Base Set (Japanese: ポケットモンスター カードゲーム 第1弾Pokémon Card Game Volume 1) is the name given to the first main expansion of cards of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The set features Pokémon from Generation I. It is commonly referred to in Japanese sources as Expansion Pack (Japanese: 拡張パックExpansion Pack), after one of its primary distribution products.
Blurb
Put the power in your hand with the Pokémon trading card game!
The hugely successful Pokémon Game Boy® game was just the beginning of the Pokémon phenomenon. Now, with the trading card game, you can train your favorite Pokémon to pit them against a rival's Pokémon in a fight to the finish! Increase their powers with Energy, and your Pokémon will launch the special attacks you've seen in the popular Pokémon animated TV show!
Choose your favorite Pokémon from the random cards in this booster pack to customize a Pokémon theme deck or starter set. Or design your own undefeatable deck by combining prized Pokémon and trainers. The possibilities are endless!
Do you have the skills to become the world's number-one Pokémon Master? Master the Pokémon trading card game and find out!
Information
An advertisement for the Base Set
Base Set is the name given to the first main expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In Japan, it was released as a starter deck (Starter Pack, スターターパック) alongside separately purchasable Base Set packs (Expansion Pack, 拡張パック)[1][2]. The Base Set was promoted through the giveaway of the first TCG cards, a Pikachu and Jigglypuff promo that were peeled from a CoroCoro magazine 5 days ahead of the main release. The promos were advertised to be collected alongside the main set, making CoroCoro readers feel that they had already started the collection[2]. The Base Set is based on Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green, featuring Generation I Pokémon. The English expansion was released on January 9, 1999, while the Japanese expansion was released on October 20, 1996.
The English release are ordered by card type (Pokémon, Trainer, and Energy cards), then by rarity (Rare Holo, Rare, Uncommon, Common), lastly, alphabetically by card name. The Japanese release are ordered by the types first, then ascending rarity (Rare and Rare Holo are considered the same), then National Pokédex number, followed by Trainer and Energy cards.
Japanese
The pack artwork for Expansion Pack was illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.[3]
Japanese Expansion Pack pack
Artwork
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In other languages
German Venusaur pack
German Charizard pack
German Blastoise pack
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Spanish Venusaur pack
Spanish Charizard pack
Spanish Blastoise pack
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French Venusaur pack
French Charizard pack
French Blastoise pack
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Italian Venusaur pack
Italian Charizard pack
Italian Blastoise pack
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Brazilian Venusaur pack
Brazilian Charizard pack
Brazilian Blastoise pack
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Korean Venusaur pack
Korean Charizard pack
Korean Blastoise pack
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Chinese Venusaur pack
Chinese Charizard pack
Chinese Blastoise pack
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Languages this set is released in
The Expansion Pack is released in Japanese, of which all cards are available both with and without rarity symbol. The set without rarity symbols is believed to be the earlier or "1st Edition" print run as it contained errors that were later corrected (such as Venusaur being incorrectly printed as Pokemon #68 instead of #3). It is commonly referred to as No Rarity Base Set.
The Base Set was released in English, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese, with most languages receiving both 1st Edition and Unlimited print runs. The English release consists of four distinct print runs:
1st Edition (Shadowless) – The first print run, featuring the 1st Edition stamp, thinner HP and attack text, and no drop shadow around the illustration window.
Shadowless – The second print run, identical to the 1st Edition print except for the absence of the 1st Edition stamp. It also features thinner HP and attack text and lacks the illustration drop shadow.
Unlimited – The third print run, introducing the drop shadow around the illustration window and thicker HP and attack text.
The English 1st Edition Holofoil cards can be further distinguished between thin stamp and thick stamp variants, referring to the width of the numeral "1" in the 1st Edition stamp.
A non-English 1st Edition lacking the Shadowless treatment.
Unlike the English release, 1st Edition prints in other languages were not produced using the Shadowless layout. Instead, they feature the same card design as their respective Unlimited prints, including the drop shadow around the illustration window and the thicker HP and attack text, with the only distinguishing feature being the presence of the 1st Edition stamp.
In 2020, it was revealed that the first card test printed for the English Pokémon Trading Card Game was Blastoise, bearing the unique test print identifier009/165R. Five prototype versions of the card were produced before the final Base Set design was adopted: one featuring a black border similar to those used on Magic: The Gathering cards, followed by four yellow-bordered variants that experimented with different card layouts.
↑Page 32 of the December 1996 monthly CoroCoro comic.The base set itself was just called Volume 1. The cards were found in a deck called "Starter Pack" and in packs called "Expansion Pack" which was named as such because more cards could be found from the packs. Relevant translations in the December 1996 ad for the base set:
Top banner, in gold:
ポケモンカードシリーズ第1弾 – Pokémon Card Series Volume 1
Large red letters just below it:
ポケットモンスター カードゲーム – Pocket Monsters Card Game
To the left of the decks:
スターターパック — "Starter Pack" [This is what the Starter Deck was called]
Beneath the base set pack:
拡張パック — "Expansion Pack" [This refers to the base set packs]
↑ 2.02.1The Japanese base set poster included as a furoku in the December 1996 monthly CoroCoro comic. The heading of the poster invites readers to collect 全102枚＋2枚 cards: The 102 base set cards pictured and the 2 CoroCoro promos that readers already got for free in the previous month's issue.
The base set is referred to as Pocket Monsters Card Series Volume 1 (ポケットモンスター カードゲーム 第1弾), consistent with the advert.
