Collectibles: Pokémon TCG Cards Sets For Beginners

 

Usually, people who collect the Pokémon TCG have a goal in mind. It’s not always clear, but it’s generally driven by personal taste. As a collector, you may want to collect every card in a set, or you might be collecting particular cards that you like.

The basics of Pokémon cards can be placed into three categories: Pokémon cards, trainer cards, and energy cards:

- Pokémon cards, as you’d guess, are the cards with the actual Pokémon on them.

- Energy cards provide the fuel for conducting attacks. There are different types of Energy, such as Water, Lightning, Grass, Fire, and so on. Basically, an attack will come at a particular “cost,” requiring an certain amount and type of energy, which you pay using an Energy card.

- Trainer cards allow you to perform useful activities like healing damage to your Pokémon or recovering previously discarded cards.

Why collect Pokémon cards:

1.       They’re frigging cool and you know it!

2.       They’re the ultimate nostalgic hobby.

3.       They can be worth a fortune.

4.       Values of sought after cards are only going to increase over time.

5.       You can get into it no matter what your budget is (new sets are coming out all the time)

6.       They are so many options for collectors (vintage cards, error cards, PSA graded cards, specific Pokémon, Japanese cards, booster packs, the list goes on!

7.       There’s a great online community of people willing to help and answer questions.

Now to throw something else in the mix, it’s also worth pointing out that graded cards are more valuable – if the grading is good of course. The top two graders are PSA and Beckett. PSA tend to get the majority of the Pokémon grading market and are most commonly use by collectors. However, because it’s generally harder to achieve GEM MINT 10 status from Beckett, if you do, your cards will be worth more. At this stage though, all of this is very hypothetical for a beginner collector.

Where it all began, the original English base set collection was release in 1999 and consists of 102 cards. 16 of which are holos. Now at this point it’s worth mentioning 1st Edition and Shadowless cards. These are considerably more valuable. 1st Edition is pretty self-explanatory; they are the first ever print-run of the cards. Shadowless cards, you guess it, don’t have a shadow! Specifically, you’re looking to see if there’s a shadow around the rectangle box containing the Pokémon illustration. But there are also some other clues like a lighter HP font at the top of the card and the date including ’99’ at the bottom.

GEM MINT 10 Base Set Cards go for hundreds of dollars on eBay, and if they’re 1st Edition or Shadowless, we’re talking thousands – sometimes tens of thousands! For example a 1st Edition Base Set GEM MINT 10 Charizard can expect to sell for upwards of $50,000. Maybe even in the $60k-70k range. Don’t let that put you off though, unlimited base set cards, perhaps ungraded, are still quite obtainable on eBay without breaking the bank.

Secondly, 6 months later after the Base Set, we were greeted with the wonderful Jungle set. Containing 64 cards (16 holos), it was/is much easier to complete. Nowadays, prices aren’t as much as the original base set, making it a great starting point for a beginner. Again, there is a 1st Edition print run, with top graded cards like Clefable and Snorlax reaching low four-figures on eBay.

Third, Towards the end of 1999 the 62 card Fossil set came along. It contains 15 holos and features great mythical Pokémon like Articuno and Zapdos. Similar to Jungle it’s a nice starting point for a beginner collector, but still has a high ceiling with top graded 1st Edition cards.

Fourth, Team Rocket set as released in mid 2000 and contains 83 cards, 18 of which are holos. I think a lot of people love this set because of the introduction of ‘Dark’ Pokémon. Some of the artwork is just incredible, and gave an edgier side to Pokémon cards. The set even includes the first ever ‘secret rare’. 83/82 is Dark Raichu which remains a fan favourite to this day. Like those before it, there’s also a first edition run. Interestingly, one of the most valuable cards in the set is a 1st Edition Dark Magneton, which if graded PSA 10 can fetch north of $3,000 on eBay!

Where to Buy New Pokémon cards:

In the U.S. Walmart and Target are good mainstream options, but can sometimes lack stock. With regard to online stores both Over The Top Trading and Potomac Distribution have good inventory and competitive pricing.

For those in the UK, Smyths Toys keep a decent stock of new Pokémon cards. If ordering online, Chaos Cards, Magic Madhouse and Total Cards are all good options.

If you’re interested in collecting original Japanese Pokémon cards, we recommended checking out Nin-Nin-Game. They’ve got a great selection of new Japanese booster packs.