Every vintage Japanese set
Looking for English cards? See the English sets.
In 30 secondsPokemon cards started in Japan in 1996, and most early English sets are translations of Japanese ones. Japanese cards are often collected for their print quality and because some cards only exist in Japanese. Every page here is in English, and every Japanese card name has its English name underneath.
Pack images © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK, via Bulbapedia, shown for identification only.
Five things that make vintage Japanese cards different
- No card numbers before 2001. Cards from 1996 to early 2001 have no number printed on them.
- No 1st Edition stamp before 2001. The earliest Expansion Pack print has no rarity symbol instead ("No Rarity"). From Pokemon VS and the e-Series, first prints carry a 1st Edition mark.
- The old back. Until mid-2001, Japanese cards have the old "Pocket Monsters" back. From Pokemon VS (July 2001) they switched to the Pokemon-logo back, which looks very like the English one.
- Different set sizes. English sets often added cards, for example printing holos a second time as non-holos.
- Names tell you the type. わるい = Dark, やさしい = Light, ひかる = Shining, and "Xの" = X's (an owner's Pokemon).
Every vintage Japanese set
| Set | Year | Cards | English version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expansion Pack (Base Set) 拡張パック | 1996 | 102 | Base Set |
| Pokemon Jungle ポケモンジャングル | 1997 | 48 | Jungle |
| Mystery of the Fossils 化石の秘密 | 1997 | 48 | Fossil |
| Rocket Gang ロケット団 | 1997 | 65 | Team Rocket |
| Leaders' Stadium リーダーズスタジアム | 1998 | 96 | Gym Heroes |
| Challenge from the Darkness 闇からの挑戦 | 1999 | 98 | Gym Challenge |
| Gold, Silver, to a New World... 金、銀、新世界へ… | 2000 | 96 | Neo Genesis |
| Crossing the Ruins... 遺跡をこえて… | 2000 | 56 | Neo Discovery |
| Awakening Legends めざめる伝説 | 2000 | 57 | Neo Revelation |
| Darkness, and to Light... 闇、そして光へ… | 2001 | 113 | Neo Destiny |
| Pokemon VS ポケモンカード★VS | 2001 | 141 | Never released in English |
| Pokemon Web ポケモンカード★web | 2001 | 48 | Never released in English |
| Base Expansion Pack (e-Series 1) 基本拡張パック | 2001 | 128 | Expedition |
| The Town on No Map (e-Series 2) 地図にない町 | 2002 | 92 | Aquapolis |
| Wind from the Sea (e-Series 3) 海からの風 | 2002 | 87 | Aquapolis |
| Split Earth (e-Series 4) 裂けた大地 | 2002 | 88 | Skyridge |
| Mysterious Mountains (e-Series 5) 神秘なる山 | 2002 | 88 | Skyridge |
Japanese names: printed names for 1996-1999 sets; for 2000-2002 sets we use the official Japanese Pokemon names, because the database names for those sets are machine translations. Graded counts are from CGC; PSA and TAG counts for Japanese cards are being added.
Sources (checked October 2026): TCGdex: Japanese card lists · CGC Cards population report · PokeAPI: official Japanese Pokemon names · Samurai Sword Tokyo: Japanese old back vs new back