Collector Resources
Complete WOTC Pokémon Error Card Guide
A searchable collector encyclopedia for Wizards of the Coast Pokémon errors: corrected errors, no-symbol holos, stamp errors, ink hickeys, holo errors, text mistakes, promo errors, and bulk-search targets.
Fast WOTC Error Checklist
- Blastoise 2/102 — Stage Error / No Stage Blastoise
- Ninetales 12/102 — No Damage / Missing 80 Damage
- Pikachu 58/102 — Ghost Stamp Pikachu
- Diglett 47/102 — Sideways Fighting Energy / Fight Symbol Error
- Wartortle 42/102 — Evolution Box Error
- Beedrill 17/102 — D.efending Error
- Vulpix 68/102 — HP 50 Error
- Charizard 4/102 — Black Dot Charizard
- Clefairy 5/102 — Black Dot / Red Heart Clefairy
- Chansey 3/102 — Black Dot Chansey
- Dragonair 18/102 — Rainbow Smear Dragonair
- Charmeleon 24/102 — Blue Slash / Red Heart Tattoo Errors
- Bulbasaur 44/102 — Shadowless Sunbeam Bulbasaur
- Squirtle 63/102 — Red Diamond / Missing Name Letters
- Water Energy 102/102 — Banner Misalignment Error
- 1st Edition Gray Stamp / White Stamp / Back Stamp Errors — Stamp production errors
- Jungle No Symbol Holos — Complete 16-Card Error Set
- Butterfree 33/64 — “d” Edition Error
- Pinsir 9/64 — 1st Edition Scratch Error
- Venonat 63/64 — 1st Edition Line Error
- Kangaskhan 21/64 — Green Spear Kangaskhan
- Snorlax 27/64 — Yellow Highlighter Snorlax
- Electrode 18/64 — Wrong Artwork Error
- Rapidash 44/64 — Evolution Text Error
- Seaking 46/64 — Evolution Text Error
- Hitmonlee 7/62 — Stain Error
- Haunter 6/62 — Blue Stain Haunter
- Krabby 51/62 — Slash Error
- Zapdos 15/62 — Missing/Corrected Foil Box
- Gengar 5/62 — Yellow Back Hickey
- Magmar 44/130 — Blue Flame Magmar
- Charizard 4/130 — White Ink Smear Holo
- Poliwrath 15/130 — Blue Dot Swirl
- Wartortle W Stamp — Small Water Energy HP Symbol
- Dark Dragonite 5/82 — No Holo Error
- Dark Arbok 2/82 — Holoshift / Obstruction / Red Dot Errors
- Dark Charizard 21/82 — Black Tape / Red Tail Obstruction
- Dark Golbat 7/82 — Pokémon.Apply Text
- Charmander 50/82 — Black Dot Error
- Grimer 57/82 / Sleep! 79/82 — Blue Tape Obstruction Pair
- Rocket’s Moltres 12/132 — Black Dot Error
- Rocket’s Scyther 13/132 — Evolved Text Oddity
- Tickling Machine 119/132 — Secret Robot Classification
- Blaine’s Charizard 2/132 — Fighting Energy Error
- Rocket’s Minefield Gym 119/132 — Missing “2” Damage Counters
- Giovanni’s Pinsir 24/132 — 10+ Damage Error
- Misty’s Seel 91/132 — Transparency Error
- Focus Band 86/111 — White Bar Error
- Typhlosion 17/111 — Red Dot / Blue Dot / Damage Value Issues
- Meganium 10/111 — Black Pokémon Power Title
- Scizor 10/75 — 20+ Instead of 20×
- Kakuna 47/75 — Wrong Copyright Year
- Unown O 67/75 — “Once during you turn”
- Ho-Oh 7/64 — Double Holo Error
- Zubat 59/64 — Missing Resistance -30
- Delibird 5/64 — Off-Center Energy Symbols
- Dark Exeggutor 33/105 — Exeggcutor Misspelling
- Dark Croconaw 32/105 — 49 Teeth Error
- Shining Cards — Missing Shining / Holo Shift Errors
- Movie Promo Dragonite/Electabuzz/Mewtwo/Pikachu — Inverted WB Stamp
- Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres Black Star Promos — Aoki Illustrator Error
- Dark Persian #17 — No 60 HP Error
- Ancient Mew I — “Nintedo” Error
- Prerelease Raichu — Legendary WOTC Error
Base Set
Blastoise 2/102 — Stage Error / No Stage Blastoise
How to identify: Look at the top-right evolution instruction line above the HP/art area. The word “Stage” is missing from the phrase.
