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20 Most Valuable Blastoise Pokemon Cards

Written By Ross Uitts

As the card-collecting world continues to heat up, demand for Blastoise Pokemon cards continues to follow suit.

After all, Blastoise is one of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise...

And much of Blastoise's popularity can be traced to its debut as the cover mascot of the original Pokémon Blue video game.

Since then, Blastoise has remained one of the coolest-looking of all Pokémon with its twin water cannons that retract from the shell on its back.

Nowadays, many of those kids who grew up with these cards are now adults with more spending power able to pay big bucks for them in top condition.

Some of them are among the most expensive Pokemon cards in the hobby.

And in this guide, we take a look at the 20 most valuable Blastoise cards.

Let's jump right in!

20) 1997 Pocket Monsters Carddass

Sold in December, 2020 for $1,245

Bandai is a Japanese toy maker that produced a series of Pokemon cards in both 1996 and 1997 that they distributed via vending machines, or carddass, as they called them.

The 1997 Pocket Monsters set features 151 cards with bright, colorful images of each character utilizing a move for which it is known.

For example, on the Blastoise card, we can see the creature wielding its dual water cannons to fight off an opponent.

Blastoise is also one of the few characters (such as Charizard ) in the set to be featured on a holofoil prism background instead of a pixelated, non-holofoil background. 

The water cannon action sequence combined with the striking visual effects of the prism background give this card an incredible amount of eye appeal.

19) 1996 Pokemon Japanese Carddass Vending

Sold in January, 2021 for $1,475

And here is a look at the card that Bandai produced in 1996 for distribution in its carddass machines.

Compared to the action-packed image on their follow-up card in 1997, this one is a bit toned down, but the prism effect still gives it plenty of pop.

You'll also notice that the image of Blastoise is the same as that which was used on the base sets released in Japan in 1996 and North America in 1999.

Interestingly, because Bandai produced these cards in September 1996, they pre-dated the official launch of the Pokemon Trading Card Game that followed in October 1996.

18) 2000 Pokemon Chinese First Edition

Sold in July, 2020 for $1,913

While the original base set debuted in 1999 in various countries throughout the Americas and Europe, other markets had to wait until 2000.

China was one of them.

There aren't really any differences in design from the base sets released in 1999 except for the glaring change in language across the front.

Compared to the North American First Edition Blastoises , far fewer examples of this card have passed through PSA's hands, and far fewer have received PSA 9 and PSA 10 grades.

17) 1996 Japanese Pokemon No Rarity

Sold in May, 2021 for $2,326

The Pokemon Trading Card Game officially launched in Japan in October 1996 when Media Factory began distributing its now-legendary trading card game based on the Pokemon series.

The Basic Set cards and their illustrations by artists Ken Sugimori, Mitsuhiro Arita, and Keiji Kinebuchi are now iconic in the card collecting community.

Most Japanese basic set cards will contain a "rarity symbol" in the lower-right corner of the card that varies based on the card type.

Holographic cards in the set feature a star symbol, so if you find a Blastoise card without the rarity symbol, then you know you're looking at the more rare, first-print "no rarity" Blastoise.

The "no rarity" Blastoises are much more difficult to find as PSA has graded just 135 of them compared to 1,548 regular base set Blastoises.

Forty of the "no rarity" Blastoises have received a PSA 8 grade, like this one that sold for $2,326 recently, while just four  have received a PSA 10 grade.

The price on a PSA 10 would be far higher.

16) 1999 Pokemon French First Edition Tortank

Sold in August, 2021 for $2,425

After  Le départ , the first episode of the Pokemon anime appeared on French television in September 1999, and the franchise took off throughout France.

And in November 1999, the Pokemon Trading Card Game officially launched throughout the country.

The French First Edition Blastoise is easily recognizable by the French translation of the game mechanics but most obviously by the name "Tortank," or the French name for Blastoise, at the top of the card.

15) 1996 Japanese Pokemon Basic

Sold in January, 2021 for $2,500

If you look in the lower-right corner of the standard 1996 Japanese Basic Blastoise card, you can easily see the star symbol that all holographic cards carried.

Compared to just four examples of the "no rarity" having received a PSA 10 grade, just over 300 examples of the standard basic Blastoise have earned the PSA 10 grade.

That should give you an idea about how much more difficult it is to find a "no rarity" variation in top grade.

Still, collectors will pay thousands of dollars for a standard high-grade basic Blastoise.

14) 1999 Pokemon Spanish First Edition

Sold in February, 2021 for $2,608

In 1999, the Pokemon anime and video games began appearing in Spain, Chile, Mexico, and other parts of Latin America.

The Spanish version of the card game soon followed, offering native Spanish speakers throughout Europe and Latin America a much more enjoyable way to play the game.

You can see the Spanish translation throughout this card, but the Spanish version does leave the name "Blastoise" as-is.

To verify the card is indeed a First Edition, look to the lower-left of the character box, and you will find the "Edicion 1" symbol.

13) 2002 Legendary Collection Reverse

Sold in July, 2021 for $3,000

Legendary Collection made its debut on May 2002 and featured a 110-card checklist composed of reprints from the Base Set, Jungle, Fossil and Team Rocket expansions. 

Cards came in one of two theme decks: Lava or Turmoil.

While Charizard was an exclusive in the Lava deck, both the Dark Raichu and Dark Blastoise were exclusive to the Turmoil deck.

Dark Blastoise first appeared in the Team Rocket expansion as both a holofoil and non-holofoil card.

In the 2002 Legendary Collection set, however, Dark Blastoise appeared on a "reverse holofoil" design in which everything but the character artwork features the holofoil element.

12) 2004 EX FireRed & LeafGreen

Sold in December, 2020 for $3,050

Released on August 30, 2004, the EX FireRed & LeafGreen  made its mark as the sixth main expansion of the EX Series Pokemon cards.

The checklist featured 116 cards based on Generation I Pokemon and the Kanto region of the Pokemon world and the Blastoise ex #104 was one of eight rare holos in the set.

Enthusiasts of this set were encouraged to: " Get ready for an epic adventure. Collect Pokémon from the Kanto region and send them head-to-head against Pokémon from Hoenn. Capture them. Train them. And, move one step closer to becoming a Master Trainer!"

Along with that exciting marketing message, the artwork on the card was fantastic, and the Blastoise ex card was no exception.

11) 2000 Pokemon Base Set 2

Sold in February, 2021 for $3,750

The fourth main expansion of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, or  Base Set 2 , began hitting store shelves in early 2000 and featured a combination of reprints from both the  Base Set  and  Jungle expansions.

Though it was a bit unpopular at the time, high-grade Base Set 2  cards have slowly and steadily picked up in value recently.

Since they were reprints, they have a nearly identical look and feel to them as the Base Set  cards but are easily identified by the  Base Set 2 logo of a 2 with a Pokeball to the lower-right of the character art box.

10) 2000 Pokemon Rocket Dark Blastoise

Sold in February, 2021 for $4,075

Team Rocket, the fifth main expansion of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, debuted in English on April 24, 2000.

Featuring Generation 1 and Team Rocket characters in its 83-card checklist, this set may not be as popular as the base set, but it's continued to hold its own quite impressively over the years.

The set is also infamous for its introduction of Dark Pokemon with lower HPs but increased attack damage versus their normal Pokemon selves.

You can find this card in both an Unlimited Edition and First Edition, with the latter carrying a hefty premium in price in top condition.

9) 1995 Japanese Topsun Blue Back

Sold in February, 2021 for $4,305

The 1995 Japanese Topsun cards are some of the most interesting early Pokemon cards and were distributed in packs of apple-flavored gum.

Collectors could find these cards in one of three versions: blue-back, green-back, and prism holofoil.

While 150 different characters appeared on the blue-back and green-back cards, only sixteen (including Blastoise) received a prism holofoil version.

The prism Blastoise is the most desirable of the three, but the blue-back and green-back are expensive in top condition as well.

PSA has graded nearly the same number of blue-backs (74) as green-backs (73) but has given out just 15 PSA 10 grades to the blue-backs versus 34 for the green-backs.

Given its relative scarcity, the blue-back version carries a premium over its green-back cousin.

8) 1999 Pokemon German First Edition Turtok

Sold in October, 2020 for $4,750

When RTL II, a German television channel, aired the "Pika - Pikachu" episode for the first time on September 1, 1999, the Pokemon franchise had officially arrived in Germany.

Soon after that, the Red and Blue video games and trading card games followed.

The German market soon fell in love with "Turtok," and those fortunate enough to have held onto a First Edition version of its base set card made a wise decision.

7) 2002 Expedition For Position Only 

Estimate $5,000

The Expedition Base Set was part of the e-Card series of Pokemon cards that contained Dot Code technology.

Using the card with the Nintendo e-Reader, players could open a whole new experience by playing a minigame, viewing Pokedex data, and more.

