The Pokémon Cards You've Probably Never Even Heard Of: Pokémon's Topsun Set Explained

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cards are well-known and easily recognized around the world. The card game aspect of the franchise is a huge part of the game's marketing and merch, and it has a loyal following among collectors. There is something extremely rewarding about opening a booster pack and finding a rare card, for both hardcore collectors and casual fans alike.

But the cards that fans know and love today are not the only version of the cards that have ever existed. For a brief period in the 1990s, the well-known cards were joined by a run of the brightly colored green and red Topsun cards. Some fans even believe that these were the first cards to exist. Whether or not the Topsun set predates the current cards, these unique cards represent a part of history that few fans know about.

Topsun was a set of collectible cards featuring Pokémon that were released to promote the first games in the 1990s. In most of the cards, each 'mon stands against a distinct and recognizable vibrant red and green background. Several cards have a blue backing while others have green, with the blue-backed cards being older and therefore more desirable of the two.

These Pokémon trading cards from the Surging Sparks set are selling for big bucks for collectors, with some cards selling for $100 or more.

The cards were produced in collaboration with and Game Freak — not by a card maker, but by a candy company. Top Seika is a Japanese company that's been making candy since 1956. Even today, the company is known for making candy and candy-making kits that feature beloved franchises and characters on the packaging as well as collectibles found inside the packs.

In the 1990s, Top Seika partnered with Game Freak to produce the Topsun cards that were included with packs of apple-flavored gum. According to PokeBoon, each pack of gum cost 60 Yen, or about 40 cents in USD, going by today's exchange rates.

There's a lot of debate online about whether the Topsun cards were the first cards to be created, before the first