If you’re getting into the Pokémon Trading Card Game for the first time and looking to open packs, it’s worth knowing how rare each card in case you want to sell or trade them in the future.
The Pokémon Company created this game around trading, so having good cards to trade and knowing how to find out if a card is rare is vital to not getting ripped off.
But how many different types of rarities are there? Honestly, there’s a lot. Here are the card rarities in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Common, Uncommon, and Rare
First, we need to show you how to find out a card’s rarity just by looking at it. This is represented by a symbol located in the bottom right corner of every card. There should be a shape that indicates what rarity the card is.
Common cards are marked with a black circle, uncommon cards have a black diamond, and rare cards always have a black star. This is the basic way to tell the rarity of a card.
Rare cards, for instance, are split into multiple different kinds of rarities. There are the standard rare plain-looking cards, but there’s so much more after that.
Holo Rare
As the name suggests, these are rare cards that have a holo picture, meaning it shines and gleams. Only a small amount of rare cards in a set get holo variants, making them a collector’s item.
Reverse Holo
This is a special line of card that puts a holo gleam on every part of it except the actual picture. Any card in a set can be a reverse holo, which makes some cards, like Welder from Unbroken Bonds, more pricey.
EX/GX/V Half Art / Half Body
These are the cards that everyone wants to be pulling from a booster pack. They’re usually some of the biggest creatures in the game and some of the hardest cards to find.
These cards can also be classed as Ultra Rare. In truth, they have a lot of different names and come with a unique mechanic that’s special to the current rotation.
Full Art / Full Body
A different variant of EX/GX cards, Full Art or Full Body cards see the picture take over the entire card, making the writing hard to read at times.
Secret Rare
Each set has a number of cards attached to it. You can see the number usually in the bottom left of the card. Secret Rares, however, go beyond that number. For instance, if you have a card that reads “115/113,” it’s a Secret Rare.
Secret Rare cards can look different with the more recent Rainbow Rare variety also being put into this category. You can always tell a Secret Rare from the number, though, and they’re the most expensive cards.
Rainbow Rare
Added in the Sun and Moon Series, Rainbow Rare cards are some of the hardest, and most expensive, in the game. They only appear in certain times and some can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
They aren’t always the best looking cards, but anyone who pulls them should know they could be sitting on gold.
Promo
These are specific cards given away at events. You can tell the difference by the black star and the word “promo” written on it.
Special mention: Tag Team
Although this isn’t a specific rarity, Tag Team cards are in a league of their own. They’re the best and hardest cards to find in the game, at the time of writing. They were first released in the Team Up! packs and are a highly sought-after collector’s item.
Special mention: VMAX
Added in the Sword and Shield expansion, VMAX works like Mega Evolutions in that they can be placed on top of Pokémon V cards to give them new moves, abilities, and a lot of health. They can appear in a lot of different forms.
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FAQs
Secret rare cards are cards with set numbers outside the printed size of the set (for example, a card numbered 101/100). These cards are generally considered a subset of ultra rares.
What is the difference between ultra rare and secret rare Pokémon cards? ›
Secret rare cards are cards with set numbers outside the printed size of the set (for example, a card numbered 101/100). These cards are generally considered a subset of ultra rares.
What are the different types of rarity in Pokemon TCG? ›
There are three main levels of rarity: Common, Uncommon and Rare. These rarities pre-date Pokémon as they were first used in the popular card game, Magic: The Gathering and are now used in other card games like Yu-Gi-Oh.
Are secret rare Pokémon cards rare? ›
Secret Rare is the highest category of Pokémon card rarity, and Secret Rare cards differ in several ways from lower-rarity cards. First, they have a collector card number that's higher than the advertised set number — hence the "secret" in their name.
Are secret rare Pokémon cards worth more? ›
Secret Rares Are Consistently The Most Valuable Pokémon Cards. When it comes to the Pokémon Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield series, Secret Rares are consistently among the highest valued cards.
How rare is ultra rare? ›
The odds of getting an Ultra Rare in a Booster Pack was around 1:12 in Booster Packs before Soul of the Duelist. From Soul of the Duelist onwards, the odds became around 1:24.
What is considered ultra rare? ›
What defines ultra-rare? The FDA defines a rare disease as any condition affecting less than 200,000 people in the US.
What are the 5 levels of rarity? ›
Cards of higher rarity are typically harder to find and more expensive to craft. There are 5 rarities: Free, Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary.
How does Pokémon TCG rarity work? ›
Uncommon cards have a black diamond. Rare cards have a black star. Rare Holo cards have a black star and a “shiny” (foil) illustration. In many English sets, for every rare holo card there is another card at a lower rarity that is identical in terms of gameplay, but has a different collector card number.
