Pokemon Card GB2: Team Great Rocket is here! (Japan Only)

Titles	Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR! ポケモンカードGB2 GR団参上! (Pokémon Kādo Jī Bī Tsū: Jī Āru-dan Sanjō!)
Platform	Game Boy Color (Game Boy Color only; infrared port and Game Link Cable)
Developer	Hudson Soft, with Creatures Inc.
Publisher	The Pokémon Company (its first published game)
Director	Koji Arai
Producers	Tsunekazu Ishihara · Shinichi Nakamoto · Takahiro Harada
Music	Ichiro Shimakura
Players	1–2
Genre	Card battle role-playing game
Cards	441 usable cards in eight booster packs, plus promos
Released	28 March 2001 (Japan only)
Re-releases	None – not on Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online (October 2026)
Predecessor	Pokémon Trading Card Game (Game Boy Color, 1998)
Sales	About 890,000 in Japan

Overview · Quick Answers · Story · Characters · Locations · Gameplay & Features · Card Pop! · Connectivity · Japan Only · Glitches · Videos · Trivia · Legacy · Sales · Media

Overview

Published by The Pokémon Company on the Game Boy Color, Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR! is the sequel to Pokémon Trading Card Game on Game Boy, and another Pokémon game to be released only in Japan.

The sequel inherited most of the previous game’s mechanics, with the addition of new features, like a whole new island the player can explore, many new cards and the option to play as a female character. Pokémon Card GB2 also has a more elaborate story, focusing mainly on the villainous Team Great Rocket.

The game includes nearly every card from the Base, Jungle, Fossil and Team Rocket sets of the real Pokémon Trading Card Game, along with most of the Japanese Vending cards and the Intro Pack cards – 441 cards in all.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask about Pokémon Card GB2, answered first and explained further down the page.

Story

The game starts out on TCG Island, where the player has already become the Pokémon Trading Card Champion and won the legendary cards guarded by the Grand Masters, who can only be challenged after defeating the eight Club Masters of the region. To their surprise, Team Great Rocket appears and steals the player’s cards, taking over several clubs and kidnapping many people along the way – including two of the Club Masters and all four Grand Masters.

The player then visits Dr. Mason’s Lab, where they meet their old rival Ronald, who decides to infiltrate Team Great Rocket to get some intel on the organisation. Dr. Mason then talks to the player and gives them some new cards to replace the stolen ones, and asks them to help Ronald save the Club Masters from their kidnappers and recover the stolen cards.

The player then starts out on their journey, first visiting the Club Masters of the region (or the Team Great Rocket members who have taken over their clubs) and battling them. Six of the Club Masters hand over an Event Coin when they are defeated, each named after a Pokémon, and beating four Team GR members on TCG Island gathers the four pieces of the GR Coin. The player then heads to GR Island, where they fight seven Team Great Rocket Fort Leaders, along with their members, in six forts and the Colorless Altar.

Many of the Fort Leaders and the members guarding them force the player to follow special rules in order to duel them. Like the Club Masters, each Fort Leader gives the player a coin, named after a Pokémon. Beating the forts also frees the kidnapped Club Masters and Grand Masters, so the player wins back the legendary cards, which are needed in order to reach Team Great Rocket’s boss.

With the legendary cards back in hand, the player heads to the Team GR Castle on GR Island, where they face Team Great Rocket’s two Big Bosses, Rui and Kanzaki, and finally the king himself, Biruritchi, in a best-of-three match. Once Biruritchi is defeated, the player receives the GR King Coin and Team GR’s Mewtwo card, and the credits roll. Beating him a second time opens the Sealed Fort for more duels after the story.

Characters

The game is filled with characters the player will encounter throughout the story:

Playable characters

Mark

The male playable character and the protagonist of the previous game.

Mint

The female counterpart of Mark, added in Pokémon Card GB2. She only appears in this game, and as the game was only released in Japan, she has never appeared in an official English release.

