Charmeleon · Base Set 2, what to know.
About the Charmeleon card
Charmeleon is card 35 of 130 in Base Set 2, released in February 2000, an Uncommon. It is a Stage 1 Fire-type with 80 HP.
As a Stage 1, it evolves from Charmander, which places Charmeleon deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.
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 Charmeleon a line of lore: "When it swings its burning tail, it raises the temperature to unbearably high levels."
About Charmeleon in the Pokémon world
The middle Charmander stage. Bigger, more aggressive, and notoriously hard to befriend in the games. The forgotten middle of the most famous evolution line. Charmeleon usually trades in the shadow of its evolved form. Collectors completing a Charmander to Charizard 1st Edition run pay up; standalone demand is thin.
What is Charmeleon worth?
Charmeleon is an Uncommon, so raw copies are inexpensive and easy to find. The value is in condition: a genuine PSA 10, especially 1st Edition, can still reach a surprising figure for an otherwise common card. The live price above breaks it down by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Base Set 2 produced Unlimited prints. For Charmeleon, the print variant can change the price several times over, so identify it before you buy.
Grading and condition
Charmeleon grades forgivingly, but the same centering and edge standards apply. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find, which makes a clean PSA 10 submission a low-cost way to learn how the cardstock behaves under grading.
If you are collecting Charmeleon
Raw copies of Charmeleon are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Charmeleon is the practical move.
