How rare are your Pokemon cards? Our guide explains

Table of Contents

The Basics The Different Rarity Levels 1. Common Cards (commonly occurring cards) 2. Uncommon Cards (less frequently occurring cards) 3. Rare Cards (scarce cards) 4. Ultra Rare Cards 5. Amazing Rare Cards 6. Trainer Gallery Cards or CHR Cards 7. CSR Cards 8. Radiant Pokémon Cards 9. Rainbow Rare Cards 10. Shiny Vault Cards 11. Prism Pokémon Cards 12. Secret Rare Cards 13. Special Art Rare & Art Rare Cards 14. Promo Cards Conclusion

How Rare Are Your Pokémon Cards? Our Guide Explains

To determine how rare Pokémon cards are, there are different rarity levels that appear more or less frequently in a booster pack. With this guide, we'll explain how to identify each rarity level and thus how rare your Pokémon cards are.

The Basics

Generally, Pokémon cards are categorized into Common, Uncommon, and Rare cards. However, depending on the set, Rare cards can be further divided into different subcategories.

The Different Rarity Levels of Pokémon Cards Explained

1. Common Cards (commonly occurring cards)

As the name suggests, these cards appear most frequently in a set and are therefore pulled most often. You can recognize them by a small circle located at the bottom left of a Pokémon card.

2. Uncommon Cards (less frequently occurring cards)

Uncommon cards are found slightly less frequently than Common Pokémon cards, but are still relatively common. These cards are usually Trainer or Stage 1 cards. You can recognize them by a small diamond symbol in the bottom left corner of Pokémon cards.

3. Rare Cards (scarce cards)

Rare cards are scarcer than Uncommon and Common cards and can appear as either Holo or Non-Holo cards.

Both Common, Uncommon, and Rare cards can also appear as Reverse cards.

4. Ultra Rare Cards

Ultra Rare cards are even rarer than Rare cards and do not appear in every booster pack. You can recognize them by a small, silver star symbol in the bottom left corner of Pokémon cards.

The cards also differ in their general design, as the image of the card now extends to the entire card, which is why they are also called Full Art cards.

Sometimes you can also recognize Ultra Rare cards by their number being higher than the actual set number, for example, 333/300.

Finally, their designation varies depending on the era, making them easily recognizable. For example, there are V, VMAX, GX, or EX cards.

5. Amazing Rare Cards

This special type was introduced with the Japanese set Legendary Heartbeat and only existed up to the set Shining Fates.

However, they are easily recognizable by their special effect and the designation on the bottom left side of the Pokémon cards.

6. Trainer Gallery Cards or CHR Cards

Trainer Gallery cards, or CHR cards in Japanese sets, were first introduced at the end of 2021 with the Japanese set VMAX Climax. They are designed as Full Art and always show a Trainer with a Pokémon. So they are quite easy to recognize. In boosters, they can be found in the Reverse Holo slot.

7. CSR Cards

CSR cards are very similar to CHR cards, but they are rarer here, as they only appear once in a Japanese display.

Internationally, such cards are Ultra Rare cards, but as Trainer Gallery cards.

8. Radiant Pokémon Cards

Radiant Pokémon cards, or Kagayaku Pokémon cards in Japanese, are special shiny cards introduced with the Japanese set Battle Region. In Japanese, they are recognized by, among other things, a K in the bottom left corner, and internationally by a silver star symbol and a special foil effect in the bottom left.

9. Rainbow Rare Cards

They were introduced in the Sun & Moon era and are clearly recognizable by their rainbow appearance, among other things. They therefore appear particularly frequently in sets such as: Crimson Invasion, Ultra Prism, Lost Thunder, Unbroken Bonds, and Cosmic Eclipse.

10. Shiny Vault Cards

They were introduced with the Japanese set GX Ultra Shiny, have a special holo effect, and always feature shiny Pokémon. They also have a number at the bottom left that identifies them.

11. Prism Pokémon Cards

Prism cards were introduced during the Sun & Moon era. They are marked with a P in the card list. The P previously always stood for so-called Prime cards from the HeartGold & Soul Silver era. They are clearly recognizable by a holographic prism in the center of their image.

12. Secret Rare Cards

These cards are the rarest of all. Depending on the set, there are different variations. Like all rare cards, they have a certain texture and a number higher than the set number.

For example, Gold cards, special cards, or Alternate Art cards can be Secret Rare cards. Usually, they are abbreviated with an S or SR.

13. Special Art Rare & Art Rare Cards

These cards were introduced with the latest Japanese set VSTAR Universe.

Special Art Rare cards are available 1x per display and are internationally equivalent to Secret Rare cards.

AR cards are available 3x in each display and are as common internationally as Trainer Gallery cards.

14. Promo Cards

These cards are not regularly found in Pokémon booster packs but are always included as promos at special events, in boxes, or on special occasions.

You can recognize them by the inscription PROMO at the bottom left or sometimes on the right, and also in a small star.

Conclusion

As you could see, there are now numerous rarity levels for Pokémon cards, along with an incredible number of different card types. We hope you now have a better understanding of your cards and that this guide was helpful for you.

Your Opinion is Requested

But what do you think of all the card types? Have they become too many by now, or do you enjoy collecting new versions all the time? Feel free to write your opinion in the comments below, we would be happy to hear from you.

How rare are your Pokémon cards? Our guide explains it to you