As a Pokémon fan you have almost certainly heard of the iconic cards that shaped the world of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG). But what was the very first Pokémon card? Where did it come from, and how has the value of these cards changed over the years? Let us go back to the roots of Pokémon cards and look at the first cards ever released.

The very first Pokémon card: the Bandai Carddass cards

It is worth knowing that the first Pokémon cards were not released by The Pokémon Company at all. The very first cards were the Bandai Carddass cards from 1996, put out by Bandai, a Japanese company. Those cards were the forerunners of the official Pokémon TCG cards, but they were not playing cards as we know them today.

The Bandai Carddass cards were sold as vending machine cards, which meant you found them in machines, mostly as collectibles. So they were meant for collecting, not for playing. What makes them unique is that they carry the first Pokémon artwork ever printed on cards. That makes them a piece of history and a wanted collector's item at the same time.

The first official Pokémon cards: the Base Set

So while the Bandai Carddass cards were the first Pokémon cards, the cards that became known worldwide and laid the foundation for the Pokémon TCG were the Base Set cards. They were released in 1999 by The Pokémon Company and were the first official cards meant to be played with.

The Base Set held iconic cards such as Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur, which are still among the most popular and most valuable cards today. It was this set that turned Pokémon into a worldwide collecting craze. The cards were meant not only for collecting but for playing in the new TCG. That marked the start of the Pokémon card revolution.

The value of the first Pokémon cards

These days the Bandai Carddass cards are very hard to find, especially in good condition. Because they were vending machine cards to begin with, they are often damaged or missing from collections altogether. Even so, Bandai Carddass cards in good condition can be worth a considerable amount, certainly the rarer ones. Depending on condition, these cards can fetch several hundred euros at auction sites or collectors' fairs.

As for the Base Set cards, they are of course still enormously valuable. The Charizard from the Base Set is one of the most iconic cards in Pokémon history, and a PSA 10 version of it can be worth thousands of euros. The value of Base Set cards has risen sharply over the years, driven above all by nostalgia and by the influence they had on the Pokémon TCG.

Why do these cards matter so much?

The Bandai Carddass cards matter because they were the first time Pokémon appeared on cards. They were the start of a cultural movement that has pushed millions of collectors worldwide to build their own collections.

The Base Set cards matter for a different reason: they got the official Pokémon TCG off the ground. Without the Base Set there would be no Pokémon card world as we know it. It is the first set that officially introduced playing with cards and laid the foundation for the huge collecting scene and the competitive TCG system we have today.