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Expedition Base Set set overview
Expedition Base Set is the first English set of the e-Card series and the first English Pokémon TCG set made for the Nintendo e-Reader. Wizards of the Coast released it on 15 September 2002, between Legendary Collection and Aquapolis. It has 165 cards, and its Japanese counterpart, Base Expansion Pack, came out on 1 December 2001.
The set brought in a new card design. The left and bottom borders were widened to carry the dot codes that the e-Reader, an add-on for the Game Boy Advance, scans. Depending on the card, a swipe showed Pokédex data, played a minigame, played a tune in a Melody Box or unlocked a hidden attack, and those attacks were not legal in tournament play. The art window is rounded on the left, the illustrator credit moved to the bottom centre and the set symbol to the bottom right. Holo Rares list the Pokémon's species, height and weight on the left; the other cards drop them, and no card carries a Pokédex entry.
Expedition also changed the rules. Pokémon Powers were split into Poké-Powers, which a player has to activate, and Poké-Bodies, which are always on. It was the first English set with Supporter cards and Technical Machines, Trainers that attach to a Pokémon and give it an extra attack.
Packs shrank from 11 cards to nine, but every pack carried a reverse holo. Reverse holos had first appeared in the reprint set Legendary Collection, so Expedition was the first English set of new cards to have them. It was also the first English expansion of new cards, rather than reprints, printed without a 1st Edition run. The cards are Kanto and Johto Pokémon: the six first partner lines, and Holo Rares such as Charizard, Dragonite, Gengar, Mew, Mewtwo and Tyranitar.
- 165Cards
- 136Pokémon
- 21Trainers
- 8Energy
- 33Illustrators
Set facts
- Release date
- 15 September 2002 (English); 1 December 2001 in Japan as Base Expansion Pack
- Cards
- 165: 32 Holo Rares, 40 Rares, 38 Uncommons and 55 Commons
- Printings
- Unlimited only: the first English expansion of new cards, rather than reprints, with no 1st Edition
- Reverse holos
- Every card except the six basic Energy, so 159 reverse holos with a plain “refractor” foil, priced separately under each card
- Booster pack
- 9 cards: 5 Commons, 2 Uncommons, 1 reverse holo and 1 Rare or Holo Rare, down from 11 cards
- Pack artworks
- Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise and Feraligatr
- Booster box
- 36 packs, with one oversized reverse holo box topper: Alakazam, Feraligatr, Tyranitar or Venusaur
- Theme decks
- Echo (Psychic and Colorless) and Electric Garden (Grass and Lightning), 60 cards each
- e-Reader
- Dot-code strips in the widened left and bottom borders, read by the Nintendo e-Reader for the Game Boy Advance
- Languages
- English, German, French and Italian
What changed from the Japanese releases
- Merged: all 128 cards of Base Expansion Pack, renumbered. The Japanese set numbers its Pokémon first (001/128 to 048/128), then the Trainers (049/128 to 064/128), then the Rares (065/128 to 128/128), with the holo and non-holo of each Rare under separate numbers; the English set starts with the Holo Rares and sorts each block alphabetically.
- Added from the Pokémon-e Starter Deck: the 29 cards found only in that Japanese half deck. They are the evolution lines of Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Squirtle and Totodile (two Basics, a Stage 1 and a Stage 2 each), including a second Charizard (039/165) and Blastoise (036/165), and the Trainers Potion (156/165), Full Heal (154/165), Switch (157/165), Energy Search (153/165) and Moo-Moo Milk (155/165).
- Added Energy: the six basic Energy (160/165 to 165/165) and the Darkness Energy (158/165) and Metal Energy (159/165) Special Energy cards, so 128 + 29 + 8 makes 165.
- Printing: Base Expansion Pack was sold mainly as 1st Edition; the English set has no 1st Edition prints.
