Base Set

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The success of the games was soon followed by the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which helped the Pokémon world dominate playgrounds across the world.  At this point Wizards of the Coast had been doing very well in the TCG department with Magic: The Gathering but Pokémon proved that it could hold its own with the TCG giant.

It all started with the Base Set, designed to introduce players new to the TCG world to the basics of playing and collecting.  The system set in place was fairly simple to pickup and has remained virtually unchanged for the past 17 years.

Before I analyze all of the cards in the set, let us look at the starter and intermediate decks provided to players.  Japanese customers were treated to a box of 60 random cards, which provided 5 of each Energy, , , , and .  The American decks were fixed and set up to be immediately playable, with 60 cards that could be split into two half-decks and a "bonus" Machamp card which could be substituted into the dec.  (Officially, only 60 cards are allowed per playable deck.)  For each American deck, I shall supply the deck list along with the cards I'd remove in red and the cards I'd add in green to strengthen the decks (while retaining the theme).  A good deck balance has about 20 Pokémon (10 Basic, 6 Stage 1, 4 Stage 2), 15 Trainers, and 25 Energy, although obviously the numbers can fluctuate depending on the strategy used.  And you'll never want only 1 of any card.

Starter Deck (Japanese) 1 Holographic Rare 1 Non-Holographic Rare 8 Uncommon 20 Common 5 Grass Energy 5 Fire Energy 5 Water Energy 5 Lightning Energy 5 Psychic Energy 5 Fighting Energy Booster Packs 1 Rare 3 Uncommon 5 Common 2 Non Special Energy

2-Player Starter Set (American) 4 Machop 2 Machoke 1 Machamp +1 Machamp 4 Charmander 2 Charmeleon +2 Charizard 2 Rattata +1 Rattata +2 Raticate 1 Bill +2 Bill 1 Energy Retrieval +2 Energy Retrieval 2 Potion 2 Switch +3 Pokémon Breeder +2 Professor Oak 12 Fighting Energy 8 Fire Energy +4 Double Colorless Energy -3 Diglett -4 Ponyta -1 Growlithe -1 Dratini -1 Energy Removal -1 Gust of Wind -1 Pokédex -2 Fighting Energy -6 Fire Energy

Overgrowth 4 Bulbasaur 2 Ivysaur +2 Venusaur 4 Weedle 2 Kakuna 1 Beedrill +1 Beedrill 2 Magikarp +1 Magikarp 1 Gyarados +1 Gyarados 2 Bill +2 Bill 2 Gust of Wind 2 Super Potion +3 Pokémon Breeder +2 Professor Oak +2 Computer Search 12 Grass Energy 12 Water Energy -4 Staryu -3 Starmie -1 Potion -2 Switch -4 Grass Energy

Zap! 4 Pikachu +3 Raichu +3 Electabuzz 3 Gastly +1 Gastly 2 Haunter +1 Haunter 1 Mewtwo +2 Mewtwo 2 Bill +2 Bill 1 Computer Search +2 Computer Search 1 Defender +2 Defender 2 Gust of Wind 1 Super Potion +3 Super Potion 12 Lightning Energy 12 Psychic Energy -4 Psychic Energy -3 Magnemite -3 Abra -1 Kadabra -2 Drowzee -2 Jynx -1 Potion -1 Professor Oak -2 Switch

Brushfire 4 Charmander 2 Charmeleon +2 Charizard 2 Vulpix +1 Vulpix 1 Ninetales +1 Ninetales 4 Nidoran +2 Nidorino +2 Nidoking 2 Energy Retrieval +1 Energy Retrieval 1 Lass +1 Lass +3 Pokémon Breeder +2 Computer Search +3 Bill 12 Fire Energy 10 Grass Energy +4 Double Colorless Energy -2 Growlithe -1 Arcanine -4 Weedle -2 Tangela -1 Energy Removal -1 Gust of Wind -1 PlusPower -3 Potion -1 Switch - 6 Fire Energy

Blackout 4 Squirtle 2 Wartortle +3 Blastoise +3 Seel +2 Dewgong 3 Onix 1 Hitmonchan +3 Hitmonchan 4 Energy Removal 1 PlusPower +2 PlusPower 1 Professor Oak +1 Professor Oak 1 Super Energy Removal +1 Super Energy Removal +2 Pokémon Breeder +2 Computer Search 12 Fighting Energy 12 Water Energy -3 Sandshrew -4 Machop -2 Machoke -3 Staryu -2 Farfetch'd -1 Gust of Wind -4 Fighting Energy

These decks, with these modifications, shall give players a basic sense of how to play the game.  For an in-depth analysis of each card, please consult the following list (UPDATED WEEKLY):

1. Alakazam 2. Blastoise 3. Chansey 4. Charizard 5. Clefairy 6. Gyarados 7. Hitmonchan 8. Machamp 9. Magneton 10. Mewtwo 11. Nidoking 12. Ninetales 13. Poliwrath 14. Raichu 15. Venusaur 16. Zapdos 17. Beedrill 18. Dragonair 19. Dugtrio 20. Electabuzz 21. Electrode 22. Pidgeotto 23. Arcanine 24. Charmeleon 25. Dewgong 26. Dratini

27. Farfetch'd 28. Growlithe 29. Haunter 30. Ivysaur 31. Jynx 32. Kadabra 33. Kakuna 34. Machoke 35. Magikarp 36. Magmar 37. Nidorino 38. Poliwhirl 39. Porygon 40. Raticate 41. Seel 42. Wartortle 43. Abra 44. Bulbasaur 45. Caterpie 46. Charmander 47. Diglett 48. Doduo 49. Drowzee 50. Gastly 51. Koffing 52. Machop

53. Magnemite 54. Metapod 55. Nidoran 56. Onix 57. Pidgey 58. Pikachu 59. Poliwag 60. Ponyta 61. Rattata 62. Sandshrew 63. Squirtle 64. Starmie 65. Staryu 66. Tangela 67. Voltorb 68. Vulpix 69. Weedle 70. Clefairy Doll 71. Computer Search 72. Devolution Spray 73. Impostor Prof. Oak 74. Item Finder 75. Lass 76. Pokémon Breeder 77. Pokémon Trader 78. Scoop Up

79. Super Energy Removal 80. Defender 81. Energy Retrieval 82. Full Heal 83. Maintenance 84. PlusPower 85. Pokémon Center 86. Pokémon Flute 87. Pokédex 88. Professor Oak 89. Revive 90. Super Potion 91. Bill 92. Energy Removal 93. Gust of Wind 94. Potion 95. Switch 96. Double Colorless Energy 97. Fighting Energy 98. Fire Energy 99. Grass Energy 100. Lightning Energy 101. Psychic Energy 102. Water Energy

The Base Set was a wonderful introduction to the series, and although a few of the cards may have broken the game, it set the standard for exciting battles, glorious art, and a sense of community.