Side Event Breakdown: Gym Leader Challenge

14 August 2024

Side Event Breakdown: Gym Leader Challenge

Learn the basics of the popular format that often appears as a side event at Regional Championships, International Championships, and the illustrious World Championships.

Competitive Pokémon players from across the world often congregate at Regional Championships and International Championships in the pursuit of Championship Points, prizes, and the glory of the Champion title itself. In addition to the heated battles in the main event, there are even more things to enjoy as you wander the hall, either as a spectator or as a competitor who has exited the tournament early.

Some of the most fun that any Trainer can have at these events is through playing in side events—casual events that are perfect for having lighthearted fun with other Trainers in the community. These events encompass small, fun tournaments in the Pokémon TCG, Pokémon video game, Pokémon GO, Pokémon UNITE, and even classic games like Pokémon Stadium and Pokkén Tournament DX.

In this series, we’ll break down popular side events that you can expect to see at most tournaments, and we’ll start with one of the most popular ways to play the Pokémon TCG right now—Gym Leader Challenge.

Gym Leader Challenge 101

Gym Leader Challenge is a fan-made Pokémon TCG format created by Pokémon TCG competitor and Pokémon: Trainer Tour host Andrew Mahone. If you’ve ever imagined what it would be like to put together a type-specific team like the Gym Leaders in the Pokémon video games, Gym Leader Challenge is a perfect way to live out that dream while also enjoying the Pokémon TCG!


As far as the rules go, they’re simple—you can only include one Pokémon type in your deck; Pokémon with a Rule Box (Pokémon ex, Pokémon V, etc.) are banned; ACE SPEC cards are banned; and you’re limited to a single copy of each card name that you include (this is known as singleton in the Pokémon TCG community). Gym Leader Challenge also uses the Expanded format, which features cards released from the Black & White Series onward. This combination of rules is perfect for allowing you to experiment with a wide variety of decks that can create almost limitless game states and interactions as you play against other Trainers.

There is one last thing to consider, though—the community maintains a list of banned cards to promote a healthy format where everyone can have fun. You are not permitted to include these cards in your Gym Leader Challenge deck when playing at events:

What does a Gym Leader Challenge deck look like?

We all love limitless possibilities, but if you aren’t sure where to start, we have a couple of deck lists ready for play. Building a Gym Leader Challenge deck has unique parameters, but ultimately, you’ll want to focus on the same tenets of classic deckbuilding: consistency, combinations, and win conditions.

Take this Water-type deck list, for example. It features Sobble, Drizzile, and Inteleon—as well as Remoraid and Octillery—along with Item cards to ensure that you see the right cards at the right time. You’ll also see that between Frosmoth and Baxcalibur, there are plenty of ways to get Water Energy into play, and cards like Capacious Bucket and Energy Retrieval will get that Water Energy into your hand in the first place. The big-time attacker will usually be Wailord (and the deck list features Special Energy to strengthen its Special Wave attack), but one of the fun parts about Gym Leader Challenge is that almost all your Pokémon can chip in at the right time.


