Vol. 2, Issue 38 - Greg's Memories of Pokémon TCG East Coast Super Trainer Showdown
The memories of a Pokémon fan called Greg, who attended the Pokémon TCG East Coast Super Trainer Showdown, in June 2001. Plus, a recap of the latest Pokémon news
It’s time for Vol. 2, issue 38 of the Johto Times newsletter! This week, we go back in time and share the memories of a Pokémon fan called Greg. He attended the Pokémon TCG East Coast Super Trainer Showdown event, which took place in June 2001. Greg tells us about his experience playing in the tournament, and how he later became a Gym Leader for his local Pokémon League! We also have a recap of the very latest Pokémon news!
I would like to take a moment to say hello to all of our subscribers, and thank them for their support. I would love to see the newsletter reach even more people, and I have been doing my best to spread the word to as many people as possible. If you have friends and loved ones who may be interested in the work Johto Times is doing to document and preserve the early history of Pokémon and its fan community, be sure to share it with them!
With that out of the way, let’s begin this week’s issue!
News
The latest Pokémon TCG expansion: Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown is now available in the west, featuring Pokémon first discovered in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's DLC adventure: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. Perhaps you will pull cards such as Lapras ex, Archaludon, Raging Bolt, or Iron Boulder. Perhaps you’ll even find some special Illustration rare cards, featuring Bulbasaur, Hydrapple ex, and Terapagos ex!
Source: Pokémon
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company announced that they have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, Inc., developer of Palworld, seeking an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages. The lawsuit claims Palworld infringes multiple patent rights.
Palworld released in January 2024, and after just one month on sale, it had 25 million players playing its game, with 15 million copies sold on Steam alone.
Just two days prior, The Pokémon Company announced that it had won $15 million in a copyright and intellectual property theft lawsuit against several Chinese companies for the game Pocket Monster Reissue.
Pocketpair issued a statement to confirm they had received notice of the lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations. The statement goes on to say that they will “be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit”.
Source: Nintendo, Pocketpair
Porygon is receiving plenty of appreciation recently, with a "Night Arcade" range of merchandise dedicated to the Virtual Pokémon, exclusive to the Pokémon Center in Japan. Keychains, bags, shirts, and even a Porygon themed LED light will be a part of the line-up when it launches today, on September 19th online, and September 21st in stores.
Source: Pocket Monsters
Additionally, the Porygon Celadon Game Corner Poké Plush, which is a massive 31.5 inches (80cm), is now available for pre-order at the Pokémon Center online in the United Kingdom, North America, and Canada, and is expected to ship in March 2025. In Japan, the product will be available sooner, in January 2025. It’s great to see Porygon get so much attention, and I invite our readers who order one to send us some pictures!
Sources: Pokémon, Pocket Monsters
The latest season of Pokémon GO, "Max Out", is well underway, introducing more Galar region Pokémon and Power Spots, and allowing players to obtain special Dynamax Pokémon. Niantic have released a promo code that allows players to receive 250 Max Particles. The code is LJRAMRU3RYCMC and can be redeemed by visiting the Pokémon GO Web Store, logging in with your credentials, and redeeming the offer.
Please note, this code was still valid at the time of writing, but no date has been given for expiry, so be sure to redeem it at the earliest possible convenience.
Source: Serebii, Pokémon GO
Feature: Greg's Memories of Pokémon TCG East Coast Super Trainer Showdown
Between June 23rd and June 24th, 2001, the Pokémon East Coast Super Trainer Showdown took place at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. This official Pokémon TCG tournament hosted many players across three age divisions. Greg, a player who took part in the 11-14 age group, shares his memories of the event and his experiences with the TCG, including the time he became a Gym Leader!
I was 12 when I attended the 2001 Super Trainer Showdown in Secaucus, New Jersey on Saturday, June 23. My dad brought me to the Meadowlands Exposition Center for the event. He was always supportive of me playing the Pokémon TCG. We frequently visited a local flea market to purchase individual Rare/Holo cards, as it was easier and cheaper long-term than buying random card packs. By this point we were attending Toys R Us weekly for the TCG League events. So to ask my dad to drive us to New Jersey for Pokémon was not difficult.
While I did not intend to rank in the tournament, I nonetheless entered into the main competition to have fun. My deck was primarily Psychic-type driven, with Sabrina’s Alakazam and Gengar, plus Rocket’s and Promo Mewtwo as my main powerhouses. Other cards such as Unown [M], Cleffa, and Cool Porygon helped on support, and Murkrow was used as a backup attacker, taking advantage of the massive strength Darkness Energy cards provided at the time. With Sneasel being banned from tournament play, Murkrow was the suitable replacement for the role.
To the best of my recollection I won 2 or 3 matches before I was knocked out of the competition. My final win was a notable one, as it was completed within 3 turns. My opponent was only able to send out 1 Active Pokémon and no Benched Pokémon within that timeframe. On the other hand, I was able to send out Sabrina’s Gastly and evolve it to Sabrina’s Gengar by the 3rd turn. A successful use of Call of the Night (which requires 2 successful coin flips), resulted in my opponent’s Active Pokemon to be returned to their deck, and with no other Pokemon in play, I won by default.