The English version of the set contained 165 cards, seven of which (including Blastoise #36) Wizards of the Coast printed as a test run with the words "For Position Only" printed in white text across the character art box.

The 2002 Expedition "For Position Only" card is one of the rarest Blastoise cards in the hobby, with around a few dozen or so considered to exist.

They don't come up for sale often, so sales history is challenging to find.

That said, the price estimate of $5,000 in a BGS 9.5 or PSA 10 holder is likely low.

6) 1999 Pokemon Base Set Unlimited

Sold in October, 2020 for $6,700

The Pokemon Base Set kicked off the Pokemon Trading Card Game craze in the United States in 1999, but its various print runs can make a big difference in pricing.

The "Limited" print run appeared in two different forms that collectors and enthusiasts throughout the hobby know as "First Edition" and "Shadowless."

First Edition cards are the most desirable base set cards and contain an "Edition 1" symbol to the lower-left of Blastoise's art box.

The Shadowless print run followed the First Edition, and these cards are identifiable by the absence of both the "Edition 1" symbol and the lack of any shadow around the base and right-hand side of the art box.

Finally, the "Unlimited" print run came about to meet the enormous demand.

Wizards of the Coast made some design changes on the Unlimited cards, namely the inclusion of a shadow around the bottom and right edges of the art box and an emboldened typeface on the HP value.

Because the Unlimited variation is far more common, it is the least expensive of the base set, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily cheap.

First Edition

5) 1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless

Sold in June, 2020 for $8,100

Of the three versions of the base set cards, the Shadowless sits in the middle on the scale of desirability.

Again, this card lacks the "Edition 1" symbol and shadow around the character art box.

4) 1999 Pokemon Trainer Deck B Blastoise

Sold in March, 2021 for $20,000

As a promotional piece ahead of the official launch of the Pokemon Trading Card Game in North America, some Pokemon League members received a special "Trainer Deck B" or "Misty's Deck," as some call it.

The Trainer Deck B theme deck contained sixty base set cards in all, with the most desirable of them being Blastoise since Charizard is noticeably absent from the checklist.

Though it may look quite similar to a typical base set Blastoise, the Trainer Deck B or "Misty's Deck" Blastoise is different in two ways:

• it is the only non-holographic base set Blastoise
• the back of the card features red borders with "Trainer Deck B" printed on the lower half of the Poke Ball

Standard Deck

Trainer Deck B

3) 1995 Pokemon Japanese Topsun Holofoil Blastoise

Sold in October, 2020 for $20,100

Though they contain a trademark date of 1995, most collectors believe that Topsun did not distribute them until 1997, given the official Pokemon Trading Card Game didn't debut in Japan until 1996.

Collectors could find these cards in packs of apple-flavored gum in one of three versions: blue-back, green-back, and prism holofoil.

While 150 different characters appeared on the blue-back and green-back cards, only 16 received a prism holofoil version, Blastoise being one of them.

The flashy aesthetic appeal of this card is immediately apparent, and it's also notable that the image of Blastoise is the same that appeared on the cover art of the Pokemon Blue videogame released on the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan in 1996.

2) 1999 Pokemon First Edition Blastoise

Sold in November, 2020 for $45,100

Whether you are considering First Edition, Shadowless, or Unlimited base set Pokemon cards, the nostalgia for them only seems to grow higher and higher as the years pass.

And that's especially true for First Edition base set cards as the price tags in recent times have exploded to levels previously thought impossible.

Just remember, the easiest way to identify a First Edition Blastoise card is to look for the "Edition 1" stamp just to the lower left of the holographic image and no shadowing effect behind its right and bottom borders.

Out of the 2,070 first edition Blastoise cards submitted to PSA as of this writing, 100 of them have been given the PSA 10 distinction, or roughly 4.8% of them.

1) 1998 “Backless Blastoise” Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Holo  

Sold in January, 2021 for $360,000

Collectors and investors were stunned, to say the least, when this extremely rare Blastoise card surfaced for auction in early 2021.

When Wizards of the Coast was initially preparing to launch the English version of its base set in 1999, they used this presentation card as a test run to help get out the word and offer an early look.

The card looks very similar to the base set Blastoise, but with a few key differences, namely the squared corners, a different image of Blastoise, and a reverse side that is entirely blank.

So how rare is this card exactly?

It's believed that WOTC only printed two of them, so collectors and investors went all out during an auction in early 2021 for the chance at owning this one, with the eventual winner paying $360,000 for the honor.

Blastoise Pokémon Cards In Review

Blastoise remains one of the most iconic Pokemon of all time and clearly, card values have continued to soar as the non-sports card collecting world remains strong.

Investors and collectors are more than willing to pay steep price tags to own any one of the cards on this list.

Though Blastoise doesn't fetch the kind of money that Charizard does, these cards should remain strong investments for quite some time given the popularity of the franchise.

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This Extremely Rare Blastoise Presentation Card Is Selling for $468,000 USD

Move over, charizard..

Some astronomical sale prices for Pokémon TCG are in, and no it is not for a Charizard. Heritage Auctions currently has a very rare Blastoise #009/165R Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram card listed.

Rated at NM/Mint+ 8.5 by CGC, this card is just one of two examples in existence and was used for presentation purposes with Nintendo for approval to go into printing in English. This Wizards of the Coast card was commissioned by Cartamundi in 1998 and has details that never made it on to the final product — details like the sharp corners, blank card back, and whimsical typeface.

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Rare ‘Pokémon’ Blastoise card sells for $360,000

It is one of just two “presentation” cards in existence

A rare Blastoise card has been sold for a whopping US$360,000.

• READ MORE: ‘Pokémon GO’ made US$1.92billion in 2020 despite COVID-19

Collectible grading website CGC Trading Cards announced the sale on YouTube, following a Heritage auction for the card and other collectible items on Thursday, January 14. The Pokémon card was sold for US$360,000 and has been certified to be one of just two presentation cards produced.

The presentation cards, per CGC, were produced as a test print “for media use to demonstrate what an English  Pokémon  card would look like”, which resulted in CGC including a notation of “Commissioned Presentation” on the card’s label.

Watch the auction below.

The two rare Blastoise presentation card were printed in 1998 by Wizards Of The Coast and come with blank backs, whereas the other cards in the test pack that were printed have Magic: The Gathering backings. The status of the second blank-back Blastoise presentation card is currently unknown.

Recommended

At the same Heritage auction, a Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box was also sold for US$408,000. Other sales made during the auction include a first edition copy of the Batman #1 comic book for US$2.2million .

In other Pokémon news, a Nintendo Switch remake of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is rumoured to be announced in February . French leaker Kelios first leaked that the games would receive a full remaster  late last year.

According to  Pokemon Centre , the remakes are slated for an official announcement in February, with the game releasing around November of this year. A Nintendo Direct presentation scheduled for February 27 has since leaked , although Nintendo has yet to confirm the showcase.

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Very Rare 'Pokémon' Blastoise Card Sells at Auction for $360,000

An incredibly rare holographic Blastoise card believed to be one of two "presentation" cards made was recently sold at an auction for $360,000.

An incredibly rare Pokémon  Blastoise card sold for $360,000 at an online auction last week, New York Post reports .

Collectibles website CGC Trading Cards held a live bidding  on Jan. 14 for the "presentation" holographic Blastoise card, which was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast in 1998 as part of a test pack that would be shown at card shops "to demonstrate what an English Pokémon card would look like." While other cards had  Magic: The Gathering  printed on the back, this one is a blank-back. There were only two like this ever created, but this is the only one to their knowledge that still exists.

The winning bid, which came from someone who preferred to remain anonymous, was dangerously close to surpassing the record amount of $369,000 set in December on a rare Charizard card from the sought-after 1999 Base Set. The card also had a 1st Edition stamp and a shadowless effect, making it more exclusive than its shadow and unlimited counterparts.

Prior to the record-breaking Charizard bid, the previous high mark for most money spent on a Pokémon card belonged to Logic, who shelled out $226,000 on his own first edition Charizard card. The now retired rapper explained that his love for Pokémon cards stems from his childhood when he enjoyed the game but couldn't afford the cards. Since he has a significant amount of money to his name these days, Logic said he was interested in "buying back a piece of something I could never have."

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Rare Blastoise Pokémon promo card sells for $360,000

The market for Pokémon cards has only grown since content creators like Logan Paul, Ludwig, and other big names started buying, opening, and selling packs and cards from older TCG sets last year. And one rare Blastoise card, for example, was recently sold for $360,000.

This boom in sales applies to most Pokémon cards, especially those from much older sets and extremely rare cards that are hard to find on the market, including proto-type cards that rarely ever go up for auction. 

One such card is a near one-of-a-kind Blastoise card that Wizards of the Coast commissioned collectibles company Cartamundi to make to print in 1998 as presentation centerpieces ahead of the launch of the original Pokémon TCG Base Set in 1999. Only a few of these cards were ever printed and it features Blastoise in the same style that the Water-type appears in on the original artwork for Pokémon Blue . 

