What rarity have I got?
Every Pokemon card tells you how rare it is, in one corner, with one small symbol. Once you know where to look it takes about a second. Here is the corner, magnified, on real cards.
First: which corner
This is the part almost every guide online gets wrong, and it is easy to check yourself. The symbol moved from the bottom right to the bottom left in 2017, at Sun and Moon. Not at Scarlet and Violet, which is what you will usually be told.
Bottom right
Base Set, 1999 • XY era and older
If the number and symbol are on the right, you are holding something from 2016 or earlier.
Bottom left
Prismatic Evolutions, 2025 • Sun and Moon onward
On the left, and it is 2017 or newer. Everything below is about these.
Then: count, then color
Modern sets use stars for six different rarities, which sounds impossible until you know the trick. It is two questions, in this order.
How many?
One, two or three. Count them before you look at anything else.
What color?
Black, silvery white, or gold. Black is the ordinary game rarities, silver is a full art ex, gold is the collector tiers.
That is it
Two black stars is a Double Rare. Two gold stars is a Special Illustration Rare. Same count, completely different card.
The shortcut that skips all of it
Look at the card number instead. If the left number is bigger than the right one,
like 199/198, it is a secret rare and it is one of the good ones. Cards inside
the set total are the ordinary tiers. You can do this across a table without squinting.
The whole ladder
Lowest to highest, as the modern sets print them. One thing worth knowing right away: this is not a price order. Illustration Rares usually sell for less than Ultra Rares, and Special Illustration Rares often beat everything except gold. Rarity ladder and value ladder are two different things.
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1
Common
One black circle
Plain card, matte finish, artwork sitting in a window. The tier every checklist has most of.
Eevee, Prismatic Evolutions
the corner, magnified -
2
Uncommon
One black diamond
Looks the same as a Common to the naked eye. Most Trainer cards land here.
Mewtwo, Stellar Crown
the corner, magnified -
3
Rare
One black star
In modern sets these are always holo: foil on the artwork window, matte everywhere else.
Umbreon, Prismatic Evolutions
the corner, magnified -
4
Double Rare
Two black stars
A Pokemon ex in an ordinary card frame. The everyday ex, and the only high tier that still looks like a normal card.
Pikachu ex, Prismatic Evolutions
the corner, magnified -
5
Ultra Rare worth chasing
Two silver stars
Full art. The character fills the whole card, no artwork window, usually textured.
Gengar ex, Temporal Forces
the corner, magnified -
6
Illustration Rare worth chasing
One gold star
Full art of a normal Pokemon, not an ex, painted into a scene. The "Pokemon in its habitat" look.
Eevee, Twilight Masquerade
the corner, magnified -
7
Special Illustration Rare worth chasing
Two gold stars
Full art of an ex or a Supporter in a scene, with glitter over it. Usually the most valuable card in a set.
Umbreon ex, Prismatic Evolutions
We pulled one on camera: Gladion’s Final Battle, Pitch Black
the corner, magnified -
8
ACE SPEC Rare
Its own ACE SPEC banner
A magenta and cyan Trainer or Special Energy. You are only allowed one in a deck, which is the whole point of them.
Prime Catcher, Prismatic Evolutions
the corner, magnified -
9
Hyper Rare worth chasing
Three gold stars
The whole card is gold, borders and all. Unmistakable across a room.
Charizard ex, Obsidian Flames
We pulled one on camera: Walking Wake ex, Prismatic Evolutions
the corner, magnified -
10
Mega Hyper Rare worth chasing
One gold sparkle
Gold etched Mega Evolution ex with artwork drawn for it rather than a gold recolor of an existing card.
New to the Mega Evolution era. The symbol is a single four pointed sparkle with a heavy black outline, not three stars: several guides get this wrong.
Mega Darkrai ex, Pitch Black
the corner, magnified
Corners the ladder does not explain
Two names turn up on the set checklists here that are not rungs on the ladder above. One arrived in 2025, the other belongs to the older sets. If you looked up what you pulled and came back with nothing, it is probably one of these.
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Black White Rare new in 2025
Two stars, the first filled in and the second an outline
A full art printed in one color the whole way through. The artwork, the border, the text and the symbol are all black or all white, with no gold anywhere, so it does not read as a top tier card even though it is numbered past the set total. Victini is the odd one out and prints red instead.
