The Most Valuable Base Set Pokemon TCG Cards

The Pokemon Trading Card Game is home to some of the most legendary cards in TCG history. The long-running TCG has released thousands of cards over the years, many of which have a huge price tag on the secondary market for seasoned collectors looking to complete a set or those just dipping their toe into the hobby.

Pokemon TCG’s first run, Base Set, is home to some of the most expensive cards ever released in the game’s history. Since Pokemon is one of the most popular franchises in the world, it’s no surprise that these cards are eminently popular and continue to demand high price tags from collectors the world over.

The quoted card prices come from TCGPlayer‘s Market Price History and may fluctuate over time.

First-edition card prices are used.

Updated January 18, 2025, by Andrew Scariati: While they’ve been around for over 25 years, the best base set cards still see price fluctuations that can completely alter their hierarchy. While there’s no competition for Charizard as the most expensive Base Set card, there’s still plenty of price changes in the middle of the pack.

14

Blastoise – Holo Rare

Market Price: $259.56

While the shadowless variants are not quite as visually vibrant as non-shadowless variants, their prices tell a different story. Shadowless versions are rarer than the Unlimited printing and, thus, they demand steeper price tags.

Competitively, Blastoise’s extremely strong Pokemon Power: Rain Dance ability allowed you to toss down unlimited water energy cards to as many different water-type Pokemon as they wanted during their turn. This worked especially well with Blastoise itself, as its Hydro Pump ability could do up to 60 damage a pop – a staggering amount in the early days of the TCG.

13

Clefairy – Holo Rare

Market Price: $272.36

Clefairy is one of the most recognizable Pokemon from Kanto, though it has some competition from similar pink-blob Pokemon like Chansey and Jigglypuff. Despite the similarities, Clefairy’s value stands out with an incredibly wide range based on condition.

Damaged copies of this card can be found for as little as $93, with heavily played (HP) charting at around $130. However, a near-mint (NM) PSA-9 graded version of this card commanded an astounding premium, selling for over $1,000, giving a clear indication of this card’s high demand in clean condition.

12

Zapdos – Holo Rare

Market Price: $313.30

Speaking of the legendary birds, the only one released in the base set was the electric-type Zapdos with both Articuno and Moltres cards following in the TCG’s third expansion, Fossil. Seeing as it was the first of the three legendary birds to be made available, it’s no surprise that Zapdos makes an appearance on this list in its shadowless variant.

With terrific art and strong attacks, Zapdos was a prime pull back in the day. Furthermore, seeing as the legendary birds have been featured heavily in Pokemon’s branding over the years, as well as in Pokemon: The Movie 2000, Zapdos commanding an impressive sum on the secondary market makes perfect sense.

11

Chansey – Holo Rare

Market Price: $314.99

Chansey takes what likely amounts to a temporary lead over Zapdos, as these cards (and ones to follow) remain separated by slim margins. However, Chansey claims a strong lead over its fellow pink Pokemon, Clefairy.

However, unlike Clefairy, Chansey has even fewer recent sales to analyze, with sales of this card in damaged condition ranging from $109 to $130. Despite the lack of available sales data on TCGplayer, this card’s market price should be confirmed once some of the listings sell, as they all exceed the current sales data.

10

Hitmonchan – Holo Rare

Market Price: $319.99

Hitmonchan is always ready to step into the ring for a hotly contested battle, and there are plenty of contenders who aim to ascend the ranks among the most valuable cards from the Base Set. With Chansey and Zapdos following close behind, and the next card owning the smallest lead possible, Hitmonchan has plenty of cards to fend off to keep its placement.

Unfortunately, Hitmonchan suffers from the same lack of sales as Chansey, with a damaged copy earning a $219 sale, followed by a lightly played (LP) copy standing well over it at $319.

9

Pikachu (Red Cheeks) – Common

Market Price: $320.00

Pikachu boasts the honor of being the only common card to find itself among the most valuable cards from the Base Set. This Red Cheeks Pikachu variant is one of the most expensive Pikachu cards ever, and is rarer than the yellow-cheeked variant, which was printed far more.

The breakdown of the print run is about 20 percent red cheeks and about 80 percent yellow cheeks.

HP copies of this Pikachu sell for roughly $135, with moderately played (MP) jumping into the $160 range. LP copies nearly double the cost of MP, clocking in at $300, followed by NM first-edition copies registering sales at the market price.