Club Masters

There are eight Club Masters spread out across TCG Island. Unlike the previous game, they give the player Coins instead of Medals – six of them, at least, as Rick and Mitch are kidnapped by Team Great Rocket and hand over promo cards instead once they are rescued.

Rock Club: Gene

Fighting · TCG Island · Kabuto Coin

Deck: Even 3 Years on a Rock Deck

The Rock Club’s master awards the Kabuto Coin at his club. His deck name plays on the Japanese proverb about perseverance; in the first game he used Rock Crusher.

Fighting Club: Mitch

Fighting · TCG Island · Cool Porygon promo (no coin)

Deck: Raging Billow of Fists Deck

The second kidnapped Club Master. Rescuing him from the GR Fighting Fort earns the Cool Porygon promo rather than a coin; his first-game deck was First-Strike.

Grass Club: Nikki

Grass · TCG Island · Oddish Coin

Deck: MAX Energy Deck

Hands over her Oddish Coin at Mr. Ishihara’s House rather than inside her own club. Her first-game deck was the Flower Power Deck, replaced here by a new list.

Fire Club: Ken

Fire · TCG Island · Charmander Coin

Deck: Go Arcanine! Deck

His club falls under Team GR’s control early on; once it is freed he awards the Charmander Coin. His first-game deck was the Fire Charge Deck.

Lightning Club: Isaac

Lightning · TCG Island · Pikachu Coin

Deck: Sky Spark Deck; Electric Selfdestruct Deck

Uses two different decks in the sequel. His Electric Selfdestruct Deck echoes the Zapping Selfdestruct Deck he used in the first game, and he awards the Pikachu Coin.

Water Club: Amy

Water · TCG Island · Starmie Coin

Deck: Rain Dance Confusion Deck

Another Club Master whose club is overrun by Team GR on TCG Island. Rescued, she gives the Starmie Coin; in the first game she used the Rain Dancer Deck.

Science Club: Rick

Grass · TCG Island · Hungry Snorlax promo (no coin)

Deck: Dark Science Deck

Kidnapped by Team Great Rocket at the start of the adventure. Freeing him from the GR Grass Fort earns the Hungry Snorlax promo instead of an Event Coin.

Psychic Club: Murray

Psychic · TCG Island · Alakazam Coin

Deck: Psychic Elite Deck; Handed Over GR Deck

Has two decks in GB2, one called the Handed Over GR Deck. Beating him at the Psychic Club earns the Alakazam Coin; his first-game deck was Strange Psyshock.

Grand Masters

The four Grand Masters, their legendary cards and their type specialisms. All four are kidnapped by Team Great Rocket and have to be freed from the GR forts.

Pokémon Dome: Courtney

Fire · TCG Island · Moltres Legendary Card

Deck: Grand Fire Deck

Abducted by Team GR and freed from the GR Fire Fort, where she gives an Arcanine promo. Her first-game deck was the Legendary Moltres Deck.

Pokémon Dome: Steve

Lightning · TCG Island · Zapdos Legendary Card

Deck: Legendary Fossil Deck

Swaps his first-game Legendary Zapdos Deck for a fossil-themed list. Freeing him from the GR Lightning Fort earns an Electabuzz promo card.

Pokémon Dome: Jack

Water (Ice) · TCG Island · Articuno Legendary Card

Deck: Water Legend Deck

The ice specialist is rescued from the GR Water Fort and rewards the player with a Magikarp promo. His first-game deck was the Legendary Articuno Deck.

Pokémon Dome: Rod

Colorless (Dragon) · TCG Island · Dragonite Legendary Card

Deck: Great Dragon Deck

The strongest Grand Master is held in the GR Psychic Stronghold; rescuing him earns a second promo Dragonite. His first-game deck was the Legendary Dragonite Deck.

Team Great Rocket

They are the villains of the game, who are trying to control the trading card world by stealing all the Pokémon cards and even kidnapping many key individuals. As all villains do, they will resort to any tricks and mischievous plans in order to realise their goals.

