Rarity

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Rarity is a term used to describe how difficult it is to obtain a particular card from a set in the Trading Card Game. These symbols are on the bottom right corner of every card. Though rarity typically correlates to the actual frequency at which a card is found in official Booster packs (also known as the "pull ratio"), some cards can be uncharacteristically common or rare for their official rarity.

Rarity levels

Common

Common cards are are marked with a circle (), and usually consist of basic, unevolved Pokémon. Most English booster packs contain four to five common cards.

Uncommon

Uncommon cards are marked with a diamond (), and can consist of both evolved and unevolved Pokémon. Most English booster packs contain three uncommon cards.

Rare

Rare cards are marked with a star (), and usually consist of evolved and Legendary Pokémon. Most English booster packs contain at least one guaranteed rare card. Almost all regular Holofoil cards are rare cards.

Holofoil Rare

A small amount of rare cards within each expansion are holographic. It may be pulled from an English booster pack as the rare card, but is not guaranteed. They are rarer compared to non-holographic rare cards.

There are many types of holofoil, which occasionally changes after a series of expansions:

• Between Base Set and Call of Legends (spanning every expansion from Generation I to IV), the holofoil pattern is named cosmos holofoil, and consists of dots and circles of different sizes spread across the image of the Pokémon.
• Between Black and White and Legendary Treasures (every expansion from Generation V), the holofoil pattern is named tinsel holofoil, and consists of horizontal stripes across the image. In Japanese holo cards of these sets, the border of the card also has a tinsel holofoil effect.
• Starting from XY, the holofoil pattern changed to sheen holofoil. There are differences between the language of the card; Japanese holo cards refract light in a diagonal direction from bottom left to top right across the entire card; Korean holo cards have the same effect and direction, but only cover the image of the Pokémon; and international releases have the same effect as Japanese cards, but only cover the image, and the direction is from bottom right to top left.

Ultra Rare

Ultra rare (also called super rare) cards are typically marked as Rare holo cards, but sometimes have unique symbols denoting their rarity. As such, they will replace the rare card in the Booster pack. As their name suggests, ultra rare cards are far more difficult to acquire than typical rare cards. Most ultra rare cards are associated with a unique mechanic, such as Pokémon-ex, Pokémon LV.X, Pokémon LEGEND, Pokémon Prime or Pokémon-EX.

• Pokémon ex were introduced in EX Ruby & Sapphire. The DP Era marked the end of Pokémon ex, where they were replaced with Pokémon LV.X. the ex in Pokémon ex stands for "extra" - the extra effects and attacks that Pokémon ex have. Pokémon ex broke the previous HP limit of 120 HP, as well as having more powerful attacks. They were also immune to some effects. However, they were susceptible to a larger number of negative effects meant to counter Pokémon ex, and in many instances, had more than one weakness, or a higher retreat cost. The most outstanding difference between a Pokémon ex and a regular card is that if it is knocked out, the opponent takes two prize cards instead of one. They had a cosmos holofoil effect in the image as well as on the border of the card. They rarely appeared as Secret Cards (there are rare instances, such as Rocket's Raikou ex or Rocket's Persian ex, where they appear as Secret Cards.)
• Pokémon Star were featured in EX Team Rocket Returns, and last released in POP Series 5. Reminiscent of Shining Pokémon, they are alternatively colored, have beneficial attacks and the 1-per-deck rule, but no longer feature multiple Energy-type attacks (aside from Latias, Latios and Rayquaza). They have portions of their body outside the borders of the image, Golden tinges and holographic shadows are added to various parts of the card. All Pokémon Star are Basic Pokémon regardless of their stage of evolution normally. δ Delta Species Pokémon Star are the type that their shiny coloration is the color of. Their unique rarity symbol is Shiny Rare Holo ().
• Pokémon LV.X were introduced in Diamond & Pearl to replace Pokémon ex and Pokémon Star, and made their final appearance in the Arceus expansion. It has the strength, rarity, holographic borders, protruding parts of Pokémon ex and Pokémon Star. They are treated as 'Level-Up' cards, as opposed to evolution, but has the same effects as evolution: the card cannot be played on the first turn or on the turn that its non Leveled Up card is played, and lose any Special Conditions that were affecting it before Level-Up. However, Pokémon on the bench cannot be leveled up. Pokémon LV.X can still use the attacks and Pokémon Powers of the card underneath it. They had the rarity of Rare Holo LV.X ().

Secret Rare

Main article: Secret card

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. Most secret rare cards are reprints of other cards, often from the same set, but with a unique artwork scheme such as an alternate holofoil scheme, depiction of shiny Pokémon, or a gold trim. Shining Pokémon and Crystal Pokémon are both examples of secret rares.

• Shining Pokémon were the first type of ultra rare cards released. They had the shiny colorations that appeared in the Pokémon games, as well as the odds of encountering one (1/300, similar to in the games). Not only are they outside the set (having a number above the number of cards in the set), they were also the first to have the rarity Super Rare (). Shining Pokémon could use multiple Energy-type attacks, but there could only be one Shining Pokémon per deck. Shining Gyarados (Neo Revelation 65) and Shining Magikarp (Neo Revelation 66) were the two first featured, perhaps due to their appearance in the anime and games, and were cosmos holofoils. The second and last set to feature Shining Pokémon was Neo Destiny, but the Pokémon itself (not the whole image) were given reflective foil treatment (to make the Pokémon really seem to 'shine'). The were also given the Shining Holo rarity () to imitate the shiny sprite from the games ().
• The concept of Shining Pokémon was carried over to Crystal Pokémon, which were released in Aquapolis. Crystal Pokémon were all Colorless in type, regardless of their normal type; they had the cosmos holofoil treatment, were Secret Rares (outside the set) as well as having the multi Energy-type attacks, but were not actually alternatively colored as in Shining Pokémon. All Crystal Pokémon have the Crystal Type Poké-Body, which changes the Pokémon's type to the type of the Energy that is placed onto it if it is one of the three Energy-types that the Pokémon requires in its attacks. Crystal Pokémon appeared in Skyridge, but did not appear in the future. They have a rarity of Holo Rare in English () and Super Rare in Japanese ().