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but i googled and google is just like wtf did you ask me
well yeah wtf did you ask google? tooke me 2 seconds
Quote (http://reviews.eebay.com/What-are-SHADOWLESS-Pokemon_W0QQugidZ10000000000902805)
WHAT ARE SHADOWLESS POKEMON?
I receive may questions from Pokemon collectors, asking "what are SHADOWLESS Pokemon"? Shadowless Pokemon are the ORIGINAL unlimited edition print of the base series. There are many sellers on eebay that would like you to think these are error cards or misprints, but they are not. When WOTC first ran Pokemon, the cards were printed with a 1st edition stamp. When they wanted to switch the cards to the unlimited series, they simply removed the stamp.
The 1st edition cards were printed with a fine text. The cards also had a clear background around the character of the card (NO SHADOW). Once the card had the 1st edition stamp removed, the cards looked rather plain. WOTC thought they had to do something to the cards to make them more presentable to collectors and players. To make the cards "POP" out more, they added a shadow to the right had side of the character box. The text was also changed to a bolder print.
If you look at a 1st edition base card and compare it to an unlimited card, you will see that the unlimited card has darker text and a shadow to the right of the character box. The SHADOWLESS version of the unlimited print looks exactly like the 1st edition without the stamp.
What makes these a must have for collectors?
WOTC ran the original SHADOWLESS unlimited print for only a short time before making the changes to the cards. While the exact number of SHADOWLESS cards is unknown, they are said to be just are rare as the 1st edition printing. Threw the years, many were told that these were misprints or errors, so they got rid of the cards.
If you are a collector of Pokemon cards and are trying to make complete collections, you will need a 1st edition base set, an unlimited print base set and a SHADOWLESS base set. This is the only Pokemon set that has SHADOWLESS cards. There are not just one or two of the cards that are SHADOWLESS from the set, there is a complete set of SHADOWLESS.
While the character cards are easy to tell if they are SHADOWLESS, the trainer cards are a little harder to tell. To tell the difference with the trainer cards (and energy cards) you must look at the bottom of the card. Like the print on the character card, the trainer cards are printed like this:
©1995,96,97,98,99 Nintendo,Creatures, GAMEFREAK 1999 Wizards
The year 1999 appears twice on the card, once as 1999 and once as 99. The unlimited cards are not printed like this on the bottom.
First Edition Cards:
All 1st edition Pokemon cards are SHADOWLESS. If you have a 1st edition card that has a shadow, it is a fake card. The most common cards that were made as fakes, were 1st edition base cards. Due to their value, many fakes were made. When making these fakes, people simply copied the graphics of the unlimited cards and added the first edition symbol. The problem with this is, there is a shadow on the unlimited run cards. A true 1st edition Pokemon card has no shadow to the right of the character picture.
What is the value of SHADOWLESS cards?
There are many different values out there for SHADOWLESS cards, depending on where you look. Most card values range from 10% - 80% of 1st edition cards. With these cards being no longer in print and with the wide untruth of these being fakes, SHADOWLESS cards are as rare, if not more rare than 1st edition cards. As with any other collectable, a card is only as valuable, as you want to pay for it. If you are a serious collector, you know the rarity of these cards and the prices just keep going up. They are getting harder and harder to come by, so if you are looking for the SHADOWLESS set, it's time to "Catch Em All"!!
One last note, the Machamp card is the only card available 1st edition SHADOWLESS and 1st edition Non-SHADOWLESS. Machamp was the only card in the base set that was only made as a 1st edition and never unlimited. Due to this, it is available as 1st edition non-SHADOWLESS, but it is the only card in the set..
eebay SELLERS
Please do not copy this guide into your auctions. I am seeing this guide in a ton of listings. Alot of work goes into writing guides so please post a link to my guide in your listings or contact me for a banner, do not copy it as your own!!