The seven Fort Leaders:

GR Grass Fort: Morino

Grass · GR Island · Golbat Coin

Deck: Mad Petals Deck

Fort members Midori, Yuta and Miyuki must be beaten first. Morino’s rule makes Grass Pokémon immune to Special Conditions, and Rick is held captive in this fort.

GR Lightning Fort: Catherine

Lightning · GR Island · Magnemite Coin

Deck: Quick Attack Deck

Guarded by Renna and Ichikawa. Under her rule Lightning Pokémon deal 10 extra damage. Grand Master Steve is freed from this fort.

GR Fire Fort: Hidero

Fire · GR Island · Magmar Coin

Deck: Gaze Upon the Power of Fire! Deck

Reached after Jes, Yuki and Shoko. His rule removes Fire Pokémon’s Weakness to Water, and Grand Master Courtney is held here.

GR Water Fort: Kanoko

Water · GR Island · Psyduck Coin

Deck: Water Stream Deck

Fort members Miyajima, Senta and Aira come first. Kanoko’s rule cuts Water Pokémon’s Retreat Cost by one, and Grand Master Jack is imprisoned here.

GR Fighting Fort: Kamiya

Fighting · GR Island · Machamp Coin

Deck: Running Wild Deck

Guarded by Goda and Grace inside a maze with hidden chests. His rule stops Fighting Pokémon being resisted, and Club Master Mitch is held here.

GR Psychic Stronghold: Mami

Psychic · GR Island · Mew Coin

Deck: Spirited Away Deck

The largest fort, with four members: Kevin, Miwa, Yosuke and Ryoko. Under her rule discarded Energy returns to its owner’s hand; Grand Master Rod is held here.

Colorless Altar: Ishii

Colorless · GR Island · Snorlax Coin

Deck: Eye of the Storm Deck

Leads Nishijima and Samejima at the Colorless Altar. Ishii is also one of the four Team GR members whose defeat on TCG Island yields a GR Coin fragment.

The GR Castle:

GR Castle: Rui

Big Boss · GR Island · Team Great Rocket

Rule: No special rules

One of Biruritchi’s two Big Bosses (GR-dan Daikanbu). Rui and Kanzaki must both be beaten before the player is allowed to challenge the king.

GR Castle: Kanzaki

Grass, Fire and Psychic · GR Island · Two booster packs

Deck: Bad Guys Deck (Dark Gloom, Dark Charmeleon, Dark Golduck, Dark Slowbro)

Refuses to duel unless the player’s deck contains all four Legendary Cards, as he wants to test himself against them. His deck leans on Dark Pokémon and The Boss’s Way.

GR Castle: Biruritchi

Varies · GR Island · GR King Coin (Togepi Coin)

Decks: One of four at random: Burn Up! Deck (Dark Charizard), Smash It! Deck (Dark Blastoise), Throw Out! Deck (Dark Machamp), Stop Breath! Deck (Dark Venusaur)

Fought in a best-of-three match. He can be rematched for another Team GR’s Mewtwo each time, and beating him twice opens the Sealed Fort.

Additional characters

Dr. Mason

He’s the Pokémon card professor of TCG Island (Dr. Ōyama in Japanese), who entrusts the player with the mission of rescuing the island from Team Great Rocket. His new Deck Diagnosis service reviews the player’s deck.

Ronald

Similarly to the previous game, he’s the player’s rival, but has a more developed role in the game, as he disguises himself as one of Team Great Rocket’s members, all while gathering important information and acquiring card packs or sets for the player.

Imakuni?

The eccentric musician Imakuni?, based on the real-life Japanese performer of that name, returns as a hidden opponent who wanders the islands. GB2 adds a red-clad Imakuni? as well, and beating either one a set number of times earns promo cards such as Slowpoke and Farfetch’d, plus the Imakuni? card itself.

