What is the Southern Islands Pokémon set?
Southern Islands is a small collection of 18 cards showing Pokémon on holiday on two tropical islands. It came out in Japan in 1999 and in English on July 31, 2001, sold as a binder with the cards rather than in booster packs.
The cards are playable, but they were made to be looked at. They have no rarity symbol, and each one is numbered out of 18. Two artists split the set: Keiko Fukuyama drew cards 1 to 9, the Rainbow Island half, and Naoyo Kimura drew cards 10 to 18, the Tropical Island half.
Rainbow Island, picture 1: cards 1 to 3
Mew and Pidgeot in the sky above Onix.
How does the Southern Islands art connect?
Put the cards next to each other in number order, three at a time. Cards 1, 2 and 3 form one picture, cards 4, 5 and 6 the next, and so on up to 16, 17 and 18. That gives six pictures in total, and the artwork runs across the card edges. In the first picture, Pidgeot's wings reach into both Mew's and Onix's cards, and Mew's tail curls into Pidgeot's.
A standard nine-pocket binder page holds three rows of three, so one page shows one whole island. Cards 1 to 9 fill the Rainbow Island page and cards 10 to 18 the Tropical Island page.
Rainbow Island, picture 2: cards 4 to 6
Togepi, Ivysaur and Raticate in the grass.
Rainbow Island, picture 3: cards 7 to 9
Ledyba, Jigglypuff and Butterfree among the flowers.
Which Southern Islands cards are holo?
Six of the 18 are holo, one in each picture: Mew, Togepi, Ledyba, Marill, Slowking and Vileplume. The holo is a starry pattern behind the whole card, not just the artwork, so they are easy to spot in a binder.
The set also mixes generations. Togepi, Ledyba, Marill and Slowking are Johto Pokémon, and in Japan the set came out in 1999, the year Pokémon Gold and Silver were released there.
Tropical Island, picture 4: cards 10 to 12
Tentacruel, Marill and Lapras by the sea.
Tropical Island, picture 5: cards 13 to 15
Exeggutor, Slowking and Wartortle on the beach.
Tropical Island, picture 6: cards 16 to 18
Lickitung, Vileplume and Primeape in the jungle.
How much are Southern Islands cards worth?
Mew is worth more than any other card in the set, and its price moves a lot with condition. In late September 2026, the Cardmarket price Pooka tracks for it was about €1,170, while eBay sales averaged closer to €420. Slowking is next at about €210, then Togepi and Marill at about €120 to €130.
Most of the other cards sell for €30 to €75 each on Cardmarket. Because the set only works as a whole, many collectors buy all 18 at once and keep them in a nine-pocket binder so both islands stay complete.
All cards in this guide
| Card | Set | Rarity | Released | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mew #1 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Pidgeot #2 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Onix #3 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Togepi #4 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Ivysaur #5 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Raticate #6 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Ledyba #7 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Jigglypuff #8 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Butterfree #9 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Tentacruel #10 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Marill #11 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Lapras #12 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Exeggutor #13 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Slowking #14 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Wartortle #15 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Lickitung #16 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Vileplume #17 | Southern Islands | 2001 | |
 | Primeape #18 | Southern Islands | 2001 |
