The 4th print Charizard cards from the Pokémon Base Set Unlimited edition were contained in standard Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) Pokémon Trading Card Game booster packs, specifically those featuring the iconic red and white Jungle-themed artwork with Charizard’s fiery tail visible on the front. These packs held 11 cards each, including a mix of commons, uncommons, rares, and sometimes holographics like Charizard, and they were sold in booster boxes containing 36 packs apiece.
To understand this fully, let’s step back to the early days of Pokémon cards in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the trading card game exploded in popularity across North America. Wizards of the Coast, the original publisher for English-language Pokémon TCG before The Pokémon Company took over, released the Base Set in January 1999. This set included 102 cards, with Charizard as the standout holographic rare number 4/102, known for its dramatic artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita showing the dragon Pokémon breathing flames while soaring through a stormy sky.
The Base Set came in different print runs, marked by symbols in the bottom left corner of the cards. First Edition had a “1st Edition” stamp, followed by Shadowless prints without black shadows around the card text and artwork borders. Then came the Unlimited prints, which included those shadows for better visibility and durability. Within Unlimited, print runs were distinguished by small print line indicators—tiny numbers or lines under the bottom right of the artwork. The 1st print Unlimited had no line or a specific mark, the 2nd had one line, the 3rd had two lines, and the 4th print Unlimited Charizard featured three thin horizontal lines right under the image area. These lines helped factories track production batches, but they became key identifiers for collectors chasing specific versions.
Now, onto the packaging itself. Unlike today’s sleek Pokémon TCG packs with shiny foil accents and character close-ups, the original WOTC booster packs for Base Set Unlimited, including those with 4th print Charizard, used a simple yet eye-catching design. Each pack was a slim foil packet, about the size of a credit card but thicker, sealed on three sides with a glossy exterior. The front showed a vibrant scene from the Jungle expansion set—think lush green vines, exotic Pokémon peeking out, and that unmistakable Charizard tail curling around the edge, flames flickering. The back had the official Pokémon logo, Wizards of the Coast branding, and fine print about the 11 cards inside: 5 commons, 3 uncommons, 2 rares (one possibly holo), and 1 energy card, though pulls varied wildly due to random collation.
These packs were distributed in white cardboard booster boxes labeled “Base Set Booster Packs” with explosive graphics of Pokémon battles and the set’s card spread. A full box held exactly 36 packs, weighing around 2 pounds, and was meant for retail stores like card shops, Toys “R” Us, or Walmart. Inside those 4th print era packs, Charizard could appear as a rare holo pull, though the odds were slim—about 1 in 108 packs for any holo rare, and even less for the exact 4th print variant since print sheets mixed editions randomly during late 1999 production runs.
Why does the packaging matter so much to collectors today? Back then, WOTC ramped up printing to meet insane demand after the 1999 Pokémon craze hit fever pitch. Early Shadowless packs are scarcer because production was smaller, but as Unlimited flooded the market, later prints like the 4th filled shelves. Unopened 4th print packs still surface in old collections, and their packaging hasn’t changed from earlier Unlimited ones—same Jungle wrapper art, same dimensions (roughly 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches folded), same crinkly foil texture that crackles when you handle them. The only subtle tells are print dates or batch codes on box flaps, but packs themselves look identical across Unlimited prints.
Digging deeper into how these packs were made, WOTC sourced foil from specialized printers, often overseas, and collated cards on massive sheets cut into singles. A single booster sheet might hold multiple Charizards from different print runs, so a 4th print Charizard ended up in a pack alongside 1st or 2nd print commons. Packaging machines folded and heat-sealed them at high speed, sometimes leading to minor errors like misaligned seals or extra air bubbles, which collectors now prize as pack defects.
For kids ripping packs in 2000, the thrill was universal—no one cared about print lines until the collector market boomed years later. You’d buy a single pack for 99 cents or a box for $30-40, tear open the top, and dump out cards hoping for that orange glow of a holo. The 4th print Charizard, with its crisp shadows and three lines, was just as fiery as earlier versions, but its abundance made it the “common” chase card in late Unlimited waves.
Over time, these packs evolved slightly. By the time Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge hit in 2000, packaging shifted to set-specific art—like heroic stadium scenes—but Base Set Unlimited stuck with Jungle motifs even in late prints. Some 4th print packs came from overstock boxes shipped to secondary markets, explaining why they pop up in bulk lots on auction sites today.
Collectibility skyrocketed as Pokémon nostalgia hit adults. A graded 4th print Charizard PSA 10 can fetch $200-500, but an unopened pack from that era? Thousands, because it guarantees potential 4th print pulls. Sealed booster boxes from late Unlimited runs, likely heavy on 4th prints, sell for $5,000-$10,000 depending on condition. The packaging’s condition is crucial—fading foil, creases, or tears slash value, while pristine examples preserve the time capsule feel.
Errors tied to packaging are rare but fascinating. Bulbapedia notes things like “Black Dot Charizard” in Unlimited prints, where ink dots marred the “Nintendo” text, possibly from dirty presses during 4th print sheets. These defective cards still ended up in standard Jungle packs. Other quirks, like double-printed backs on uncommons, slipped through in the same wrappers. No special packaging existed for print variants; everything shipped in those uniform boosters.
Japanese packaging differed wildly—smaller holo packs with unique art—but North American 4th print Charizards stayed in WOTC’s Jungle design. Promo packs or tournament kits sometimes had custom wrappers, but not for standard Unlimited retail.
Today, reproductions and fakes plague the market, so spotting authentic 4th print packaging means checking for correct foil sheen (not too shiny like modern Chinese knockoffs), proper Wizards copyright lines (1995-1999 era), and that subtle Jungle vine texture under light. Weigh an unopened pack: genuine ones tip at 15-20 grams with cards inside.
Reproductions aside, the legacy lives on. Kids in the early 2000s traded these packs at school, built decks around 4th print Charizards (60 HP, Fire Spin for 100 damage after discarding two fires), an
