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GYM CHALLENGE EDITION
Print Run Info

Let's see... after about oh... two month of buying packs of Gym: Challenge and having you send in your emails, I was able to compile just about the entire Challenge print run.

So why did I do this? Well for the non-hardcore players, it's just interesting to look at. For you hardcore players and players who play in a booster draft tournament, this is really useful info.

So... here goes nothing.

What Was Learned:
Unlike in Magic's print runs where there are like 16 small chunks of commons, Pokémon's print runs are one HUGE chunk of commons. What card you get from that chunk are random, and 98% of the time they're in order. If it's not in order, then I'm pretty sure it's due to a packaging error (the same kinds of errors that give people like all common packs or packs with like 3 rares in it). There were a number of packs people sent in that didn't fit into the mix, or a number of packs that did fix except that one or two cards were out of order. That's propbably either because of the packaging errors (or someone jerk trying to mess me up, which for those who tried to, it didn't work).

As for the specifics on why the cards are in the order they're in, I suppose it's to give buyers a good even ammount of each Gym leader's cards. Particularly, the order of the cards are more or less based on the number of letters in the Gym leader's name (like Koga (4), then Misty (5), then Blaine (6), then Sabrina (7), etc).

Rares are totally random based on the information I recieved. Even though I got a LOT of mail in's on this, there is still a lot to be learned about it. Rare rotations are one of them. ... But based on thge overall information I recieved, what rare you get is totally random, that is you can't look at like the first 3 cards and then determine what rare you'll get.

The same goes with Energy cards, those were randomly inserted also.

Now this info applies to Gym: Challenge only, since I don't know much about the previous sets to get an exact comparison.

 

Commons:
Now even thought I mentioned that there was ONE huge chunk, I have two listed. Why? Well, what I believe is the connecting point between the two chunks has some questionable information (particularly that of "Sabrina's Abra" and Giovanni's Magikarp). Well, take a look for yourself.

Blaine's Rhyhorn
Sabrina's Psyduck
Lt. Surge's Rattata
Misty's Seel
Giovanni's Meowth
Blaine's Vulpix
Misty's Staryu
Brock's Diglett
Koga's Zubat
Giovanni's Nidoran F
Erika's Paras
Lt. Surge's Voltorb
Brock's Geodude
Blaine's Charmander
Sabrina's Abra
Fervor
Koga's Ekans
Misty's Horsea
Blaine's Doduo
Sabrina's Drowzee
Erika's Oddish
Koga's Grimer
Misty's Magikarp
Blaine's Growlithe
Sabrina's Gastly
Lt. Surge's Pikachu
Koga's Koffing
Misty's Poliwag
Blaine's Mankey
Sabrina's Porygon
Giovanni's Machop
Koga's Pidgey
Erika's Jigglypuff
Blaine's Ponyta

Sabrina's Abra (LV.18)
Giovanni's Magikarp
Koga's Tangela
Misty's Psyduck
Blaine's Rhyhorn
Sabrina's Psyduck

(The error lays here, some packs have this Sabrina's Abra, some packs didn't.)

Lt. Surge's Rattata
Koga's Weedle
Misty's Seel
Warp Point
Giovanni's Meowth
Blaine's Vulpix
Sabrina's Gastly
Misty's Staryu
Brock's Diglett
Koga's Zubat
Giovanni's Nidoran F
Erika's Paras
Transparent Walls
Lt. Surge's Voltrob
Giovann's Nidoran M
Brock's Geodude
Fervor
Blaine's Doduo
Sabrina's Abra (LV.12)
Misty's Horsea
Blaine's Charmander
Koga's Ekans
Koga's Grimer
Sabrina's Gastly
Erika's Oddish
Blaine's Growlithe
Sabrina's Drowzee
Misty's Magikarp
Misty's Poliwag
Giovanni's Machop
Koga's Koffing
Sabrina's Porygon
Lt. Surge's Pikachu
Blaine's Mankey
Blaine's Ponyta
Koga's Tangela
Erika's Jigglypuff
Giovanni's Magikarp
Koga's Pidgey
Sabrina's Abra (LV.18)
Sabrina's Psyduck
Misty's Seel
Blaine's Rhyhorn
Koga's Weedle
Misty's Psyduck
Lt. Surge's Rattata
Blaine's Vulpix
Brock's Diglett
Giovanni's Meowthe
Misty's Staryu
Warp Point
Sabrina's Gastly
Transparent Walls
Brock's Geodude
Erika's Paras
Giovanni's Nidoran M
Giovanni's Nidoran F
Lt. Surge's Voltorb
Koga's Zubat
Sabrina's Abra
Koga's Ekans
Misty's Horsea

It sure is quite a long list... but that's is! The beginning and end parts MAY have more to them, however I don't have any packs to show that it does. Maybe that's all of it right there. Hmmm....

(Note: Some Pokémon lack the Level number. Tee hee! I forgot to add them.)

 

Uncommons:
This seems somewhat inconclusive (er... unknown due to not enough information). Seriously, I don't know how the Magic Prtin Runners can do the Uncommon print runs. Based on the information I got, none of them matched (if they did, it was a coinsidence). I did however notice a number of patters, however they weren't in the same order. Hmmm.... oh well.

 

Hey hey! That's the end of this print run study.


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