Alakazam

Alakazam is card 1 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, a Rare Holo. It is a Stage 2 Psychic-type with 80 HP.

As a Stage 2, it evolves from Kadabra, which places Alakazam deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.

Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.

The card's flavor text gives Alakazam a line of lore: "Its brain can outperform a supercomputer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5000."

The fully evolved Abra line. Two silver spoons, large mustache. Base Set holo Alakazam (#1 in the set) is the first card in the run. Sells for a premium over other Base holos because of position significance.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $54 to $190 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $2,480 to $10,300. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $10,300. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-06-01.

Base Set produced three print waves that collectors track separately: 1st Edition (the launch print, with an Edition 1 stamp under the artwork), Shadowless (no stamp and no drop shadow on the right of the frame), and Unlimited (the long-running print with the drop shadow restored). On Alakazam, the price gap between these prints can run 10x or more, so confirm the variant before any purchase.

Alakazam lives and dies on its holo surface in grading. The psychic foil catches light at angles that hide hairlines in a flat photo, so tilt it under a lamp, then measure the borders, where Wizards-era centering is the second-most-common grade cap.

Buying Alakazam well means pricing the exact print and grade, not the card name. The 1st Edition Alakazam trades above the Unlimited copy, so confirm the stamp before you agree a number. Always see the holo surface in good light first.