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Browse every tracked card in Base Set with live prices, 24h moves, and collector details. Use Hits and Chase when you want a focused view of the set.
Release date, card count, chase cards and how it compares with the WOTC era.
Base Set sits at the very start of the WOTC era, the expansion that opened the Base series for the English-language Pokémon TCG. It was released on January 9, 1999 under the set code BS and holds 102 cards. The Pokémon types it leans on are Grass, Water, Colorless and Fire, and its headline cards are the starter-line evolutions and psychic heavyweights: Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Mewtwo and Alakazam. The release date and card list matter beyond nostalgia, since this is the English-language debut for cards that first appeared in Japan in 1996.
The pull structure in Base Set is simple: 38 commons, 32 uncommons and 32 rares, with 16 chase-tier cards among the rares and no secret cards above the printed 102. Charizard leads the most valuable cards, followed by Blastoise, Venusaur, Mewtwo and Alakazam, all at Rare. Mitsuhiro Arita illustrated Charizard and Venusaur, while Ken Sugimori drew Blastoise, Mewtwo and Alakazam. Value is heavily concentrated, with the top five cards holding 68 percent of the set's total card value, so these chase cards define the market for the whole set.
Base Set was released January 9, 1999.
Base Set has 102 cards.
Base Set is part of the WOTC era.
16 cards in Base Set sit at one of its hit rarities. See this set's hits page for the full breakdown by rarity.
As of October 2026, Base Set ranks 14th by total card value among the 16 comparable WOTC sets and 67th across the whole game, with a master set value about 0.6 times the era median. Its Charizard still ranks 4th among the era's single most valuable cards, and Base Set holds 1st for trading activity in the era. At 102 printed cards it is about the same size as the era median of 108. Jungle, which came next, holds more total value. The cards first appeared in Japan in Expansion Pack, released October 20, 1996, and the version without rarity symbols.
Written from market data as of October 23, 2026; the tables update live.
| Measure | This setBase Set | Next setJungle |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | Jan 9, 1999 | Jun 16, 1999 |
| Printed cards | 102 | 64 |
| Master set value | — | $2,472.36 |
| Most valuable card price | — | $272.28 |
| Priced cards | — | 64 of 64 |
A complete Base Set means 102 printings, and all 102 are priced. Because the top five cards hold 68 percent of the set's total card value, the cost of finishing is driven by a handful of rares, while the remaining cards share the other 32 percent between them. The sealed line for Base Set runs to 16 products, mainly theme decks alongside booster boxes and booster packs, which shows how the set was originally sold.
Sealed Base Set: all 16 products with prices
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