Pokémon Rarity Symbols Explained

Pokémon rarity symbols are the small marks printed after the collector number. The three basic ones are black: a circle for common, a diamond for uncommon and a star for rare. Higher rarities use other marks, and since the Scarlet & Violet redesign in 2023 each has its own, such as two gold stars for a special illustration rare. On a current card the symbol sits at the bottom left, at the end of a row that also holds the regulation mark, the set code and the number.

Where the rarity appears on a card

Take Mewtwo 150/165 from 151 and look at the bottom-left corner. Reading left to right, there is a letter in a small box, then a black box holding the set code and language (MEW EN), then the collector number, then the rarity symbol. On Mewtwo the last mark is a single black star, so the card is a rare. The illustrator credit sits on the line above. Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution cards use this row, and on Mega Evolution cards the code reads MEG EN.

The letter is the regulation mark, not a rarity. The Pokémon Company's glossary describes it as a letter that identifies whether a card is legal in tournament play. Regulation marks first appeared in the Sword & Shield Series. In the 2026 Standard format, in force from 10 April 2026, cards marked H, I and J are legal and G is not. The Basic Psychic Energy in 151 has the set code and number but no regulation mark.

Older cards arrange the same details differently. Sword & Shield cards start the bottom-left row with the set symbol, then the regulation mark, the number and the rarity. Sun & Moon cards put the set symbol, number and rarity at the bottom left, with no regulation mark. Cards from EX Ruby & Sapphire up to the XY Series put the number and rarity symbol at the bottom right, next to the set symbol.

Rarity symbols by era

The table gives the printed symbol, the rarity name in the official pokemon.com card database and the shorthand collectors use. The database reaches back to EX Ruby & Sapphire, so that is where the era rows start. When the Pokémon Company announced the 2023 redesign, it said the black circle, diamond and star would remain unchanged. In the eras just before it, XY EX cards, Sun & Moon GX cards, Sword & Shield V cards and many cards numbered above the set total carried a white star, with one-off marks such as the multicoloured Amazing symbol. The redesign added separate marks for double rare, ultra rare, illustration rare, special illustration rare and hyper rare.

The official names do not always match what you hear. The database calls the Vivid Voltage Raikou simply Amazing. The Paldean Fates shiny mark is an outlined gold star, close to the solid gold star of an illustration rare, so check the shape before you trust it.

Illustration rare and special illustration rare

An illustration rare carries one solid gold star. The Pokémon Company describes it as an alternate-art version of a common, uncommon or rare Pokémon, often showing the Pokémon's personality or surroundings. Charmander 168/165 from 151, illustrated by miki kudo, is one.

A special illustration rare carries two gold stars and does the same for Pokémon ex and Supporter cards. Charizard ex 199/165 from 151 is one. The same Charizard ex is also a double rare at 6/165 and an ultra rare at 183/165, and all three have identical attacks. Supporters get the treatment too, such as Lt. Surge's Bargain 185/132 from Mega Evolution.

IR and SIR are collector shorthand, and some sellers write SAR for a special illustration rare. The official names, as the card database lists them, are Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare, so trust the stars and the number over the shorthand. In 151 both rarities are numbered above the set total, which is why a 165-card set has cards numbered 166 and higher.

The 2023 redesign made illustration rare a standard rarity with its own gold star. The database also applies the name to some Crown Zenith Galarian Gallery cards, such as Hisuian Voltorb GG01/GG70. Those carry a white star, not a gold one.

Full art, alternate art and other collector language

Full art is a description, not a printed rarity. Under the current system, the foil Pokémon ex and Supporters with the picture filling the card are ultra rares, such as Charizard ex 183/165. Alternate art, or alt art, is also a description. In Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution sets, the alternate arts are the illustration rares and special illustration rares.

Secret rare means a card numbered above the printed set total. The database does not use the term, and lists Golurk 150/149 from Boundaries Crossed as Rare Holo. The 2023 announcement says hyper rare cards were previously known as secret rare cards. Chase card means the card most people open a set's packs hoping to find, which describes demand rather than anything printed.

If you are shopping for one of these cards, search by set and collector number rather than by "alt art" or "full art". The number is unique within a set, and the description is not. When we open, single cards will sit in our Pokémon singles section.

Foil treatment is a separate detail

How shiny a card is says little about its rarity. The Pokémon Company calls the reverse holo a parallel foil, and its foil pattern surrounds the artwork. In Scarlet & Violet sets that pattern echoes Paldean tile designs, and the set code box turns white with black text. The official guidance is that the circle, diamond and star still denote rarity on parallel foil cards, so a reverse holo common is still a common. The visual differences are set out in Holo vs reverse holo Pokémon cards.

A card and its reverse holo are separate entries for many collectors. That is the idea behind a master set, which aims for every version of every number in a set.

Promos, special subsets and unusual cards

Promo cards carry a black star with the word PROMO in place of a rarity symbol. They are numbered by series rather than by set. Mew ex from the Scarlet & Violet promos is SVP 053, and Mega Latias ex from the Mega Evolution promos is MEP 011. The same Pokémon can have more than one promo, as with Mega Lucario ex at MEP 012 and MEP 033, so match the number and not the name. The Pokémon Company's promo legality page lists promo numbers and says promos such as those in special collections become tournament legal on the first or third Friday of the month after the product is released.

Some sets number a subset separately from the main list. Sword & Shield's Trainer Gallery uses TG numbers that restart in each set, so Rapid Strike Urshifu V from Brilliant Stars and Rayquaza VMAX from Silver Tempest are both TG20/TG30. Crown Zenith's Galarian Gallery uses GG numbers, such as Arceus VSTAR GG70/GG70. Shining Fates has a Shiny Vault numbered out of SV122, such as Rowlet SV001/SV122. With these cards the set symbol matters as much as the number.

Paldean Fates takes the other route and numbers its shiny Pokémon after the main set, so Snover 100/91 is a Shiny Rare in a 91-card set. Temporal Forces has the ACE SPEC rare, a pink star on ACE SPEC Trainer cards, which are limited to one per deck. The Amazing rarity appears in Vivid Voltage and Shining Fates, and the Radiant Rare in Astral Radiance. Mega Evolution has the Mega Hyper Rare, a gold card with a four-pointed gold star. Ascended Heroes added the Mega attack rare, which shows Mega Evolution Pokémon ex with Japanese attack names in the illustration.

Use the set checklist to confirm a card

Take Charmander 168/165 from 151 as a worked example. The bottom-left row reads G, MEW EN, 168/165, then one solid gold star. MEW EN is the English set code for 151. The number is above 165, so the card sits after the main set.

One solid gold star means illustration rare. The pokemon.com card database lists Charmander 168/165 as an Illustration Rare illustrated by miki kudo, so every part of the row agrees. You can cross-check the same number in our 151 set guide.

If the regulation mark, set code, number and symbol do not agree with each other and with the official set list, look more closely before you buy. A 168/165 with two black stars, for example, would not match the database entry. If something does not line up, read how to spot fake Pokémon cards next.

Gold Hyper Rares cause the most questions; are gold Pokémon cards real explains what they are. To see which rarities collectors chase in practice, our guides to the top cards in Destined Rivals, Surging Sparks and Chaos Rising rank each set.

The rarity symbol tells you how a card was printed, and the set code beside it tells you where to look it up. Pokémon card set symbols and numbers explained is the next page to read.