The Pokémon Organized Play promotional series was conceived as an extra incentive for players and collectors alike to participate in Pokémon leagues and Pokémon Organized Play programs. Instead of a single promotional card available at an event, it was a promotional set. This is also similar to a scheme started by Upper Deck Entertainment, as they released tournament packs affiliated with the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG.
Pokémon USA announced with the release of POP Series 1 that they planned to release a new series on a regular basis every six to twelve months. Each series would be exclusive to POP for six months, making league and various POP programs the only way to obtain the unique cards for a limited time. The cards are available in 2-card booster packs, with the odds of finding a rare card extremely low and collecting the entire set very difficult, a further incentive for people to continue playing the game.
Trivia
The booster design for POP Series 1 features Blaziken.
POP Series 1 boosters eventually began showing up outside of POP endorsed events, such as in special card kits and at Pokémon-related events.
All of the rare cards have holographic versions and were available through several waves of promotional items, such as Value Packs and Collector's Tins.
POP Series 1 was available for one year instead of six months.
