Expedition Base Set
Set Details
More electrifying than ever!
The Pokémon® trading card game is going where no trading card game has ever gone before—the Game Boy Advance™. The Pokémon-e: Expedition™ base set has new attacks, new game effects, new Pokémon Powers (now called Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies), new Trainer cards, and even a cool new card design. And now you can swipe your cards through a Nintendo® e-Reader to play fun video games on Game Boy Advance!
Play Expedition, and you could be in for a shock!
The Expedition Base Set opened an entirely new chapter for the Pokémon TCG when it landed in Japanese stores on December 1, 2001 (as the Base Expansion Pack) and reached the West on September 15, 2002. As the very first expansion in the e-Card Series, it married traditional card collecting with early-2000s tech wizardry by adding scannable Dot Code strips for the Nintendo e-Reader. Swiping a card unlocked Pokédex entries, catchy 8-bit tunes, mini-games, and even hidden attacks—an interactive leap that set the Expedition Base Set Pokémon cards apart from every set that came before.
Gameplay innovation also took center stage. This expansion introduced Technical Machine (TM) cards, letting a Pokémon “learn” a brand-new move for a turn, echoing the video-game experience. Long-standing Pokémon Powers split into two clearer categories: Poké-Powers (activated abilities) and Poké-Bodies (always-on effects). Visually, cards were refreshed with a larger left/bottom border to house the Dot Code, a rounded art window, relocated illustrator credit, and—for the first time—Reverse Holofoils sporting a sleek, refractor-style shine. Booster packs slimmed down from 11 to 9 cards, yet still guaranteed one Reverse Holo slot plus a rare, making each rip feel premium.
Collectors quickly noticed decisions that make the Expedition Base Set unique in today’s market:
-
There was no 1st Edition print run, so every card is effectively “unlimited,” flattening price tiers but amplifying demand for pristine grades.
-
Every Rare Holo also exists in a non-holo version, offering completionists twice as many chase cards.
-
The set’s 165-card roster features heavyweights like Charizard (#39/165) and Blastoise (#36/165), both of which still sit high on grading population reports more than two decades later.
Several lesser-known nuggets add to the charm of the Expedition Base Set:
-
The TM01 card “Focus Punch” teaches an attack that wouldn’t appear in the video games until Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire months later.
-
Due to the ongoing dispute with Uri Geller, Kadabra—already M.I.A.—was omitted entirely, leaving Abra fans with an evolutionary cliff-hanger.
-
Scanning the Japanese Rapidash card reveals a jaunty 8-bit melody that secretly quotes the Pokémon Center theme—a hidden Easter egg many players never discovered.
With its blend of cutting-edge interactivity, mechanical innovation, and collectible depth, the Expedition Base Set stands tall as the bold, tech-savvy pioneer of the Pokémon e-Card era.
Expedition Base Set Cards
