Base Card List, Variants, and Errors

Home/Sets/Base

Base

Released Jan 9, 1999

Official Total

102

Listed Total

102

Tracked Records

1584

Error Records

1117

Official Total is the printed numbered checklist total when available. Listed Total may include cards numbered beyond that printed total.

Tracked Records can exceed the numbered checklist because CardInfo.Net may store separate finishes, editions, stamps, errors, corrections, or other identified printings.

Vintage set identification

How to identify English Base Set printings

Base Set established the first English Pokémon TCG checklist and remains one of the clearest examples of why a set name and collector number may not identify the exact collectible printing.

Collectors commonly separate English Base Set cards into First Edition, Shadowless, and Unlimited printings. The edition stamp, artwork-frame drop shadow, HP typography, copyright line, and card-specific print characteristics should be compared together.

Identification checklist

✓Look for the Edition 1 stamp near the lower-left area of the artwork box.
✓Inspect the right and lower edges of the artwork frame for the later Unlimited drop shadow.
✓Compare the HP typography, copyright line, holofoil appearance, and other early-layout details.
✓Treat centering, wear, scratches, print lines, and one-off crimps as copy attributes rather than edition identifiers.

Collector notes

•A numbered Base Set checklist is narrower than a printing-focused checklist because several collectible printings can share the same collector number.
•Use card-specific notes for corrected text, later-print characteristics, and documented anomalies instead of assuming every Base Set difference applies to every card.

Series: Base

Checklist totals: 102 official, 102 listed, 1,584 tracked records, and 1,117 error records.