Collector notes: One of the key WOTC grails. Bulbapedia also lists rarer Blastoise dot variants: Red Dot, Red Heart Retreat, and missing Illus. errors.
Ninetales 12/102 — No Damage / Missing 80 Damage
How to identify: Check Fire Blast on Shadowless Ninetales. The damage number 80 is missing to the right of the attack.
Collector notes: Usually associated with Shadowless Brushfire theme decks.
Pikachu 58/102 — Ghost Stamp Pikachu
How to identify: On yellow-cheeks Shadowless Pikachu, look at the left side where the 1st Edition stamp would be. The stamp appears faint/ghost-like, often showing partial outlines.
Collector notes: Found from gold-strip Shadowless Zap! theme decks per Bulbapedia.
Diglett 47/102 — Sideways Fighting Energy / Fight Symbol Error
How to identify: On Unlimited Diglett, check the Fighting Energy symbol for Dig. The symbol is rotated 90°.
Collector notes: Linked to Unlimited 2-Player Starter Set boxes.
Wartortle 42/102 — Evolution Box Error
How to identify: Look at the small evolution box. The image should show Squirtle, but the error shows Wartortle instead.
Collector notes: English Unlimited and Portuguese prints are discussed in hobby documentation.
Beedrill 17/102 — D.efending Error
How to identify: Check Poison Sting text. Some copies read “D.efending Pokémon” with a period after D.
Collector notes: A classic searchable Base Set typo.
Vulpix 68/102 — HP 50 Error
How to identify: The HP line reads “HP 50” instead of the usual modern ordering “50 HP.”
Collector notes: Found across 1st Edition, Shadowless, and 1999 Unlimited. Corrected in the UK 1999-2000 print.
Charizard 4/102 — Black Dot Charizard
How to identify: Look for a small black dot covering the “t” in Nintendo in the bottom copyright line.
Collector notes: Bulbapedia notes micro holoshift and slight holobleed on this error.
Clefairy 5/102 — Black Dot / Red Heart Clefairy
How to identify: Black Dot: look near the “no” of “now Asleep.” Red Heart: look above the artwork for a magenta heart-like hickey.
Collector notes: Red Heart Clefairy is a popular dot/hickey error among advanced Base Set collectors.
Chansey 3/102 — Black Dot Chansey
How to identify: Look above the “x” in “next” on Scrunch for a black ink blob.
Collector notes: One of several PSA-discussed dot errors across Base Set.
Dragonair 18/102 — Rainbow Smear Dragonair
How to identify: Look for a rainbow-like smudge covering the “u” in the word “number.”
Collector notes: Reported on 1st Edition and Shadowless prints.
Charmeleon 24/102 — Blue Slash / Red Heart Tattoo Errors
How to identify: Blue Slash: blue streaks across Charmeleon’s body. Red Heart Tattoo: red hickey on Charmeleon’s hip.
Collector notes: A good card to search because it appears in bulk often.
Bulbasaur 44/102 — Shadowless Sunbeam Bulbasaur
How to identify: On Shadowless Bulbasaur, look for two yellow streaks of missing blue ink over the body, plus matching missing gloss.
Collector notes: Also has uncorrected text issues on early versions listed by Bulbapedia.
Squirtle 63/102 — Red Diamond / Missing Name Letters
How to identify: Red Diamond: small red diamond over “ve” in Withdraw on Shadowless copies. Some Unlimited Squirtle copies are missing “tle” from the name.
Collector notes: Search carefully in low-value bulk.
Water Energy 102/102 — Banner Misalignment Error
How to identify: Look for the top banner shifted too high, with the Water symbol too high and missing edge design near the top.
