Expedition Base Set

Released
2002-09-15
Base set
165$7,525.32. Near-mint market prices under 30 days old, before condition, fees and postage. Covers all 165 cards.
Full set
165$7,525.32. Near-mint market prices under 30 days old, before condition, fees and postage. Covers all 165 cards.
Master set
324$23,753.59. Near-mint market prices under 30 days old, before condition, fees and postage. Covers 316 of 324 unique printings in master set — the rest have no recent price.
Code
EX
Symbol

The master set counts 159 Reverse Holofoil, 133 Normal and 32 Holofoil. It leaves out 3 Chris Fulop, 3 Jumbo, 3 Reed Weichler, 1 Kevin Nguyen and 2 more in 2 other printings.

Expedition Base Set begins the e-Card era with a complete redesign built around Nintendo’s e-Reader accessory. Wide borders and dot-code strips allowed selected cards to unlock Pokédex information, sounds, animations, or mini-games when scanned. The unusual layout gives the set a technological identity unlike any previous Pokémon expansion, while its large checklist draws heavily from the first two generations. Its primary Japanese counterpart is Base Expansion Pack, with some cards, rarities, and numbering reorganized for the English release.

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Collector favourites include Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Mewtwo, Mew, and the Johto starters, many shown in fresh artwork that feels more experimental than the Wizards sets before it. Holographic rares, reverse holos, and non-holographic rares create several levels of completion, and the reverse cards use a subtle patterned finish rather than the explosive style of Legendary Collection. Although the e-Reader functions are now mostly a historical curiosity, they capture a moment when the physical card game was being connected directly to digital hardware. Expedition is both a bridge from the classic era and the beginning of one of the TCG’s most visually distinctive series.