Pokémon cards from the very first set, called the Base Set, came out in 1999 and kicked off the whole trading card craze. Right away, collectors noticed something special about some of these cards: they had no shadows around the artwork or text boxes. These are known as Shadowless cards. Regular Base Set cards have faint drop shadows under the images and energy symbols to make them pop. Shadowless ones skip those shadows entirely, giving them a cleaner, brighter look. Wizards of the Coast printed the Base Set in waves. The first print run included both shadowed and shadowless versions because they tweaked the printing plates early on. Shadowless cards only show up in that initial unlimited run, not in later ones or the rarer 1st Edition prints which have a stamp in the corner.
Unlimited Pokémon means cards from the standard Base Set prints after the 1st Edition. They say “Unlimited Edition” nowhere on them, but that’s the term collectors use for non-1st Edition cards. Shadowless fonts refer to the text on these cards having that shadow-free style. The fonts themselves look crisp and bold without any gray outline or drop shadow effect behind the letters. Energy symbols, like the fire or water icons, also lack shadows, floating cleanly against the background. This makes Shadowless cards stand out from the shadowed Unlimited versions that came later.
Now, to the big question: how many unique Pokémon exist with these Shadowless fonts in the Unlimited Base Set? The answer is all 102 of them. The Base Set has exactly 102 different cards, covering Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mewtwo, plus trainers and energy. Every single one got a Shadowless printing in that first Unlimited wave. No exceptions. You can find Shadowless versions of commons like Rattata, uncommons like Drowzee, rares like Zapdos, and even the holographic stars like Charizard. They span the full set list from card number 1, Alakazam, up to 102, Energy Removal.
Think about it this way. When Wizards rolled out the Base Set, they printed a bunch without shadows first. As they kept printing more Unlimited copies to meet demand, they added the shadows back in for better visibility on the card stock. Both types say nothing about edition on the card face, but savvy collectors spot Shadowless by checking the artwork borders, text drop shadows, and energy icons. For example, take Squirtle, card 63. Its Shadowless version has crystal-clear fonts on “Squirtle” and the attack names, no fuzzy outline. Graded populations show thousands of these submitted to PSA, with over 700 PSA 10s logged for Squirtle Shadowless alone. Zapdos, number 16, follows the same pattern. Its ungraded copies sell around $44, while top PSA 10s hit nearly $3,000. Every Pokémon in the set mirrors this.
Let’s break it down by rarity to see the full scope. The Base Set splits into commons, uncommons, rares, and holos. Commons go from 52 to 102, that’s 51 cards like Pidgey or Voltorb, all with Shadowless prints. Uncommons cover 23 to 51, another 29 cards such as Farfetch’d or Tangela, shadowless across the board. Rares number 1 to 22, 22 in total, think Dragonair or Electabuzz, every one shadowless in Unlimited. Then the 16 holos, numbers 1 to 16 reversed on holos, like Blastoise or Venusaur, all Shadowless versions exist. Add in the 4 energy cards at the end, and you hit 102 unique Pokémon and cards total. Wait, not all are Pokémon—there are 16 trainers like Bill or Professor Oak, and 10 energy types counting doubles. But the query focuses on Pokémon, so let’s count those precisely.
Out of 102 cards, 66 are actual Pokémon. That’s 40 non-holo Pokémon (commons and uncommons) plus 16 holos and 10 more rare Pokémon slotted in. Base Set Pokémon list: 16 holos (Alakazam to Zapdos), 11 rare Pokémon (Arcanine to Ninetales, plus a few like Dragonair), 25 uncommon Pokémon (Bellsprout to Venonat), and 14 common Pokémon (Bulbasaur lines to Zubat). Exact count: every Pokémon card in the set has a Shadowless Unlimited version. No Pokémon got left out. Charmander, number 46, pops up in lots and graded sales, PSA EX-MT 6 copies floating around. Magnemite, 53, same deal. Drowzee too. These examples confirm the pattern holds for the whole set.
Why does this matter? Shadowless cards often fetch higher prices because fewer survived in top shape. Early prints used thinner stock prone to wear, and kids played with them hard. Take Squirtle Shadowless: ungraded at $10-11, but PSA 10 jumps to $457 with steady sales weekly. Zapdos Shadowless: $44 ungraded to $2,951 PSA 10, rarer high grades. Population reports for Squirtle show 722 PSA 10s out of thousands graded, but lower grades dominate like 1,813 PSA 9s. This scarcity drives value across all 102. Even basic Caterpie Shadowless can surprise with grades.
Spotting Shadowless fonts takes practice. Hold a card next to a shadowed Unlimited one. On Shadowless, the Pokémon name text sits flat, no gray shadow underneath. Attack names like “Withdraw” on Squirtle look sharp-edged. Energy costs in the top right, say one colorless dot, has no shadow blob behind it. The copyright line at the bottom reads clean: “© 1995, 96, 98, 99 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. © 1999 Wizards.” No edition stamp means Unlimited, and no shadows confirm Shadowless. Holo stars have foil patterns without shadow interference, making them shimmer purer.
Production details explain the unlimited Shadowless run. Wizards aimed for mass market after 1st Edition sold out fast. They printed Shadowless Unlimited first, maybe 10-20% of total Base Set output. Estimates from collector forums and sales data suggest millions of Shadowless packs opened, but survival rates dropped due to play. Later Unlimited shadowed prints dominate sealed product today. That’s why Shadowless holos like Charizard command thousands in PSA 10, while shadowed ones go for hundreds.
Every Pokémon from the set fits this. Bulbasaur evolves line: all Shadowless. Charmander to Charmeleon to Charizard—check. Squirtle trio, yes. Starters complete. Legendaries like Mewtwo, holo 10, shadowless fonts pristine in high grades. Even gym cards? Wait, Base Set has no gym cards, pure Base. Fossil set came next with shadows standard. Jungle too. Shadowless stayed exclusive to Base Set Unlimited.
Grading stats back the 102 count. Sites track every card: Zapdos #16, Squirtle #63, all listed with Shadowless variants and pop reports. No gaps
