Poliwag

Poliwag is card 59 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, a Common. It is a Basic Water-type with 40 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Poliwag needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.

The Pokédex entry printed on Poliwag reads: "Its newly grown legs prevent it from running. It appears to prefer swimming over trying to stand."

A water-type tadpole Pokémon. The spiral pattern on its belly is one of the most recognized Pokémon designs. Base Set Common. Easy and cheap.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $2.63 to $17 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $150 to $410. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $410. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-05-24.

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

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