Pokémon · 1999→

Pokémonsets

Base Set to Mega Evolution — singles from every era, the Wizards holos, the EX and LV.X years, full arts, alt arts and the Scarlet & Violet chase cards.

[n] available

Shop Pokémon sets Explore the highlights

Why it matters

Twenty-six years of sets, five eras, one shelf

The Pokémon TCG has been printed in English since January 1999, and it reads in eras. Wizards of the Coast made the first four years — Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, the Gyms and the Neos — before Nintendo took the licence in 2003 and opened the EX era with Ruby & Sapphire. Diamond & Pearl brought LV.X cards and Platinum; Black & White brought full-art EX cards and the first prize-card chase rares; XY added Mega Evolution EX and, in Evolutions, a reprint of Base Set art that sent a generation back to the game. Sun & Moon's GX cards and Hidden Fates' Shiny Vault made alternate arts a category; Sword & Shield's V and VMAX alt arts — the Evolving Skies Umbreon above all — turned them into the most expensive modern cards in the hobby.

Scarlet & Violet brought the ex rule back in 2023 with 151, Paldea Evolved and Prismatic Evolutions, and the Mega Evolution era picked up in 2025. What ties the eras together is the chase: in every set, a handful of cards — the holos in 1999, the full arts in 2012, the special illustration rares now — carry most of the value, and condition decides the rest. That's why we photograph every card at $40 and up (front), and why the stock images under $40 say so on the listing. Everything here is priced to the live market.

Explore the selections below

Fast facts

The erasWizards (1999–2003) · EX (2003–2007) · Diamond & Pearl / Platinum / HGSS (2007–2011) · Black & White (2011–2013) · XY (2013–2016) · Sun & Moon (2017–2019) · Sword & Shield (2020–2022) · Scarlet & Violet (2023–2025) · Mega Evolution (2025→)
The chase cardsHolos, then EX, LV.X, full-art EX/GX, V and VMAX alt arts, now illustration rares and special illustration rares
Set codesSV01–SV10, SWSH, SM, XY, ME — the codes on our set tags follow the printed symbols
PhotosCards $40 and up are photographed (front); under $40 use a stock image of that printing
Where to startThe Wizards years have their own page; everything from 2003 on is here
Did you know?Nintendo and The Pokémon Company took the English card game from Wizards in 2003; EX Ruby & Sapphire was the first set without a Wizards logo, and the "EX" on the box meant Pokémon-ex, the first two-prize cards.
Did you know?XY Evolutions (2016) reprinted the Base Set's art — Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur — on modern cards for the game's twentieth anniversary; it is the reason a 1999 holo and a 2016 one can sit on the same shelf.
Did you know?Hidden Fates (2019) was sold only in tins and boxes, never booster boxes; its Shiny Vault Charizard GX is the card that made "shiny vault" a collector's phrase.
Did you know?Evolving Skies (2021) holds the most valuable modern Pokémon card, the alternate-art Umbreon VMAX — collectors call it Moonbreon — printed at a rate that had people opening cases for one card.
Did you know?Scarlet & Violet 151 (2023) is a Kanto set numbered to the original 151 Pokémon; the Charizard ex special illustration rare, number 199 of 165, is the chase.
Did you know?Prismatic Evolutions (January 2025) sold out at release and stayed that way for months — the Eeveelution special illustration rares and the Super-Premium Collection are why.
Did you know?The set symbol on a Pokémon card has told you the set since 1999; the two-letter code under the card number (SV, SWSH, ME) arrived with Sword & Shield and is what our tags follow.
Did you know?Full-art cards began in Black & White (2011) with the EX cards; the Japanese-style "alternate art" cards that show the Pokémon in a scene arrived with Sun & Moon's GX era and define the modern chase.

Find your next game

Start with a familiar favorite, explore a theme, or browse by what’s included.

Counts are listings in stock — the same game can appear more than once in different packaging.

The grails: $100 and up

Legendary Collection Mewtwo, Dark Espeon, the Twilight Masquerade Greninja, Charizard ex 199/165 — the cards that lead the shelf.

The Wizards years

Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, the Gyms, the Neos — 1999 to 2003. The era has its own page.

The Wizards years page →

The EX era, 2003–2007

Ruby & Sapphire to Power Keepers — Nintendo's first years, the first Pokémon-ex.

Diamond & Pearl, Platinum, HGSS

LV.X cards, Arceus, Call of Legends — 2007 to 2011.

Black & White

The first full-art EX cards, Plasma Blast, Legendary Treasures' Radiant Collection.

XY

Mega EX, Ancient Origins, Evolutions' Base Set reprints, Generations.

Sun & Moon

GX cards, Hidden Fates and the Shiny Vault, Team Up, Unified Minds.

Sword & Shield

V and VMAX alt arts — Evolving Skies, Brilliant Stars, Crown Zenith's Galarian Gallery, Shining Fates, Celebrations.

Scarlet & Violet

151, Paldea Evolved, Prismatic Evolutions, Destined Rivals — the ex era, 2023 to 2025.

Mega Evolution

Mega Evolution, Phantasmal Flames, Perfect Order, Chaos Rising, Pitch Black — the current era.

Promos & World Championship decks

Black-star promos, the Pikachu World Collection, the McDonald's cards and the championship decks.

Still sealed

Elite Trainer Boxes, booster bundles, blisters, tins and collection boxes.

Just listed

Photographed and added in the last two months, priciest first.

See all →

READ FROM THE COOLECTION BLOG

Watch & read

Game ReviewsApr 18, 2026 Pokémon Pokopia and the Cozy Game Renaissance A different pace for Pokémon. Explore its place in the cozy-game conversation.

Store NewsJun 18, 2025 Mana Meets Meteor: Why the MTG Final Fantasy Set Has Fans Losing Their Gil Final Fantasy and Magic now share one battlefield. Why deck builders, art chasers and sealed-box collectors are all after the same set.

Pokémonsets

Twenty-six years of sets, five eras, one shelf