In the most recent auction listed for the Galaxy Star Holo – Commissioned Presentation Blastoise, the card went for $360,000, according to Heritage Auctions . That specific card was graded as near mint at an 8.5 by the CGC.

This is the only one of four variants graded by the CGC overall and the only one to have a blank back, while the other three all have Magic: The Gathering backs.

Likewise, HA also officially auctioned a sealed, first edition booster box for Base Set at $408,000. In comparison, a Shadowless edition Base Set booster box sold for $78,000 and an Unlimited Base Set box went for $28,800. All of these sales show that the demand for rare Pokémon TCG products is still on the rise despite some of the initial hype dropping off slightly. 

All of these auctions were completed between Jan. 14 and 17 and finalized after the fact by HA officials.

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Rare Pokemon Blastoise Presentation Card Sells for $360,000

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Extremely Rare CGC-certified Test Print Blastoise Realizes Over $200,000

Posted on 11/12/2021

Other rare Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards also realized impressive amounts in the Heritage sale.

Ultra-rare cards certified by CGC® Trading Cards, including a  Pokémon  Test Print Blastoise, achieved amazing results in a  Trading Card Games Signature Auction  presented by Heritage Auctions on November 7, 2021. Bidding was energetic as collectors competed to own some of the rarest cards from the  Pokémon  and  Magic: The Gathering  franchises.

The top individual card in the sale was a Blastoise  Pokémon  (1998) Test Print (Gold Border) #009/165R with Magic: The Gathering Back graded CGC 6.5 (lot 36108), which realized $216,000. Featuring Blastoise on the front with a Magic back, this fascinating combination is the result of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) attempting to create English  Pokémon  cards in the 1990s. Currently, only six of these rare test print cards have been authenticated by the experts at CGC Trading Cards. Details about the forensic analysis used to authenticate these cards is found  here .

Meanwhile, some of the rarest cards sold were giveaways from the 2002 Tropical Mega Battle Tournament. Realizing $108,000 was a complete set of the recently graded 2001/2002 Pokémon VS Tropical Mega Battle set (lot 36077). Certified in July, the English 30-card deck has a grade range of CGC 5.5 to CGC 8.5.

Included in the elusive deck are two particularly interesting cards: a Tropical Breeze graded CGC 6.5 and a corrected Clair’s Mantine graded CGC 5.5. For more information on this special deck, please click here .

Another rarity, which sold for $32,400, was a  Pokémon  (2000) Lucky Stadium Japanese Unnumbered Promo graded CGC 8.5 (lot 36246). This desirable card was also printed for the Tropical Mega Battle tournaments that took place in Hawaii from 1999 to 2001. Top  Pokémon  competitors from all over the world were invited and each was presented with a copy of this card.

Other CGC-certified highlights in the sale included:

• a Charizard  Pokémon  (1999) Base Set First Edition 4/102 Holo graded CGC 9 (lot 36113) that realized $19,200
• a Blastoise  Pokémon  (1999) Base Set - Shadowless 2/102 Holo Error graded CGC 5 (lot 36119) that realized $13,200
• a Charizard  Pokémon  (1999) Base Set First Edition 4/102 Holo graded CGC 8 (lot 36144) that realized $9,000
• a Blastoise  Pokémon  (1999) Base Set - First Edition 2/102 Holo graded CGC 9.5 (lot 36109) that realized $8,100
• a Timetwister  Magic: The Gathering  (1993) Unlimited Edition Rare graded CGC 5.5 (lot 37011) that realized $4,920
• a Mox Jet  Magic: The Gathering  (1993) Limited Edition (Beta) Rare graded CGC 5.5 (lot 36002) that realized $4,920
• a Mox Emerald  Magic: The Gathering  (1993) Limited Edition (Beta) Rare graded CGC 5 (lot 36001) that realized $4,560

All prices realized include the buyer’s premium.

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Rare pokémon blastoise card sells for $360k.

Admit it: You kind of wish you’d kept that old Pokémon card collection, don’t you?

But chances are you’ve never laid eyes on one rare card: a holographic Blastoise that sold for $360,000 at an online auction last week.

Collectibles authenticator CGC Trading Cards broadcast the live bidding on Jan. 14 via YouTube , noting that the “presentation” card — one of two prototypes used in marketing and promotion “to demonstrate what an English Pokémon card would look like” — is the only one known to still exist.

“This is a historic moment ladies and gentlemen,” the auctioneer said before reaching the ultimate bid. The buyer was anonymous, while nearly tying the record for the highest amount paid for any English Pokémon card, according to CGC.

The test print, commissioned by Wizards of the Coast in 1998, is one-sided, showing a blank space where the Pokémon logo would have been. Cardmaker Cartamundi produced other similar Blastoise cards, some of which bear back designs for “Magic: The Gathering” — a different game also distributed by the Wizards brand.

The second blank-back Blastoise card’s “whereabouts are unknown,” said CGC .

Late last year, a pair of Charizard cards sold for $369,000 each at Goldin Auctions. That beat the previous record, held by rapper and, evidently, Pokémon collector Logic, who dropped more than $220,000 on a Charizard card of the same edition.

“The first record was only established last month,” wrote CGC, “demonstrating just how hot the trading cards market is becoming, with CGC Trading Cards adding fuel to the fire through its expert certification services.”

The Most Expensive Pokemon Cards Ever Sold

Pokemon card prices have been sky high since celebrities like Logan Paul and Logic  brought them back into the public eye. Rare cards always had the potential to sell for hundreds of dollars, but now they may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to PokeMarketCap, values for popular cards like Charizard, Lugia, and Rayquaza have significantly increased — especially for PSA 10 grades.  Marketplace , an economic news organization, points out that any mix of media exposure, pandemic boredom, and stimulus money could be responsible for the spike in demand. 

However, despite the trading card craze, only a fraction of cards on the market could sell for a small fortune. Not all Pokemon cards are created equal, nor are they distributed at an even rate across the board. The most valuable Pokemon cards tend to be old limited edition ones or tournament promotional cards. Below, you'll learn about the most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold.

1st Edition Holographic Shadowless Venusaur Card - $50,000

Venusaur is just one of the few rare cards that slipped under the media's radar. The sale of this blue-green plant dinosaur may not have made headlines, but it did make its seller some serious cash.

Core Collectibles sold a first-edition holographic shadowless Venusaur on eBay for $50,000. This particular card even received a PSA 10 ranking, also known as gem mint, which is the best PSA score a card can receive. First-edition starter evolutions tend to attract attention, especially holographic and shadowless ones. Holographic Venusaurs outshine non-holographic versions in terms of cost and rarity. Shadowless  means that the card doesn't have any shading around the edges — just plain gold.

Japan printed the first Pokemon cards in 1996, but Wizards of the West Coast didn't catch up with English counterparts until 1999. These  first-edition cards are the most difficult to find because they're part of the oldest batch of Pokemon cards.

Tamamushi University Magikarp Promo Card - $50,000

Scott Pratte, a Pokemon trading card expert, explained in a forum post how the University Magikarp card splashed into the market in 1998 as a prize card for elementary school children who advanced to the final round of a special trading card conference. Shogakukan, a Japanese media publisher, challenged readers with the Tamamushi Hyper Test campaign in their magazines for school-aged children. Only children who passed the series of tests in the Tamamushi Hyper Test campaign qualified for the two-day conference in Osaka.

The conference split participants into three age brackets and then assigned groups based on Pokemon gyms. Everyone in each group battled against each other to decide the top players who would move on to Day 2. Participants who won a battle during Day 2 received a Magikarp University card. 

Pratte claimed that the intended distribution was 1,000 according to two individuals he spoke with at the 2014 Pokemon World Championships in Washington. Later, he confirmed this information with an old flyer . Only a few University Magikarps have appeared in the market. In October 2020,  PWCC auctioned one for $50,000 on eBay.

20th Anniversary 24K Gold Ginza Tanaka Pikachu Card - $50,000

Ginza Tanaka, a famous Japanese jeweler, collaborated with The Pokemon Company to create a set of Pikachu cards for Pokemon's 20th anniversary. These Japanese-exclusive cards were modeled after the original Pikachu from the base set. Business Insider reports each card incorporated 11 grams of 24-karat gold into the design and came with an acrylic case for protection and display. One PWCC listing specifies that collectors pre-ordered the cards for $2,100 from either Pokemon Center Online or 7net during a 20-day period between October and November 2016.

An independent seller sold a Ginza Tanaka Pikachu for $50,000 on eBay. The seller advertised that the particular card was also signed by Pokemon trading card illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita at the Dallas 2018 Pokemon Regional Championships. At the time, Arita reportedly said that it was the only Ginza Tanaka Pikachu he signed. The exact number of Ginza Tanaka Pikachus hasn't been confirmed, but PWCC claims that the demand "far outweighs the supply."

