Charmander

Charmander is card 46 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, a Common. It is a Basic Fire-type with 50 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Charmander needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.

The card's flavor text gives Charmander a line of lore: "Obviously prefers hot places. If it gets caught in the rain, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail."

The fire starter. A small bipedal reptile with a tail-flame that signals its health. Famous for being the most-picked starter in the original generation. Base Set Charmander has outsized collector interest because of its connection to Charizard. PSA 10 examples are surprisingly difficult given the soft cardstock of the era.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $3.9 to $144 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $350 to $3,600. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $3,600. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-06-06.

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 Charmander, the price gap between these prints can run 10x or more, so confirm the variant before any purchase.

Charmander is the most forgiving tier to grade in the set. Centering on the framed border is the usual cap, and the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily, but high print runs keep clean copies affordable.

Raw copies of Charmander are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Charmander is the practical move.