Pokémon Tyranitar Holo — Expedition Base Set 29/165, BGS 9

Tyranitar Holo from Expedition Base Set (2002), the first set of the e-Series and the opening of the e-Reader era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The cards of this period carry the distinctive side layout designed to be scanned by the Nintendo e-Reader, a piece of hardware that briefly promised to connect the physical card to the game console and that now dates the set precisely.

Tyranitar, the armoured Pokémon of the second generation, is among the most consistently collected subjects of the vintage catalogue, and the e-Series treatment suits it: the holographic field of Expedition is darker and more restrained than the earlier Wizards of the Coast sets, and the artwork carries the weight of the design rather than the foil. Expedition, Aquapolis and Skyridge together form the short, late, comparatively scarce end of the Wizards-era production — the three sets that closed the period before the licence changed hands.

This example is authenticated and encapsulated by Beckett Grading Services at 9 Mint, with subgrades of 9.5 for centering, 9 for corners, 9 for edges and 8.5 for surface. An e-Series holo at this grade, in a sealed holder, is the form in which vintage collectors prefer to acquire the set.