Two stars again, so counting alone will not place it. The tell is that the second star is hollow rather than filled, and that neither star is silver or gold. It is its own thing rather than a rung above Special Illustration Rare, and only these two sets have it: Victini and Zekrom ex in Black Bolt, Victini and Reshiram ex in White Flare.
Black Bolt and White Flare, July 2025
Zekrom ex, Black Bolt. The corner reads 172/086 -
Holo Rare an older name
One black star, the same symbol a plain Rare carries
Not a symbol of its own and not a rung of its own. A Holo Rare is a Rare with foil on the artwork window, and the corner prints the same single black star either way. Crown Zenith has both: Entei at 021/159 is the Holo Rare, Bellossom at 003/159 is the plain one, and the two corners are identical.
It sits exactly where Rare sits on the ladder above. Older checklists split the two and list them as separate lines, which is where the name comes from, so you will meet it on the Sword and Shield set guides here and not on a Scarlet and Violet one. Some checklists print the same tier the other way around, as Rare Holo.
Sword and Shield sets and older
Entei, Crown Zenith. The corner reads 021/159
Shiny, but not rare
Reverse holo is the one that catches everybody. The foil is on everything except the artwork, so the card looks shiny everywhere the picture is not. It does not change the card's rarity at all: a reverse holo Common still prints a black circle and is still a Common. A regular holo is the opposite, foil on the artwork window only.
"Alt art" is not a rarity. It is not printed on any card and it is not in Pokemon's rarity list. It is collector slang, and on a modern card it almost always means an Illustration Rare or a Special Illustration Rare. Check the star color.
Texture is felt rather than printed. Tilt the card under a light and run a fingernail across the art: modern top tier full arts are usually embossed, with the texture following the artwork. It is a good signal, not a rule.
Coming back after a few years
If you collected once and stopped, the single most confusing thing is that "ex" has meant three different things. All three give up two prizes, and they are not the same card.
2003 to 2007, lowercase
The original. No rule box: the rule is plain italic text along the bottom, and abilities are called Poke-POWER or Poke-BODY.
2012 to 2016, uppercase
Black and White through XY. Almost always Basic, whatever the Pokemon's real stage. Mega EX ended your turn unless you played a Spirit Link.
2023 to now, lowercase again
Current. Has a bordered rule box in the bottom corner where the Pokedex entry would sit. That box is the quickest way to tell it from a 2003 one.
If what you kept is from 1999, none of the above applies to it. Base Set has no set symbol in the corner, and what decides its value is which of the three print runs it came from: 1st Edition, Shadowless or Unlimited. That is a stamp and a drop shadow rather than a star, and it is on its own page, magnified on a real card the same way these corners are.
Everything that came and went
If you remember any of these, they are all out of print. None of them are coming out of a pack you buy today.
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Pokemon LV.X
2007 to 2009
Played on top of an Active Pokemon. Gold band across the top.
Drapion LV.X, Platinum -
Pokemon Prime
2010
The word Prime is not printed anywhere on the card. Spot them by the gold name text and spiked artwork edges.
Espeon Prime, Undaunted -
Pokemon LEGEND
2010
Two card halves that combined into one Pokemon.
Kyogre & Groudon LEGEND, Undaunted -
Pokemon-EX and M Pokemon-EX
2012 to 2016
The uppercase EX. Mega EX ended your turn unless you used a Spirit Link.
Charizard EX, Flashfire -
Pokemon BREAK
2015 to 2016
Printed sideways and stacked on the stage below.
Greninja BREAK, BREAKpoint -
Pokemon-GX
2017 to 2019
One GX attack per game. Tag Team GX put two Pokemon on a card and gave up three prizes.
Charizard GX, Hidden Fates -
Amazing Rare
2020 to 2021
A burst of color behind the Pokemon that spills out past the frame, and a rainbow letter A in the corner where the star would be. Nine of them exist, six in Vivid Voltage and three in Shining Fates.
Reshiram, Shining Fates -
Rainbow rares
2017 to 2022
Discontinued at Scarlet and Violet. They are not coming out of a modern pack, whatever the glitter on a Special Illustration Rare looks like.
Charizard VMAX, Darkness Ablaze -
V, VMAX and VSTAR
2020 to January 2023
Ended at Crown Zenith.