Ishihara GX Pokémon Card - $50,000

The Ishihara GX card isn't a trading card or trophy card, but a gift. PSA's blog post describes the history of the card, including how Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokemon Company, handed these cards out to guests at his 60th birthday party during the 2018 Pokémon World Championship in Nashville, Tenn. Mike Cressy's design features the CEO reaching for a Master Ball with a Rotom at his side. You can find a plethora of "60" references on the card, like the "60 Congratulations!" attack move that inflicts 1060 damage. 

Collector's Cache posted the first known auction for an Ishihara card in April 2019. Later, the collectible retailer sold a PSA 10 card for a record $50,000. Collector's Cache General Manager Behman Zakeri claimed between 30 and 200 cards were printed for Ishihara's birthday. The exact number remains a mystery, but it's low enough to keep this card as a well-known exclusive collectible throughout the community. PSA appraised and recorded four total Ishihara cards auctioned on the market as of July 2020.

Master's Scroll Holo Card - $50,000

PWCC advertises  Master's Scrolls as promotional cards given to Master Rank members of Japan's Pokemon Daisuki Club . The listing description (which has since been removed) claimed that these Japanese exclusives were only available for a limited time in June 2010. Members needed to earn about 8,600 Action Points to reach Master Rank by participating in club activities and events. The Pokemon Daisuki Club mirrors the Pokemon Fan Club from the games, like the one in Vermillion City in Pokemon Re d and Blue . 

Scott Pratte sold the most expensive Master's Scroll for $50,000 on eBay. PSA's card auction log  shows collectors paid over $1,000 for Master's Scrolls, even as far back as 2018. These cards count as part of the L-P Promotional set that released during the Pokemon Card Game LEGEND era near the same time as the HeartGold & SoulSilver Collection in Japan. They succeeded the DPt-P Promotional cards, which started alongside the  Galactic's Conquest expansion.

Tropical Wind Promo Card - $65,100

According to PSA , the Pokemon Tropical Mega Battle tournament annually took place at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1999 to 2001. The invite-only event pitted the best 50 players from Canada, Latin America, Europe, Japan, and the United States against each other in competition.

One PWCC listing confirms that various cards were awarded throughout the event, including the Tropical Wind and Trainer Trophy cards. The No.2 Trainer card, one of many editions of Pokemon Trophy cards , represents a runner-up placement at the tournament. These Trainer cards featured a holographic Exeggutor on the front. PWCC sold an authentic No.2 Tropical Battle Trainer card for $50,300 on their marketplace. PSA reported only assessing five of these cards and observing nearly no record of them on auction.

Tropical Wind , one of the player participant trophy cards, also made waves as one of the most coveted promo cards on the market. Tropical Wind depicts a Psyduck holding a ukelele as it sleeps next to Jigglypuff on a hammock. PWCC auctioned a gem mint copy of the card for $65,100 on eBay.

No. 2 Trainer Trophy Card - $84,000

PSA reports that the top three players for each division in the first-ever Pokemon trading card tournament earned a Pikachu trophy card depending on their placement. Each card reads No.1, No.2, or No.3, representing gold, silver, and bronze trophies. The most recent auction to make the news was a No. 2 Pikachu trophy card. According to PokeGuardian , Yahoo Japan auctioned the card for 9,051,000 yen, which converts to about $84,000.

This particular trophy card was given to a runner-up of the Lizardon (Charizard) Mega Battle held at the Masala Cup in the Kobe International Exhibition Hall in 1997. The Masala Cup in Kobe was just one of the regional tournaments that offered Pikachu trophy cards. Other iterations of trophy cards changed the design to include different artwork or feature different characters. Every year up until 2019, top players in each age division of the Pokemon World Championships received trophy cards. The Pokemon Company cancelled both the 2020 and 2021 championships because of COVID-19 concerns, though plans for a 2022 competition in London (and perhaps new trophy cards) are in the works.

Secret Super Battle No. 1 Card - $90,000

After the record-breaking sale of a Secret Super Battle No.1 card, PSA wrote a blog post on the details of the sale and the history behind the card. First-place winners of each regional division of the 1999 Pokemon Card Game Official Tournament received a Secret Super Battle No. 1 card. The location of the finals was a secret that only these cards could unlock. Each featured a holographic silhouette of Mewtwo on the front. Only seven–one for each regional tournament–exist, one of which sold at Heritage Auctions in July 2020 for $90,000. 

Super Secret Battle cards have No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 versions like trophy cards. PokeBeach estimates that between nine to 18 sets of all three versions of the card exist. The No. 2 and No. 3 Super Secret Battle cards also attract high bidders, though maybe not as much as No. 1 cards. Most notably, a collector spent $60,000 on a No. 3 Trainer card at an eBay auction in August 2018. The card was lost in the mail and never found, despite the buyer's offer of a $1,000 reward. Scott Pratte, also known as smpratte online, gave detailed info on the stolen card in a YouTube video on his channel.

Neo Genesis 1st Edition Holo Lugia Card - $135,000

As one of the most iconic Pokemon of the Johto region, Lugia rivals even Kanto starter evolutions like Charizard in value. More specifically, PSA records show that the first-edition holographic Lugia from the Neo Genesis collection routinely sells for thousands of dollars. The card was produced in 2000, the year after the release of Pokemon Silver and Gold , and is no longer sold in stores. The legendary bird appears in Johto region artwork and games, and even stars in its own movie .

A PWCC listing description reports PSA scored only 41 of these cards as PSA 10 out of the 1100+ submitted. PWCC auctioned one gem mint condition card for $129,000 in November 2020. An independent seller posted another PSA 10 card for $135,000 in January 2021. While there aren't very many Neo Genesis Lugias on the market, they out-populate other rare cards like Trophy Cards.

Kanghaskan Parent/Child Promo Card - $150,000

PWCC gives background on the Kanghaskan Parent/Child Promo card in its listing. Parent/Child Mega Battle tournament challenged thousands of parent-child teams to compete in a series of battles until they reached a certain number of wins. All teams who reached this magic number earned a prize that matched the parent-child theme: a holographic Kanghaskan Parent/Child Promo card. It's one of the few cards that features the "Pocket Monsters Card Game" logo on the back of the card as well as the front. 

As of October 2020, PSA assessed a total of 46 of these cards with only 11 meeting PSA 10 standards. The limited number that were given out, like with the trainer trophy cards, boosted their value. According to PWCC , this card ranks as the 3rd rarest Pokemon card in the world.

PWCC Marketplace auctioned the first gem mint condition Kanghaskan promo card for $150,000 in October 2020. Before that, a PSA 7 example held the record sale for $35,000.

Pikachu Illustrator Card - $233,000

According to Weiss Auctions , the Pikachu Illustrator card was specifically designed for an illustration contest hosted by CoroCoro Comics, a Japanese magazine targeted at elementary school children. The holographic Pikachu card was awarded to the three first place winners and 20 second place winners for the first contest in 1998. Later, after two other contests, the total number was upped to 39 copies. Only ten known PSA certified Pikachu Illustrator cards have appeared on the market. Atsuko Nishida, Pikachu's original character designer, designed the card. 

The Pikachu Illustrator card made headlines when Weiss Auctions sold it for $195,000 in October 2019. This sale set the 2019 Guinness World Record for most expensive Pokemon trading card sold at auction. Another Pikachu Illustrator card succeeded that record by hitting $233,000 in 2020, after an American customer  bought the card from ZenPlus's Pokemonmania store. Pikachu Illustrator cards continue to sell for thousands of dollars when available.

Commissioned Presentation Blastoise Promo Card - $360,000

This Blastoise card was never meant to sell. Only two Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram Blastoise cards exist because they were never even on the market. Heritage Auctions detailed the history of how the Wizards of the West Coast commissioned trading card producer Cartamundi in 1998 to create these two cards as prototypes to show Nintendo before printing Pokemon cards in English. So these cards existed before the first-edition cards were even published. One of the defining features of this holographic Blastoise card is its blank back.

Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) Trading Cards auctioned one of these elusive Blastoise cards for $360,000 in January 2021 . CGC rated the Commissioned Presentation Blastoise card as 8.5 out of 10 — or near-mint condition. Many of the cards in this article use a PSA rating, but this one uses the CGC grading scale . CGC even goes into detail about how it appraised the card next to other rare Blastoise cards with Magic the Gathering-printed backs.

1st Edition Holographic Shadowless Charizard - $369,000

Over the years, Charizard has remained one of the most popular Pokemon of all time. In a  2020 Pokemon poll , Charizard ranked fourth behind Greninja, Lucario, and Mimikyu. The fire-breathing dragon outranked both Blastoise and Venusaur, the other Kanto starter final evolved forms, who didn't make the top 10. A  PSA blog post  claims that Charizard was one of the rarest cards to pull from the base set and also actually a strong card in terms of hit points and attack power. The promotional appeal from the Pokemon Red video game didn't hurt either.