Expedition Base Set chase cards
The six cards below have the highest market prices in the set on 4 October 2026, led by Dragonite (9) (009/165, Holo Rare). The top rarity is the 32 Holo Rares (001/165 to 032/165), among them Charizard (006/165) by Hiromichi Sugiyama, Dragonite (009/165) by Kagemaru Himeno, Gengar (013/165) by Yukiko Baba and Mew (019/165) by Hajime Kusajima. Each holo also exists as a reverse holo and as a non-holo Rare with the same art at another number, and the three sell at different prices, so check the number and the finish before buying. Where TCGplayer has both prices, the line under each card in the list gives the holo or regular price and the reverse holo price separately. Tap a card to jump to it in the list.
1Dragonite (9)009/165 · HKagemaru Himeno$799.69£604.89
2Gengar (13)013/165 · HYukiko Baba$716.67£542.09
3Mew (19)019/165 · HHajime Kusajima$525.00£397.11
4Mewtwo (20)020/165 · HKimiya Masago$409.05£309.41
5Tyranitar (29)029/165 · HKimiya Masago$311.00£235.24
6Pichu (22)022/165 · HAtsuko Nishida$305.00£230.70Expedition Base Set card list
Every card in the set is below in set-number order, with its rarity, illustrator and market price. Where TCGplayer prices more than one printing, a line under the card name splits the price into holo or regular (“Holo” or “Regular”) and reverse holo (“Rev holo”). The list runs by rarity and then alphabetically: Holo Rares from 001/165, Rares from 033/165, Uncommon Pokémon from 071/165 and Common Pokémon from 093/165, then the Trainers from 137/165 and the Energy from 158/165. The Rares are the non-holo versions of the 32 holos plus the six Stage 2 cards from the Starter Deck, which is why Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Meganium, Typhlosion and Feraligatr appear twice in that block. The basic first partners appear twice too, for the same reason. Search by name, number, artist or rarity, or narrow the list with the type, rarity and price chips. The Own button marks a card as collected and saves the mark in your browser only.
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Expedition Base Set card prices
Market prices in US dollars, collected on 4 October 2026, with pounds at that day's rate (1 USD = 0.756 GBP). They are a snapshot, not live quotes. The bars show each card's price against the most expensive card in the set. The buy links are affiliate links and Bill's Archive earns a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- $9,720.07£7,352.34One of every card
- 16%In the top two cards alone
- 100Cards at $10 or more
- 160Cards at $1 or more
- 5Bulk cards under $1
Prices by printing
| Printing | Cards priced | All priced cards | Top card in this printing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | 31 | $6,701.46 | Dragonite (9) 009/165 · $799.69 |
| Normal | 133 | $2,953.65 | Gengar (48) 048/165 · $189.55 |
| Reverse Holofoil | 126 | $13,124.12 | Mewtwo (20) 020/165 · $699.97 |
TCGplayer market prices in US dollars by printing, from tcgcsv.com, collected on 4 October 2026. The headline price on each card is TCGplayer’s main listing for that card; the line under the card name splits it by printing. Holo and non-holo prints have their own rows. Rare vintage holos sell infrequently, so their market prices can lag behind recent sales.
The 15 most expensive singles
- 1Dragonite (9)009/165 · H · Kagemaru Himeno$799.69£604.89TCGplayer
- 2Gengar (13)013/165 · H · Yukiko Baba$716.67£542.09TCGplayer
- 3Mew (19)019/165 · H · Hajime Kusajima$525.00£397.11TCGplayer
- 4Mewtwo (20)020/165 · H · Kimiya Masago$409.05£309.41TCGplayer
- 5Tyranitar (29)029/165 · H · Kimiya Masago$311.00£235.24TCGplayer
- 6Pichu (22)022/165 · H · Atsuko Nishida$305.00£230.70TCGplayer
- 7
Charizard (6)006/165 · H · Hiromichi Sugiyama$287.50£217.47TCGplayer - 8
Blastoise (4)004/165 · H · Kimiya Masago$287.00£217.09TCGplayer - 9
Feraligatr (12)012/165 · H · Mitsuhiro Arita$234.88£177.67TCGplayer - 10
Alakazam (1)001/165 · H · Hajime Kusajima$233.32£176.49TCGplayer - 11
Venusaur (30)030/165 · H · Shin-ichi Yoshikawa$209.54£158.50TCGplayer - 12
Typhlosion (28)028/165 · H · K. Hoshiba$203.33£153.80TCGplayer - 13
Gengar (48)048/165 · R · Yukiko Baba$189.55£143.38TCGplayer - 14
Meganium (18)018/165 · H · Hajime Kusajima$180.01£136.16TCGplayer - 15
Butterfree (5)005/165 · H · Sumiyoshi Kizuki$180.00£136.15TCGplayer
Expedition Base Set illustrators
33 illustrators are credited across the 165 cards. Keiji Kinebuchi has the most credits, with nine Trainers and all six basic Energy, and Ken Sugimori drew all six Supporters, among them Professor Oak's Research and Bill's Maintenance. Among the Holo Rares, Kimiya Masago drew Blastoise, Mewtwo, Skarmory and Tyranitar, Atsuko Nishida drew Ampharos, Ninetales, Pichu and Raichu, Kagemaru Himeno drew Clefable, Dragonite and Rapidash, and Mitsuhiro Arita drew Feraligatr and Magby. Hiromichi Sugiyama drew the holo Charizard and the Starter Deck Blastoise (036/165) and Feraligatr (046/165). Each tile leads with the artist's highest-value card in the set; the name links to their entry in the illustrator database.
