Are 4th print Trainer cards harder to find than regular Pokémon cards? Yes, they often are, especially for popular sets like the original Base Set from 1999, because later print runs produced fewer copies as demand dropped off, making those specific versions scarcer in high-quality condition today.[1][4]
Let’s dive into what makes Pokémon cards so collectible in the first place. Pokémon Trading Card Game cards come in all sorts of rarities, from basic commons marked with a simple circle to ultra-rares with fancy full art or shiny effects. Commons are easy pulls – most booster packs have four or five of them, like basic Pokémon such as Grookey or Scorbunny. Uncommons, marked with a diamond, include a lot of Trainer cards, like Ultra Ball, and packs usually have three per pack. Then you get into rarer stuff: rares with a star, ultra-rares with two stars, and secret rares that hide beyond the set list, like golden-bordered Mega Evolutions or full-art prizes.[2]
Trainer cards are those non-Pokémon cards that help you play the game – things like Pokémon Breeder, which lets you search your deck for baby Pokémon, or items like Potion for healing. In the early days, Wizards of the Coast printed the Base Set in multiple runs: 1st edition, shadowless, and then numbered prints like 1st print, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. These print indicators are tiny symbols in the bottom left corner, showing how many times the set had been reprinted. Early prints like 1st or shadowless are famous for errors and high demand, but by the 4th print, the hype had cooled, so Wizards printed way fewer packs.[1][3][4]
Take Pokémon Breeder #76 from Base Set as a perfect example. It’s a rare Trainer card, not a Pokémon itself, with that classic art of a girl holding baby Pokémon. PriceCharting tracks sales, and you see PSA 9 copies of 4th print Breeder going for around $62 in recent 2025 sales, with low population reports – only 15 pop for PSA 9 across prints, but 4th prints are even tougher because fewer were made.[4] Compare that to Pokémon cards from the same set, like common Pikachu or even rares. Those got printed in huge numbers across all runs, so ungraded copies flood the market, and even graded ones pop up more often. Shadowless Charizard holo gets all the headlines for fetching thousands, but that’s a 1st-print phenomenon – regular Pokémon cards from later prints are everywhere at card shows or online.[1][4]
Why are 4th prints so elusive? Print runs shrank over time. The Base Set exploded in popularity in 1999, so 1st print flew off shelves. By 4th print, kids had moved on to newer sets like Jungle or Fossil, and Wizards scaled back production. No official numbers exist, but collectors estimate 4th prints make up maybe 5-10% of total Base Set supply, versus 30-40% for 1st print. That scarcity hits Trainer cards hard because they weren’t the star attractions – kids chased holos like Blastoise or Venusaur, so Trainers sat unopened in packs longer, but fewer packs mean fewer survivors.[3][4]
Condition matters a ton. Pokémon cards yellow with age, get bent, or lose gloss. High-grade PSA 10s are gold, but for 4th print Trainers, they’re unicorns. Look at sales data: a CGC 10 Breeder 4th print sold for $69.99 in January 2025, while lower grades like PSA 6 shadowless versions go for $20 or less. Regular Pokémon cards? Even 4th print commons like Rattata have tons of PSA 8s and 9s because more were pulled and slabbed. Auction houses like Heritage note similar patterns in promos – only three PSA 10s known for some rare Trainers, versus dozens for Pokémon equivalents.[1][4]
Errors add another layer. Early prints had misprints like black-flame Ninetales or gray stamps on 1st editions, making them collectible oddities. But 4th prints? They fixed most errors late in runs, like Blaine’s Charizard getting the right energy symbol on unlimited prints, which ironically makes corrected late-prints rarer than the errors sometimes. Double-printed backs or inverted backs pop up rarely on uncommons, which are often Trainers, and those from later prints are even scarcer because sheets ran out faster.[3]
Modern sets echo this. Scarlet & Violet has double rare Pokémon ex and ultra-rare supporters, but pull rates for full-art Trainers remain low – one per several packs, while basic Pokémon flood out. Shiny ultra-rares in Paldean Fates replace reverse holos sometimes, but Trainer-focused secret rares like hyper rares stay tough. Still, nothing matches vintage 4th prints for raw scarcity. Topps Chrome Tekno Charizard had brutal pull rates back then, now vintage copies vanish, much like 4th print Trainers.[1][2][5]
Market trends back it up. In 2025, expensive cards lists spotlight Pokémon like Mega Gardevoir ex hyper rares, but Trainer promos like Wonder Platinum from 2009 nationals – only 20 printed – hit $51,250. Everyday 4th print Trainers don’t fetch that, but their low supply drives prices up slow and steady. Volume on PriceCharting shows Breeder 4th prints with 1 sale per month or less in high grades, while Base Set Pokémon cards move daily.[1][4][5]
Collectors hunt differently too. Pokémon cards get chased for artwork and nostalgia – Charizard’s fire breath sells dreams. Trainers? Functional, plain. So fewer people saved 4th print versions pristine. Dive into local shops, and bins overflow with 4th print Pokémon commons, but ask for Breeder or Scoop Up in near-mint, and eyes widen. Online, eBay listings for 4th print Trainers linger weeks; Pokémon cards flip fast.[4]
Compare specific pairs. Base Set Pokémon Breeder #76 (Trainer, rare) versus Machamp #9 (Pokémon, rare). Both rares, but 4th print Machamp sales pop monthly under $50 raw, while Breeder PSA 9s are quarterly events at double the price. Or Item Finder #74, another Trainer – similar story, low pop reports. Jungle set follows suit: later prints scarcer overall, Trainers overlooked.[4]
Global angle matters. Japan had its own prints, like Tropical Battle promos where 2nd-place Trainer edged out 1st-place value at $75,000 versus higher. Only three PSA 10s known, pure scarcity. English 4th prints mirror that – exported less, hoarded by latecomers.[1]
Counterpoints exist. Not every 4th print Trainer beats every Pokémon card. Hyper-common Pokémon like Base Set Dratini outnumber everything, easy finds. Modern mass-produced sets drown the market in Pokémon, diluting Trainer rarity. But fo
