Test the odds: open a Base pack right hereA free digital pack with the set's real pull rates. Nothing to buy, no signup.
Tap the pack to open itCards flip one by one. Rarest last.
What makes Base Set special
This is where it all started in English, in January 1999. Base Set brought the original Kanto Pokémon to playground tables everywhere, and its holo Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur became the cards a whole generation remembers chasing.
Did you know?
The very first English Pokémon set, released by Wizards of the Coast in January 1999, more than two years after the original Japanese cards came out in October 1996. en.wikipedia.org
It introduced Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur to English players, and those three appear on the set's three booster pack wrappers. billsarchive.com
The famous holo Charizard was illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. api.pokemontcg.io
The earliest prints lack the drop shadow beside the artwork box, so collectors call them "Shadowless" cards. Base Set cards also carry no set symbol at all. billsarchive.com
Sealed Base Set packs are collector’s items now, so opening one is about the memories and the moment of the reveal. On average a pack pulls about $64.27 of cards, and a typical pack about $28.87.
$64.27
average pull per pack
$28.87
typical pack (half pull less)
$89.55
a good pack (better than 9 in 10)
$994
best of 5,000 packs
$17.03$89.55
8 in 10 packs pull between $17.03 and $89.55.
From 5,000 packs opened with the same odds Holobrook uses, valued at current market prices (regular printings), with cards under $1 counted as bulk at 5¢ since they rarely sell for more. Opening packs on Holobrook is free.
Chase cards and how long they take
The most valuable cards in Base Set, how often each turns up, and how many packs it usually takes.
Odds are worked out across only the rarities that exist in Base Set, so they’re specific to this set. They are community estimates, not official, and they’re the exact odds Holobrook’s packs use. A rare God Pack (all hits) turns up about 1 in 1,000.
Questions about Base Set packs
What are the pull rates for Base Set?
Each Base Set pack has 11 cards. Rare Holo: 1 in 3 packs; Rare: 1 in 2 packs; Uncommon: every pack; Common: every pack. These are community estimates, not official odds.
How rare is Charizard in Base Set?
About 1 in 47 packs. Half of players would pull it within 33 packs, and 9 in 10 within 108.
Is a Base Set pack worth opening?
On average a pack pulls about $64.27 of cards, and a typical pack about $28.87. Sealed Base Set packs are collector’s items now, so opening one is about the memories and the reveal more than the money.
Team Rocket
Base Set 2
Fossil
Jungle