Summary
ThePokemon Trading Card Gamehas come a long way in its history, introducing different cards for fans to collect. Many still look back on the first set, Base Set, as one of the greatest and, thanks to the mistake made in the first English print run, some of the cards are still some of the most valuable.
In this first print, every card was missing the shadow on their artwork frame border, marking them as illusive misprints fans have namedShadowlesscards. Since these cards have a visual difference to prove they are from the first print, these cards are sought-after. We can’t get enough of the nostalgia these cards give us, even at the cost of our wallets.
10Ninetales: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 12) – $294.93
Every Tale Begins Somewhere
When it comes to Generation 1 Fire-type Pokemon, Ninetales gets abitovershadowed by a certain winged Pokemon. Regardless, it is still an iconic Pokemon and this stellar card has captured the wallets and hearts of many collectors for decades, burning a bright beginning for the majestic yokai-like Pokemon.
The art on this holo rare,drawn by the Pokemon legend himself, Ken Sugimori, has grown to become one of Ninetales most recognizable poses. With each of its tails perfectly curled up together as it sits like royalty, Ninetales looks elegant yet deadly with the holo star sparkles adding to the subtle fiery background perfectly to make it even more vintage goodness.
9Hitmonchan: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 7) – $295.00
Be Afraid Of The Jab
One iconic part of Pokemon Red & Blue and its remakes is that after you have made your way through the Saffron City Fighting Dojo, you are rewarded with a choice of one of two Fighting-type powerhouses, Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan. While Hitmonlee was the better Pokemon to choose in the games, in the TCG, it was quite the opposite.
Despite its simple nature, this Hitmonchan card was a popular dominating threat thanks to its cheap attacks. In Base Set, the highest HP any Pokemon had was 120, meaning Hitmonchan could very quickly take down smaller threats with Jab for 20 HP while building up for Special Punch for 40 HP to take out any larger foes too, making it a competitive staple.
8Dragonair: Base Set (Shadowless Rare, 18) – $299.95
Dragonite-less
The very first Dragon-type line in the series deserves to be recognized more for their wonderful designs; with this beautiful card, Dragonair gets to be the star for once. Since the Dragon-type was not introduced to the TCG until the Black & White era, all of them used either the Colorless type or their secondary type until then.
You may be thinking, why Dragonair rather than Dragonite? But, strangely enough, Base Set did not include Dragonite, and it only received its first cardin Fossil.In Base Set, a few evolution lines were just unfinished until later sets printed the final stage, meaning that, sadly, a Shadowless Dragonite never got the chance to exist.
7Blastoise: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 2) – $310.58
The Number One Starter In Our Hearts
The most important decision in a Pokemon game is the choice of your starter at the beginning of your journey. Some prefer the heat of the Fire-type, others the foliage of the Grass-type, but neither can compare to the flowing style that the Water-type brings. This card features everyone’s favorite turtle, Blastoise, striking a pose that just gives you shivers of the good old days.
Blastoise may be the underdog of the Generation 1 starters, but that doesn’t stop the wave of nostalgia with this card, thanks to countless reprints bringing it up to standards with its Fire counterpart. Nothing can beat how perfect this Shadowless original is and, with Blastoise being the first Water-type starter, it’s fitting that its very first card is one of the most expensive Water-type cards to date.
6Nidoking: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 11) – $340.00
All Types Of Shenanigans
This rugged king of Generation 1’s Poison-types deserves so much more love in the TCG by The Pokemon Company itself, but in the meantime, fans are making sure their beloved monarch is ruling high with this desired card. Nidoking is encased in a wonderful purple shading on the artwork of this card, and has a menacing pose, making it look like a big kaiju-like monster, as it should.
The strangest part of this card is that Nidoking and other Poison-type Pokemon were all Grass-type cards back in this era. That makes this card one of very few Nidoking cards that isn’t either Fighting, Darkness or Psychic and even when this card got reprinted in XY Evolutions, it became a Psychic-type to fit with the modern Poison-type Pokemon, making this original print even more special.
5Alakazam: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 1) – $385.21
One Of The Few
Alakazam is bending minds with this Shadowless print of its spectacular first card in the TCG with striking colors that blend well to make its yellow hues burst out of the complimenting purple colors. This classic card, unfortunately, did not get a reprint in XY Evolutions because of the Kadabra situation at the time, making it more illusive than most Base Set cards.
In 2006, the magician Uri Geller filed a lawsuit against Nintendo and The Pokemon Company on the basis that Kadabra was using his likeness without his permission. Geller specialized in spoon-bending tricks and Kadabra’s Japanese name, ‘Yungeller’, is similar to his. UntilScarlet & Violet’s 151expansion, Alakazam was either avoided or just left as a Basic, completely cutting Kadabra out of the picture, and this injustice did not go unnoticed as many fans adore Alakazam and collected what few cards it did get.
4Gyarados: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 6) – $405.01
Full Of Rage
While in the modern Scarlet & Violet era, we received a stunningillustration rare of Magikarp,back in Base Set, it was all about its evolved form, Gyarados. Both Gyarados and Magikarp have been highlights of some wonderful hidden gem cards and this one is no exception.
Despite the simple art of Gyarados screaming its rage out, this card is the perfect interpretation of Gyarados, even if he is a little bit shorter than usual. Gyarados is one of the most dangerous-looking Generation 1 Pokemon, and this card captures that so well within the small space and the more yellow hues used on its scales make it stand out unlike any other Gyarados card.
3Mewtwo: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 10) – $900.00
A True Test Subject
Mewtwo may unfortunately be weak in the games thanks to power creep, but the TCG always manages to give it justice with dangerous cards that show off its power. This card was released back when we all thought Mew was hiding under the truck and, with all the marketing and movie pushing Mewtwo had, this card became any Pokemon fan’s most desired card. Even to this day, many dream of owning this piece of history.
The more archaically spindly design of Mewtwo in the iconic artwork by the one and only Ken Sugimori is so unique compared to its stronger, well-built body that it has in the modern day, making this card stand out. The darker holo background also helps the pale Mewtwo pop out of the card with a dark and foreboding feeling to it, fitting its equally dark origins and story.
2Venusaur: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 15) – $1,015.75
Reject The Modern Design, Embrace The Chunky Toad
Generation 1’s starters are some of the most universally beloved icons of the entire Pokemon series and while one usually outshines the others with love from The Pokemon Company, the other two still get plenty of love from the community. Venusaur is the beloved Grass-type and on this classic card it looks very different from what we know today.
That’s the best part about early Pokemon cards. Since Pokemon had just been released, so much wasn’t finalized yet and the series as a whole had yet to settle on its style. Cards like this, particularly bulky Venusaur, highlight why that is so great. These days, since Pokemon have refined designs, there’s little variation in them on TCG cards, but back with Base Set, it really felt like the artists could let their creativity run free with how they interpreted the Pokemon.
1Charizard: Base Set (Shadowless Holo Rare, 4) – $5,495.00
The Ultimate Pokemon Card
You probably aren’t surprised to see Charizard is the most valuable Shadowless card, but for those who aren’t aware, this Shadowless Charizard is the ultimate chase card for many collectors. This card is the most nostalgic card that everyone has wanted to pull for all the TCG’s history with an iconic design that has been reprinted countless times.
Charizard has gone on to have some of the most valuable cards in any set it appears in, and it all traces back to this one. The legacy behind this card is unbeatable, as not only was it a heavily desired card at the time, but it retains that status even to this day, with fans going wild over any Charizard card that releases thanks to the legacy and value of this card.