Locations

The game takes place on two different islands, each with many locations:

Trading Card Game Island (TCG Island)

There are 13 locations on TCG Island, and they are as follows:

The Eight Clubs: Each Club specialises in a Pokémon type and consists of a number of members and their Club Master:

• Ishihara’s House: Where Mr. Ishihara can mostly be found resting, gathering his strength for when you want to negotiate some trades with him!
• Mason Laboratory: Dr. Mason’s research facility.
• Challenge Hall: Many tournaments are held here, in which the player can participate and earn rare cards. The Challenge Cup works as it did in the previous game, and it is joined by the new GR Challenge Cup and Grand Master Cup.
• The Airport: Here, the player can travel to GR Island using Team Great Rocket’s blimp.
• Pokémon Dome: It is where the Grand Masters await the player and protect the legendary cards. Since they’re based on the Elite Four in the main game series, there are also four Grand Masters in this game.

Great Rocket Island (GR Island)

As the base of Team Great Rocket, the island contains mostly facilities belonging to the organisation. The locations on the island are:

• The Game Center: The player can win chips here from the games and later trade them for cards and coins.
• Ishihara’s Villa: Another one of Mr. Ishihara’s homes, where he can be found.
• The Airport: It is used to return to TCG Island.
• Challenge Hall: GR Island’s own hall, with a Challenge Machine for long winning streaks.
• The six Team Great Rocket Forts and the Colorless Altar: These work in a similar way to the Clubs on TCG Island. Each Fort has a Team Great Rocket Leader, accompanied by other members who need to be fought first. The Team Great Rocket members and the Leaders themselves will often force special rules on the player, mostly giving themselves the advantage.
• Team Great Rocket Castle: It is where the boss of the organisation resides, along with his two Big Bosses.

Gameplay & Features

As the sequel to Pokémon Trading Card Game on GB, the game showcases most of the features of its predecessor, with the addition of many new ones. The player can now play as a female character called Mint, or choose the male protagonist from the previous game, Mark. Playing as Mint or Mark has no effect on the rival, who is still Ronald.

A new island called GR Island was added as the base of Team Great Rocket, where major events of the game take place. The interiors of a few of the clubs on TCG Island have also been greatly enhanced. The player’s opponents now have expressive sprites, reacting with a happy face to winning and a sad one when they lose. There are eight different card sets, or packs, that can be acquired within the game:

• Beginning Pokémon
• Island of Fossil
• Sky Flying Pokémon
• Legendary Power
• Promotion Card
• Psychic Battle
• Team Rocket’s Ambition
• We Are Team Rocket

The game features every card from Pokémon Trading Card Game on GB, but a few cards from the real card game’s sets never made it in. These cards are: Caterpie, Cubone, Ditto (two different cards), Electabuzz, Electrode, Flash, Grimer, Guard Spec., Jynx, Kadabra, Koffing, Marowak, Mew, Pikachu, Pokémon Tower and Tangela.

In depth: the fine print

Event CoinsThe first game’s Master Medals are replaced by 24 Event Coins, each with its own Pokémon design, and the one you equip is the coin flipped during duels. Dr. Mason hands over the Chansey Coin after the tutorial; six Club Masters give coins such as the Oddish, Starmie and Kabuto Coins; each GR fort awards one (Golbat, Magnemite, Magmar, Psyduck, Machamp, Mew and Snorlax); and the rest reward feats like ten Challenge Cup wins (Ponyta), 50 straight Challenge Machine wins (Dugtrio or Gengar) or 100 link victories (Lugia).

The GR CoinOne coin has to be earned in pieces. The GR Coin is split into four fragments, held by the Team GR members Yuta, Ishii, Ichikawa and Miwa, and each victory over one of them adds a piece. Assembling the full coin is a key milestone of the TCG Island half of the adventure, and Ronald challenges the player at several of these points, handing over promo cards such as Super Energy Retrieval and Computer Error when beaten.

