This card was included as both a Regular card and a Full Art card in the XY expansion, first released in the Japanese Collection Y. When a Pokémon-EX has been Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards. If tails, this Pokémon does 30 damage to itself. Then, your opponent switches his or her Active Pokémon with 1 of his or her Benched Pokémon.įlip a coin. Switch this Pokémon with 1 of your Benched Pokémon. It was first released as part of the XY expansion. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearlįor more information on this Pokémon's species, see Blastoise.īlastoise (Japanese: カメックスEX Kame圎X) is a Water-type Basic Pokémon-EX card.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.īecause 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. 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.įinally, the 'Unlimited' print run came about to meet the enormous demand. The 'Limited' print run appeared in two different forms that collectors and enthusiasts throughout the hobby know as 'First Edition' and 'Shadowless.'įirst 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 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 price on a PSA 10 would be far higher.

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.įorty 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. 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.

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

Blastoise ex