  • Water-type Deck List
Pokémon
  • 1
    Frigibax
    57/193
    sv02 57
  • 1
    Arctibax
    59/193
    sv02 59
  • 1
    Baxcalibur
    60/193
    sv02 60
  • 1
    Remoraid
    33/182
    sv04 33
  • 1
    Octillery
    33/162
    xy8 33
  • 1
    Snom
    29/72
    swsh45 29
  • 1
    Frosmoth
    30/72
    swsh45 30
  • 1
    Sobble
    41/198
    swsh6 41
  • 1
    Drizzile
    56/202
    swsh1 56
  • 1
    Inteleon
    58/202
    swsh1 58
  • 1
    Staryu
    25/122
    xy9 25
  • 1
    Starmie
    31/108
    xy12 31
  • 1
    Wailmer
    31/159
    swsh12pt5 31
  • 1
    Wailord
    38/195
    swsh12 38
  • 1
    Alolan Vulpix
    21/145
    sm2 21
  • 1
    Kyogre
    36/159
    swsh12pt5 36
Energy Cards
  • 6
    Water Energy
    nrg1 28
  • 1
    Recycle Energy
    sm11 212
  • 1
    Reversal Energy
    sv02 192
  • 1
    Splash Energy
    xy9 113
Trainer Cards
  • 1
    Arezu
    swsh11 153
  • 1
    Arven
    sv03 186
  • 1
    Ball Guy
    swsh45 57
  • 1
    Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)
    sv02 172
  • 1
    Colress
    bw8 118
  • 1
    Cynthia
    sm5 119
  • 1
    Guzma
    sm3 115
  • 1
    Iono
    sv4pt5 80
  • 1
    Irida
    swsh10 147
  • 1
    N
    xy10 105
  • 1
    Nessa
    swsh12pt5 136
  • 1
    Raihan
    swsh12pt5 140
  • 1
    Teammates
    xy5 141
  • 1
    Buddy-Buddy Poffin
    sv05 144
  • 1
    Capacious Bucket
    swsh2 156
  • 1
    Dive Ball
    xy5 125
  • 1
    Energy Retrieval
    sv01 171
  • 1
    Escape Rope
    swsh5 125
  • 1
    Evolution Incense
    swsh1 163
  • 1
    Field Blower
    sm2 125
  • 1
    Hisuian Heavy Ball
    swsh10 146
  • 1
    Level Ball
    swsh5 129
  • 1
    Nest Ball
    sv4pt5 84
  • 1
    Professor’s Letter
    xy8 146
  • 1
    Quick Ball
    swsh8 237
  • 1
    Rare Candy
    sv4pt5 89
  • 1
    Rescue Stretcher
    sm2 130
  • 1
    Scoop Up Net
    swsh2 165
  • 1
    Switch Raft
    sm75 62
  • 1
    Ultra Ball
    sv4pt5 91
  • 1
    VS Seeker
    xy4 109
  • 1
    Luxurious Cape
    sv04 166
  • 1
    Pot Helmet
    swsh9 146
  • 1
    U-Turn Board
    sm11 211
  • 1
    Brooklet Hill
    sm2 120
More Info Copy Deck List

If you’re more of a Grass-type or Fire-type Pokémon fan, we have a few additional deck lists that you can reference when starting your journey into this one-of-a-kind format. This Grass-type deck has a lot of inherent consistency with Grotle to search for Pokémon and Beautifly to draw cards, while the Fire-type deck can take quick revenge Knock Outs with Chi-Yui and Entei.