Special duel rulesDuels in the GR forts are not played on level terms. Most fort members impose a condition before they agree to play: allowing only one type of basic Energy, demanding that four copies of a named card such as Pikachu, Magikarp or Eevee sit in your deck, banning Trainer cards, or capping both Benches at three Pokémon. Fort Leaders add field effects that favour their type, such as extra damage for Lightning Pokémon or cheaper retreats for Water Pokémon, so a single all-purpose deck rarely suffices.

Auto Deck Machines and MinicomOver 70 new pre-built decks are stored in the Auto Deck Machines, so players can copy a ready-made list straight into their collection if they own the cards. A new Minicom option on the pause menu reorganises the email system and gives quick access to the Deck Save Machine from anywhere, removing much of the first game’s walking back and forth between machines. Text entry also gains lowercase letters for naming decks.

Deck DiagnosisNewcomers who are unsure whether a deck works can ask Dr. Mason for a Deck Diagnosis. He looks over the list and comments on its strengths and weaknesses, such as an awkward Energy count or too few Basic Pokémon, before the player commits it to a tough duel. Together with the training duels in his laboratory, it makes GB2 noticeably gentler for beginners than its predecessor, which left deck building entirely to the player.

Tournaments and Challenge MachinesAlongside the returning Challenge Cup, two new tournaments are held across the islands: the GR Challenge Cup and the Grand Master Cup. Challenge Machines at Dr. Mason’s laboratory and in GR Island’s Challenge Hall run endless gauntlets of opponents, and streaks of 50 consecutive wins earn the Dugtrio and Gengar Coins. Repeated tournament victories also pay out, with ten Challenge Cup wins giving the Ponyta Coin and ten GR Challenge Cup wins the Horsea Coin.

Game CenterGR Island’s Game Center runs on chips won from its games, including a Coin Toss game that can award a Mew promo. Chips buy prizes: 500 secures the Jigglypuff Coin, 1,000 a Bill’s PC card, and 2,000 each the Venusaur and Mew Phantom Cards, so those two are the only Phantom Cards obtainable without Card Pop!. It gives solo players a steady route to cards that would otherwise demand a second Game Boy Color and a friend.

Trades and promo machinesMany of the game’s 45 numbered promo cards come from trades rather than duels. Mr. Ishihara swaps rarities for cards you hand over, such as Marill for a Dragonite, Togepi for a Clefable and Flying or Surfing Pikachu for the Legendary birds or Clefairy. Bill’s Machine turns a Stage 1 card plus Bill’s PC into a promo evolution such as Gengar or Machamp, and a Black Box converts set combinations, such as Hitmonlee with Hitmonchan, into prizes like a promo Mankey.

Post-game: the Sealed FortThe credits are not the end. Biruritchi can be challenged again after his first defeat, handing over another Team GR’s Mewtwo each time he loses, and beating him twice opens the Sealed Fort for further duels. Link-play milestones of 50 and 100 victories earn the Raichu and Lugia Coins, and Imakuni? and his red-clad counterpart reward repeated wins against them with promos such as Slowpoke, Farfetch’d and an Imakuni? card.

Card Pop!

Pokémon Card GB2: Here Comes Team GR! inherited the Card Pop! feature of the previous game (called Card de Pon! in Japanese), allowing players to link their games through the infrared communication ports, with each of them receiving a randomly generated card.

Card Pop! is still the only way to obtain the Phantom Cards ‘Here Comes Team Rocket!’ and Lugia (the other two Phantom Cards, Venusaur and Mew, can also be bought at GR Island’s Game Center). One should note that Card Pop! only works between two copies of the same game: it is impossible for this game, for example, to Card Pop! with its predecessor, and trying it can cause glitches or even erase save data.

Connectivity

Players who own the game can connect to each other through the Game Link Cable to duel and test their decks, or use the Game Boy Color’s infrared port to exchange deck configurations and cards, or to perform Card Pop!. GB2 can only link with another copy of GB2, so it can’t connect to the first Pokémon Trading Card Game at all, whether on the original cartridge, the 3DS Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online.

