Specializing in the older cards means I have to know what SHADOWLESS Pokemon cards are because this refers to cards from the very first run of the original Base Set.  Below is a picture of a 1st edition Shadowless Charizard(Far left), an unlimited Shadowless Charizard(Middle), and an unlimited Shadowed or Regular Charizard(Far right)














The main differences in the two cards on the left and the much more common card on the far right will be listed below.

1. The SHADOW!
The term "Shadowless" is not something official that was ever released from WOTC.  It was probably made up by someone and because it fits the description, it stuck!  If you are looking at the Blastoise holo picture move your eyes to the right vertical edge.  On the left card you will see that the gold border switches directly into the blue background.  The Blastoise on the right however does not.  It has a "Shadow".  Therefore the card on the left, which does not have this shadow, is Shadowless!  This dark area was added to give depth to Pokemon cards.  Remember that in 1999, computers were not high tech(probably rocking the Windows 98).

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2. The DATES 

If the "shadow" does not convince you there is a difference, then the dating should.  The card    up top has "1995, 96, 98 ... 1999 Wizards".  This is the   regular Shadowed  version.  The card below is a Shadowless card and notice that WOTC accidentally put 99 in there a second time.   "1995, 96, 98, 99 ... 1999 Wizards."   This dating difference is essential for collectors constructing sets!  Can you guess why? Within the base set are trainers and energies that do not have pictures as described in the first point!  The copyright dating along the bottom is the only obvious way to tell them apart.  This dating makes is essentially possible to have without a doubt a 100% Shadowless and a 100% Shadowed base set.
 

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3. The Font













During the transition after the first print run, WOTC also cleaned up their printing color and font.  Many of the Shadowless cards have a lighter color background as well as a thin font texture.  Compare the  "100 HP" on each Venusaur.  You can even notice that the "1" has a lip in the Shadowed version on top, while the Venusaur below does not. In the second picture, the  two colorless energies symbols are way off center for the Lure attack.  This was a major problem throughout the Shadowless print and is uniform on the cards until it was corrected in the following Shadowed print run.
 

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The EXCEPTION:
By now you know that the card on the left is Shadowless and the Machamp on the right is Shadowed.  Both being 1st edition may be confusing because all 1st editions from the Base set are suppose to be Shadowless. Well.. Machamp is the exception.  For some unknown reason Machamp was given the 1st edition stamp when it was released in the 2-Player Stater decks after the Shadowless run had finished. It is one of the least-valued base holos.

So hopefully this guide clear everything about Shadowless cards up that you would ever need or want to know! If not please ask and I can always add more information.  

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