At press time, Charizard holds the record for the most expensive card ever sold. An anonymous buyer shelled out $369,000 for a first-edition holographic shadowless Charizard on Goldin Auctions in December 2020. This purchase surpassed the previous $295,000 record for the same card.

Charizard is a hit with stars, as well.  YouTuber Logan Paul and rapper Logic both bought first-edition holographic shadowless Charizard cards for about $150,000 and $220,000 respectively. Paul said that he spent  $2 million on unopened boxes of first-edition Pokemon cards, which he planned to auction off via Goldin Auctions  on Pokemon Day 2021.

Recommended

Forward Into The Past: The Prototype Blastoise

With all the recent Gigaleaks and Megaleaks which have been revealing various mysterious bits of unknown and hidden Pokémon video game history to the masses… I must admit feeling like the Pokémon TCG has been left out in the cold a bit. Heck, not even a beta version of the Pokémon TCG Game Boy game surfaced! What rotten luck.

But recently I discovered something that simply knocked me off my socks. Initially I thought it was simply someone’s fake card that they managed to trick a professional card grader into sealing up for them… but the closer I looked into it, the more I realized that I stumbled upon something extremely important to the history of the Pokémon TCG. Here, take a look-see for yourself!

Wha…. what the heck is this??

Well, today I’ll give you the quick and simple story about how this card came about, but also break down everything there is to find out about this card… such as why making this Blastoise was the most PERFECT idea, to what exactly its mysterious “009/165” collector number might mean.

Just What Is This Card??

I first discovered this card—and, as I would later discover, it would be one of five known versions—on a Heritage Auction page for that card. The page itself describes its origins simply:

“Wizards of the Coast in mid-1998 commissioned Cartamundi to print two of these cards to be used as “Presentation” pieces to seek Nintendo’s approval to begin printing Pokémon cards in English. To add to the desirability, the card features one of the most popular Pokémon in the game, Blastoise!”

Just so you know, Cartamundi is a Belgian card printer, who have been printing Magic the Gathering since the very beginning and continues to print their cards to this very day. Since they were definitely printing for Wizards’ back in 1998, they surely would’ve been their go-to printer to help produce their first test English Pokémon TCG cards as well.

Anyways, the auction is long over, and this card ended up selling for $360,000! Holy crackers! Also, ignore the statement where it says that they had only two cards printed; as mentioned, this card is actually one of maybe five known versions. Four of them exist with a gold border and were graded by CGC Comics, and one with a black border which was owned by a Wizards’ employee who shared their copy to help with authentication. You should definitely read up on CGC Comics analysis of the cards on their website here , as they go through amazing details concerning where the cards came from and what they did to authenticate them. Now of the four versions of the Blastoise cards which were authenticated, three of them had a standard “Magic” foil and Magic: the Gathering card back, while the fourth had the Classic Holofoil and a plain white card back… this would be the one sold in the Heritage Auction.

As you can see, they made multiple different versions, but they’re all effectively the same card. Even the sole Black-bordered version is the same, although it does have a few minor differences which leads me to believe that it was produced AFTER the gold-bordered versions. Here’s a quick breakdown of these two versions:

The one on the left represents all four gold-bordered cards, which you can also see the holofoil cutting into the Evolution box, similar to how the Japanese cards did holos for a while. With the Black-bordered card on the right, you can see the holo going “behind” the Evolution box. Now as the CGC Comics article discusses, the Black-bordered card comes from a test print sheet full of other Magic cards which were also being tested, so they most likely mixed this sole Pokémon card into it to maximize printing capabilities; therefore, the Black-bordered Blastoise is more likely because it was mixed into the Magic sheet versus any plans to produce Black-bordered Pokémon TCG cards. In any case, other than the border and the holofoil style, these two cards—and their kin—are effectively the same.

That said, it would’ve been interesting to see where the use of black-bordered Pokémon TCG cards might have gone. Like, the use of a black border was something Wizards did with Magic cards back then… well, I guess they still do it today, technically. But more like, they utilized black borders to denote card releases; the alternative was the use of white borders (which were reserved for card reprints), gold borders (which were used for non-tournament legal reprints), and silver borders (which were used for other non-tournament legal cards). Furthermore, this was something they did a lot back when they distributed the Pokémon TCG, so it makes me wonder about whether or not Wizards’ might have done something similar with the Pokémon TCG if given the opportunity to.

Anyways……

So its history seems pretty straight-forward: Wizards was clearly trying to impress Nintendo while in the process of getting the license to produce and distribute the Pokémon TCG outside of Japan, so they made these cards. Clearly it worked, because… well, they ended up getting the license! But what makes this card so important to Pokémon TCG history? After all, this kind of prototyping is pretty common with all brands and products, so what separates this from any other prototype?

Well first off, just like with the Gigaleaks, this is simply a rare look into the initial design process of what is basically the second most popular trading card game in the world! Specifically, it’s the very first “behind the scenes” look in the Pokémon TCG’s English design process, both chronologically and what has actually been revealed to the public. It’s especially important because these Blastoise cards look significantly different from what would ultimately be in English’s “1st Edition Base Set” release.

On top of that, these cards are also basically the ONLY version of this particular card in English. That is to say, the card that Wizards based their “commissioned presentation” on ended up being the CD Promo Blastoise :

…but despite these cards being made, a subsequent English version of it would never end up being produced. So aside from these test prints, there are NO English “CD Promo Blastoise”.

When you put this all together… aside from them being a one-of-a-kind English version of a promo card which otherwise never saw a Western release, they are also a one-of-a-kind early printing of English Pokémon TCG cards. So a card that is doubly one-of-a-kind? I’d say that’s top tier importance! That said, the only thing that brings it down a notch in terms of ULTIMATE importance is the fact that Wizards was basically a licensee contracted to produce and distribute the English version of the game. They didn’t own the game itself. So in a certain way, it’s not AS “official” as if it was a Japanese card, but it’s certainly more official than if, say, I made a one-of-a-kind Pokémon TCG card myself. Still, this isn’t to completely discredit its importance and value in the grand scheme of things… if there ever was a pantheon of the most historically important cards in Pokémon TCG history, this would certainly belong in it before even “1st Edition Charizard” would!

Of course, this is simply the history portion of this discussion and if all you wanted to know was where this card came from… well, there we are. But there’s still quite a lot left to go over when it comes to actually processing the true historical value of this Blastoise… which includes working out how different this Blastoise is relative to the designs that ended up appearing in the final English release of 1st Edition Base Set on January 9th, 1999, and therefore getting an idea of how Wizards came to that design. Well, beyond simply copying Japan’s homework. In fact, Wizard’s choice of a card like Blastoise was perhaps the best choice they could’ve made in order to impress Nintendo with, as it really nearly is an entire design document for pretty much every other possible card design… and all wrapped up in a single card.

Blastoise: an Entire Pokémon TCG Style Guide in a Single Card

First off though, to get an idea of how different Prototype Blastoise is to the final product, here it is next to an Unlimited-style and 1st Edition Base Set Blastoise. Here you can get an idea of what kind of changes occurred between their first initial design test and what ended up being designed for the 1st Edition runs, then finally the Unlimited-style run where the cards looked even more like their Japanese counterparts (tho only just).

As mention above, Blastoise was perhaps the most perfect card Wizards’ could’ve chosen to recreate, because it so perfectly encapsulates so much about the card game’s design style, rules, etc, all in a single card. If Nintendo representatives had any questions about “what English word will you be using to denote THIS game play element” or “what would this other card look like with this number of Energy” , all they had to do was simply look at the Blastoise card, and I’d say 95% of their questions could be answers right away. The alternative would’ve been to simply design and print multiple cards to cover all those different potential questions and possibilities… but Wizards producing the Pokémon TCG was not some fore-gone conclusion just yet, I doubt they would’ve had the time and ability to draw up a multiple cards. Besides, clearly printing needless cards was costly and time consuming—otherwise Wizards wouldn’t have needed to attach those Blastoise test prints onto sheets with Magic cards on it!—so why not be more efficient and just design one in English card… but choose a card that covers as much of your bases as possible. Makes sense, right?

