The Best Pokémon From Pokémon 151

Pokémon 151, a mini journey back to where it all began for Pokémon and a look back at those incredible 151 originals. This set has been a huge hit with collectors and brought back some serious nostalgia for a lot of players. Not only did we get updated versions of our favourite Pokemon and their new ex cards, we also saw the return of Kadabra, who was getting its first card in 20 years. I am going to take a look at Kanto’s finest and rate some of the best cards from the Pokémon 151 set.

Top 10 Cards in Pokémon 151

As someone who grew up with the first generation, I feel that it is completely unfair to ask me to narrow down just 10 cards from this incredible set. But here we are and so I’ve chosen 10 which stand out most from the plethora of goodies in Pokémon 151.

#10 - Zapdos ex

Zapdos is a firm fan favourite and was rewarded in this set with an ex, a Full Art ex and a Special Illustration Rare ex, which has some of the best artwork in the whole set. Zapdos ex has seen some competitive play in Lightning decks thanks to its strong ability which essentially gives it a free retreat cost and its powerful attack that does 120 damage to your opponent's active Pokémon and 90 damage to one of your opponents benched Pokémon.

#9 - Alakazam ex

Much like Zapdos, Alakazam received an ex card, Full Art ex and a Special Illustration Rare in the set. Not only is Alakazam a seriously cool Pokémon, it also has a one of a kind attack that we have not seen before. It can use its attack even when it is on the bench which is brilliant. The Special Illustration Rare version is also a fantastic art and is one of the most sought after in this set.

#8 - Dragonair

It is not often that we see the middle evolution of a Stage 2 Pokémon getting an Illustration Rare card and the rest of them not, but that’s what we’ve got here with Dragonite. Its artwork is simply magical and has made it one of the most valuable cards from the set. It also seems pretty rare as well and difficult to pull from a pack. Unfortunately Dratini and Dragonair didn’t get any Illustration Rare cards. They would have made a stunning display if all 3 had cards of this calibre.

#7 - Erika’s Invitation

Erika is a really popular trainer and the gentle, plant-loving soul has received a playable card with some rather stunning artwork. This card has seen a lot of play recently in stall decks and has proved itself to be very strong. It also received a Full Art and a Special Illustration Rare version, the latter of which is one of the most valuable cards in the set. Keep an eye out for Erika and if you have a chance to pick up some copies of this card then I think it will be worthwhile in the long run.

#6 - Ninetales ex

Ninetales has always been a popular Pokémon in the Pokémon community in general and so to see it represented in this set was a huge hit with collectors. It received a regular ex and a Full Art ex. Unfortunately it didn’t get a Special Illustration but we will happily settle for the bright and bold Full Art version. Whilst it has not seen a whole lot of play competitively, its rarity and the fact that it features Ninetales has made it a huge hit with collectors.

#5 - Pikachu

Of course we had to have good old trusty Pikachu on the list. Pikachu was shown plenty of love in this set and received an absolutely amazing Illustration Rare card. Although it won’t be making its way into many decks anytime soon, its artwork is beautiful and well deserving of a top spot in the best cards in the Pokémon 151 set. Pikachu is front and centre of the card but there are loads of other fan favourites hidden in the background, including Gengar, Slowpoke and Psyduck. This is an amazing card which is sure to hold its value into the future.

#4 - Venusaur ex

I’m a little sad at myself for putting my beloved Venusaur anywhere but number 1, but here we are at number 4. Venusaur ex has not been given the most playable card, particularly in this fast paced meta. But with a lot of Dark type Pokémon with Grass weakness running round, he could be well positioned to take over the top tables soon! The main reason that Venusaur ex is near the top of the list is thanks to its incredible Special Illustration Rare card. This is an amazing artwork and you can just imagine Erika in the forest with Venusaur on a special mission to help someone out. Venusaur ex also got a Full Art card which also looks far better than most of the other Full Arts, but there is a huge amount of personal bias at play here!

#3 Blastoise ex

Another one of the starter evolutions starts off the top 3 for us and what a great place to start. Like many of the ex’s in this set, Blastoise received a regular ex, a Full Art ex and a Special Illustration Rare ex. Despite its powerful attack and strong ability, Blastoise ex is yet to see too much play. It is the Special Illustration Rare card that keeps it near the top of the list. It's great to see such fantastic artwork on cards, but when that card is also one of the most popular Pokemon from the set then you know it's a recipe for success.

#2 Mew ex

Mew ex is just beaten to the title here, despite getting an incredible gold card in this set. Not only did Mew ex get its gold card, it also got a Full Art ex and a regular ex. It also received an amazing Special Illustration Rare card as a Promo in the Ultra Premium Collection Box. Mew has always been a great hit with fans, but this time around gets a super playable card, which has been splashed into most decks thanks to its free retreat cost, a good ability which helps with deck consistency and a strong attack. It's not hard to see why Mew ex has demanded a place near the top of this list.

#1 - Charizard ex

You guessed it, sitting pretty on the top step is the amazing Charizard ex, mainly thanks to its stunning Special Illustration Rare. The Illustration Rare versions of the evolution line tell a mini story of Charmander wanting to fly out of its valley, Charmeleon getting closer to achieving the goal and Charizard flying off over the mountains as he achieves the little Charmanders dreams. It is also a really strong card with an attack that deals out a solid 330 damage, that’s certainly not to be overlooked. Like many Charizard cards of previous sets, the Special Illustration Rare holds the crown for most valuable card in this set and doesn't look like it’s going to be displaced anytime soon.

Collecting and The Future of Pokémon 151

Pokémon 151 has been the most successful set in years for Pokémon and it has been a hit with players and collectors alike. Collecting the set has proved quite difficult, thanks to the amount of Illustration rare cards and Full Art cards, which are quite difficult to pull from packs. Not only that, but prices for these cards have remained relatively high. We usually see a drop off in prices in the weeks following a set release, however Pokémon 151 seems a little different with prices remaining around the same level.

Collecting the full set is going to be difficult for a lot of people and despite the excitement of opening packs, the cheapest and most efficient way to catch them all is going to be to purchase singles of the ones you need or to trade for them with your friends. I don’t think that is a bad thing and I think that Pokémon 151 is going to remain as one of the best sets for years to come. It has a lot of nostalgia for people who grew up with the first generation.

I also think that Pokémon 151 is positioned well into the future of the competitive scene, with cards like Mew ex being seen in almost every deck already. As the more powerful V Pokémon begin to phase out when rotation hits, we are likely to see more slower Stage 2 ex decks, such as Alakazam ex, becoming more popular and perhaps Venusaur ex will have his time to shine with all the Grass weak decks running around.

Whatever happens, Pokémon 151 was the biggest set of the year and will continue to be popular with collectors for years to come. Check out our store for a huge range of singles from the set and see if you can complete it today.