Besides the competition, I had fun with the various activities at the event, including the photo ops with a mascot Pichu, as well as an oversized Sneasel card, with BANNED stamped across it. I also went home with a T-Shirt from the event (which I sadly no longer have), some binder insert pages, and, most prized of all, the Southern Islands Collection, sold early at the event. I had wanted the set since I first saw low quality images of the Japanese cards online years prior. I was pleasantly surprised to see the set for sale, in English, at the event. I still have it today, and keep it in wonderful condition for its age. My deck is also still intact, though the last I had used it, I used proxy cards to keep my better condition ones in my collection binders.
The deck contained the following cards:
Sabrina’s Alakazam x 2
Sabrina’s Kadabra x 2
Sabrina’s Abra Lv. 18 x 2
Sabrina’s Abra Lv. 12 x 2
Sabrina’s Gengar x 1
Sabrina’s Haunter x 2
Sabrina’s Gastly x 3
Slowking Lvl. 39 x 1
Slowpoke Lvl. 20 x 1
Slowpoke Lvl. 16 x 1
Murkrow X 1
Unknown [M] X 1
Rocket’s Mewtwo x 1
Mewtwo Lvl. 60 x 2
Cleffa Lvl. 6 x 1
Cleffa Lvl. 5 x 1
Cool Porygon x 1
Ecogym x 1
Sprout Tower x 2
Gold Berry x 1
Berry x 1
The Rocket’s Trap x 1
Switch x 2
Bill x 3
Rainbow Energy x 1
Darkness Energy x 2
Psychic Energy x 20
My experience with the Pokémon TCG began at the same time as my knowledge of Pokémon itself, after receiving the “Sneak Peak” VHS tape in the mail. Even though the tape said the TCG would be out in November of 1999, I didn’t find it in stores until early [the] next year. It didn’t take [me] long to get super into the game, buying the Starter Deck, Preconstructed Decks, and some Booster Packs to fill out my collection. The checklist included with the decks made it clear just how many cards there would be.
Not long after, my dad would take me to our local flea market with a dedicated card/toy shop on the second floor. One of the dealers there had table space for playing the game and had individual cards for sale. This made it easier to get cards I needed instead of opening Booster Packs blindly and getting doubles.
As time passed, the expansions came out: Jungle, Fossil, [plus] promo cards given out at the movies, Nintendo Power, etc. By early 2000, I heard that there was an official Pokémon League at Toys R Us stores, including promo card giveaways. We had one close to home, so what began then was an almost weekly ritual of going on Saturdays to play. They gave us the books with stamps to receive by playing matches, answering trivia questions, and challenging the “Gym Leaders,” the older and more skilled people that helped run it. Finishing a page in the book to get each of the Badge pins was a huge accomplishment.
By the next year, 2001, I was offered [the chance] to help out and be a Gym Leader. While I wasn’t in charge of the actual behind-the-scenes of the Pokémon League (how stores get the materials from Wizards of the Coast, etc.), I was allowed to help set up/break down the event each week, give out materials, onboard new players, etc. We took two tables and sets of benches from the employee break room, and the boxes of supplies were set up for us. We’d usually set up near the Infants section, as there was enough open floor space for us to put the tables and not be in the way, though we were often so popular we’d have kids playing on the floor nearby.
2001 was the golden year, as we’d have new promo cards to earn every month. They kept it a mystery by sending sticker sheets to put into the back of our Badge Books when the new Promos came out. Sadly, though, by 2002, the fun was over. Whether it was due to Wizards or Toys R Us, I don’t know, but the League was over. No more weekly visits. I found out that the Wizards of the Coast store now hosted the League. I went once, only to find out they charged customers money just to participate. Having everyone in the store and able to buy Booster Packs apparently wasn’t enough for them. I did this once, and the feeling was not the same. No one was warm and welcoming. Having to pay was a disappointment, and I wasn’t allowed to use proxy cards, a common thing at the TRU League. I wasn’t comfortable using my rare cards I only had a single copy of in my deck (except for during the Super Trainer Showdown). I only went to the WotC store for the League once, and that was it. My time as a Pokémon TCG trainer ended in early 2002.
I never forgot the memories made, Badges won, and cards earned. I still have my whole collection, very close to being complete, up through Neo Destiny and all of the Black Star Promo cards.
Additional photographs
A very special thanks to Greg for sharing his memories of the 2001 Super Trainer Showdown event, and all the great photographs he provided. It’s always great to hear about these classic events from the people who attended them.
Wow, that sounds like an amazing time! I'm glad we could all share in the happy memories and joy this franchise and brought.
Those southern islands cards are beautiful! I didn't know toys r us used to do such cool events. Thanks for sharing your story!