Victory Medals are some of the most popular “entry level” trophy cards, but their origins are actually shrouded in a good deal of mystery. I decided to explore the events that distributed these medals–here’s the results!
Original Victory Medals
Full articles:pokumon.com/japan-official-pokemon-card-gym-events-2003-2007/ , pokumon.com/japan-official-pokemon-card-gym-events-2008-2009/
- These were distributed starting in 2005 at Official Gym stores. These were similar to the Pokemon Leagues runs at local card / hobby shops in America.
- Official Gym stores would host Gym Challenges every month, with winners receiving the Silver medals
- The Gold medals were given out to the winners of the regional “Gym Final” events, but were also later distributed a bunch of other Official Events to winners, so they’re not exclusive with one exception
- The 2005 Gold Medal was only given out during Gym Final events in 2005 & 2006. This means there are only 42 of this card officially distributed (21 each year–7 Gym Finals across 3 age groups). Super rare!
Legendary Pokemon Medals
Full articles:pokumon.com/challenge-hiroba-plaza-events/, pokumon.com/pokemon-battle-tour-09/
- The Giratina medal was given out in 2008 Challenge Hiroba Events as a prize for winning 5 times in a row
- Challenge Hiroba is actually an English mistranslation that somehow has persisted for over a decade. The Japanese even name is “ポケモンチャレンジひろば”, which translates to “Pokemon Challenge Plaza”. These events were held at hypermarkets / shopping centers across Japan instead of in card shops.
- The Arceus metals were given out at the Pokemon Battle Tour 09. This summer event was held in 44 prefectures across Japan, and featured 2 “leagues”. In one league you played with a full 60-card deck, and another league you played with a 30-card half deck. Winners of the standard league got both gold & silver medals, while the “half” league only got the silver one.
Gen 2 Starter Medals
Full articles:pokumon.com/challenge-hiroba-plaza-events/, pokumon.com/pokemon-battle-challenge/
- The 3 silver medals were given out in an identical way to the silver Giratina medal: winning at Challenge Hiroba events.
- The gold Typhlosion medal was a prize if you won 2 consecutive times at the Pokemon Battle Challenge. These event was held in the Fall - Winter of 2009 in department stores across Japan
L-P Pikachu Medals
Full Article:pokumon.com/japan-official-pokemon-card-gym-events-2008-2009/
- In November 2009, Gym Challenges began distributing these medals for 1st-3rd place winners.
- These were held monthly at each store, and stores would continue to given these to players throughout 2010 until the Gen 5 TCG expansions started coming out in Fall of 2010.
And there you have it! These are some of my favorite promo cards so I hope you also appreciate the extra details behind their origins 
