1999 Pokemon Base Set Shadowless Holo Charizard #4 PSA 10 GEM MINT

While Ken Sugimori is credited with designing most of the Generation 1 Pokémon and Mitsuhiro Arita is most commonly associated with the iconic Base Set Charizard artwork, it was actually Atsuko Nishida who was responsible for two of the franchise’s most iconic characters: Pikachu and Charizard. While working on Game Freak’s 1994 Sega Mega Drive title Pulseman, Nishida joined the original Pokémon team to create “cute” characters opposite Sugimori’s “scary” designs. However, Nishida also wanted to design “strong” characters, leading her to create Charizard. “[Charizard] is filled with the kind of coolness that boys would adore,” Nishida explained, referring to the character’s powerful dragon-like design. She also carefully considered Charizard’s coloring during the design process, as orange rarely occurs in nature and is scientifically proven to be one of the most visually stimulating colors on the spectrum. Yet despite her fixation on “cute,” Nishida did not design Charmander, Charizard’s first pre-evolution, until much later in the process. “I created the designs for Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle by working backward from their final forms,” she revealed. “I wanted people to be surprised when it evolved into Charizard, so I designed the original Charmander in such a way that Charizard would be unimaginable.” Without Nishida, we may have never had the iconic Mitsuhiro Arita Charizard artwork featured on this card. Today, it’s tough to imagine a world without Charizard. The fearsome fire lizard remains a series staple and one of the most collected characters in TCG history. While there are many versions of Mitsuhiro Arita’s iconic Base Set Charizard, the Shadowless version is considered one of the rarest prints of this beloved issue. This PSA 10 represents one of only 58 examples of this iconic card to earn that hallowed grade. To date, there are 124 PSA 10 examples of the 1st Edition Shadowless Base Set Charizard, making the version on offer here more than twice as rare in PSA Gem Mint condition. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 01/09/2024.

This item was flash inserted on Jan 6, 2025.