Squirtle

Ash's Squirtle and the Squirtle Squad

In the anime, Squirtle debuted in Here Comes the Squirtle Squad as the leader of a gang of Squirtle abandoned by their Trainers. Ash befriended and caught it, and it traveled with him until The Fire-ing Squad!, early in the Johto journey, when it went back to the Squirtle Squad, which had become a firefighting team. It returned briefly to help Ash in his Battle Frontier match against Brandon.

Squirtle on cards: Base Set to 151

Squirtle's first card is a 1999 Base Set common illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Our catalog lists 30 Squirtle printings across 25 sets, with six each from the WOTC and EX eras and five from Scarlet & Violet. Arita returned for the FireRed & LeafGreen Squirtle (2004), and Expedition Base Set (2002) printed two different Squirtle, by Yuka Morii and Kyoko Umemoto.

The modern era has given Squirtle two illustration rares: one in 151 (2023), drawn once again by Mitsuhiro Arita, and another by Saboteri in Stellar Crown (2024).

Cards to know

• Squirtle (Base Set #63)

  Squirtle's first card, a 1999 common illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.

• Squirtle (FireRed & LeafGreen #83)

  A 2004 FireRed & LeafGreen Squirtle credited to Mitsuhiro Arita, who also drew the Base Set original.

• Squirtle (151 #170)

  An illustration rare by Mitsuhiro Arita from 151, the 2023 set built around the original Kanto Pokémon.

• Squirtle (Stellar Crown #148)

  An illustration rare by Saboteri from Stellar Crown (2024).