Show all 33 illustrators
- Masako Yamashita010, 044, 097, 106, 111, 122
- Ken Sugimori137, 138, 142, 145, 148, 149
- Sumiyoshi Kizuki005, 038, 072, 083, 129
- Hiromichi Sugiyama006, 036, 040, 046
- Yuichi Sawayama078, 087, 098, 133
- Aya Kusube014, 049, 079, 110
- Shin-ichi Yoshikawa030, 068
- K. Hoshiba028, 065
- Hiroaki Ito064, 076
- Sachi Matoba094, 104
- Milky Isobe158, 159
- Toshinao Aoki112, 127
- Aimi Tomita135
- Asuka Iwashita091
- Motofumi Fujiwara100
- Satoshi Ohta120
- Hironobu Yoshida121
- Sumiyoshi Kizuki"Big Mama" Tagawa119
- "Big Mama" Tagawa144
- Hideyuki Nakajima141
- Kai Ishikawa153
Japanese source: Base Expansion Pack
Japanese source setBase Expansion PackReleased 1 December 2001 · 128 cards · First Japanese Pokémon-e set.→
In Japan the set is Base Expansion Pack (基本拡張パック), released on 1 December 2001 as the first expansion of the Pokémon Card Game e-Card era, mostly in 1st Edition. The Pokémon-e Starter Deck came out the same day. It was a 30-card half deck: one random first partner line of four cards, five Trainers and 13 Energy, plus eight random cards from the first 32 of the expansion. The English set folds the Starter Deck's 29 exclusive cards into the main list and adds eight Energy cards.
| Property | Base Expansion Pack (JP) | Pokémon-e Starter Deck (JP) | Expedition Base Set (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | 1 December 2001 | 1 December 2001 | 15 September 2002 |
| Cards | 128 | 29 exclusive, in a 30-card deck | 165 |
| Format | Booster packs | Half deck, 12 cards random | 9-card booster packs and theme decks |
| Printing | Mainly 1st Edition | — | Unlimited only |
Expedition Base Set products and sealed prices
Expedition was sold in 9-card booster packs with four pack artworks (Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise and Feraligatr), in 36-pack booster boxes with an oversized reverse holo box topper, and in two 60-card theme decks. Echo pairs Psychic and Colorless Pokémon such as Alakazam, Clefable and Chansey with Copycat. Electric Garden mixes Grass and Lightning Pokémon such as Raichu, Vileplume and Weezing. Each deck also came with damage counters, a coin, a rulebook and a card list. Only Electric Garden has a product tile below. Sealed prices are market prices from the same snapshot as the singles.
Collector's notes
Three printings of every holo
Each of the 32 Holo Rares exists as a holo, as a reverse holo and, at a different number, as a non-holo Rare with the same art: Charizard is 006/165 as a holo and 040/165 as a Rare. Every card except the six basic Energy has a reverse holo, so a master set of the 165 cards runs to 324 cards. The headline price on each card is TCGplayer’s main listing for that number; where TCGplayer prices more than one printing, the line under it splits that into the holo or regular price and the reverse holo price, and the Prices by printing table in the prices section adds up each printing across the set.
