# Zapdos #20/130 — Base Set 2

## Summary

Zapdos is one of the original three Kanto bird trio and a perennial fan favorite, and Ken Sugimori, the designer who helped originate the Pokémon themselves, drew it, which gives this printing real provenance. As a Base Set 2 rare it was a solid mid-tier pull, never the chase slot. At a $45 modelled guide, up 11% over 30 days on 36 copies traded, with 254 days of inventory on the board, this printing is almost entirely collector premium, since the same card plays for $0.29 out of Twilight Masquerade; the slab is the real edge, with PSA 10s at $3,060 and a 3% observed gem rate putting about $30 of expected profit per submission.

## Identity

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Set | Base Set 2 |
| Number | 20/130 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Era | WOTC |
| Illustrator | Ken Sugimori |
| Release date | 2000-02-24 |
| Image | Unavailable |

## Card details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Card type | POKEMON |
| Stage | Basic |
| HP | 90 |
| Types | Lightning |
| Attack: Thunder | cost Lightning/Lightning/Lightning/Colorless — damage 60 — Flip a coin. If tails, Zapdos does 30 damage to itself. |
| Attack: Thunderbolt | cost Lightning/Lightning/Lightning/Lightning — damage 100 — Discard all Energy cards attached to Zapdos in order to use this attack. |
| Resistance | Fighting -30 |
| Retreat | 3 |
| Legal | Standard no · Expanded no |
| Pokédex entry | [Zapdos #145](https://cardboardalpha.com/pokemon/pokedex/zapdos) |
| Finishes | Holo |
| Languages | EN |

## Current stats

- Headline price: **$45.35** (ITEM_MEDIAN; modelled guide price) — as of 2026-11-12
- Headline basis: MODELLED_GUIDE — The venue’s published daily market guide, which the venue itself declares MODELLED. Nothing is confirmed to have traded at it, no copy is listed at it, and it is not our estimate — it is theirs.
- 24h change: 0.00% · 7d change: +4.50% — as of 2026-11-12
- Floor delivered ask: $36.99 — as of 2026-11-12T22:58:33.586Z
- Quant score: 60/100, regime MARKUP — as of 2026-11-12T22:58:33.586Z — 6 of 11 inputs · 55% weight · -23% confidence

## Provenance

- Catalog — observed 2000-02-24T00:00:00Z, confidence 98%
- Guide price (modelled) — observed 2026-11-12T00:00:00.000Z, confidence 90%
- Price statistic — observed 2026-11-11T21:35:14.024Z, confidence 90%
- Confirmed sale — observed 2026-11-10T16:21:50.627Z, confidence 85%
- Live ask — observed 2026-11-11T21:35:14.023Z, confidence 80%
- Inventory count — observed 2026-11-11T21:35:14.023Z, confidence 70%
- Population census — observed 2026-11-09T23:05:16.079Z, confidence 60%

## Links

- [View on Cardboard Alpha](https://cardboardalpha.com/pokemon/base-set-2/zapdos-20)
- [JSON snapshot](https://cardboardalpha.com/api/terminal/raw~tcgdex%3Abase4-20%3AEN%3AHOLO~NM)