Collector notes: Listed in E4’s WOTC corrected-error checklist.
1st Edition Gray Stamp / White Stamp / Back Stamp Errors
How to identify: Gray Stamp: stamp appears light gray. White Stamp/Back Stamp: stamp ink partially transfers or appears on the back from wet ink transfer.
Collector notes: Found mostly on commons/uncommons, but rare/holo examples are much harder.
Jungle
Jungle No Symbol Holos — Complete 16-Card Error Set
How to identify: Check below the lower-right corner of the artwork. The Jungle flower symbol is missing.
Collector notes: Known on Clefable, Electrode, Flareon, Jolteon, Kangaskhan, Mr. Mime, Nidoqueen, Pidgeot, Pinsir, Scyther, Snorlax, Vaporeon, Venomoth, Victreebel, Vileplume, Wigglytuff.
Butterfree 33/64 — “d” Edition Error
How to identify: On 1st Edition Jungle Butterfree, the “1” in the stamp has an extra ring that makes it look like a lowercase d.
Collector notes: Common by WOTC-error standards but still very collectible.
Pinsir 9/64 — 1st Edition Scratch Error
How to identify: Look for a holo-like scratch above/across the 1st Edition stamp.
Collector notes: PSA-recognized.
Venonat 63/64 — 1st Edition Line Error
How to identify: Look for a dark vertical line along the top-left yellow border/green background area.
Collector notes: PSA-recognized.
Kangaskhan 21/64 — Green Spear Kangaskhan
How to identify: On Unlimited nonholo Kangaskhan, look for a horizontal green streak in Kangaskhan’s hand area.
Collector notes: Missing magenta/cyan effects create the “spear” look.
Snorlax 27/64 — Yellow Highlighter Snorlax
How to identify: On Unlimited nonholo Snorlax, look for a large yellow streak that resembles highlighter in the artwork.
Collector notes: A memorable Jungle bulk-search target.
Electrode 18/64 — Wrong Artwork Error
How to identify: 1st Edition nonholo Jungle Electrode uses Base Set Electrode artwork.
Collector notes: Mass-produced but important for set collectors.
Rapidash 44/64 — Evolution Text Error
How to identify: The card says “Put Rapidash on the Stage 1 card” instead of “Basic Pokémon.”
Collector notes: Later corrected in Legendary Collection.
Seaking 46/64 — Evolution Text Error
How to identify: The card says “Put Seaking on the Stage 1 card” instead of “Basic Pokémon.”
Collector notes: Also appears as a Base Set 2 issue.
Fossil
Hitmonlee 7/62 — Stain Error
How to identify: Look for yellow-orange vertical streaking on the left side of the card/artwork.
Collector notes: PSA-recognized.
Haunter 6/62 — Blue Stain Haunter
How to identify: Look for splotchy blue ink staining on the right side/bottom-right artwork area.
Collector notes: More severe examples show stronger blue bleed.
Krabby 51/62 — Slash Error
How to identify: The Fossil set symbol appears slashed by a curved blue line that continues into the artwork-frame shadow.
Collector notes: One of the easiest Fossil common errors to search for.
Zapdos 15/62 — Missing/Corrected Foil Box
How to identify: Check the top-left of the artwork where an evolution box would be. Most copies have a nonholo area; later Unlimited copies filled this with foil.
Collector notes: PSA recognizes both corrected and uncorrected variations.
Gengar 5/62 — Yellow Back Hickey
How to identify: Look on the back of the card near the top of the “MO” in Pokémon for a yellow ink hickey shaped like an arm/7.
Collector notes: Documented in both 1st Edition and Unlimited copies.
Base Set 2
Magmar 44/130 — Blue Flame Magmar
How to identify: Look above Magmar’s tail in the artwork for a large blue area where magenta/yellow ink is missing.
Collector notes: One of the most popular Base Set 2 errors.
Charizard 4/130 — White Ink Smear Holo
How to identify: Look for an additional white ink smear across the holo, usually bottom-left up under Charizard’s face.
