Cards from Japan

How are 1999 Base Set Pokémon cards split into 1st Edition, Shadowless, and the rest?

Published September 24, 2026 · By the Cards from Japan editors

Summary

PSA's Set Registry lists the 1999 English Base Set as separate sets, including 1st Edition, Shadowless, and Basic Set. The Pokémon Company's corporate history dates the card game's launch to October 1996 in Japan and January 1999 in the U.S., where it arrived as "Pokémon Card Game: Base Set." Which of those sets a graded Base Set card belongs to is written on its label.

102 cards or 103

PSA's checklists for "1999 Pokemon Base Set Complete 1st Edition" and "1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless" each have 103 items. "1999 Pokemon Base Set Complete - Basic Set" has 102. The extra slot is card 58, Pikachu, which the 1st Edition and Shadowless lists count twice, once with red cheeks and once with yellow cheeks. PSA also keeps holo-only lists, "Holographic 1st Edition" and "Holofoil Shadowless," and the Jungle, Fossil, and Team Rocket sets each have their own 1st Edition set.

A promo graded in its wrapper

PSA's checklist for the Pokémon: The Movie 2000 promos has five items: an unnumbered Ancient Mew and Black Star Moltres (21), Articuno (22), Zapdos (23), and Pikachu (27). The Mew has been graded sealed. Cert 100290187 reads "2000 WOTC-POKEMON THE MOVIE 2000 PROMO CELLO PACK," is filed under PSA's PACKS category, not its card categories, and has no card number field.

Sources

Details are as published on these pages on the date above and can change. Check the official page before you buy or submit.

More pokémon guides

23 articles

PokémonHow do you tell exactly which Japanese Pokémon card you are looking at?Read the marks printed on the card. The expansion mark tells you which product the card came from, and the collection number tells you its place in…Read the guide →PokémonWhat should you know before buying a Japanese Pokémon booster box?Identify the box by the official Japanese product name and set code, because that is what tells you which pack is inside. Pack types differ a lot: a…Read the guide →PokémonHow is a Pokémon booster box different from an Elite Trainer Box or a Booster Bundle?The difference is how many packs you get and what comes with them. For the English expansion Destined Rivals, the Booster Display Box held 36 packs…Read the guide →PokémonWhere can you find the full card list for a Japanese Pokémon set?Start from the set's page on the official Japanese site and follow its カードリスト (card list) link. It opens the official card search already filtered to…Read the guide →PokémonWhat do AR and SAR mean on Japanese Pokémon cards, and how do they compare with English rarity stars?Japanese cards mark rarity with letter codes such as AR, SR, and SAR. English cards, starting with the Scarlet & Violet series, use black circles…Read the guide →PokémonWhat separates a Japanese 151 listing from an English one?Japan's Pokémon Card 151 is an enhanced expansion released June 16, 2023, sold in 7-card packs at ¥290 and marked SV2a on each card. The English 151…Read the guide →PokémonWhat is in a Terastal Festival ex pack?Terastal Festival ex is a Japanese high-class pack released December 6, 2024, with 10 cards for ¥550 and the expansion mark SV8a. The official page…Read the guide →PokémonWhat makes VSTAR Universe different from other Japanese Pokémon packs?VSTAR Universe is a Sword & Shield high-class pack released in Japan on December 2, 2022, with 10 cards for ¥550 and the expansion mark s12a. It is…Read the guide →PokémonWhat came out for the Pokémon Card Game's 30th anniversary?The main release is the 30th CELEBRATION expansion pack, launched worldwide on September 16, 2026. In Japan each pack holds six holo cards for ¥360…Read the guide →PokémonCan a sealed Pokémon product still be something other than what the factory packed?Yes. Japan's official Pokémon Card Game site warns about seller-made "oripa" packs, about "searched" packs and boxes that have had the hits pulled…Read the guide →PokémonDo Pokémon card packs differ in card count and price?They do. In Japan, the Inferno X expansion pack launched at 5 cards for ¥180, the Pokémon Card 151 enhanced expansion pack at 7 cards for ¥290, and…Read the guide →PokémonCan you tell which product or campaign a Pokémon promo card came from?Often, yes, because Pokémon's official product pages list the promos packed in each product. On the English side, the official pages show Elite…Read the guide →PokémonHow can you tell a Japanese Pikachu card is a promo?Look at the collection number. Japanese promos carry a promo code after the number, such as "SV-P" or "S-P," and the official card search lists where…Read the guide →PokémonWhy are there several Japanese Charizard ex cards with the same name?Because one Japanese expansion often prints Charizard ex several times at different rarities. The 2023 set 黒炎の支配者 has four Charizard ex cards, each…Read the guide →PokémonHow do you get from a Pokémon's name to the exact Japanese single you want?Type the name into Japan's official card search, then open each result's detail page, which shows the product, collection number, rarity mark, and…Read the guide →PokémonWhere do the prices on Pokémon card price sites come from?Each site builds its number from a different pool of sales. TCGplayer's Market Price averages recent sales on TCGplayer, PriceCharting uses sold…Read the guide →PokémonWhat actually tells you a Japanese Pokémon card is rare?Official Pokémon sources tell you a card's rarity within its set and which product or campaign it came from. Grading companies publish counts, but…Read the guide →PokémonWhere does a graded Pokémon card's record say it is Japanese?For PSA-graded cards, look up the cert number on PSA's site. The language is part of the Brand/Title field, as in "POKEMON JAPANESE PROMO." The cert…Read the guide →PokémonWhat does the 10 in a PSA 10 Pokémon card actually measure?Condition. PSA grades each card on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 as the best, and a PSA 10 shows as "GEM MT 10" on the label and on the cert page. PSA…Read the guide →PokémonCan you walk into a Tokyo Pokémon Center on release day and buy new cards?Not always. For the 30th CELEBRATION expansion released September 16, 2026, Pokémon Center MEGA TOKYO sold packs only to people who won an advance…Read the guide →PokémonCan you order from Pokémon Center Online if you live outside Japan?No. Pokémon Center Online delivers only to addresses in Japan, and its delivery guide says it does not accept overseas delivery. Some card products…Read the guide →PokémonDo Korean and Chinese Pokémon cards get the same expansions as Japan?At least some do. The 2026 30th CELEBRATION expansion is listed with a September 16 release on the Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese official sites, and…Read the guide →PokémonWhat is Pikachu Illustrator, the Pokémon card that set the auction record?It is a Pikachu card that was never sold in stores. Guinness World Records says it was released only as a prize in a 1998 illustration contest and was…Read the guide →

All pokémon guides · All guides and search