Pokémon TCG: Base Set (Japanese: 第1弾スターターパック & 第1弾拡張パック1st Starter & Expansion Pack) is the name given to the first main expansion of cards of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. This is the set which introduced Generation I Pokémon to card form.
Put the power in your hand with the Pokémon trading card game!
The largely successful Pokémon Game Boy® game was just the beginning of the Pokémon phenomenon. Now, with the trading card game, you can train your favorite Pokémon to pit them against a rival's Pokémon in a fight to the finish! Increase their powers with Energy, and your Pokémon will launch the special attacks you've seen in the popular Pokémon animated TV show!
Choose your favorite Pokémon from the random cards in this booster pack to customize a Pokémon theme deck or starter set. Or design your own undefeatable deck by combining prized Pokémon and trainers. The possibilities are endless!
Do you have the skills to become the world's number-one Pokémon Master? Master the Pokémon trading card game and find out!
Information
An advertisement for the Japanese release
Base Set is the name given to the first main expansion of the Pokémon TCG. In Japan, it was released as 1st Starter & Expansion Pack. It is based on Pokémon Red, Blue and Green, featuring Pokémon from Generation I. The English expansion was released on January 9, 1999, while the Japanese expansion was released on October 20, 1996.
Initially, in the United States, many stores were reluctant to stock the game. As a result, it did not see a widespread release until March or April of that year. Then the 1st Edition print run sold out extremely quickly, making 1st Edition cards some of the most sought-after of all of the early TCG expansions. The Shadowless print mirrored the 1st Edition print except for the 1st Edition logo. All cards in the 1st Edition and Shadowless runs were printed with thinner HP and attack text. These cards were without drop shadows for the illustration window, hence the name "shadowless". Shadowless cards are equally sought after. The fourth print run mirrored the previous, the first Unlimited run, the only difference being the copyright date, which reads "1999-2000". Fourth print cards were not released in the United States.
In the English print, it adopted a system based on alphabetical order and descending rarity (Rare Holo, Rare, Uncommon, Common), and the class of card (Pokémon, Trainer, Energy). This ordering remained in place until the release of Black & White. In the Japanese print, cards did not have a numbering system until Pokémon VS, so the only identification is the Pokédex number. It is ordered by types (Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Psychic, Fighting, Colorless), then by National Pokédex number, and by ascending rarity (Rare and Rare Holo are counted as the same). This ordering remained in place until the The Town on No Map expansion.
Additional cards
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Card name
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Promotion
8/102
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