So to get an idea of how perfect this card is when trying to showcase the core style guide that could be applied to every other card—at least in Base Set, Jungle and Fossil—here’s a breakdown:

• Choosing a Stage Level 2 Evolution card also implies what a Level 1 Evolution card would look like (Level 2 has two gold lines, so Level 1 would have only one)
• Though the word “attack” does not appear on the card itself.
• Both Rain Dance and Hydropump establishes how Energy card types would be referenced: instead of an Energy symbol, the Energy type is actually spelled out
• Rain Dance also shows that Special Conditions— Asleep , Paralyze and Confusion —would be written in italics, thus emphasizing the fact that those are Special Conditions instead of something else
• Technically it doesn’t say how many you’re limited to, but kinda implies a limit of one Energy per turn, by virtue of “as many … as you want” .
• That is to say, a 1-energy cost attack would look like that single middle Water energy on the bottom, while a 2-energy cost attack would look like the two Water energy on the top. And since we can see that a three-energy cost attack places energy in two rows, a FOUR-energy cost would simply be two rows of the 2-energy cost format
• Hydropump also was an attack that did extra damage, thus showing what other attacks using multipliers would look like.
• It’s worth noting that Magic’s style guide back then used self-referencing a lot , while today… well, it still kinda does.
• Since Blastoise’s HP is three-digits (100), that’s the fullest extent of the space needed for any HP between 30 and 120
• Of course, where the “1st Edition” symbol would go is unknown, but I highly suspect Wizards had no plans for that concept until much later.
• With a three-energy retreat cost escape, it could be easily imagined of what cards with one- and two-energy costs would also look like… possibly even no-energy costs (just simply nothing after that em-dash) .
• what the action is to play something from your hand (“play”)
• what these creatures are called (“Pocket Monster(s)”, “monster card”)
• what kind of costs are involved in using them (“Energy”, “Energy Card”)
• where unplayed cards are held (“[your] hand”)
• when you can play your cards (“[your] turn”)
• the verb and adjective of placing additional cards onto your Pocket Monsters (“stack”, “attach”)
• how Pocket Monsters can defeat another (“[deal(s)] … damage”)
• if “Special Power” can be known as something else (“ability”)

The only thing missing from this card which it doesn’t address is:

• What a Basic Pokémon Pocket Monster card would look like
• What “Hydropump” actually is (since it was self-referential, it doesn’t actually call itself an “attack”)
• Where the Resistance would go

That’s pretty much everything missing… so I must say, choosing Blastoise was a pretty good choice for this purpose, as it clearly covered a LOT of different elements of game play in a single card.

• inb4 “Charizard has a Resistance!” Yeah but it doesn’t have an attack that does extra damage, and it arguably also isn’t self-referential. Plus its attack uses 4 Fire Energy, meaning you wouldn’t have an idea of what a 1-energy attack would look like

That said, I’m sure the folks at Wizards didn’t think THIS deeply when deciding which card they wanted to print to impress Nintendo with, but hey… maybe they did? I mean, maybe they didn’t bullet-point everything like I did, but once they had at least got Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise translated, I’m sure they all looked at each other and nodded: “Blastoise. It’s just too obvious.” And yeah, now we know why!

A Breakdown of the Proto-ness

But now that we have a good idea of WHY they chose Blastoise to build their prototype card off of… what exactly is going on with this card? Why does it look so different?

Once again, here’s my breakdown. First tho, clearly they went with a bit more of a literal translation of the Japanese card elements, or at least use of its standards… so we see stuff like:

• “Level #” instead of “Stage #”
• “escape” instead of “retreat (cost)”
• “Evolved from” (past tense) instead of “Evolves from” (present/future tense)
• “Stack this card on the monster card.” instead of “Put XXXXX on the Stage 1/2 card”
• “Pocket Monster(s)” instead of “Pokémon”
• “Special Power” instead of “Pokémon Power”
• the literal use of “Water Energy Cards” versus Z W ; this is because the original Japanese cards used Kanji forms of the Energy type instead of the actual Energy symbol
• Incidentally, that evolution box design is the same one used in 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set cards, but was changed in subsequent Shadowed designs
• The use of two bars to denote “Level 2″—also like the original Japanese—but the English cards (even in 1st Edition Shadowless) used one bar, regardless of Stage number
• This makes me believe that the other “HP #0” errors in 1st Edition Base Set Metapod, Caterpie and Vulpix might have been because those were the first cards to be designed and the decision to swap “HP #0” to “#0 HP” came a bit later in the design process…

Other significant design changes include:

• Actually, no. I did a bit of research at  WhatTheFont (see right) and instead it’s a typeface called Tekton Pro ; it’s used for the Pokémon’s name, HP, Special Power name, Attack name and Damage amount.
• The rest of the card is good ol’ Gill Sans .
• There is ONE other typeface used: the “Level” in the lower-left corner of the Flavor Text box. It appears to simply be some variant of Helvetica .
• I mean, yeah, the Art Box border is thicker, but that overall area itself is a bit smaller… then the actual card artwork is smaller on top of that.

• More curious is that, whoever designed this Blastoise clearly saw that the corner between the Stat Box and the Art Border was a nice place for the Set Symbol… yet they made the deliberate choice to remove the Stat Bar and move the Set Symbol up by the HP.
• The fact that its stats are located down there instead of a separate Stat Box is perhaps the most significant change between this prototype and a final card.  Even the cart art with its thicker border… at least it has a border!
• Also whoever designed this had no concept of the metric system. It’s like they took Blastoise’s metric stats—1.6m, 85.5 Kg—dropped the quantifiers—1.6, 85.5—then rounded them up to some arbitrary value—2, 100—and called it good. “Hmmm… 1.6m, 85.5 Kg… that’s like, 2 ft and 100 pounds, right?”
• The flavor text has both the height of the Japanese version and the width of the English version. The flavor text itself is three full lines, and the Level value is shoved right in the corner. It ALSO doesn’t have Blastoise’s Pokédex number; though I think that might have been covered by its Collector Number (see below) . Either way, I’m glad they made the Flavor Text box a much more efficient size in the end.
• Its flavor text itself is just a translation of its original Japanese card’s Pokédex entry: “It crushes its foe under its heavy body to cause fainting. In a pinch, it will withdraw inside its shell.” (体が重たく、のしかかって相手を気絶させる。ピンチのときは、カラにかくれる。) This entry in turn was based on its original Japanese Red/Green entry. This flavor text also exemplifies how Wizards used to translate the Pokédex entries into English before realizing that… well, Nintendo already did it for them. Directly translating them caused for some interesting Flavor Text errors in the early Pokémon TCG releases.
• Both the names of its Power and Attack are followed by a colon to separate it from its game text. Meanwhile in the final design, their names are separated from its game text by virtue of the names being larger and bolder.
• Its copyright info is different, but it’s still one more than the Japanese version ever had.
• I have an idea about that below… and it also may explain why Blastoise’s Pokédex number is not included in its Flavor Text.

All this said, this prototype design still does at least cover core Pokémon TCG card design in the broad strokes… name, type, evolution info, HP, powers, attacks, weakness and retreat info, as well as its flavor text, illustrator and collector number are are all where they’re supposed to be, the attack itself is ordered properly—Energy, Game Text, Damage—so honestly, it’s a lot closer to the final design than not, and this is especially considering of how strangely different it is in general.

My Fan Fakes and Fan Theories

But perhaps best part about having this card lay out nearly all of the core design and style guidelines is… I can make fakes and blanks out of this! Yup, using my Neo Redux blanks as a base, I can very easily make a complete set of blanks in this format, complete with “Level” Evolution boxes poking into the border, larger Flavor Text box and set symbol located by the HP! Oh, and in both gold AND black borders. Take a look!

Of course I had to make a few guesses about some of the card elements, like what Basic Pokémon Pocket Monsters would look like (I mean, I used “Basic Pocket Monster”, but maybe I should stick with the standard “Basic Pokémon” for ruling compatibility?) , where the resistance would go (I placed it to the right of “escape”, thus keeping “escape” in the middle, but maybe I should move “escape” over to the right where it normally is?) … but I think it’ll be a fun little project to do. … At least, once I’m finished with all the other blanks I need to make!

Anyways, there’s just one last mystery left about this card: why is it #9 out of 165? Normal Base Set Blastoise was #2/102, while the original Japanese CD Promo of Blastoise was #009, and only because that was its Pokédex number. OK so maybe that explains why its #009—as well as why its Pokédex number wasn’t in the Flavor Text box like it normally is—but what about the 165? Let’s think of a few ideas first:

• So maybe it’s Base Set plus Jungle, right? Well, that would be 102 + 48 (ignoring how the English set made holo and nonholo versions of the rares)… which is 150 cards.
• Base Set + Jungle + Fossil then? That’s 150 plus another 48 cards… lol nope
• I mean, I GUESS they could’ve just taken the best 63 cards from Vending and added it to Base Set, bringing it up to 165, but I highly doubt that.
• Perhaps it’s simply 151 Pokémon, plus X number of trainers from Base Set, Jungle and Fossil, thus a total of 165 cards, right? Weeeellll… there’s 26 Trainer cards alone in Base Set. And then ignoring Energy cards (which were also counted as part of the 102 card size of Base Set), that’s 177 cards.

So honestly, I can’t think of any other combination of cards that bring it up to 165! Well…. except for one last idea: “POKÉGODS”.

Reign of the PokéGods

Well, not literal Pokégods, but the name some fans gave to all of the post-Mew Pokémon that have been slowly dropped into the anime here and there—like Togepi and Snubbull—but were not part of the main list of official 151 Pokémon, and especially before “Johto” entered into everyone’s vocabulary. After all, this was 1998, and Gold/Silver had yet to be officially released… however news about its future was already beginning to be spread across both schoolyards and video gaming news sites alike. Knowledge of officially new Pokémon was out there, so maybe Wizards wanted to include their numbers to the 151 to show that they’re paying attention?

