Meet the original eight
The first Pokémon games gave Kanto eight Gym Leaders, each a master of one type: Brock (Rock, Pewter City), Misty (Water, Cerulean City), Lt. Surge (Electric, Vermilion City), Erika (Grass, Celadon City), Koga (Poison, Fuchsia City), Sabrina (Psychic, Saffron City), Blaine (Fire, Cinnabar Island), and Giovanni (Ground — and secretly the boss of Team Rocket — Viridian City). They're the original gauntlet every trainer remembers, which makes them a perfect, contained collecting theme.
Where they started: Gym Heroes & Gym Challenge (2000)
The Gym Leaders headlined two sets in 2000. Gym Heroes (August) focused on the first four — Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, and Erika — and introduced 'Owner's Pokémon' like Brock's Onix and Misty's Tentacruel, each Leader's own Supporter card, and Gym Stadium cards (Pewter City Gym, Cerulean City Gym). Gym Challenge (October) finished the roster with Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni. Together the two 132-card sets are the heart of any Gym Leader collection.
The chase cards
The grail is Blaine's Charizard (Gym Challenge #2) — a holo that still commands hundreds of dollars in good condition. Right behind it are favorites like Sabrina's Gengar, Erika's Venusaur, Giovanni's cards, and the holo Leader Supporters themselves. Even outside the headline holos, the 'Owner's Pokémon' commons and uncommons are cheap and fun to chase, so you can build most of a Gym Leader page for very little.
The Leaders in modern sets
The original eight never really left. They've returned over the years as full-art and modern Supporters (Misty, Blaine, Giovanni, and more), and recent sets have revived their 'Owner's Pokémon' once again — for example Misty's Gyarados in 2025's Destined Rivals. That means a Gym Leader binder spans 25 years of art, from chunky 2000-era holos to today's sleek full arts.
How to build the binder
The cleanest layout is one page per Leader, in game order (Brock → Giovanni), each page mixing the Leader's Supporter with their 'Owner's Pokémon.' Type-matched pages look great too, since each Leader sticks to one type. If you'd rather collect by era, build the two Gym sets first, then add the modern Supporters as a back section. Use acid-free, side-loading pages in a zip binder so the vintage holos stay protected.
Where to start
Pick a Leader below to see every card featuring them — their Supporters and all of their 'Owner's Pokémon' — then plan your pages from there.