How do you know if a Pokemon card is ultra rare? ›
The black symbol in the bottom corner of a Pokemon card denotes its rarity: a circle is common, a diamond is uncommon, and a star is rare. Traditionally the star is black, but a card with a star of an alternate color such as white or gold means it's ultra rare.
Secret Rare (1 in 49)
Secret Rare cards are typically the rarest cards in a Pokémon set, though they aren't usually the most expensive. In Lost Origin there are 21 Secret Rare cards, and roughly 2% of Lost Origin booster packs contain one of them in the Rare slot.
What is the symbol for ultra rare Pokémon cards? ›
The Pokemon card rarity symbols are as follows:
- Black Circle - Common Rarity.
- Black Diamond - Uncommon Rarity.
- Black Star - Rare Rarity.
- Black Star with the word PROMO - Promo Rarity (These are cards that are given out related to special events such as movie or game releases)
Each card has a rarity, ranging from common (the most frequently included cards) to super rare (the least frequently included cards). The standard distribution of cards in a booster pack is 6 common cards, 3 uncommon card, and 1 rare (or better) card.
How much is an ultra rare Pokemon card worth? ›
The Blastoise is an ultra-rare Pokémon card that sold at auction for $360,000. One of only two such Pokémon cards in existence - making it extremely rare - this Blastoise suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time after it sold at auction in January 2021 for a whopping $360,000 (£266,000).
What is the #1 rarest Pokémon card? ›
There's no better place to start than what many consider to be the rarest Pokemon card in existence, the Pikachu Illustrator card. This is the perfect example of a card with extremely limited supply and few graded copies in existence.
How many ultra rare Pokémon cards are there? ›
The number of Ultra Rares has also been raised, jumping to anywhere between 50 and 110 cards per set. With four sets per year, that means there is around to 200 to 440 Ultra Rare cards for Pokémon fans to collect every single year.
Is Secret Rare better than Rainbow Rare? ›
They are both technically the same rarity in terms of chances to pull them I believe, but collectors seem to prefer the Rainbow Rares over the secret rare items, thus generally higher prices. The prices of secret rare trainers are always based on their playability in the game and not so much their collector value.
What color is ultra rare? ›
The Ultra Rare Rarity features a pink background colour.
What is the order of rarities? ›
All cards are identified by rarity. There are five "core" rarities in ascending order: common, uncommon, rare, very rare, and extra rare.
What rarity comes after rare? ›
Normal Rarities
| Rarity | Examples |
|---|
| RARE | Enchanted Diamond Block Pig's Foot Aspect of the End Blue Cheese Goblin Omelette |
| EPIC | Ember Rod Superior Dragon Fragment Jerry-chine Gun Overflux Power Orb |
| LEGENDARY | Aspect of the Dragons Dungeon Orb Gemstone Gauntlet Terminator |
| MYTHIC | Divan's Drill Cake Soul Plasma Bucket |
5 more rowsRarity scale A convention for designating the rarity of a coin, such as Sheldon's system (with values such as R1 for common pieces and R6 for extremely rare specimens and R8 for those that are unique. The rarity assigned to each variety is subject to change as more pieces are attributed.
What is the secret rare symbol in Pokemon TCG? ›
Secret Rare cards have the star symbol, but are unique in their numbering… they always have a card number that is beyond the standard set. For example, this Secret Rare card is numbered 112/111.
How many secret rares are made? ›
Out of every VSTAR Universe card in Pokémon TCG - there are 172 in total - 90 of them are classified as Secret Rares. This includes Alternate Art cards, Super Rare Energy and Trainer cards, and even a few Ultra Rares.
How many secret rares in a box? ›
1 out of every 72 booster packs contains a "secret rare" card, a pack cannot contain more than one secret rare, each booster box contains 36 packs, and.
Is Ultra Rare or Secret Rare rarer? ›
Rarity secret are more rarer than an ultra rare looking at them the secret rare is a sparkly. the ultra rare is flat clean holo look.
What are secret Pokémon cards? ›
A secret card is a card whose collection number is greater than the listed number of cards in the set, for example, numbered 101/100. Secret cards are generally rarer than the other cards in the set, and typically are holofoil cards as well.
Is a Pokémon V card an ultra rare? ›
V Pokemon cards are some of the strongest in the game. They are all Ultra Rare, which make them difficult to pull out of any random booster pack.