Japan Only: Names & the Fan Translation

Pokémon Card GB2 never left Japan, so many of its names have no official English version:

• The game was released only in Japan. IGN’s January 2001 preview called it Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: Return of Team Rocket and expected an English version, but none was made.
• The Japanese subtitle GR団参上! has been rendered in English as Here Comes Team GR!, Team Great Rocket Is Here! and The Invasion of Team GR!; there is no official localised title.
• Characters carried over from the first game are known in English by the names Nintendo gave them in 2000, but their Japanese names differ: Dr. Mason is Dr. Ōyama, Courtney is Hiroko, Jack is Kanekōji, Rod is Ryūdō and Nikki is Kunimi.
• Characters new to GB2, including the Fort Leaders, Rui, Kanzaki and Biruritchi, have no official English names, so English references use romanised Japanese names such as Morino, Hiderō and Kanoko.
• Several clubs have different names in Japanese: the Grass, Water, Lightning, Psychic, Rock and Fighting Clubs are the Green, Aqua, Electric, Esper, Stone and Battle Clubs.
• TCG Island is Hajimari no Shima (Island of Beginnings) in Japanese, and GR Island is GR-dan no Shima (Team GR’s Island).
• Card Pop! is called Card de Pon! (カードでポン!) in Japanese.

English-speaking players have relied on an unofficial fan translation by artemis251, released as a complete patch in June 2012, which made the whole adventure playable in English for the first time.

Glitches, exploits and oddities

Linking with the wrong game, cards at the wrong level and a Mewtwo that plays differently:

Card Pop! with the first game

GB2’s Card Pop! is only meant to work between two copies of GB2, but because both games use the same infrared feature it is possible to point a copy of the first Pokémon Trading Card Game at it and attempt the exchange. The two games are not compatible, and attempting it can cause glitches in either game and can even corrupt or erase save data. Anyone playing on original Game Boy Color hardware with both cartridges should keep Card Pop! sessions strictly between copies of the same game.

Cards with the wrong level

Four cards carry a different level in the game from the one printed or listed elsewhere. The Vending series Charmander is LV.10 on the real card but LV.12 in GB2, while the Vending Doduo drops from LV.10 to LV.8. Two cards made for the games also disagree with the official Japanese trading guide: the promotional Moltres is LV.40 in-game but LV.37 in the guide, and the Laboratory Magnemite is LV.14 in-game but LV.15 in the guide. The changes have no effect on play, as levels only label the card.

Team GR’s Mewtwo plays differently

The physical Team GR’s Mewtwo promo packed with the game and the in-game version do not quite match. On the printed card, its Dark Wave Pokémon Power adds bonus damage to attacks by your Dark Pokémon through coin flips, worth 10 or 20 extra. In the game the power is simplified to add a random 0, 10 or 20 damage instead. Both versions stop working while Mewtwo is Asleep, Confused or Paralysed, and the physical card was never legal in official tournaments.

Videos & media

Check out this video of Pokémon Card GB2 for the Game Boy Color, played with the English fan translation.

Pokémon Card GB2 played with the English fan translation (video: Michibiku).

Trivia & facts

• The secret card Dark Raichu, found in the Team Rocket’s Ambition pack, was the first card ever to be released outside Japan before being released there. Wizards of the Coast created it as the secret card of the English Team Rocket set in 2000, and it only reached Japan later in a different expansion, which is why it carries the ‘GB’ symbol in the game instead of the symbol of the Team Rocket expansion.

• 

  Copies of the game came with promo cards of Team GR’s Mewtwo and Lugia.

Further trivia

• It was the first game ever published by The Pokémon Company rather than Nintendo.
• It was the final Pokémon game released for the Game Boy Color in Japan, arriving one week after the Game Boy Advance launched there on 21 March 2001.
• Viewed on the overworld map, GR Island is shaped like a rocket, fitting its role as Team Great Rocket’s home.
• The maze inside the GR Fighting Fort hides treasure chests, two of which hold promo Diglett and Dugtrio cards.

