Artwork above: Keiko Fukuyama, Moonlit Slumber (1999 postcard set) — scan via The Art of Pokémon, found through the restoration blog Hi-Res Pokémon.
My name is Caleb Stapel. I collect vintage Pokémon cards — the 1999–2003 Wizards of the Coast era — and this site exists because the information I wanted while collecting didn't exist in one place.
Price sites will tell you what a card is worth. Forums hold enormous knowledge but bury it in threads you have to already know how to find. Checklists tell you a card exists without telling you which printing you're holding, whether it's real, or what it's actually worth in the grade you'd realistically get. Chasing Cards Guide is the reference I wanted: one page per card, one page per set, organized by the things collectors actually ask.
How the research gets done
- Cards in hand. I collect this era personally. Where I can, identification and condition notes come from cards I own and handle — not from other people's photos.
- Verified sources, named on the page. Authentication guidance is cross-checked against PSA and CGC published material and the community's own primary research (Elite Fourum's misprint documentation is cited, not copied). Where a claim is contested or unprovable, the page says so.
- Honest gaps. Some things genuinely aren't known — Wizards of the Coast never published print runs, for example. When a number is an estimate, it's labeled as one, with the reasoning shown.
- Dated pricing. Market prices come from PriceCharting sold-comp data and are dated on the page, refreshed monthly. They are market estimates, not appraisals.
How this site makes money
Some links to supplies, grading tools, and marketplaces are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you buy through them. That is the whole business model right now. It does not change the research: no brand pays for placement, no card is recommended because of a commission, and every price figure comes from sold-comp data rather than from a partner.
Chasing Cards Guide is an independent educational resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Creatures Inc., Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, or Wizards of the Coast. Card names and images belong to their respective owners.
Where to start
If you're holding cards and wondering what they are, start with the 1st Edition Base Set guide — it covers how to tell the four printings apart and why the first run was so small. If you want to sell, the selling guide covers every channel and what each actually pays. If you're chasing a specific Pokémon, the master sets rank complete vintage runs by real comps.
Spotted an error or have a correction? Corrections are welcome and get fixed — that's the point of a reference built in public.