Poliwhirl

Poliwhirl is card 38 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, an Uncommon. It is a Stage 1 Water-type with 60 HP.

As a Stage 1, it evolves from Poliwag, which places Poliwhirl deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.

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 Poliwhirl reads: "Capable of living in or out of water. When out of water, it sweats to keep its body slimy."

The middle Poliwag stage. Now bipedal with arms but retained spiral belly. Notably the card on the cover of the original Game Boy Pokémon manual. Mid-stage demand.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $2.49 to $33 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $160 to $940. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $940. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-05-20.

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

Poliwhirl grades forgivingly, but the same centering and edge standards apply. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find, which makes a clean PSA 10 submission a low-cost way to learn how the cardstock behaves under grading.

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