, 25 June 1999
- Cards
- 132: 20 Holo Rares, 21 Rares, 42 Uncommons and 49 Commons
- Card types
- 95 Pokémon, 31 Trainers (seven of them Stadiums) and 6 Basic Energy
- Printings
- 1st Edition (black 1st Edition stamp at the left, under the artwork) and Unlimited (no stamp); English only
- Booster pack
- 11 cards, in four wrappers: Blaine, Giovanni, Koga and Sabrina
- Theme decks
- Sabrina, Koga, Blaine and Giovanni, 60 cards each
- Error cards
- Blaine's Charizard (002/132) and Rocket's Minefield Gym (119/132), both corrected on later prints
- Edited artwork
- Koga's Ninja Trick (115/132) and Misty's Tears (118/132) were redrawn for English
- Magazine promo
- Brock's Vulpix (037/132) with a W stamp, from Top Deck magazine
What changed from the Japanese sets
- Two Japanese sources: most of the set comes from Challenge from the Darkness, and Bulbapedia notes that it also takes cards from the first Japanese Gym set, Leaders' Stadium, such as Misty's Gyarados (013/132), Erika's Kindness (103/132) and Misty's Tears (118/132).
- Moved to Gym Heroes: some Challenge from the Darkness cards went into the first English Gym set instead, among them Blaine's Moltres, Rocket's Snorlax, Sabrina's Gaze and Minion of Team Rocket.
- In neither English Gym set: two Challenge from the Darkness cards, Imakuni?'s Doduo and _____'s Chansey, appear in neither Gym Heroes nor Gym Challenge.
- Not in either Japanese booster list: a few cards, such as Blaine's Quiz #2 (111/132), Master Ball (116/132), Max Revive (117/132) and Fervor (124/132), are not in Bulbapedia's lists for Leaders' Stadium or Challenge from the Darkness.
- Redrawn: Koga's Ninja Trick (115/132) lost an omote manji symbol, and Misty's Tears (118/132) shows a Squirtle trying to stop Misty's tears in place of the Japanese art, which showed Misty naked.
Gym Challenge chase cards
The six cards below are the most expensive singles in the set by TCGplayer market price on 4 October 2026. The most expensive of all on that date was Blaine's Charizard (002/132, Holo Rare). These figures are TCGplayer's main listing for each card, which for this set follows the 1st Edition print; the card list gives 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately under most cards, and the Prices by printing table in the prices section shows the top card in each printing. Blaine's Charizard (002/132) is the set's only Charizard, at the top of an evolution line with Blaine's Charmeleon (031/132) and Blaine's Charmander (060/132). The other headline holos include two Gyarados, Misty's Gyarados (013/132) and Giovanni's Gyarados (005/132), as well as Rocket's Mewtwo (014/132), Blaine's Arcanine (001/132) and Sabrina's Alakazam (016/132). Sabrina's Gengar (029/132) is a non-holo Rare here; the holo Sabrina's Gengar is a different card from Gym Heroes. Tap a card to jump to it in the list.
1Blaine's Charizard002/132 · HKen Sugimori$699.99£529.48
2Erika's Venusaur004/132 · HKen Sugimori$650.00£491.67
3Sabrina's Gengar029/132 · RKen Sugimori$463.75£350.78
4Rocket's Mewtwo014/132 · HShin-ichi Yoshida$433.35£327.79
5Misty's Gyarados013/132 · HKen Sugimori$425.00£321.47
6Blaine's Arcanine001/132 · HKen Sugimori$386.48£292.34Gym Challenge card list
Every card in the set is below in set-number order, with its rarity, illustrator and market price. The main price on each card is TCGplayer's main listing, which for this set follows the 1st Edition print; the line under it gives the 1st Edition and Unlimited prices separately where TCGplayer has a current figure for both, so check the printing of your copy before you price it. The numbering follows rarity: Holo Rares 001 to 020, Rares 021 to 030, Uncommons 031 to 059, Commons 060 to 099, then the Trainers (Rares 100 to 110, Uncommons 111 to 123, Commons 124 to 126) and the six Basic Energy. Several names appear twice: the four Gym Leader Trainers (017 to 020 holo, 100, 104, 106 and 110 non-holo) share their text, but the two Sabrina's Abra, Sabrina's Gastly, Koga's Koffing, Koga's Pidgey and Giovanni's Meowth cards are different cards with different attacks, so check the number. Search by name, number, artist or rarity, or narrow the list with the type, rarity and price chips. The Own button marks a card as collected and saves the mark in your browser only.