Personally this makes the most amount of sense to me… so in that case, that would mean that Blastoise isn’t card #9 of a 165 cards set, but Pokémon #9 out of 165 total Pokémon. But… were there 14 GS Pokémon known back then to bring the total up from 151 to 165? Well, let’s put our thinking caps on… First off, by the 1998 Japanese release of Pikachu’s Vacation and Pokémon The First Movie , there was definitely:

• Ho-Oh (as seen in the very first episode)

…well, that’s five already, so maybe we’ll include the three starters:

…and that’s eight so far. Hmm… maybe if we include Pokémon introduced by the second movie release Pokémon The Movie 2000 and Pikachu’s Rescue Adventure:

That’s 14 Pokémon right there! This could very easily account for the 165 value on the Blastoise card. The ONLY slight issue might be that many of these didn’t appear in Japan until 1999, but then again maybe Wizards was privy to this information during initial meetings with Nintendo back in 1998, as I’m sure Nintendo had all this information sorted out by then. For example, perhaps Wizards wanted to get an idea of Nintendo’s long-term plans for the franchise—afterall, why start work on a card game that clearly has no future?—and Nintendo likely told them “well, we’re working on a new game called ‘Pokémon Gold and Silver’, and these are just 14 of the new creatures which will be part of it… so I guess you can say that there are really 165 Pokémon at this point, just that only 151 will appear in the Red and Blue games being released” . They might have even been shown some Southern Islands product showing Showking, Marill, Togepi and Ladyba, which although wouldn’t release until 1999 as well, I’m sure they had plenty of behind-the-scenes material to show.

In any case, consider that 14 is the number we needed, and the number of G/S Pokémon revealed by this point in time is 14 as well. Coincidence??

What A MAJOR Deal!

PHEW!! What a HUUUUGE post today! Yep, well, these posts really do get my brain cells fired up, because of all the different ideas, elements, history and whatnot that are involved in trying to understand what I’m looking at. The fact that this prototype Blastoise card was revealed to the world is effectively the TCG equivalent of the Gigaleak that revealed all the Space World Prototypes to the world. OK, well, maybe not to THAT degree, but the concept is the same: it’s tapping into a hidden history of Pokémon which us mere mortals would’ve never otherwise known about. And now that we can finally see it, break it down and mine it for useful history, the fandom is scarcely the same afterwards. I mean, just look at what this one single card brought up? We touched on the history of Wizards of the Coast as well as the cloudy pre-G/S era of Pokémon, plus card design elements, lessons in efficient design, and even snuck in a few fan theories. Clearly this was a really big deal!

Anyways, hopefully more hidden bits of TCG history like this will be uncovered in the time to come… and when it does, you can be sure that I’ll be on top of it. … OK, well, three months after everyone else talks about it, of course. Good times? You betcha!

Great article !!! I have been thrilled to learn about this historical Pokemon card find. This seems to be the card that started the Pokemon craze in America. It should probably be in a museum…

Thanks for the comment, I’m glad you enjoyed reading it! Yeah, I TOTALLY feel you on this; this is such an amazing find, especially for such a simple and basic card. So much history is wrapped up in it, it’s a shame that there isn’t a museum for it to live in.

Check it out… Your article link is featured at http://www.TheMostImportantPokemonCard.com

Oh nice, thanks for the link back! It truly is one of the most important Pokémon TCG cards. Nice site documenting everything about it too!

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Blastoise just beat Charizard as the most valuable Pokemon Card ever made

We've seen an 1st Edition Gem Mint Charizard Pokemon Card sell for over two hundred thousand dollars. That's a card that was sold to the public, available in packs of cards you could purchase at your local sports card and Magic: The Gathering card game shop. It wasn't easy to get, but it was realistically attainable (if you had the cash back then). A 1st Edition Charizard has traditionally been the most sought-after card in the entire series. As of January of 2021, a different card supplanted the dragon.

An auction run with Heritage Auctions sold a Pokemon card the likes of which might as well be the epitome of the entire Pokemon card universe. This "Galaxy star holofoil Blastoise" card was a "comissioned presentation" card made by Wizards of the Coast in 1998.

A grading presentation from CGC Grading showed four cards, each of which have a slightly different grade and/or release story. The most extravagant of these was the Blastoise with Galaxy Star Holo background – the one sold at auction this month.

The only card that might be worth more than this example is the version shown below – as shown by Wizards of the Coast Lead Typesetter Christopher Nitz. He showed an uncut sheet of test print cards from Urza's Cycle with a variety of typesetting, icons, and type placement.

According to Christopher Nitz, the Blastoise shown on this sheet is the very first English Pokemon card printed on foil! All versions of this Blastoise card were printed as test prints by Cartamundi for Wizards of the Coast as examples to show Nintendo before starting the English Pokemon CCG printing process en masse.

The Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Holo Blastoise was sold at auction this month with a winning bid of $360,000. That's three hundred sixty thousand dollars, the new highest bid for any Pokemon card in the history of the game.

Now, if only the original Japanese Pikachu Illustrator were put up in a bidding war VS this Blastoise and another gem mint 1st Edition Charizard – we'd see who the REAL winner was.

Recommended

CGC Trading Cards Certifies Four Extremely Rare Pokémon Test Print Blastoise Cards

Posted on 12/7/2020

Three fascinating Pokémon-Magic hybrids and a blank-back presentation card are among the first English Pokémon cards ever printed.

By Paul Sandler Director of Product Development

CGC Trading Cards has authenticated and graded four extremely rare Pokémon test print Blastoise cards. These cards, created in mid-1998, were among the first attempts by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) to create English Pokémon cards. All of the cards feature Blastoise art that was used on a Japanese promo as well as Pokémon Blue on the front. Three of the four have Magic: The Gathering backs, while one has a blank back. The cards have long been the subject of intense debate, but two things are certain: They are authentic test prints made by WotC, and they are among the hobby’s most intriguing rarities.

CGC Trading Cards is the first third-party certification service to consistently authenticate and grade production test cards within the trading cards market. Oddities like these are evaluated by CGC Trading Cards’ experienced and highly knowledgeable grading team with the aid of advanced forensic technology as well as expert consultants.

The first time any of these cards publicly surfaced was in September 2016, when James Burton posted two examples in the MTGRarities: Major Misprints, Test Prints, Oddities Facebook group . We will call these examples Card A and Card B .

Burton is well-known in the Magic: The Gathering (MTG) community, and sometimes sells oddities from the collection of a former WotC employee. Burton met this employee, Chel Bieze, while working at Proctor Sports Cards (later renamed Exalted Games), a well-connected gaming store in the Seattle area near WotC headquarters. Bieze has sold numerous Magic preproduction items into the marketplace through Burton.

A third example — Card C — was discovered in July 2019 by Zechariah Maples. Maples grew up playing Magic and Pokémon in the Seattle area and eventually opened his own game store. Shortly after he did, Maples was contacted by the former owner of Exalted Games to purchase a storage unit containing what remained of the store, which had closed several years earlier. One of the boxes in the unit contained hundreds of WotC-era Black Star Promos, dozens of Foreign Holo Rares and the third known test print Blastoise.

Later that same month, one of the cards ( Card A ) was brought to MTG Misprint Con to be looked at by a panel of experts, including Tavis King, Ryan Rooks, Jason Gitlin, Daniel Armitage and Isaac King. Most were or are administrators of the MTGRarities Facebook group where the card was originally posted, and all have significant knowledge of the subject matter, including the authentication of Magic cards.

Some of the panel are also experts in Pokémon , and this familiarity is very useful for a test Pokémon card printed by WotC on Magic card stock. (WotC printed all English and non-Japanese Pokémon cards from 1999 to May 2003.)

During the analysis, the panel had numerous cards on hand for comparison, including regular Pokémon and Magic cards from all eras, test prints and other cards printed internally by WotC as well as local printers. The testing and comparisons were done with both the naked eye and a USB microscope, taking into consideration the various printing processes and the misprints that can occur.

The consensus was that the Magic back on Card A was 100% authentic. The card was not re-backed, and both sides were printed using an offset printing press. Considering this evidence, it was determined that the card was clearly a genuine product of WotC.

More recently, another example of this card surfaced and was presented to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. Heritage then submitted the card to CGC Trading Cards for authentication and grading. This card, Card D above, differs from the others: it is not on normal card stock, it features the same holofoil pattern from the Base Set and it has a blank back.

This card has been owned by a past member of the WotC public relations team since it was made in 1998. According to the former employee, the card was created for media use to demonstrate what an English Pokémon card would look like. Apparently, it was featured in only one interview that has unfortunately been lost to time. Due to the reason behind its creation, CGC Trading Cards has noted “Commissioned Presentation” on the card’s label. One other similar example was created for international use, but its whereabouts are unknown.