Collector notes: Scarce and desirable because it is Charizard.
Poliwrath 15/130 — Blue Dot Swirl
How to identify: Look for a small blue dot on the swirl of Poliwrath’s body.
Collector notes: A bulk-searchable holo error.
Wartortle W Stamp — Small Water Energy HP Symbol
How to identify: On the W stamped promo, compare the water energy symbol next to HP. The error has a smaller symbol.
Collector notes: Listed by Bulbapedia under Base Set 2 uncorrected errors.
Team Rocket
Dark Dragonite 5/82 — No Holo Error
How to identify: The card is numbered #5/82, but the artwork is nonholo, making it look similar to #22/82 except for the card number/template.
Collector notes: Found in both 1st Edition and Unlimited. One of Team Rocket’s most famous errors.
Dark Arbok 2/82 — Holoshift / Obstruction / Red Dot Errors
How to identify: Look for shifted holofoil, blue obstruction under “Choose 1 of,” or repeated red dots near attack energy symbols and border.
Collector notes: The “1999-2300” copyright is mass-produced and commonly discussed, but not a corrected-error premium by itself.
Dark Charizard 21/82 — Black Tape / Red Tail Obstruction
How to identify: Black Tape: large black obstruction/bleed across artwork/text on Unlimited nonholos. Red Tail: purple/red triangular obstruction on the back middle-right.
Collector notes: Advanced collector error; connecting errors are reported on neighboring sheet cards.
Dark Golbat 7/82 — Pokémon.Apply Text
How to identify: Look in the Pokémon Power text for “Pokémon.Apply” without a proper space.
Collector notes: A widely searchable Team Rocket text issue.
Charmander 50/82 — Black Dot Error
How to identify: Look for a black ink dot on the “d” in Charmander’s name.
Collector notes: Easy bulk-search target.
Grimer 57/82 / Sleep! 79/82 — Blue Tape Obstruction Pair
How to identify: Look for a large blue/tape-like obstruction on Grimer’s lower half; related Sleep! copies show missing blue ink/cloudy pink stain.
Collector notes: Connecting-sheet errors are especially interesting to advanced collectors.
Gym Heroes
Rocket’s Moltres 12/132 — Black Dot Error
How to identify: On some 1st Edition copies, look for a black ink blob left of “60 HP.”
Collector notes: One of the few Gym Heroes corrected errors documented by Bulbapedia.
Rocket’s Scyther 13/132 — Evolved Text Oddity
How to identify: Shadow Images says the effect lasts until Rocket’s Scyther takes damage, is Benched, or is evolved, despite Scyther having no evolution at the time.
Collector notes: Mostly a text oddity rather than a premium misprint.
Tickling Machine 119/132 — Secret Robot Classification
How to identify: The card is classified as “Rocket’s Secret Robot” instead of the expected “Rocket’s Secret Machine.”
Collector notes: A rules/classification oddity.
Gym Challenge
Blaine’s Charizard 2/132 — Fighting Energy Error
How to identify: In Roaring Flames, the attack text shows a Fighting Energy symbol where it should show Fire Energy.
Collector notes: 1st Edition was never corrected; Unlimited corrected version is rarer than the error.
Rocket’s Minefield Gym 119/132 — Missing “2” Damage Counters
How to identify: The error text does not state how many damage counters to place; corrected copies specify 2 damage counters.
Collector notes: 1st Edition was not corrected; late Unlimited corrected copy is the scarcer version.
Giovanni’s Pinsir 24/132 — 10+ Damage Error
How to identify: Snapping Pincers does 10+ damage instead of the intended 20+ damage.
Collector notes: A searchable Gym Challenge text/damage error.
Misty’s Seel 91/132 — Transparency Error
How to identify: Look around Seel’s tail. There is a white space/transparency error that should not be there.
Collector notes: Appears on all prints.
Neo Genesis
Focus Band 86/111 — White Bar Error
How to identify: There is a white bar below the picture, likely from artwork misalignment.
Collector notes: Listed by Bulbapedia and easy to check in bulk.
