Machoke

Machoke is card 34 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, an Uncommon. It is a Stage 1 Fighting-type with 80 HP.

As a Stage 1, it evolves from Machop, which places Machoke 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 Pokédex entry printed on Machoke reads: "Its muscular body is so powerful that it must wear a power-save belt to help regulate its motions."

The middle Machop stage. Larger, with prominent muscle definition. Standard mid-stage card.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $3.12 to $98 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $135 to $988. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $988. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-05-19.

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

Machoke 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.

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