Charizard VMAX, Darkness Ablaze -
Radiant Pokemon
2022 to 2023
Always Basic, one per deck, only worth one prize.
Radiant Charizard, Pokémon GO
What everyone is saying
The words you will hit in the first five minutes of any card video, including ours.
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IR
Illustration Rare. One gold star, full art of a non-ex Pokemon in a scene.
Magikarp, Paldea Evolved -
SIR
Special Illustration Rare. Two gold stars. Usually the best card in the set.
Mega Gengar ex, Ascended Heroes -
AA / alt art
Alternate art. Collector slang, not a printed rarity. On a modern card it almost always means an IR or an SIR.
Groudon, Paradox Rift. An Illustration Rare -
FA
Full art. The illustration covers the whole card with no artwork window.
Charizard ex, 151 -
RH
Reverse holo. Foil on everything except the artwork. Does not change the card's rarity.
Eevee, Prismatic Evolutions, Poke Ball pattern -
UR
Ultra Rare. Two silver stars, a full art ex.
Mega Dragonite ex, Ascended Heroes -
Hit
Any card out of a pack worth meaningfully more than the pack cost.
Umbreon ex, Prismatic Evolutions. $1,313 -
Chase
The one card everybody is opening the set hoping to find.
Mega Charizard X ex, the Phantasmal Flames chase -
Bulk
Commons, uncommons and low value rares. Sold by weight or by the thousand.
Slowpoke, Stellar Crown. A Common -
Slab
A card sealed in a rigid case by a grading company.
A schematic, not a photo of a real slab -
Grading
Sending a card away to be authenticated and scored on condition. PSA runs 1 to 10 and is the market standard for Pokemon; BGS and CGC also grade.
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Secret rare
A card numbered higher than the set total, like 199/198.
Seismitoad, Black Bolt. The corner reads 105/086 -
Regulation mark
The single letter in the bottom corner. It controls tournament legality and has nothing to do with rarity or value.
Metapod, 151. The letter sits after the illustrator credit
The seven questions this page gets asked
Where is the rarity symbol on a Pokemon card?
In the bottom corner, next to the card number. On cards from Sun and Moon (2017) onward it is in the bottom left. On XY era cards and older it is in the bottom right.
What do the stars on a Pokemon card mean?
Count them, then check the color. One black star is a Rare, two black stars a Double Rare, two silver stars an Ultra Rare, one gold star an Illustration Rare, two gold stars a Special Illustration Rare and three gold stars a Hyper Rare.
Does a reverse holo make a card rare?
No. Reverse holo is a finish, not a rarity. The foil sits on everything except the artwork, and the card keeps whatever rarity symbol it was printed with. A reverse holo Common is still a Common.
What is an alt art Pokemon card?
Alt art is collector slang rather than a printed rarity. It appears on no card and in no official rarity list. On a modern card it usually means an Illustration Rare or a Special Illustration Rare.
How do I know if a card is a secret rare?
Its collector number is higher than the set total, for example 199/198. Secret rares are the Illustration Rare, Ultra Rare, Special Illustration Rare and Hyper Rare tiers.
What is a Black White Rare Pokemon card?
A rarity introduced with Scarlet and Violet Black Bolt and White Flare in July 2025. The card is a full art printed in a single color, black or white throughout, and the corner prints two stars: the first filled in and the second an outline. Only those two sets have it.
What is the difference between a Rare and a Holo Rare?
The symbol is the same. Both print one black star in the corner. A Holo Rare has foil on the artwork window and a plain Rare does not. Sword and Shield checklists and older list the two separately, which is where the name comes from.
CHECKED AUGUST 15, 2026 AGAINST REAL CARD SCANS, NOT AGAINST OTHER GUIDES. THE CORNER IMAGES ON THIS PAGE ARE MAGNIFIED CROPS OF ACTUAL CARDS, SO YOU CAN CHECK ANY OF IT AGAINST SOMETHING IN YOUR OWN BINDER. A COUPLE OF CLAIMS THAT CIRCULATE WIDELY ARE LEFT OFF BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT BE VERIFIED. IF YOU SPOT SOMETHING WRONG HERE, SAY SO ON ANY OF THE SOCIALS AND IT GETS FIXED. FAN MADE GUIDE, NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE POKEMON COMPANY.