What are Base Set Pokémon Cards?

The Pokémon Base Set is where it all began for the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Released in Japan on 20^th October 1996, it took nearly three more years before it was released in English on 9^th January 1999. Like all good things, some treats are worth waiting for and we were gifted 102 beautiful cards to collect, battle and trade with our friends.

The set comprised of 69 Pokémon, 26 Trainers and 7 different types of Energy cards. The card rarities were mostly similar to todays, consisting of common, uncommon, rare and rare holographic. It was a simpler time and there were certainly no Ex’s, GX’s, V’s and VMAX’s to muddy the waters! The set was numbered differently to our modern sets, with the cards being ordered with all Pokémon first, alphabetically and then holos, rares, then uncommon and finally commons. The same then followed for the trainers, rares down to commons, and finally the energies at the end.

The set was distributed in a similar way to how it is today. You could get a Pokémon Base Set Booster Box, Booster Packs, Theme Decks and Blister Packs and would often find them for sale near the checkouts of your favourite supermarket! Pokémon Booster Boxes have not changed much since then, they still have the same 36 Booster Packs inside and each Booster Pack then contained 11 cards. There were no code cards in those days, just 100% Pokémon fun!

The Pokémon Base Set had 4 main variations outside of Japan, each with a distinctive characteristic which have made some more collectable than others. They started with the 1^st Edition printing, followed by “shadowless”, unlimited and then Base Set 2000 (often referred to as 4^th Print). 1^st Edition cards are easily recognisable by a small 1^st edition logo to the bottom left of the art box. Shadowless cards are identified by their lack of shadow around the art box. Unlimited print cards are the most common and do not have the 1^st edition logo but do have shadowing around the art. Finally, 4^th print cards are exactly the same as Unlimited print, apart from the date in the copyright section at the very bottom part of the card, which reads 1999 – 2000 Wizards, as opposed to just 1999 Wizards.

Of course, having different print runs with defined characteristics is a collector’s dream (and their wallets nightmare). First Edition and Shadowless cards are often seen as the holy grail to collectors and some of these cards sell for thousands of pounds. This is due to their age, rarity and iconic status in the Pokémon world.

Unlimited was the most printed and most easily accessible so there tends to be a reasonably plentiful supply of these cards on most of the popular marketplaces. Finding ones in great condition is the difficult part and these will still set you back a pretty penny. Fourth Print cards are still somewhat collectable and I know there is an avid fanbase out there who still prefer these over the Unlimited printing, due to their limited release worldwide and the fact that only Booster Packs distributed throughout the UK and parts of Europe were confirmed to contain holographic cards.  

I’m sure that everyone reading this has heard of or seen the Base Set Charizard. It is often viewed as the most iconic, valuable and most era defining card of all time. First Edition Base Set Charizard holo cards are currently valued at astronomical prices, even for ones in poor condition. Many Pokémon collectors, players and fans have been lifelong Charizard fans thanks to this card and its memorable artwork.

Let’s not forget the other starter evolution Pokémon though. Blastoise and Venusaur also received holographic cards in the Base Set alongside some other fan favourites, such as Alakazam and Chansey. There was a total of 16 holographic Base Set cards, each one a stunning depiction of the most powerful Pokémon in the game. The Base Set Blastoise and Base Set Venusaur cards were recently beautifully reprinted alongside the Base Set Charizard for the special 25^th anniversary set, Pokémon Celebrations

The three starter Pokémon were printed alongside Ash’s trusty companion, Pikachu. There really was something for everyone in the set and the Pokédex was only at a mere 151 Pokémon at that time, a lifetime away from the 1000+ Pokémon that we have now.

For someone like me who grew up collecting and admiring these cards, they have much more than a monetary value. Like a lot of things, the value of these cards has changed the way they have been perceived over the years. A Booster Pack in 1999 would have set you back £2.50 which was a lot of money for 11 pieces of cardboard!

But now, that same Booster Pack on the market would cost you upwards of £250. Of course, this comes down to the scarcity of the packs and the fact that the cards inside are likely to be mint condition, another thing which enhances their value.

The 1st Edition and Shadowless prints were the first time we had ever seen Pokémon cards in English and, as expected, these are the most valuable variations and a Booster Pack of these today will likely cost you into the thousands of pounds.

When it comes to individual cards from the set the prices can vary wildly. You are likely to be able to collect an entire Master Set of Unlimited Print cards for a few hundred pounds, with most of the common, uncommon, trainer and energy cards being pretty cheap. It is just the rares and holo’s that will cost you a bit more and like we said earlier, the most popular ones with fans will cost you the most, with the most valuable of these being the Base Set Charizard in any print and even any condition.

Sadly, like all things that are high value, it produces opportunities for fraudsters. Vintage Booster Packs and cards like these are often replicated and spotting genuine cards is, unfortunately, part of collecting now.

If you are planning on purchasing any Pokémon Base Set items, make sure you do some research first to know exactly what you are looking for and tell tale signs to help spot any fakes. This can be difficult with the four different print runs that we mentioned earlier but research and practice and you’ll be an expert in no time!

The Pokémon Trading Card Game has undergone many different transformations and variations since its beginning in 1996 but many people have extremely fond memories of Base Set Pokémon cards and some people are even lucky enough to still have the cards which they opened themselves all those years ago. Even now, each new Pokémon series has its very own Base Set, such as the Sword and Shield Base Set and the Sun and Moon Base Set. It was the perfect beginning to the Pokémon Card Game’s journey and introduced us to a world which is still growing and evolving to this day.