Imagine digging through stacks of old Pokémon cards, chasing that one special piece that nobody else has because it only showed up in a super rare print run. In the world of Pokémon Trading Card Game, or TCG, print runs are like different batches of cards printed over time to keep up with demand. Most sets have several—first edition, shadowless, unlimited, and sometimes extra ones just for certain places like the UK. But the 4th print run? That’s a unicorn. It pops up mostly in early sets from the late 1990s, and only for specific regions or corrections. No cards exist solely in a 4th print run across every set; instead, certain versions or fixes are unique to that batch, making them tough to find today. Let’s break this down set by set, card by card, in the simplest way possible, like chatting over a booster pack opening.
Start with the very first set, Base Set, released in 1999. This is where the magic—and the mistakes—began. Wizards of the Coast, the original English printers, pumped out cards fast to meet the hype. Early prints had “1st Edition” stamps in the bottom left, then “Shadowless” versions without drop shadows on the artwork, and finally “Unlimited” with shadows added back. But in the UK, they did a 4th print run around 1999-2000 to fix errors and restock. One standout is Vulpix from Base Set. In 1st Edition, Shadowless, and regular Unlimited prints worldwide, it says “HP 50” right on the card, which looks weird because most cards format it as “50 HP.” That got fixed only in the UK 4th print run, where it switched to the proper “50 HP.” Collectors hunt these because they’re the only Vulpix with that clean text—no other print has it. It’s not a huge money card like Charizard, but it’s proof of that specific batch.[1]
Speaking of corrections, Base Set had other quirks tied to later prints, but Vulpix is the poster child for the 4th run exclusive fix. Prices for these UK 4th print Vulpix aren’t sky-high—think under $50 for decent copies—but rarity comes from how few made it out. Not every Base Set card has a 4th print; it’s targeted fixes. Charizard #4 from Base Set, for example, has wild prices in any print: PSA 10s hit over $13,000, but no version is 4th-print only. Bulbasaur #44 is cheaper, around $2 ungraded, but again, not exclusive.[4][5]
Jump to Jungle, the second expansion from 1999. This set introduced grass-types and bugs, with holos like Scyther and Vileplume. Errors here were wild—inverted fronts where the card’s artwork was flipped because backs printed first. Unlimited Jungle had non-holo sheets with Oddish, Gloom, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Nidoran female, Nidorina, Meowth, Persian, Rhyhorn, Rhydon, and Eevee possibly affected. PSA has graded over 230 of these oddities. But Jungle’s 4th print? It didn’t spawn entirely new cards; it corrected broader sheet issues. No single card screams “only in 4th print” here, but the corrected inverted errors tie back to late runs like the UK’s.[1]
Fossil, the third set, digs into rock and fossil Pokémon like Aerodactyl and Articuno. Released late 1999, it had ink problems—extra ink faded over sheets on cards like Hitmonlee. Those 1st Edition holos sometimes had gold border stains on the left, smudging “Stretch” in its attack name. Mild ones are common-ish, but severe double stains from foot to border? Super rare. This got fixed in the 4th Base Set print, but wait—Fossil ties in because print sheets overlapped early sets. Actually, the stain fix for Hitmonlee happened in the 4th print of Base Set released only in the UK. Fossil’s own errors, like diminishing ink, corrected naturally as printing improved, but Hitmonlee’s gold stain version is pre-4th, with clean ones post.[1]
Hitmonlee’s story is key: the error plagued early Fossil holos, corrected by that UK-exclusive 4th Base print sheet that influenced Fossil pulls. No Fossil card exists purely in 4th print, but the clean Hitmonlee from that run is unique—no stains, proper borders, only from UK stock post-correction.
Team Rocket, from 2000, brought dark Pokémon like Dark Charizard. Errors included gray stamps on 1st Editions for commons and uncommons, plus rare misprints like Dark Machoke (at least three found), Dark Golduck, Nightly Garbage Run, and Dark Jolteon. These are printing flubs, not 4th-print exclusives. Team Rocket’s print runs didn’t highlight a specific 4th like Base did; corrections happened across unlimited waves.[1]
Why the UK focus? Early TCG boomed differently by region. Wizards handled North America with standard 1st, Shadowless, Unlimited. UK got extra runs to fix errors and meet demand, birthing these 4th print gems. Vulpix and Hitmonlee shine brightest— their corrected texts or borders appear nowhere else. No full list of “only 4th print cards” exists because printing wasn’t tracked card-by-card publicly. Bulbapedia, the TCG bible, notes these as corrected in UK 1999-2000 4th runs.[1]
Modern sets? Nothing like this. Post-Wizards (now Pokémon Company International via Creatures Inc.), prints are digital, error-free, with no “4th run only” cards. Prerelease stamps exist, like Jungle Clefable or accidental Base Raichu, but those are promos, not print runs. Gold Stars like Rayquaza or Topps Chrome Charizard are rare pulls, not print-specific.[2][3]
Hunt these today? eBay, TCGPlayer, local shops with vintage bins. Check for UK print marks—subtle text differences or lack of errors. Vulpix: look for “50 HP,” not “HP 50.” Hitmonlee: clean left border, no gold smudge. Graded ones via PSA boost value; population reports show low numbers. A UK 4th print Vulpix might fetch $20-100 raw, more slabbed. Hitmonlee corrections rarer, $50+ easy.
Deeper dive: print sheets held 11 cards, so errors spread across sets. Base 4th UK fixed Vulpix HP, influencing Jungle/Fossil pulls from same factories. No medical stuff here—no doctors needed for card fever, unless you count collector heart palpitations.
Other whispers? Some claim 4th print Base Squirtle or Ivysaur tweaks, but unverified. Stick to documented: Vulpix HP format and Hitmonlee stain fix.[1] Shadowless hype overshadows thes
