The English name of the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s first major card set is Base Set.
Base Set was released in the United States on January 9, 1999. It followed the Japanese first set, released on October 20, 1996, which was known as the 1st Starter & Expansion Pack. The English set contains 102 cards featuring Pokémon from Generation I.
The set includes iconic cards such as holographic Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. It also introduced many players to the game’s basic card types, including Pokémon, Trainer, and Energy cards. Wizards of the Coast produced the original English release.
A common mix-up is calling the Japanese release Base Set. That label is mainly used for the English version; the Japanese product has a different official name. Jungle and Fossil were later expansions, not the first set.