The Thunderstorm was released in the time between Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge. It includes a unique Thunderstorm preconstructed Theme Deck featuring cards from Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, and Gym Heroes expansions. It also includes three booster packs, one each from Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, and the Pokémon Play It! Version 2 CD-ROM.

Also included were a play mat, deck building tip sheet, Pikachu coin, and a felt deck bag. The Zapdos included within the product is exclusive to the deck, as it utilizes the Cosmos Holofoil introduced for the Base Set 2, and not the Starlight Holofoil originally used for the Fossil release.