Machamp · Expedition Base Set, what to know.
About the Machamp card
Machamp is card 51 of 165 in Expedition Base Set, released in September 2002, a Rare. It is a Stage 2 Fighting-type with 120 HP.
As a Stage 2, it evolves from Machoke, which places Machamp deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.
Illustrated by Shin-ichi Yoshida.
About Machamp in the Pokémon world
The Fighting-type final form of the Machop line. Four arms. Base Set holo Machamp is the only holo card guaranteed to appear in 1st Edition Base Set starter decks (the Bulbasaur preconstructed deck). Its 1st Edition print is dramatically more common than other Base holos in 1st Edition because of this. The Unlimited print population mostly came from booster packs and is much smaller.
What is Machamp worth?
Machamp is a non-holo Rare. In Expedition Base Set, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Machamp 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 Machamp before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Non-holo Rares like Machamp are easier on surface but no kinder on centering. Wizards-era cards were less protected than the holos, so high-grade Machamp survivors can be scarcer than expected, with edge whitening the usual cap.
If you are collecting Machamp
For Machamp, 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 Machamp can make sense.