Legacy

What came after

• Pokémon Card GB, the predecessor, released in Japan – 18 December 1998. Released in the West as Pokémon Trading Card Game in 2000; it sold 1.39 million copies in Japan.
• IGN reports the sequel – 23 January 2001. Previewed under the working title Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: Return of Team Rocket, with an English release described as likely.
• Pokémon Card GB2 launches in Japan – 28 March 2001. Game Boy Color only, a week after the Game Boy Advance’s Japanese launch; Team GR’s Mewtwo and Lugia promo cards included. It became the last Pokémon game for the Game Boy Color in Japan.
• Complete English fan translation patch – 15 June 2012. An unofficial patch by the fan translator artemis251 made the whole game playable in English for the first time.
• First game reaches the 3DS Virtual Console – 10 July 2014. Europe first, then Australia (11 July), North America (13 November) and Japan (24 December 2014), without Card Pop!. GB2 was not released.
• First game joins Nintendo Switch Online – 8 August 2023. Pokémon Trading Card Game was added to the Game Boy library; the sequel was not.
• Still unavailable on Nintendo Classics – October 2026. No re-release or official translation of GB2 has been announced.

Where to play it today

As of October 2026 the only official way to play is an original Japanese cartridge on a Game Boy Color, or on a Game Boy Advance or GameCube Game Boy Player, although those later systems lack the infrared port needed for card trades and Card Pop!. The game has never been reissued on the 3DS Virtual Console or Nintendo Switch Online, and it remains entirely in Japanese apart from an unofficial fan translation.

How it was made

Hudson Soft developed the sequel with assistance from Creatures Inc., and Koji Arai returned as director after leading the first Pokémon Card GB. Tsunekazu Ishihara, Shinichi Nakamoto and Takahiro Harada produced it, Teruyuki Fujita wrote the story, Ichiro Shimakura again composed the music and Hideki Kazama provided the package artwork. It was the first game published by The Pokémon Company rather than Nintendo. A build string left in the ROM dates the final compile to 18 January, roughly ten weeks before launch. Japanese site Watch Impress announced the game in January 2001, and IGN covered it on 23 January under the working English title Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: Return of Team Rocket, predicting an English release that never happened. It reached Japanese shops on 28 March 2001, one week after the Game Boy Advance launched, with Team GR’s Mewtwo and Lugia promo cards inside the box.

The real promo cards

Sales & reviews

Sales figures

As the game was only released in Japan, all of its sales came from there: it managed to sell around 845 thousand copies within three weeks of its release. Sales continued to increase very slowly, reaching approximately 860 thousand copies by 5 May 2001, and finally reaching around 890 thousand copies sold across Japan.

The final total matches VGChartz’s estimate of 0.89 million. It is a healthy figure, but well short of the first game, which sold 1.39 million copies in Japan – GB2 arrived a week after the Game Boy Advance launched there, at the very end of the Game Boy Color’s life.

• 890kJapan (estimate)
• 1.39mthe first game, Japan
• 29/40Famitsu
• 441cards

Review scores

As a Japan-only release, Pokémon Card GB2 was reviewed mainly in Japan.

Because the game never left Japan, contemporary reviews were almost entirely Japanese. Weekly Famitsu awarded it 29 out of 40, a solid score for a sequel that offered more of a proven formula: a card pool nearly twice the size of the first game’s, a second island, special-rule duels and a proper villain storyline. In the West, IGN’s early 2001 coverage treated an English version as likely, but the game arrived on an outgoing console a week after the Game Boy Advance launched, and no localisation followed. It sold well below the million-plus achieved by the first game in Japan. Later retrospectives, including Prima Games in 2021 and Wargamer in 2025, have called it the forgotten Pokémon sequel and argued that it deserves an official translation and a place on Nintendo’s classic-game service.

Media & artwork

• Pokémon Card GB2 (Game Boy Color) sprite collection – a huge collection of sprites from the game
• Pokémon Card GB2 (Game Boy Color) screenshots – a collection of in-game screenshots

Further reading

More card game and Game Boy Color links on the site: