# Did Every Base Set Card Receive a 4th Print Version?
The answer to whether every Pokémon Base Set card received a 4th print version is no, not all cards got this treatment. The 4th print of Base Set was actually a limited release that happened exclusively in the United Kingdom, and it only corrected specific error cards rather than being a complete reprint of the entire set.
To understand this properly, we need to look at what the 4th print actually was. During the early production runs of Pokémon Base Set, Wizards of the Coast, the company distributing Pokémon cards at the time, made several printing errors on certain cards. These weren’t mistakes on every single card in the set, but rather on specific individual cards that had quality control issues. When these errors were discovered, the company decided to fix them, but they didn’t do a full reprint of all 102 cards. Instead, they created corrected versions of only the cards that had problems.
The most notable example of a card that received correction in the 4th print was Charizard. The base set Charizard, card number 4 out of 102, is one of the most famous and valuable Pokémon cards ever made. However, the specific error that was corrected in the 4th print for Charizard and other cards involved printing defects that affected the card’s appearance or quality.
Another card that had an error corrected in the 4th print was Hitmonlee. This card had what collectors call the “Stainmonlee” error, where a small amount of 1st edition holos were printed with vertical gold border ink stains on the left side of the card. These stains varied in severity, with some examples showing stains covering from Hitmonlee’s foot all the way down to the bottom border, while other versions only had the stain right below the artwork covering the word “Stretch” from its Stretch Kick attack. The 4th print corrected this issue by ensuring the cards were printed without these ink stains.
The 4th print was also notable for correcting issues with other cards in the set. For instance, there were printing variations in cards like Ninetales, where some unlimited prints featured black flames in the artwork instead of the standard blue flames. These variations occurred because Wizards of the Coast changed the design at some point early during the unlimited print run, making the black flame versions less common. The 4th print helped standardize the appearance of these cards.
It’s important to understand that the 4th print was not a complete overhaul of Base Set production. It was a targeted correction run that addressed specific quality control issues that had been identified in earlier printings. The fact that it was released exclusively in the United Kingdom also means that not all collectors worldwide had equal access to these corrected versions. This regional limitation actually makes 4th print cards somewhat interesting from a collecting perspective, as they represent a specific moment in Pokémon card production history when the company was actively working to improve quality.
The existence of the 4th print demonstrates that Wizards of the Coast was paying attention to quality issues and was willing to make corrections when problems were discovered. However, this doesn’t mean that every single card in Base Set needed correction or received a 4th print version. Many cards in the set were printed correctly from the beginning and didn’t require any corrective reprinting. The 4th print was essentially a quality control measure for specific cards that had documented errors, not a comprehensive reprint of the entire 102-card set.
For collectors today, understanding the difference between the various print runs of Base Set cards is important for valuation and authenticity purposes. Cards from different print runs can have different values depending on their condition, rarity, and whether they contain the original errors or the corrected versions. The 4th print cards, being exclusive to the UK and representing corrected versions of previously problematic cards, hold their own place in the collecting community and in the history of Pokémon card production.
