Trainer Certification Card (★★) - Grand Party 1999-2000

About
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The Trainer Certification Card is a highly sought-after promotional Pokémon TCG card from the early days of the franchise. It’s commonly referred to as the “Grand Party” card due to the prominent “Grand Party” text featured in its artwork and due to its release being tied to the Grand Party 1999-2000 campaign, a series of tournaments & events. There is an excellent write up on Pokumon.com about the Grand Party tournament circuit here

To get the card, players received a “challenge passport” which they had to log details of 50 battles, Once verified, they could claim the card as proof of their dedication, earning the title of “Official Pokémon Card Certified Trainer.”

After filling out their passport with 50 battles and receiving the card, holders were entered into a lottery for invites to the exclusive Champion Road 2000 tournament.

This card and the Grand Party events were documented in early magazines and books such as “The Silver Bible” (Pokémon Card Official Book 2000), a comprehensive Japanese guidebook published by Media Factory in 2000 dedicated to the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It’s revered among collectors as an essential resource for early Japanese TCG history, often called a “sacred text” due to its detailed cataloging of cards that were obscure or exclusive to Japan at the time.

Below is a scan of the page featuring the Grand Party Trainer documented in “The Silver Bible” alongside a Translated copy by me.

I’ve been fascinated by this promo ever since I started collecting back in 2015 and first discovered its existence.

Only recently have I been fortunate enough to purchase one for myself. Thanks to the global rise in popularity of the Pokémon TCG, I was able to sell cards I had pulled from products during that era, cards I wasn’t personally attached to, and use the proceeds to finally add this promo to my collection.

This particular PSA 9 was imported from Japan to the United Kingdom for my personal collection. The seller informed me that this was a personal copy she received when she was a child & recently graded it herself in Japan via PSA, as of the time writing this post she also has a Fan Club Eevee as well as a Masaki Gengar for sale. I wish i could afford to take the Eevee too!

Knowing that it came from the original owner makes it all the more special & is something you can not put a price on.