8

Raichu – Holo Rare

Market Price: $365.30

Raichu is the final evolution in the electric-type Pikachu’s evolution line, which at the time Base Set was released, only featured Pikachu and Raichu (Pichu was added later in Generation 2). This shadowless card commands over $300 on the market, and Pikachu’s overwhelming popularity is surely a major reason why.

In the TCG, this was the first Raichu card ever printed, and though a new version would arrive in the Fossil expansion a few years later, it featured inferior artwork to the original and did not demand the hefty price tag that this version of the card does.

7

Alakazam – Holo Rare

Market Price: $385.21

The shadowless variant of this card commands a close to $400 price tag on the secondary market and with good reason, as the card’s simple, striking artwork impresses as does the popularity of one of Pokemon’s strongest special attackers in mainline games.

While other cards on this list didn’t make a splash on the competitive TCG scene, Alakazam surely did. Its Pokemon Power: Damage Swap ability allowed you to move damage counters from your Pokemon at will without limits. This broken ability led to one of the most oppressive deck archetypes in the TCG’s early days, fittingly called Damage Swap, all because of Alakazam’s incredible ability.

6

Poliwrath – Holo Rare

Market Price: $389.00

You might be surprised to see that Poliwrath’s most valuable card boasts such an impressively high value, earning its place among the best Base set cards. This iconic design is worthy of such an incredible achievement, with first-edition copies of this card boasting several sky-high sales.

Damaged copies of Poliwrath begin at around $144, with MP copies rising to almost $250, setting an impressive baseline for the cleaner copies to rise above.

5

Ninetales – Holo Rare

Market Price: $500.00

Much like Poliwrath, Ninetales’ value soars to almost unimaginable heights, with the market price rising on the back of a $500 NM sale. MP copies of this card still hit impressive plateaus, hovering just above the $300 mark, and solidifying this card as one of the best from the Base Set.

While there’s no sales data for its error versions, this Ninetales also comes with an unusual variation, dubbed Black Flame Ninetales, where the background on the right side of the Pokemon features a vibrant black-and-blue flame that is more visually distinct than the normal design.

4

Gyarados – Holo Rare

Market Price: $650.00

While one look at Gyarados’ roster of valuable cards makes its placement among the top cards in the Base Set seem academic, this card earns the distinction of being the best Water-type from the set, surpassing Blastoise (for now).

Despite an unsurprising lack of sales data for this incredibly desirable Gyarados, an MP card commanding $450 should give you an idea of just how beloved this card is. At the top end of the spectrum, expect to pay over the market price if you’re looking for a graded version of this card, with a PSA 7 sale on TCGplayer hitting $800.

3

Mewtwo – Holo Rare

Market Price: $715.00

While the legendary birds (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) are technically the first legendary Pokemon in the Kanto Pokedex, there can be no denying that the strongest legendary Pokemon in Gen One lore is the psychic-type Mewtwo. As the main villain in Pokemon: The First Movie, Mewtwo was a notable figure from the start, and its appearance in the TCG further cemented that status.

While the card itself was fairly underwhelming in the TCG – other than as an interminable defensive Pokemon thanks to its Barrier attack, its shadowless variant still fetches impressive sums from collectors the world over.

2

Venusaur – Holo Rare

Market Price: $1,015.75

Speaking of Venusaur, this grass-type Pokemon is the final form of the beloved first entry in the Kanto Pokedex: Bulbasaur. Arguably one of the best starter Pokemon’s final evolutions in-game, Venusaur isn’t quite as strong as Blastoise or Charizard in the TCG, but the card’s great artwork and the generally high popularity of the original Kanto starters means that obtaining a first edition Venusaur card will cost a pretty penny.

Thematically, all three Kanto starters’ final evolutions have Pokemon powers that deal with energy card consumption. While their power levels vary, there can be no denying that these cards hit a design home run – hence their extreme scarcity and tremendous continued popularity.

1

Charizard – Holo Rare

Market Price: $1,599.00

Charizard’s design and its brilliant artwork were always going to captivate the masses, though it is impressive just how much staying power this card in particular has had over the years. This card stands tall as one of the most valuable Charizard cards ever.

There are only a few first-edition Charizard cards on TCGPlayer that are LP condition or better, priced at over $5,000. Beyond that, PSA 10-graded, first-edition Base Set Charizard cards are rarely available on the market, with sales typically exceeding $200,000.