1998 Pokémon Card Values & Price Guide
The 1998 cards in this guide are Japanese, and most of them never came out of a booster pack. They were peeled from sheets sold in vending machines; the rest come from Leaders' Stadium, the first Japanese Gym expansion.
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54indexed card records
$0.50–$2,500recorded grade range
Guide coverage
Latest source update Oct 24, 2026What this guide includes
This guide currently covers 54 indexed card records across 2 sets and the 1998 release year. The displayed estimate range is $0.50–$2,500. It reflects records available in TCG Value Scanner, not a complete manufacturer checklist.
Lowest indexed raw or primary estimateBrock's Sandshrew$2.21
Highest indexed raw or primary estimateGrowlithe$93.99
Values are directional estimates rather than guaranteed sale prices. Read how estimates and scan ranges are produced.
From the app
Latest scan Oct 24, 2026What collectors scan
Cards in this guide have been scanned 518 times in TCG Value Scanner. The printings scanned most:
- Nidoran♂ #32 1998 Pokemon Japanese Vending 45 scans · 9%
- Staryu #120 1998 Pokemon Japanese Vending 32 scans · 6%
- Voltorb #100 1998 Pokemon Japanese Vending 27 scans · 5%
Scans by set
- 1998 Pokemon Japanese Vending91%
- 1998 Pokemon Japanese Leaders' Stadium Gym 19%
Indexed estimates
Browse card values on this page
The vending-machine series
From March 23, 1998, Japanese vending machines sold Pokémon cards as Expansion Sheets rather than packs. Each randomized sheet held three cards, together with cardboard coins and damage markers, and each series ran to 18 sheets. There were three series, known by the color of their sheets — blue, red and green — and the machines kept selling them until 2000.
Vending cards differ from booster cards of the same Pokémon in three ways:
- Glossy card stock. They were printed on glossy stock instead of the usual matte stock, so they look and feel different from pack cards.
- Peeled or unpeeled. A complete, unpeeled sheet is a separate collectible from a single card peeled off it, and the two are valued differently. The values in this guide are for single cards.
- Pokédex numbering. Like other Japanese cards of the era, they show the Pokémon's Pokédex number instead of a set number: Cubone is #104 and Growlithe #58.
Leaders' Stadium
Leaders' Stadium was the first Japanese expansion built around the Kanto Gym Leaders, introducing Pokémon owned by a named trainer, such as Brock's and Misty's. English players received these cards in 2000 as Gym Heroes, a separate printing with its own values.
What our data shows
Vending cards dominate our 1998 values: Cubone, Growlithe and Seadra currently lead them, ahead of anything from Leaders' Stadium. They are also what people scan. Nidoran♂, Staryu and Nidoran♀ are the 1998 cards scanned most in TCG Value Scanner, all from the vending series.
Before comparing a value, check the Pokédex number and the glossy finish: together they tell a vending card from a booster card of the same Pokémon. The Growlithe guide shows how this printing compares with its others. For the expansions that came before, see 1997; the English game began the following year, in 1999.
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