Typhlosion 17/111 — Red Dot / Blue Dot / Damage Value Issues
How to identify: Red Dot: left of set symbol on some 1st Editions. Blue Dot: under the “o” in “from” in Pokémon Power text. Japanese copies can show 60 instead of 60+.
Collector notes: Typhlosion errors are strong due to Pokémon popularity.
Meganium 10/111 — Black Pokémon Power Title
How to identify: The Pokémon Power title is printed in black rather than red.
Collector notes: Searchable Neo Genesis holo error.
Neo Discovery
Scizor 10/75 — 20+ Instead of 20×
How to identify: Double Claw reads 20+ when it should read 20×.
Collector notes: Present on all versions according to Bulbapedia.
Kakuna 47/75 — Wrong Copyright Year
How to identify: Neo Discovery copyright line should be 1995–2001; Kakuna reads 1995–2000.
Collector notes: Easy bulk-search text error.
Unown O 67/75 — “Once during you turn”
How to identify: Pokémon Power text says “Once during you turn” instead of “your turn.”
Collector notes: Easy to identify.
Neo Revelation
Ho-Oh 7/64 — Double Holo Error
How to identify: Look for holofoil extending outside normal artwork background areas, including into Ho-Oh’s wings/body.
Collector notes: PSA-recognized double holo error category.
Zubat 59/64 — Missing Resistance -30
How to identify: Zubat’s resistance lacks the “-30.”
Collector notes: Easy text-symbol check.
Delibird 5/64 — Off-Center Energy Symbols
How to identify: The energy symbols for Delibird’s attack are off-centered upward.
Collector notes: Small but searchable.
Neo Destiny
Dark Exeggutor 33/105 — Exeggcutor Misspelling
How to identify: Card name is misspelled as “Exeggcutor.”
Collector notes: One of the easiest Neo Destiny errors to search.
Dark Croconaw 32/105 — 49 Teeth Error
How to identify: Pokédex entry says Croconaw has 49 teeth instead of 48.
Collector notes: Easy text check.
Shining Cards — Missing Shining / Holo Shift Errors
How to identify: Look for missing sections of the Shining holo effect or noticeable holo shifts on Shining Pokémon.
Collector notes: High-end if authentic because Shining cards are already valuable.
WOTC Promos
Movie Promo Dragonite/Electabuzz/Mewtwo/Pikachu — Inverted WB Stamp
How to identify: The gold Kids WB Presents Pokémon The First Movie stamp is upside down and appears in the bottom-left instead of top-right.
Collector notes: Known across all four WB promos: Dragonite, Electabuzz, Mewtwo, Pikachu.
Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres Black Star Promos — Aoki Illustrator Error
How to identify: The illustrator is credited as Toshinao Aoki instead of Naoyo Kimura.
Collector notes: Known on Movie 2000 promos Articuno #21, Moltres #22, and Zapdos #23.
Dark Persian #17 — No 60 HP Error
How to identify: Look at the top-right corner. Dark Persian’s 60 HP is completely missing.
Collector notes: Nintendo Magazine promo; PSA recognizes error and corrected versions.
Ancient Mew I — “Nintedo” Error
How to identify: The legal line misspells Nintendo as “Nintedo.”
Collector notes: One of the best-known Pokémon promo errors; compare the tiny legal text at the bottom.
Prerelease Raichu — Legendary WOTC Error
How to identify: A Base Set Raichu allegedly/known to have a Prerelease stamp. Authentication is mandatory.
Collector notes: Bulbapedia calls it arguably the rarest WOTC card, with rumored quantities in the single/double digits.
What Counts as a Real Error?
A real Pokémon error is a factory-created anomaly, design mistake, ink issue, stamping issue, holofoil issue, cutting issue, or corrected print variation. Damage is not the same as an error. Water damage, sun fading, trimming, hand cutting, and chemical alteration should not be sold as factory errors.
Sources & Research Notes
This guide is built from public collector documentation and grading-company references. Error-card research changes over time as new examples are found, so serious collectors should verify expensive cards through PSA, CGC, Beckett, Elite Fourum discussion, and side-by-side authenticated examples.