No 1st Edition
Expedition was the first English set of new cards without a 1st Edition print run, so there is no edition stamp to look for and no 1st Edition premium. Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection had no 1st Edition either, but both were reprint sets.
Oversized box toppers
Booster boxes carried one oversized reverse holo card, a format that began in Legendary Collection. Expedition's four are jumbo versions of the holo Alakazam, Feraligatr, Tyranitar and Venusaur, numbered 01/12 to 04/12 in the e-Card box topper run that continues into Aquapolis and Skyridge. Bulbapedia gives the first oversized toppers, from Legendary Collection, as 126.5 by 90 mm, against 87 by 63 mm for a normal card, so they need their own storage.
E3 2002 promos with Japanese backs
Pichu (058/165) and Hoppip (112/165) were handed out at the E3 Convention in 2002 with a Japanese card back. They have the English front and number, so only the back tells them apart from the set cards.
More e-Card/EX era set guides
Every English set of the e-Card/EX era in release order.
- Expedition Base Set15 September 2002 · 165 cards
- Aquapolis15 January 2003 · 186 cards
- Skyridge12 May 2003 · 182 cards
- EX Ruby & Sapphire18 June 2003 · 109 cards
- EX Sandstorm18 September 2003 · 100 cards
- EX Dragon24 November 2003 · 100 cards
- EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua1 March 2004 · 97 cards
- EX Hidden Legends1 June 2004 · 102 cards
- EX FireRed & LeafGreen30 August 2004 · 116 cards
- EX Team Rocket Returns8 November 2004 · 111 cards
- EX Deoxys14 February 2005 · 108 cards
- EX Emerald9 May 2005 · 107 cards
- EX Unseen Forces22 August 2005 · 145 cards
- EX Delta Species31 October 2005 · 114 cards
- EX Legend Maker13 February 2006 · 93 cards
- EX Holon Phantoms3 May 2006 · 111 cards
- EX Crystal Guardians30 August 2006 · 100 cards
- EX Dragon Frontiers8 November 2006 · 101 cards
- EX Power Keepers14 February 2007 · 108 cards
Expedition Base Set FAQ
When did Expedition Base Set release?
The English set released on 15 September 2002. Its Japanese counterpart, Base Expansion Pack, came out on 1 December 2001.
How many cards are in Expedition Base Set?
165: 32 Holo Rares, 40 Rares, 38 Uncommons and 55 Commons. It has no secret rares. Counting the reverse holo of every card except the six basic Energy, a master set is 324 cards.
What is the most valuable Expedition Base Set card?
By market price on 4 October 2026, Dragonite (9) (009/165, Holo Rare) at $799.69 (£604.89). The prices table on this page shows the top 15. Where TCGplayer prices more than one printing, the line under each card in the list splits its price into holo or regular and reverse holo.
Does every Expedition Base Set card have a reverse holo?
Every card except the six basic Energy, so 159 reverse holos. TCGplayer prices them separately: where it has a price, they show as “Rev holo” on the line under each card and as Reverse Holofoil in the Prices by printing table.
Is there a 1st Edition Expedition Base Set?
No. Expedition was the first English expansion of new cards, rather than reprints, printed without a 1st Edition run, so all its cards are unlimited.
What are the dots on the edges of Expedition cards?
They are e-Reader dot codes. Swiped through the Nintendo e-Reader on a Game Boy Advance, they showed Pokédex data, minigames, tunes or hidden attacks, which were not legal in tournament play.
How many cards are in an Expedition booster pack?
Nine: five Commons, two Uncommons, one reverse holo and one Rare or Holo Rare. Earlier English packs had 11 cards. A booster box holds 36 packs.
Is Expedition Base Set the same as the original Base Set?
No. The original Base Set came out in 1999. Expedition is a 2002 set that opened the e-Card series, with a new card design, e-Reader codes, Supporters and Technical Machines.