Zapdos #16/102 from Pokemon Base Set (1999)

ZAPDOS #16/102 - BASE SET

Set
Pokemon Base Set (Base series)
Number
16/102
Rarity
Rare Holo
Card type
Pokémon - Basic (Lightning)
Artist
Ken Sugimori
Released
(1999-01-09)
Raw card reference RAW / UNGRADED
$52.84 USD (TCGplayer market, holofoil, as of 2026-09-11)Loose, ungraded copy. Not a graded slab - graded values are charted below.
Graded slab data GRADED SLAB
12 Rip Station marks - per grader and grade, see the chart.
In our machines
1 in the $50.00 machine, 1 in the $150.00 machine, 1 in the $200.00 machine, 1 in the $500.00 machine
A legendary bird Pokémon said to appear from clouds while wielding enormous lightning bolts.

RIP IT

Zapdos is in the $50.00 machine right now - CGC 9 loaded. A pack reveals one random card from that machine.

Rip the $50.00 machine

ABOUT THIS CARD

Zapdos is a rare holo Pokemon card from Pokemon Base Set, card 16 of 102, released January 9, 1999 in the Base series. The illustration is by Ken Sugimori.

Zapdos closes the Base Set holo roster. Big Thunder damage with self-damage risk made it a playground favorite more than a tournament card; as a legendary bird holo from 1999 it is a staple of vintage collections.

VALUE

What is Zapdos #16 from Base Set worth?

Two different numbers answer this, and they are not interchangeable. Raw/ungraded: a loose, ungraded copy of Zapdos #16 (Base Set) carries a market reference of $52.84 USD for the holofoil printing (TCGplayer market price, as of 2026-09-11). Graded slabs: a graded example is priced per grading company and per grade and can sit far above that raw figure - our own graded marks for this card are charted and tabled below, per grader and grade. Both are references, not offers. The graded copy in our machine carries a Rip Station estimated slab value of $350.00 (CGC 10).

Graded slab values over time GRADED SLAB

Slab values, per grading company and grade. These are a different market from the raw/ungraded reference in the facts block above - do not read one as the other.

100Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-06-09: index 100.0Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-06-12: index 100.0Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-06-17: index 100.0Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-06-23: index 100.0Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-06-24: index 100.0Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-07-09: index 144.5Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-08-03: index 137.1Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-08-07: index 340.6Rip Station marks (all grades) — 2026-08-10: index 169.32026-06-092026-08-10
Graded slab values only. Indexed to 100 at each grade series' first observation - relative movement, not dollar levels; the tables below carry the dollars. Solid lines are Rip Station marks (first-party estimates). Raw/ungraded reference (not plotted): $52.84 USD (TCGplayer market price, holofoil, as of 2026-09-11).
Graded slab values - Rip Station marks (first-party estimates, USD). Not raw/ungraded prices.
DateGraderGradeEstimated slab value (USD)
2026-06-09PSA8$92.99
2026-06-12PSA7$185.03
2026-06-17PSA10$2199.00
2026-06-23PSA7$185.03
2026-06-24CGC9$149.99
2026-07-09PSA8$300.00
2026-07-09PSA9$196.25
2026-08-03PSA6$55.50
2026-08-07CGC10$608.00
2026-08-07PSA6$721.00
2026-08-07PSA9$712.00
2026-08-10PSA6$55.50

PULL RATE

What are the odds of pulling Zapdos #16?

From published pack odds, any holofoil rare appeared about 1 in 3 packs in Base Set boosters. With 16 cards sharing that slot, pulling Zapdos specifically works out to roughly 1 in 48 packs, assuming equal seeding. In the Rip Station $50.00 machine right now, 1 of 1632 loaded cards is this card - about 0.06% per rip.

Source: Bulbapedia: Booster pack (TCG). Per-card figure derived as slot odds x 16 eligible cards.

POP REPORT

Rip Station vault population - graded slabs GRADED SLAB

Counts of GRADED copies, by grading company and grade, that have passed through our machines. Raw/ungraded copies are counted separately in the Raw row.

GraderGradeCopies
CGC101
CGC91
PSA101
PSA93
PSA82
PSA72
PSA63
Total13

IN OUR MACHINES

Is Zapdos #16 in a Rip Station machine?

Yes. 1 graded copy of Zapdos is loaded in the $50.00 machine; 1 graded copy of Zapdos is loaded in the $150.00 machine; 1 graded copy of Zapdos is loaded in the $200.00 machine; 1 graded copy of Zapdos is loaded in the $500.00 machine. A pack from that machine reveals one random card from everything loaded in it.

SOURCES

  • Card metadata and image: the open pokemontcg.io dataset.
  • Raw/ungraded reference value: pokemontcg.io market snapshot (tcgplayer), as of 2026-09-11. An ungraded single, an estimate, not an offer - and not a graded slab value.
  • Pack odds: cited above per slot.
  • Machine availability, composition odds, graded vault population and graded price marks: Rip Station first-party data.