Porygon

Numbered 39 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, Porygon is an Uncommon, a Basic Colorless-type carrying 30 HP.

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

Illustrated by Tomoaki Imakuni.

Printed on the card, the Porygon Pokédex entry reads: "A Pokémon that consists entirely of programming code. Capable of moving freely in cyberspace."

A polygonal data-construct Pokémon. The Pokémon famously banned from the anime after the 1997 flash incident. Base Set Uncommon Porygon has unusual cross-cultural collector interest because of the anime ban.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $3.85 to $33 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $190 to $900. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $900. 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 Porygon, the price gap between these prints can run 10x or more, so confirm the variant before any purchase.

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