More evidence emerges

In September 2019, a couple of months after he discovered Card C , Maples met in person with a former WotC employee named Chris Nitz. Nitz was the Senior Prepress Systems Analyst for WotC from March 1998 through December 2004. He was also the Lead Typesetter for WotC and helped create numerous Pokémon and Magic products.

Nitz examined Card C and determined that it was a genuine product produced by WotC. He even provided a photo of yet another example ( Card E ), but this time on an uncut sheet surrounded by Magic cards and with a black border. The black border version was apparently an earlier one. In fact, Nitz has stated that this black border Blastoise still on the sheet was the first English Pokémon card printed on foil!

The fact that a high-level WotC employee not only recognized these cards, but also happened to have one on an uncut sheet in his possession adds to the preponderance of evidence that the cards are indeed genuine products of WotC. Fortunately, CGC Trading Cards was able to contact Nitz, who was kind enough to ship this sheet to CGC Trading Cards for a thorough examination! Details of that examination (as well as higher-quality photos taken by our imaging team) are included below.

One can see from the photos above that while the original images shared online imply the sheet is only a quarter sheet, it is actually a full-sized one that has been folded into quarters. The entire right two quadrants are full of notes, mostly regarding the test-print Magic cards and their mana symbols. Nitz explained that printing such tests was expensive, so it is not surprising that WotC put tests for multiple games on the same sheet.

However, the top right quadrant states, “Pokey Test 8 Colors wkcmywwk.” These letters stand for the colors used in offset printing, in this case, White, Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, White, White and Black, and Pokey is obviously a reference to Pokémon , indicating that this was indeed a test print for the expansion into the new US market.

CGC Trading Cards analysis

CGC Trading Cards has significantly more advanced technology than the simple USB microscope used by the MTGRarities experts when they analyzed the cards. All of this technology was utilized in the authentication of these four cards (and Card E on the sheet, which was not certified).

One of the first and simplest tests that was conducted was an examination of the edges of the cards to see if they have a core. Four of the five (including the uncut sheet) do indeed have the typical core as they are printed on the same stock as normal Magic cards of that era.

Looking at the photos above, it is quite clear that Cards A , B , C and Card E on the sheet were printed on normal Magic card stock, while Card D was not. We will look more closely at Card D later.

Next, CGC Trading Cards examined the backs of Cards A, B, C and the sheet. The back of Card D is blank, so it is not examined below.

From the back, the cards are indistinguishable from a normal Magic card of the era, including the rosette patterns at high magnification. Rosettes are the name given to the small clusters of multicolored dots that make up all the different colors on a Pokémon or Magic card. This type of printing method, using four different primary colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black twice), is known as CMYKK Offset Printing.

When two cards show the exact same rosette pattern, they were printed using the same printing plates and the same process. The close-up photos above show that these two cards as well as the card on the sheet all have the same pattern of rosettes.

We have now determined that Cards A , B , C, and E are all printed on genuine Magic card stock, and all four have the same rosette patterns on the back. So, now let’s take a closer look at the front of all five cards.

The Blastoise art on the fronts of the cards all match as well, which shows that they were all printed using the same printing plates. The image on Card D is slightly less crisp, likely due to the fact that it was printed on different stock. However, the rosette patterns are all the same, so it too was printed from the same plates as the other three cards and the sheet.

The foil on Cards A, B, C, and E is the same one found on the foils from the Urza’s Legacy Magic set as well as the Lightning Dragon promo card, ten test prints of which are seen on Nitz’s sheet. Note that the art on the sheet pictured above only appears brighter due to the lighting differences necessary to shoot the card that is still part of the sheet and not due to any inherent difference in the foil. While the foil on Card D does differ from the other four cards, below we will look a bit closer at the holo pattern and compare it to a genuine card from the Base Set.

What looks like a perfect star on Card D actually has a much different appearance when examined more closely. In the photo on the left, the lines of the star are not quite straight, nor are they even. However, this star matches exactly with the star on the right, which is from a genuine Base Set Magneton. This shows that both were created with the same holofoil.

Further examination

Although CGC Trading Cards graders were convinced of the authenticity of these cards after a close visual inspection, they wanted to use all of the tools at their disposal to fully investigate these important rarities.

After a thorough examination under a microscope, the cards were then inspected with a machine that utilizes numerous types of light to reveal different properties of the inks used to print the cards. Because different inks react differently to these lighting types, a forgery would stand out from the rest.

The photos above were taken under Spot-Fluorescent lighting. This type of imaging uses different wavelengths of high intensity light to show how the inks used react to the light source on the infrared spectrum. Different inks will, of course, not react in the same way as they are made up of different elements. However, in this case, all of the cards look essentially the same on the infrared spectrum.

Note how HP100 and the cannon are both lit up on all of the cards, and the background gradient responds similarly as well. The only minor difference is Card D , which shows a slightly darker art box. This makes perfect sense, however, as it is the only example produced using a different foil. All of this is strong evidence that the inks used are the same across every card. Nevertheless, CGC Trading Cards took the examination a step further and looked at the card backs once again, but this time under UV light.

While there is some minor variation in the hues on the back, likely due to different positioning relative to the UV light source, all of the elements still react with similar effect under UV light. This demonstrates once again that the inks used are the same.

CGC Trading Cards also has access to a top-of-the-line X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanner. XRF uses X-rays to non-destructively excite the atoms of a sample and then measure the secondary X-rays omitted by the sample. This allows for the elemental composition of the sample to be quantified. The XRF scanner showed that the same elements were utilized in the inks of all five cards.

Based on the graph above, the blue ink appears to be made up primarily of Titanium (Ti), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn). There are some slight differences amongst the cards, but all are within tolerance and there is clearly a pattern. If any of the inks were different, the line would follow a completely different path.

In conclusion

After a thorough examination of the five cards utilizing all methods of resources available to CGC Trading Cards, including expert graders, respected consultants, microscopic inspection, imaging with specialized machines and lighting and XRF scanning of the chemical makeup of the inks, the answer was obvious. All five of the cards — the two discovered by James Burton via Bieze, the one found by Zechariah Maples, the Commissioned Presentation piece and Chris Nitz’s example still on the sheet — were all printed using the same printing process with the same plates and the same inks.

Four of those five were also printed on genuine Magic stock complete with a core in the paper. Besides the fact that multiple high-level former WotC employees have all stated that these are genuine test prints, our analysis proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are legitimate.

Add in those primary sources, and it is even clearer that these cards are among the very first English Pokémon cards ever printed. CGC Trading Cards is honored to have authenticated and graded them.

CGC Trading Cards wishes to thank Tavis King and Chris Nitz for their time and expertise in assisting with the certification of these cards.

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Presenting…

The most important pokemon card., blastoise pokemon 1998 commissioned presentation – galaxy star holo.

10 of the Most Valuable Pokémon Cards in Existence

In 2021, the Pokémon franchise celebrated its 25 th anniversary by releasing special Pokémon trading card game (TCG) sets —some of which paralleled the most memorable and interesting cards in the series, including the tournament-illegal Birthday Pikachu. However, many of these cards are not actually the rarest, most valuable, or sought-after in the world of the Pokémon TCG.

The Five Most Valuable Pokémon Cards

Pursued by advanced collectors and investors alike, the five most valuable Pokémon cards in the world are not only extremely rare but they deliver a mega-dose of nostalgia to those who played the card game as kids. But that nostalgia comes at a hefty price.

The best Pokémon cards of all time

Looking for the best Pokémon  cards? There’s a lot to choose from. Played for nearly 25 years, with new expansions releasing all the time, the sheer numbers of pocket monsters has never been higher. They’ve become so overwhelmingly numerous that filling your Pokédex is a lifetime achievement. But throughout all the playground trades and professional battles, some have cemented themselves as the best ever.

Rare Pokemon Blastoise Presentation Card Sells for $360,000 - Comicbook/Gaming

An incredibly rare Blastoise card has sold for $360,000, making it one of the most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold. Last year, a Pokemon collector revealed that he was offered a house worth $400,000 for a BGS-graded Charizard , but this Blastoise card sold for cash, and it might be even rarer. According to Heritage Auctions , this is one of just two Blastoise cards commissioned by Wizards of the Coast in 1998 for the purpose of presenting them to Nintendo to get approval for translation into English. The card received an 8.5 CGC grading, and features a design just a bit different from what the final product ended up looking like.

After Certification by CGC Trading Cards, Pokémon Test Print Blastoise Blasts to $360,000 at Auction - CGC

The intriguing blank-back presentation card now ties for the highest price ever paid at auction for any English Pokémon card.

An extremely rare Pokémon card certified by CGC Trading Cards realized $360,000 at a Heritage Auctions sale on January 14, 2021. The Blastoise Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram graded CGC 8.5 is now tied for the highest price ever paid at auction for any English Pokémon card. The first record was only established last month, demonstrating just how hot the trading cards market is becoming, with CGC Trading Cards adding fuel to the fire through its expert certification services.

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