How to read a card’s rarity
Look at the bottom of any Pokémon card and you will find a small symbol: a circle for Common, a diamond for Uncommon and a star for Rare and above. Cards numbered beyond the printed set total — such as 200/191 — are secret rares, the scarcest cards in a set.
Modern Scarlet & Violet era cards refine this further, using multiple stars in different colours to distinguish the higher tiers.
Common, Uncommon and Rare
Commons (circle) and Uncommons (diamond) fill most of every pack. They form the playable backbone of a set — the early-stage Pokémon, Trainers and Energy every deck needs.
Rares (single black star) occupy the guaranteed rare slot in each pack. In older sets a non-holo rare was often your only prize; in modern packs this slot regularly upgrades into something shinier.
Holo and Reverse Holo
A Rare Holo has foil artwork inside the picture frame — the classic shimmer that made cards like Base Set Charizard legendary. Every modern pack also includes a Reverse Holo: a card of any rarity where everything except the artwork is foiled, giving even a humble Common a premium finish.
Reverse Holo versions exist for most cards in a set, which makes “reverse sets” a popular completion challenge in their own right.
Double Rare — the ex cards
Double Rares (two black stars) are the Pokémon ex cards in the Scarlet & Violet era — powerful, playable cards that appear roughly once every few packs. They are the entry point to a set’s chase hierarchy, and previous eras filled the same tier with V, GX and EX cards.
Ultra Rare — full arts
Ultra Rares (two silver stars) are full-art cards: Pokémon ex and Supporter cards where the artwork stretches across the entire card with a textured foil finish. Full-art Trainers of fan-favourite characters are often among the most collected cards in a set.
Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare
Illustration Rares (one gold star) are the spiritual successors to the beloved alternate arts of the Sword & Shield era — regular Pokémon presented in gorgeous, scene-setting artwork that tells a little story.
Special Illustration Rares (two gold stars) apply the same treatment to ex Pokémon and Supporters, and they are usually the true chase cards of a modern set. Cards like the Umbreon VMAX alternate art from Evolving Skies — “Moonbreon” to collectors — show how valuable this tier can become.
Hyper Rare — the gold cards
Hyper Rares (three gold stars) are the gold-foiled secret rares numbered beyond the set total. Modern sets use this tier for golden Pokémon, Trainers and Energy cards. Flashy and scarce, though often worth less than the top Special Illustration Rares despite being harder to pull.
Futuristic rare — new for 2026
Debuting in the 30th Celebration expansion on 16 September 2026, the Futuristic rare is the newest rarity in the game. Illustrated by renowned Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN with a vibrant, opalescent finish, the first revealed cards feature Mewtwo and Mew in artwork described as “evocative of hope toward an unknown future”.
As a brand-new tier in an all-foil anniversary set, Futuristic rares are expected to be among the most sought-after pulls of the year.
Retired rarities worth knowing
Plenty of rarities live on only in older sets, and they include some of the hobby’s most treasured cards. Shining Pokémon (Neo era) and Gold Stars (EX era) are grails from the early 2000s, while Crystal types from sets like Skyridge command serious prices.
More recently, the Sword & Shield era gave us Amazing Rares with their rainbow paint-splash foil, Radiant Pokémon with reversed shiny colours, and the Trainer Gallery and Galarian Gallery subsets. Ripping older packs on PackRip is a free way to experience chasing them.
Does rarity equal value?
Not always. Value follows demand, and demand follows the Pokémon and the artwork. A stunning Illustration Rare of a popular Pokémon routinely outprices a technically rarer gold card, and a nostalgic holo from 1999 can beat both.
Rarity tells you how hard a card is to pull — the market decides the rest.