Pokémon Alakazam Holo — Base Set 1st Edition Italian, BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

The Italian first edition of the Base Set is the European opening chapter of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and Alakazam, holographic and central to the psychic typings of the original 102-card run, stands among its most recognisable figures: first-generation artwork, printed for a market whose production was a fraction of the English one.

Italian distribution of the 1999 Base Set was small and its packaging unforgiving; far fewer copies than the English printing survived untouched, and the holographic surface of these cards marks at the slightest contact. An example that reached a 9.5 grade has kept centering, corners, edges and surface within a very narrow tolerance for more than two decades.

Beckett has encapsulated this copy at 9.5 Gem Mint, a result rarely encountered on European first edition holos and one that places it among the reference pieces for a language-specific Base Set run. For collectors assembling Italian first edition sets, holographic Alakazam in this condition is the kind of card that defines a collection rather than merely completing it.