How do you identify a rare secret? ›
Secret rare cards have a collector number that is higher than the total number of cards that were printed in that set. For example, it may appear as 99/98. Secret rare cards can be quite valuable!
How good is a secret rare? ›
Secret Rares are the top rarity for unique new cards in each core booster pack. If there's an incredible new card in an upcoming set, there's a good chance that it's a Secret Rare. Over the years Secret Rares have consistently been among the most challenging cards to pull in each set they appear in.
How do you know if you have a rare secret? ›
Finally, Secret Rare cards are identified by having a card number higher than their total set number. For instance, the Dark Raichu from the Pokémon Trading Card Game's early Team Rocket expansion was numbered 83 out of 82 for the set.
The solid black symbols for common, uncommon, and rare—circle, diamond, and star—will remain unchanged. These symbols will continue to denote rarity for many types of cards found in an expansion, including parallel foil cards. Moving forward, double rare cards are represented with two solid black stars.
What is the amazing rare Pokémon symbol? ›
Well, for starters, "Amazing Rare" is a brand new type of card rarity that has been introduced in Japan, starting with Legendary Heartbeat. These cards are easily identifiable by a gorgeous prismatic rainbow background in the illustration, along with a unique "A" rarity symbol on the bottom left of the card.
How common are secret rare Pokémon cards? ›
Secret Rare cards are typically the rarest cards in a Pokémon set, though they aren't usually the most expensive. In Astral Radiance there are 27 Secret Rare cards, and roughly 1 in 49 Astral Radiance booster packs contain one of them in the Rare slot. All the have , either in this set or in recent Pokémon sets.
Are rainbow cards rarer than gold cards? ›
Gold Rares are a bit rarer than Rainbow Rares, making them the rarest cards in the Pokemon TCG.
What Pokémon card is worth 500000? ›
The Pikachu Illustrator card from 1998 is back on the market. The highly sought-after Pikachu collectible is now up for auction on eBay, and the starting bid is a whopping US$500,000 (RM2. 24 million).
What Pokémon card is worth a million dollars? ›
One of just 41 copies in existence. One of the rarest Pokémon cards of all time, Pikachu Illustrator, has gone under the hammer for close to a cool half a million dollars. Pikachu Illustrator is a legend among Pokémon collectors, and for good reason.
Are all 1st edition Pokémon cards valuable? ›
Those First Edition cards are especially some of the rarest and some are even considered to be among the most expensive Pokémon cards in general. And in this guide, we take a look at the 25 most valuable. Let's jump right in!
What is a secret rare card? ›
A Secret Rare (シークレットレア Shīkuretto Rea, or simply Secret [citation needed]) card is identified by having a holographic rainbow card name and by the artwork having a unique holofoil known as parallel holofoil (named due to the parallel dot effect on the image).
How much is an ultra rare Pokémon card worth? ›
The Blastoise is an ultra-rare Pokémon card that sold at auction for $360,000. One of only two such Pokémon cards in existence - making it extremely rare - this Blastoise suddenly became one of the most valuable Pokémon cards of all time after it sold at auction in January 2021 for a whopping $360,000 (£266,000).
What is the rarest version of a Pokémon card? ›
The Pikachu Illustrator Card Is Incredibly Valuable
The Pikachu Illustrator Card is one of the rarest and most valuable Pokémon cards ever produced. The card's artwork of Pikachu was illustrated by the electric mouse's original artist Atsuko Nishida.
1996 Pokémon Japanese Base Set Holo Venusaur
Like many other first-edition cards from the 1990s, this Venusuar is one of the rarest and most valuable cards out there today.
What are the odds of pulling a secret rare card? ›
Secret Rare (1 in 49)
Secret Rare cards come in two visual styles. Since there are more Rainbow Rare cards than Gold Rare cards in Lost Origin, you're more likely to open a Rainbow Rare card, but your odds on a specific Gold Rare are slightly better than your odds on a specific Rainbow Rare.
How do you know if a Pokémon card is ultra rare? ›
The black symbol in the bottom corner of a Pokemon card denotes its rarity: a circle is common, a diamond is uncommon, and a star is rare. Traditionally the star is black, but a card with a star of an alternate color such as white or gold means it's ultra rare.
Are 1st edition Pokémon cards rare? ›
Those First Edition cards are especially some of the rarest and some are even considered to be among the most expensive Pokémon cards in general. And in this guide, we take a look at the 25 most valuable. Let's jump right in!
How much are 90s Pokémon cards worth? ›
Average Pokemon cards might only earn you around $10 a piece, while an authenticated card in mint condition, such as the Raichu shadowless holographic cards released in 1999, is worth up to $4000.