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Gym Challenge card prices
Market prices in US dollars, collected on 4 October 2026, with pounds at that day's rate (1 USD = 0.756 GBP). They are a snapshot, not live quotes. The bars show each card's price against the most expensive card in the set. The buy links are affiliate links and Bill's Archive earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- $6,897.96£5,217.67One of every card
- 20%In the top two cards alone
- 62Cards at $10 or more
- 132Cards at $1 or more
- 0Bulk cards under $1
Prices by printing
| Printing | Cards priced | All priced cards | Top card in this printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Edition Holofoil | 20 | $5,025.43 | Blaine's Charizard 002/132 · $699.99 |
| 1st Edition | 112 | $1,839.97 | Sabrina's Gengar 029/132 · $463.75 |
| Unlimited Holofoil | 20 | $2,377.18 | Blaine's Charizard 002/132 · $584.96 |
| Unlimited | 112 | $779.62 | Sabrina's Gengar 029/132 · $219.48 |
TCGplayer market prices in US dollars by printing, from tcgcsv.com, collected on 4 October 2026. The headline price on each card is TCGplayer’s main listing for that card; the line under the card name splits it by printing. Holo and non-holo prints have their own rows. Rare vintage holos sell infrequently, so their market prices can lag behind recent sales.
The 15 most expensive singles
- 1Blaine's Charizard002/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$699.99£529.48TCGplayer
- 2Erika's Venusaur004/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$650.00£491.67TCGplayer
- 3Sabrina's Gengar029/132 · R · Ken Sugimori$463.75£350.78TCGplayer
- 4Rocket's Mewtwo014/132 · H · Shin-ichi Yoshida$433.35£327.79TCGplayer
- 5Misty's Gyarados013/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$425.00£321.47TCGplayer
- 6Blaine's Arcanine001/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$386.48£292.34TCGplayer
- 7
Giovanni's Gyarados005/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$321.99£243.56TCGplayer - 8
Sabrina's Alakazam016/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$259.25£196.10TCGplayer - 9
Giovanni's Machamp006/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$229.97£173.95TCGplayer - 10
Giovanni's Nidoking007/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$219.99£166.40TCGplayer - 11
Rocket's Zapdos015/132 · H · Shin-ichi Yoshida$218.06£164.94TCGplayer - 12
Lt. Surge's Raichu011/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$170.99£129.34TCGplayer - 13
Brock's Ninetales003/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$162.50£122.92TCGplayer - 14
Giovanni's Persian008/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$159.99£121.02TCGplayer - 15
Koga's Beedrill009/132 · H · Ken Sugimori$137.10£103.70TCGplayer
Gym Challenge illustrators
6 illustrators are credited across the 132 cards, and Ken Sugimori drew 100 of them, including every holo except Rocket's Mewtwo (014/132) and Rocket's Zapdos (015/132), which are by Shin-ichi Yoshida. Keiji Kinebuchi has 16 credits: the Stadium cards, Master Ball, Transparent Walls, Warp Point and all six Basic Energy. Atsuko Nishida drew 12 Pokémon, among them Lt. Surge's Pikachu (084/132) and Erika's Clefairy (040/132). Sumiyoshi Kizuki (Koga's Ninja Trick) and Hikaru Koike (Max Revive) have one card each. Each tile leads with the artist's highest-value card in the set; the name links to their entry in the illustrator database.
Show all 6 illustrators
Japanese source: Challenge from the Darkness
Japanese source setChallenge from the DarknessReleased 25 June 1999 · 98 cards · Second of the two Japanese Gym boosters.→
Gym Challenge is the English counterpart of Challenge from the Darkness (Gym Expansion 2), the sixth Japanese expansion, released on 25 June 1999, more than a year before the English set. Bulbapedia lists 98 cards in it, all with rarity symbols; some of them were also sold in Japanese Gym theme decks without a rarity symbol. The English set mixes in cards from Leaders' Stadium, the first Japanese Gym booster, while Gym Heroes took some Challenge from the Darkness cards, so the two English Gym sets split the two Japanese ones differently. Gym Challenge itself was only printed in English.
Gym Challenge products and sealed prices
Gym Challenge came in 11-card booster packs with four wrapper designs, showing Blaine, Giovanni, Koga and Sabrina, and in four 60-card theme decks. Each deck is built around its Gym Leader's holo: Sabrina's Alakazam (016/132), Koga's Beedrill (009/132), Blaine's Arcanine (001/132) and Giovanni's Persian (008/132), and every deck also carries Potion and other Trainers from earlier sets. Several products below had no market price in the latest price data; where there is one, it comes from the same snapshot as the singles.
