Squirtle

Numbered 63 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, Squirtle is a Common, a Basic Water-type carrying 40 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Squirtle 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.

Squirtle carries this Pokédex flavor text: "After birth, its back swells and hardens into a shell. It powerfully sprays foam from its mouth."

The water starter. A bipedal blue turtle with a brown shell. Tactically the most defensive of the three starters in the games. Steady raw market driven by completionists. The Base Set Squirtle in PSA 10 has appreciated quietly without the headlines of its evolved forms.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $5.34 to $14 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $423 to $3,070. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $3,070. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-05-18.

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

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