Standard
How to spot it: Holo or non-holo per the card, with the regular foil placement.
The common, affordable version.
01Card Stats
Basic (evolves into Charmeleon)
HP
50
TypeFire
RarityCommon
IllustratorMitsuhiro Arita
WeaknessWater ×2
Retreat●
SetLegendary Collection
Released2002
02Editions and Print Runs
The 2002 Legendary Collection reissued classic Wizards-era cards and, famously, gave every card a reverse-holo parallel. There is a standard version and a much scarcer reverse-holo version.
Reverse Holo (parallel)
How to spot it: Foil applied across the entire card body instead of just the art window.
The valuable version. The full-body foil scratches and "whitens" very easily, so high-grade copies are genuinely scarce.
04Variants and Foiling
- Rarity tiers
- Common, Reverse Holo (parallel)
- Foiling
- Standard non-holo Common plus the valuable reverse-holo parallel (scratch-prone full-body foil).
- Alt art / specials
- No alternate artwork; standard-vs-reverse-holo and condition drive the value.
05Language and Regional Versions
- English
- Standard English release.
- Japanese
- Released in the equivalent Japanese set.
- European
- Localized European prints exist with translated text.
- Other
- No documented language-exclusive errors of note.
06Current Market Value
| Standard | A few dollars |
|---|---|
| Reverse Holo | ~$200 raw (near-mint); ~$196 average across 100+ recent sales |
| Psa 10 | PSA 10 has reached around $3,000 |
Verified against recent sales data (May 2026). Charizard-line demand keeps even the Charmander reverse holo strong.
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07Why Collectors Want It
- The reverse-holo parallel is a sought-after Legendary Collection chase, lifted further by Charizard-line demand.
- Full-body foil scratches easily, making clean copies scarce.
- Charmander pulls outsized interest as the start of the Charizard line.
- A liquid card — it changes hands often, with 100+ recent sales tracked.
- Pairs with the Charmeleon and Charizard Legendary Collection reverse holos for a complete line.
08Competitive Playability
Tier: None (collectible)
Collectible only; a 50-HP Basic that exists to evolve. The reverse-holo rarity is what matters.
09Card Moves and Abilities
Scratch
Ember
Discard 1 Fire Energy card attached to Charmander or this attack does nothing.
- Weakness
- Water ×2
- Retreat cost
- 1
10Grading and Population
PSA 10 estimate: Reverse-holo PSA 10 is scarce and has reached roughly $3,000.
Wide grade-driven spread, from single digits at low grades to thousands at PSA 10.
Other graders: PSA, CGC and BGS all grade these.