We kick off this new batch with the pre-evolution of the “Hitmon” family, the energetic Tyrogue. This card is from the Japanese “Entry Pack ’08” and features a unique Poké-Power that highlights its crucial role as the starting point for three different powerful fighters.
Card Details
- Pokémon Name: Tyrogue (バルキー)
- Set: Entry Pack ’08 (DPs)
- Year: 2008
- Card number: DPBP#115
- Rarity/Edition: No Rarity (Deck Exclusive)
- Artist: Kagemaru Himeno
- National Pokédex No.: 236
Card Text & Attacks
- Type: Fighting
- HP: 60
Poké-Power: Baby Evolution
- Japanese: ベイビィしんか
- Romaji: Beibyi Shinka
- Effect: Once during your turn (before your attack), you may put Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, or Hitmontop from your hand onto Tyrogue. (This counts as evolving Tyrogue.) Remove all damage counters from Tyrogue.
Attack: Gutsy Uppercut
- Japanese: こんじょういっぱつ
- Romaji: Konjō Ippatsu
- Cost: [Fighting]
- Damage: 10+
- Effect: If the Defending Pokémon is an Evolved Pokémon, this attack does 10 damage plus 20 more damage, and this Pokémon does 10 damage to itself.
- Weakness: Psychic +10
- Resistance: None
- Retreat Cost: [Colourless]
Pokédex Entry:
- Japanese: けんかっはやいことで ゆうめい。じぶんよりも おおきな あいてに いどみかかるので きずが たえない。
- Romaji: Kenka hayai koto de yūmei. Jibun yori mo ōkina aite ni idomi kakaru node kizu ga taenai.
- English: It is famous for being quick to battle. It is always covered in scratches because it will challenge any opponent, even those larger than itself.
Collector’s Notes
This Tyrogue is from the “Entry Pack ’08,” a special deck kit released in 2008 to help new players learn the TCG. Cards from these products are typically unnumbered in the traditional sense and have no rarity symbol, making them distinct from their booster pack counterparts. This card’s “Baby Evolution” Poké-Power is its defining feature, making it the lynchpin for an entire family of Fighting-type Pokémon.
The artwork by Kagemaru Himeno is wonderfully dynamic. Himeno is known for a soft, expressive style, and here she uses a unique perspective to capture Tyrogue’s boundless energy. The Pokémon is shown mid-leap or mid-tumble, a blur of motion against a backdrop of sky and foliage, perfectly conveying the restless and scrappy nature described in its Pokédex entry.
As a Friend of Geopik, Tyrogue continues the theme we’ve observed with other Fighting-types. It is a creature defined by its relentless drive to test its strength. The lore that it is always covered in scratches from challenging larger opponents paints a picture of a Pokémon that hones its skills against the toughest obstacles it can find, be they larger Pokémon or the unyielding rock of its mountain training grounds. It represents the perpetual, grinding process of erosion and change, a small force relentlessly challenging a larger one.