  • Grass-type Deck List
Pokémon
  • 1
    Bulbasaur
    1/18
    det 1
  • 1
    Ivysaur
    2/78
    pgo 2
  • 1
    Venusaur
    3/73
    sm35 3
  • 1
    Grookey
    11/202
    swsh1 11
  • 1
    Thwackey
    12/72
    swsh45 12
  • 1
    Rillaboom
    14/202
    swsh1 14
  • 1
    Rellor
    23/162
    sv05 23
  • 1
    Rabsca
    24/162
    sv05 24
  • 1
    Turtwig
    6/138
    sm5 6
  • 1
    Grotle
    7/172
    swsh9 7
  • 1
    Torterra
    8/172
    swsh9 8
  • 1
    Wurmple
    6/196
    swsh11 6
  • 1
    Silcoon
    7/196
    swsh11 7
  • 1
    Beautifly
    8/196
    swsh11 8
  • 1
    Heracross
    18/214
    sm8 18
  • 1
    Zarude
    19/198
    swsh6 19
Energy Cards
  • 9
    Grass Energy
    nrg1 26
Trainer Cards
  • 1
    Arven
    sv03 186
  • 1
    Ball Guy
    swsh45 57
  • 1
    Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)
    sv02 172
  • 1
    Brigette
    xy8 134
  • 1
    Guzma
    sm3 115
  • 1
    Iono
    sv02 185
  • 1
    Klara
    swsh6 145
  • 1
    Marnie
    swsh1 169
  • 1
    Professor Kukui
    sm1 128
  • 1
    Raihan
    swsh7 152
  • 1
    Tate & Liza
    sm7 148
  • 1
    Teammates
    xy5 141
  • 1
    Buddy-Buddy Poffin
    sv05 144
  • 1
    Bug Catching Set
    sv06 143
  • 1
    Enhanced Hammer
    sv06 148
  • 1
    Escape Rope
    swsh5 125
  • 1
    Evolution Incense
    swsh1 163
  • 1
    Evosoda
    xy1 116
  • 1
    Field Blower
    sm2 125
  • 1
    Hisuian Heavy Ball
    swsh10 146
  • 1
    Level Ball
    swsh5 129
  • 1
    Nest Ball
    sv01 181
  • 1
    Net Ball
    sm8 187
  • 1
    Rare Candy
    sv01 191
  • 1
    Rescue Stretcher
    sm2 130
  • 1
    Revitalizer
    g1 70
  • 1
    Scoop Up Net
    swsh2 165
  • 1
    Town Map
    xy8 150
  • 1
    VS Seeker
    xy4 109
  • 1
    Air Balloon
    swsh1 156
  • 1
    Float Stone
    xy8 137
  • 1
    Muscle Band
    xy1 121
  • 1
    Technical Machine: Evolution
    sv04 178
  • 1
    U-Turn Board
    sm11 211
  • 1
    Turffield Stadium
    swsh2 170
More Info Copy Deck List
  • Fire-type Deck List
Pokémon
  • 1
    Salandit
    27/159
    swsh12pt5 27
  • 1
    Salazzle
    31/234
    sm10 31
  • 1
    Slugma
    23/168
    sm7 23
  • 1
    Magcargo
    24/168
    sm7 24
  • 1
    Ponyta
    77/165
    sv3pt5 77
  • 1
    Rapidash
    22/195
    swsh12 22
  • 1
    Chi-Yu
    29/182
    sv04 29
  • 1
    Moltres
    21/172
    swsh9 21
  • 1
    Castform Sunny Form
    22/198
    swsh6 22
  • 1
    Entei
    28/236
    sm12 28
  • 1
    Ho-Oh
    1/25
    cel25 1
  • 1
    Heat Rotom
    13/91
    sv4pt5 13
  • 1
    Rainbow Energy
    151/168
    sm7 151
  • 1
    Heat { Fire } Energy
    174/189
    swsh3 174
Energy Cards
  • 8
    Fire Energy
    nrg1 27
Trainer Cards
  • 1
    Blacksmith
    xy2 88
  • 1
    Klara
    swsh6 145
  • 1
    Iono
    sv4pt5 80
  • 1
    Marnie
    swsh35 56
  • 1
    Mela
    sv04 167
  • 1
    Arven
    sv03 186
  • 1
    Guzma
    sm3 115
  • 1
    Professor Kukui
    sm1 128
  • 1
    Welder
    sm10 189
  • 1
    Bird Keeper
    swsh3 159
  • 1
    Carmine
    sv06 145
  • 1
    Guzma & Hala
    sm12 193
  • 1
    Cynthia & Caitlin
    sm12 189
  • 1
    VS Seeker
    xy4 109
  • 1
    Nest Ball
    sv4pt5 84
  • 1
    Evosoda
    g1 62
  • 1
    Ultra Ball
    sv4pt5 91
  • 1
    Hisuian Heavy Ball
    swsh10 146
  • 1
    Level Ball
    swsh5 129
  • 1
    Rescue Stretcher
    sm2 130
  • 1
    Fire Crystal
    sm10 173
  • 1
    Evolution Incense
    swsh1 163
  • 1
    Field Blower
    sm2 125
  • 1
    Pokégear 3.0
    sv01 186
  • 1
    Town Map
    xy8 150
  • 1
    Escape Rope
    swsh5 125
  • 1
    Buddy-Buddy Poffin
    sv05 144
  • 1
    Trainers’ Mail
    xy6 92
  • 1
    Professor’s Letter
    xy8 146
  • 1
    Tag Call
    sm12 206
  • 1
    Earthen Vessel
    sv04 163
  • 1
    Random Receiver
    xy10 109
  • 1
    Muscle Band
    xy1 121
  • 1
    Fighting Fury Belt
    xy9 99
  • 1
    Float Stone
    xy8 137
  • 1
    Magma Basin
    swsh9 144
  • 1
    Giant Hearth
    sm11 197
  • 1
    Artazon
    sv4pt5 76
More Info Copy Deck List

Have fun!

There are a lot of common and powerful ways to play any given type, but you can always do something different in Gym Leader Challenge. If you really want to include that favorite Pokémon, you can do everything in your power to make it shine, which is sometimes impossible due to legality in the Standard format. Gym Leader Challenge is popular at both Regional Championships and International Championships (as well as the World Championships), and there will usually be at least one or two larger Gym Leader Challenge side events on a given event weekend.

To sign up for one of these fun tournaments, you’ll want to find the event’s information desk, where they can direct you to the event’s sign-up method of choice. Gym Leader Challenge is often a paid side event that requires registration through RK9, so keep that in mind as you arrive at a big event with your Gym Leader Challenge deck in hand! If you ask around the Pokémon TCG event tables, you’re likely to find someone who wants to battle using single-type decks even outside of the major side events.

Good luck, Gym Leaders in training!

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