Blastoise · Expedition Base Set, what to know.
About the Blastoise card
Blastoise is card 36 of 165 in Expedition Base Set, released in September 2002, a Rare. It is a Stage 2 Water-type with 100 HP.
As a Stage 2, it evolves from Wartortle, which places Blastoise deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.
Illustrated by Hiromichi Sugiyama.
About Blastoise in the Pokémon world
The fully evolved water starter. A heavy turtle with water cannons mounted on its shell. A defensive powerhouse in the games and a frequent tournament pick. The water Charizard equivalent. There is also a famous 1999 Galaxy Star Holo Blastoise presentation prototype which is a separate artifact from the standard print and trades for high six figures.
What is Blastoise worth?
Blastoise is a non-holo Rare. In Expedition Base Set, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Blastoise trades modestly, though a clean, well-centered 1st Edition copy in PSA 10 is scarcer than the print run suggests and carries a real premium. Check the live price above for the figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Blastoise before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Non-holo Rares like Blastoise are easier on surface but no kinder on centering. Wizards-era cards were less protected than the holos, so high-grade Blastoise survivors can be scarcer than expected, with edge whitening the usual cap.
If you are collecting Blastoise
For Blastoise, check centering by eye, edge whitening on all four sides, and surface under angled light. Non-holo Rares from this era are cheap enough that a PSA 10 submission on a clean Blastoise can make sense.
