Base Set

Series: Base Set code: BS Released 09.01.1999

Illustrators (4) Keiji Kinebuchi, Ken Sugimori, Mitsuhiro Arita, Tomoaki Imakuni

Official set size: 102
Cards in total: 102

About this expansion

Where it all began: the Base Set (BS) is the very first expansion of the trading card game – released internationally in January 1999 and in German in December 1999. The list contains 102 cards and does not cover all 151 Pokémon of the first generation; but most basic Pokémon do come with at least one evolution card. A handful of cards from the low numbers dominate the prices: Charizard is by far the most expensive, followed by Venusaur, Alakazam and Blastoise.

Top chase cards

Set statistics

Cards in this list: 102102 of them in the main set
Master set value: $2'182.78
Median: $2.71
Average: $21.61

Rarities

Common: 38
Uncommon: 32
Rare: 32

Top 10 most valuable cards of the Base Set set

01 Charizard$897.19

02 Blastoise$230.90

03 Venusaur$179.10

04Mewtwo$78.03
05Raichu$75.68
06Alakazam$69.34
07Chansey$62.68
08Zapdos$54.18
09Clefairy$51.90
10Gyarados$47.15

The combined value of all 102 cards of Base Set is around $2'182.78 (TCGplayer, as of 07.09.2026). The most valuable card is Charizard at around $897.19. Half of all priced cards in the set are worth less than $2.71.

For your collection

The 6 most valuable cards in this set are worth over USD 1'530.– combined.

Cards like these belong at the very front of your album – on display and properly protected. Let us help you with that, we have exactly the right gear:

Albumsfrom CHF 9.90

Price data: TCGplayer · Card data: TCGdex · Last updated: 07.09.2026