These cards were released through BattleZone tournaments and were essentially a 'parting gift' to the fans of the TCG, as Wizards knew their license to produce the cards was to terminate.
Despite the collection being made to commemorate some of the best playable cards, four new cards that had never previously been released in English were produced. Rocket's Scizor, Rocket's Sneasel, Dark Ivysaur and Dark Venusaur were promotional cards in Japan (Dark Ivysaur and Dark Venusaur were also subsequently reprinted in Pokémon Web). Their release was not anticipated and was a surprise for those attending the events. While these cards remained plain, the other cards received a special reverse-holographic treatment.
There were also several variants of the cards released. Pokémon Professors and Tournament Organizers received versions of some cards, which have a gold foil "Winner" stamp in the bottom right corner of the illustration, called Winner Cards. The regular cards given to participants are often referred to as "non-Winner" versions. Exceptions to these include Professor Elm, Rocket's Mewtwo and Rocket's Hitmonchan, as the scheduled BattleZone tournaments were canceled after Wizards lost their license. Jumbo versions of all cards except Professor Elm cards were also released, which lack the reverse-holographic treatment. Professor Elm is also the only card not to have a version with the gold foil "Winner" stamp in the bottom right corner of the illustration.
In addition, all of these cards had an error. The energy symbols indicating attack costs are slightly misplaced to the left. Former Wizards of the Coast employees claimed these errors, as well as errors on cards from other sets released at the time, were included intentionally to sabotage the brand after discovering their license to distribute the TCG internationally was not going to be renewed.[1]