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Blaine's Charizard symbol error
Some copies of Blaine's Charizard (002/132) were printed with a Fighting symbol in place of the Fire symbol in the text of its Roaring Flames attack, and later prints corrected it. Bulbapedia notes that the lowercase "energy" after that symbol was never fixed, even on corrected prints. Check the symbol in the attack text before you buy or sell a copy as the error.
Rocket's Minefield Gym and Brock's Vulpix
Rocket's Minefield Gym (119/132) also has an error print: the first version does not say how many damage counters to place, and a corrected version followed. Brock's Vulpix (037/132) has a second version with a W stamp, given out through Top Deck magazine; it is a magazine promo rather than a pack card, so it is easy to miss in a master set.
Same name, different card
TCGplayer lists the repeated names with the number in brackets, such as "Sabrina's Gastly (96)" and "Sabrina's Gastly (97)". The two Gastly cards have different attacks and different artists (Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida), as do the pairs of Sabrina's Abra, Koga's Koffing, Koga's Pidgey and Giovanni's Meowth. Only the Gym Leader Trainers are true holo and non-holo versions of one card. Sabrina's Gengar is a different case: this set's Rare (029/132) and the Gym Heroes holo are separate cards.
1st Edition and Unlimited
Gym Challenge was printed in a 1st Edition run and an Unlimited run, in English only. A 1st Edition card has the black 1st Edition stamp at the left, just below the artwork; Unlimited cards have no stamp. The two runs sell at different prices: the line under most cards in the list and the Prices by printing table give them separately, so check for the stamp before you compare a copy with a price on this page.
More Original era set guides
Every English set of the Original era in release order.
- Base Set9 January 1999 · 102 cards
- Jungle16 June 1999 · 64 cards
- Fossil10 October 1999 · 62 cards
- Base Set 224 February 2000 · 130 cards
- Team Rocket24 April 2000 · 83 cards
- Gym Heroes14 August 2000 · 132 cards
- Gym Challenge16 October 2000 · 132 cards
Gym Challenge FAQ
When did Gym Challenge come out?
Gym Challenge was released in English on 16 October 2000. Its Japanese counterpart, Challenge from the Darkness, came out on 25 June 1999.
How many cards are in Gym Challenge?
132 cards, numbered 1/132 to 132/132: 20 Holo Rares, 21 Rares, 42 Uncommons and 49 Commons. That is 95 Pokémon, 31 Trainers and 6 Basic Energy. There are no secret rares.
What is the most valuable Gym Challenge card?
By TCGplayer market price on 4 October 2026, Blaine's Charizard (002/132, Holo Rare) at $699.99 (£529.48). That is TCGplayer's main listing for the card, which for Gym Challenge follows the 1st Edition print. Unlimited copies usually cost less: the line under most cards in the list gives both prices, and the Prices by printing table shows the top card in each printing. The prices table on this page shows the top 15.
Is there a 1st Edition Gym Challenge?
Yes. Gym Challenge was printed in 1st Edition and Unlimited, in English only. 1st Edition cards carry the black 1st Edition stamp at the left, just below the artwork. TCGplayer lists 1st Edition and Unlimited booster packs and boxes separately, and the card list on this page gives 1st Edition and Unlimited prices for most cards.
What is the Blaine's Charizard error?
Some copies of Blaine's Charizard (002/132) show a Fighting symbol instead of a Fire symbol in the Roaring Flames attack text. Later prints corrected it, and Bulbapedia says the card is played as if the symbol were Fire.
What Japanese set is Gym Challenge?
Challenge from the Darkness, the second Japanese Gym expansion (25 June 1999). The English set also includes cards from Leaders' Stadium, while some Challenge from the Darkness cards went into Gym Heroes instead.
What were the Gym Challenge theme decks?
Four 60-card decks named after Sabrina, Koga, Blaine and Giovanni. Their holo cards are Sabrina's Alakazam (016/132), Koga's Beedrill (009/132), Blaine's Arcanine (001/132) and Giovanni's Persian (008/132).
Where do the prices on this page come from?
TCGplayer market prices for the US singles market, collected on the date shown above the prices table and converted to pounds at that day's exchange rate. The main price on each card is TCGplayer's main listing, which for this set follows the 1st Edition print; the line under it and the Prices by printing table split 1st Edition and Unlimited prices from TCGplayer through tcgcsv.com, in US dollars. Graded copies are not included. They are a snapshot and will drift; the buy links show a live figure.